Can anyone recommend a book for better understanding mpeg encoding and dvd authoring?

and

Is BitVice still the top dog when comes to encoding for Mac users?

What I really want is the hardware/software formula for the best looking dvds possible!

Thanks!

Shawn

Can you elaborate a bit as to what kind of books you are looking
for? The technical details or what encodes best?

DVD authoring doesn't have much to do with quality, except what
it allows you to do (motion menus, scripting, end actions, multiple
subtitle, video or audio tracks etc. etc.)

For MPEG-2 encoding for the PC it is generally accepted that:

1. Canopus ProCoder is currently the best encoder out there

2. CCE and TMPGEnc are a very good second (TMPGEnc is very cheap/free)

There are tons of guides on the web at least for CCE/TMPGEnc
(there may be some for ProCoder as well).

Is that what you are looking for?

Books on either the technical details or what encodes best, yes.

And the best encoder for a Mac User?

I'm new to the whole dvd biz and would love to ensure top quality, naturally...

I have no idea for software for the Mac since I'm PC based myself.

"The book" to get on the technical side of DVD seems to be
Jim Taylor's DVD Demystified (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0071423966/)

He also maintaines the excellent and comprehensive DVD FAQ (http://www.dvddemystified.com/dvdfaq.html)

That's great, thank you Rob.