wedding dvd software at DVinfo.net

Richard Tamayo · June 17th, 2004, 01:25 PM

Just wondering on a profesional level what you wedding guys use for encoders for dvd format?
What authoring software do you use also?
I am looking for professional quality. Speed would be nice. I am also using Adobe Premiere 6, if that helps.

George Ellis · June 17th, 2004, 01:40 PM

An affordable tool that you can try before you buy is Media Chance's DVD-Lab.
http://www.mediachance.com/dvdlab/

Edward Troxel · June 17th, 2004, 06:52 PM

I make my DVDs with Vegas+DVD. Since you're using Premiere, you might want to look at Encore.

Richard Tamayo · June 17th, 2004, 07:11 PM

george,
Do you encode with this too? What do your customers think of your dvds. Do you own the pro version?

George Ellis · June 17th, 2004, 09:03 PM

No, I do not encode with it. It does not include an encoder to save on cost.

I have burned two DVDs with it to work around a bug that has since been resolved with my editor (a bad menu link issue.) I exported my timeline as an elemental stream from Pinnacle Liquid Edition and then built the DVD with DVD-Lab using the elemental stream.

I am debating on getting the Pro version. I do want multi-angle for next year's band project, but it does not do it (nor do many other dvd creation apps.). But, the pro version will allow you to add 4:3 and 16:9 on the same DVD amoung other things. It is pretty cool.

Richard Tamayo · June 18th, 2004, 01:35 PM

So, here is another question, in order to put out good looking dvds for my customers wedding videos or any customers it is not necessary to pay big bucks for software for example CCE SP or CCE PRO and the outcome will still be very acceptable?
George, you don't use the most expensive software, and are your customers happy with the out come of your dvds? I am not sure what Edward's Vegas+ dvd cost so I can't comment on that.

Dennis Vogel · June 18th, 2004, 02:35 PM

<<<-- Originally posted by Richard Tamayo : ... I am not sure what Edward's Vegas+ dvd cost so I can't comment on that. -->>>

Vegas 5 + DVDA 2 retails for $800. See teh Sony web site for more info:
http://mediasoftware.sonypictures.com/products/showproduct.asp?PID=912

Dennis Vogel

George Ellis · June 18th, 2004, 04:04 PM

Most of my customers are kids and their parents in bands, in cheerleading, or in color guards. So for the most part, what I do is still magic to them. I am now using an Epson printer and printable media to put a picture and logo on the DVDs also.

Does it look like a burned copy, not quite. I have not done complicated menus yet either. I have done moving main pages with audio and picture buttons, but I have not had enough materials that had to be organized with submenus. So, I don't know if I am answering your question to the degree you want.

David Phillips · June 19th, 2004, 05:20 AM

Have you thought of an easier alternative?
We burn straight from the timeline (or master tape) in FCP3 on to a Philips DVD recorder. It burns in real-time, and never a problem. Once we have the master, we copy as many as we want at X4 on a DVD copier.

David Phillips · June 19th, 2004, 05:20 AM

Have you thought of an easier alternative?
We burn straight from the timeline (or master tape) in FCP3 on to a Philips DVD recorder. It burns in real-time, and never a problem. Once we have the master, we copy as many as we want at X4 on a DVD copier.

Richard Tamayo · June 20th, 2004, 08:27 PM

David,
I did some research on your suggestion of the dvd recorder. What I read sounded alot faster. What are the pros and cons in your opinion? How much is a recorder running these days? I just watched a tutorial on Encore it was pretty cool.
Richard

Loren White · June 20th, 2004, 10:31 PM

Im using Encore, mostly because im using Premiere Pro.. they work very well together.

