DVD Workshop Express at DVinfo.net

Tim Borek · August 20th, 2004, 09:32 AM

Has anyone used this app yet? How does it compare to Sonic DVDIt! 5? I know DVD Workshop 2 is a well-respected program, but I don't need the mass-distrubition capabilities or the $500 price.

My NLE is Ulead MediaStudio Pro 7, so I assume the integration/compatibility with DVD Workshop Express is pretty good. Stability is more important to me than a lot of bells and whistles.

Thanks,

T.J.

Nick Jushchyshyn · August 24th, 2004, 01:18 PM

I'm using the full version of DVD WS 2.2 right now. The only things not in Express version are mass production features like encryption, region coding and DLT output. Since I only use these very very occationally (i.e. twice) I imagine that what I do day-to-day is just about the same as DVD WS Express.

I've never used Sonic DVDit, so it's hard to compare, except via the Sonic feature list. The products look to be very close, though. If there's a demo of DVDit around, it would be a good idea to try both and see what fits you're style best.

For myself, I really like the versatility and ease of use of the menu building and movie control features. A lot of my projects are training and/or marketing DVDs that have a lot of content to present but also want to allow viewers to do a lot of self navigation through features. DVD WS handles this very well. Multi audio track and multi subtitle tracks are really useful too if you've got the content to use them.

This latest version also has a really nice 2 Pass Mpeg encoder, (though you have to plan on encoding taking a lot longer if you activate this option).

My one disappointment is the integration with MSP 7 (my editor as well) is not as tight as it could be. Mainly in that you can't define chapter points in MSP, they have to be done in DVD WS. Other than that, they do work very well together. I tend to create custom background videos (complete with interface containers) in MSP to add some flare to the DVD menus, DVD WS makes it very easy to overlay the menu buttons to complete the interface.

Hope this helps.
Have fun.

August 20th, 2004, 09:32 AM	#1
Tim Borek Major Player Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Westfield, IN Posts: 353	DVD Workshop Express Has anyone used this app yet? How does it compare to Sonic DVDIt! 5? I know DVD Workshop 2 is a well-respected program, but I don't need the mass-distrubition capabilities or the $500 price. My NLE is Ulead MediaStudio Pro 7, so I assume the integration/compatibility with DVD Workshop Express is pretty good. Stability is more important to me than a lot of bells and whistles. Thanks, T.J.

August 24th, 2004, 01:18 PM	#2
Nick Jushchyshyn Major Player Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Philadelphia, PA, USA Posts: 548	I'm using the full version of DVD WS 2.2 right now. The only things not in Express version are mass production features like encryption, region coding and DLT output. Since I only use these very very occationally (i.e. twice) I imagine that what I do day-to-day is just about the same as DVD WS Express. I've never used Sonic DVDit, so it's hard to compare, except via the Sonic feature list. The products look to be very close, though. If there's a demo of DVDit around, it would be a good idea to try both and see what fits you're style best. For myself, I really like the versatility and ease of use of the menu building and movie control features. A lot of my projects are training and/or marketing DVDs that have a lot of content to present but also want to allow viewers to do a lot of self navigation through features. DVD WS handles this very well. Multi audio track and multi subtitle tracks are really useful too if you've got the content to use them. This latest version also has a really nice 2 Pass Mpeg encoder, (though you have to plan on encoding taking a lot longer if you activate this option). My one disappointment is the integration with MSP 7 (my editor as well) is not as tight as it could be. Mainly in that you can't define chapter points in MSP, they have to be done in DVD WS. Other than that, they do work very well together. I tend to create custom background videos (complete with interface containers) in MSP to add some flare to the DVD menus, DVD WS makes it very easy to overlay the menu buttons to complete the interface. Hope this helps. Have fun.