David Phillips · June 21st, 2004, 05:39 AM

Richard,
as you know, the cost of DVD recorders has dropped over the last year. The first one we bought was over 450 GBP but an addition just a couple of months ago, cost less than 300 GBP.
The obvious advantages are the ease of which DVDs can be produced. We know people in the same business as us who produce DVDs in small quantities. They waste many hours, even days, waiting for their master disc.
We play our finished project either from the time-line or from master mini DV, and record it in real-time onto DVD.
Whatever anyone tells you, there is no loss of quality. What you see on your TV/monitor, is exactly what ends up on the DVD.
Over the last couple of years we have produced nearly 70 wedding programmes on DVD, each one perfect in every way.
On our larger projects, we do it exactly the same way. Our last project resulted in 1500 being duplicated from our master.

Instead of spending more money on computer progs, and then spending weeks trying to make it work, nip down to your local TV shop and hire a DVD recorder for next to nothing.

It would be interesting to hear from others who use this system.

It certainly leaves a lot more time for doing what we love-filming and producing DVD.

Richard Tamayo · June 21st, 2004, 02:08 PM

That was good info. It does indeed make good sense. I would also like to hear from others who use this system. Whats your process for including menus and chapters doing this way?

David Phillips · June 22nd, 2004, 12:52 AM

We chose the Philips because it has a nice looking menu screen, here's what we do.

Supposing for a wedding, you want 3 different sections on your menu screen such as; Bride's home, the ceremony and the reception.
In your time-line you have 3 sequences each starting with a relevant still image of about 6 seconds. (You can also add text to the image if you wish).

Making sure you have the play-head on the first frame, record the first sequence, then the second and third, ending up with 3 titles on the DVD.
You can also add up to 99 chapters per title.
It's a doddle.
It also has a fire-wire port.

June 17th, 2004, 01:25 PM	#1
Richard Tamayo Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Davenport,IA. Posts: 111	wedding dvd software Just wondering on a profesional level what you wedding guys use for encoders for dvd format? What authoring software do you use also? I am looking for professional quality. Speed would be nice. I am also using Adobe Premiere 6, if that helps. __________________ richard tamayo

June 17th, 2004, 07:11 PM	#4
Richard Tamayo Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Davenport,IA. Posts: 111	george, Do you encode with this too? What do your customers think of your dvds. Do you own the pro version? __________________ richard tamayo

June 18th, 2004, 01:35 PM	#6
Richard Tamayo Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Davenport,IA. Posts: 111	So, here is another question, in order to put out good looking dvds for my customers wedding videos or any customers it is not necessary to pay big bucks for software for example CCE SP or CCE PRO and the outcome will still be very acceptable? George, you don't use the most expensive software, and are your customers happy with the out come of your dvds? I am not sure what Edward's Vegas+ dvd cost so I can't comment on that. __________________ richard tamayo

June 19th, 2004, 05:20 AM	#9
David Phillips Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Norwich Norfolk UK Posts: 112	Have you thought of an easier alternative? We burn straight from the timeline (or master tape) in FCP3 on to a Philips DVD recorder. It burns in real-time, and never a problem. Once we have the master, we copy as many as we want at X4 on a DVD copier. __________________ David Phillips

June 19th, 2004, 05:20 AM	#10
David Phillips Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Norwich Norfolk UK Posts: 112	Have you thought of an easier alternative? We burn straight from the timeline (or master tape) in FCP3 on to a Philips DVD recorder. It burns in real-time, and never a problem. Once we have the master, we copy as many as we want at X4 on a DVD copier. __________________ David Phillips

June 17th, 2004, 01:40 PM	#2
George Ellis Trustee Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Suwanee, GA Posts: 1,241	An affordable tool that you can try before you buy is Media Chance's DVD-Lab. http://www.mediachance.com/dvdlab/

June 17th, 2004, 06:52 PM	#3
Edward Troxel Sponsor: JET DV Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Southern Illinois Posts: 7,953	I make my DVDs with Vegas+DVD. Since you're using Premiere, you might want to look at Encore.

June 17th, 2004, 09:03 PM	#5
George Ellis Trustee Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Suwanee, GA Posts: 1,241	No, I do not encode with it. It does not include an encoder to save on cost. I have burned two DVDs with it to work around a bug that has since been resolved with my editor (a bad menu link issue.) I exported my timeline as an elemental stream from Pinnacle Liquid Edition and then built the DVD with DVD-Lab using the elemental stream. I am debating on getting the Pro version. I do want multi-angle for next year's band project, but it does not do it (nor do many other dvd creation apps.). But, the pro version will allow you to add 4:3 and 16:9 on the same DVD amoung other things. It is pretty cool.

June 18th, 2004, 02:35 PM	#7
Dennis Vogel Major Player Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Hillsborough, NC Posts: 409	<<<-- Originally posted by Richard Tamayo : ... I am not sure what Edward's Vegas+ dvd cost so I can't comment on that. -->>> Vegas 5 + DVDA 2 retails for $800. See teh Sony web site for more info: http://mediasoftware.sonypictures.com/products/showproduct.asp?PID=912 Dennis Vogel

June 18th, 2004, 04:04 PM	#8
George Ellis Trustee Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Suwanee, GA Posts: 1,241	Most of my customers are kids and their parents in bands, in cheerleading, or in color guards. So for the most part, what I do is still magic to them. I am now using an Epson printer and printable media to put a picture and logo on the DVDs also. Does it look like a burned copy, not quite. I have not done complicated menus yet either. I have done moving main pages with audio and picture buttons, but I have not had enough materials that had to be organized with submenus. So, I don't know if I am answering your question to the degree you want.

June 20th, 2004, 08:27 PM	#11
Richard Tamayo Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Davenport,IA. Posts: 111	David, I did some research on your suggestion of the dvd recorder. What I read sounded alot faster. What are the pros and cons in your opinion? How much is a recorder running these days? I just watched a tutorial on Encore it was pretty cool. Richard __________________ richard tamayo

June 20th, 2004, 10:31 PM	#12
Loren White New Boot Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Oceanside, CA Posts: 10	Im using Encore, mostly because im using Premiere Pro.. they work very well together.

June 21st, 2004, 05:39 AM	#13
David Phillips Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Norwich Norfolk UK Posts: 112	Richard, as you know, the cost of DVD recorders has dropped over the last year. The first one we bought was over 450 GBP but an addition just a couple of months ago, cost less than 300 GBP. The obvious advantages are the ease of which DVDs can be produced. We know people in the same business as us who produce DVDs in small quantities. They waste many hours, even days, waiting for their master disc. We play our finished project either from the time-line or from master mini DV, and record it in real-time onto DVD. Whatever anyone tells you, there is no loss of quality. What you see on your TV/monitor, is exactly what ends up on the DVD. Over the last couple of years we have produced nearly 70 wedding programmes on DVD, each one perfect in every way. On our larger projects, we do it exactly the same way. Our last project resulted in 1500 being duplicated from our master. Instead of spending more money on computer progs, and then spending weeks trying to make it work, nip down to your local TV shop and hire a DVD recorder for next to nothing. It would be interesting to hear from others who use this system. It certainly leaves a lot more time for doing what we love-filming and producing DVD. __________________ David Phillips

June 21st, 2004, 02:08 PM	#14
Richard Tamayo Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Davenport,IA. Posts: 111	That was good info. It does indeed make good sense. I would also like to hear from others who use this system. Whats your process for including menus and chapters doing this way? __________________ richard tamayo

June 22nd, 2004, 12:52 AM	#15
David Phillips Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Norwich Norfolk UK Posts: 112	We chose the Philips because it has a nice looking menu screen, here's what we do. Supposing for a wedding, you want 3 different sections on your menu screen such as; Bride's home, the ceremony and the reception. In your time-line you have 3 sequences each starting with a relevant still image of about 6 seconds. (You can also add text to the image if you wish). Making sure you have the play-head on the first frame, record the first sequence, then the second and third, ending up with 3 titles on the DVD. You can also add up to 99 chapters per title. It's a doddle. It also has a fire-wire port. __________________ David Phillips