A good dvd Authoring software?

[Danny-p]

Can anyone recommend a good/easy to use dvd Authoring software that doesnt degrade the sound quality/vloume once burnt to dvd-r?

The reason i ask is ive spent a small fortune on TMPGenc dvd Author 1.5 and AC3 sound plug in and it doesn't do what it says on the tin..The volume is as low as a third of the original source's once burnt to dvd-r.
I've tried every feature within the software audio conversion wise and the publishers were suggesting that the inside components of my £2k dvd player may not like the chapters as opposed to the menu's Either way i've demo'd the finished dvd on several high street store players with the same results.

For video and interactive menu's then yeah, TMPGenc is definately excellent but the sound was my main reason for buying it to be honest and i'm really dissapointed.

Basically i'll be editing previously recorded music video's from sky+'s music channels onto dvd-ram disks and then creating each dvd chapter as a music video where i can play on my household dvd player as / when required...Sound quality is a must/ video isn't that important.
Thanks in advance

Danny

[setarip]

" i'll be editing previously recorded music video's from sky+'s music channels"

What is the audioformat of these downloaded videos?

[Danny-p]

AC-3 as far as i'm aware as once the dvd ram disk is inserted it auto highlights ac3 and when you go to the little triangle to open the other possible formats theres no others there.

The menu's music video's are perfect after the AC3 plug in waves its magic but it doesnt like the chapters for some strange frustrating reason.

[Danny-p]

What changes does the source file go through between the motion menu and the chapter menu?
Bearing in mind i've tried using the same file for both and again the motion menu was perfect and the chapter one was nearly silent in comparison

I'd love to send a fellow DVD Author 1,5 user one music video and i'd be very interested in their results?

[setarip]

More important than the volume of the Chapter sub-menu, what is the audio like when you actually play the contents (not the menus)?

[Danny-p]

Originally posted by setarip
More important than the volume of the Chapter sub-menu, what is the audio like when you actually play the contents (not the menus)?

Thats the problem, the contents is almost mute...its about a third of the original sources volume.. the menu's are correct..the volume hasn't decreased at all.

[Danny-p]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by setarip
" i'll be editing previously recorded music video's from sky+'s music channels"
What is the audioformat of these downloaded videos? [/Q
Dear Danny-p,

Thank you for your mail.

You wrote:

> I wrote:
> > Once my Dvd-ram disks have been edited using TMPGenc dvd Author 1.5 with
AC-3 plug in and all my motion menu's have been created using the same files
then the files burnt via the writing tool within TMPGenc Dvd Author 1.5 onto a
blank dvd-r then i have the following problem:
> : The menu (motion video) volume is perfect/ no loss of volume therefore it is
identical in all ways to the original dvd ram data....BUT....The created dvd
chapters (music video's from sky+ cable) volume is about a third of the
originals volume...
> I have just done a test by authoring 1 music video and having the same file as
my motion menu and as my chapter and the exact results were gained...The video
chapter almost silent and the menu's as they were originally on cable?
> You said:
> The problem is whether your audio source is AC-3?
> >
> It is dolby digital 2.0/2.1 and some are dolby prologic 2.
> I've set within the options environmental settings all of the options sound
wise to enabled..so all audio sources will be converted to AC-3.
>
> But its costing me quite alot as i'm going through dvd -r's fast...
> You also said:
> Otherwise, if your audio in chapter has been encoded in AC-3 format also it
means that the audio in your motion menu's and chapter menu's are the same
> >
> True, but how do i re-encode the chapters only, using the AC-3 plug in?
> Please can you describe step by step how / what i need to do to correct this
niggle?
> PS.. i've tried all 20+ of my finished/ useless dvd's on 8 different dvd
players and all symptoms are identical so this should rule out chipset
differentials.
> In a worse case scenario i could maybe forward you one of my music video's
(virus checked) and you could try and set it as the motion menu and as the
chapter?
> Thanks and i look forward to your reply

In fact, the problem is that your source format "It is dolby digital 2.0/2.1 and
some are dolby prologic 2". For TMPGEnc AC3 Plug-in, when you are using source
files with AC-3 audio, for instance, files made from a DVD-recorder or MPEG
files, you can re-encode the AC-3 audio, but AC-3 with 5.1 channels or other
multi-channel sources cannot be re-encoded.

But for your BGM, it need to be re-encode to it menu .VOB file, the audio format
in it is Linear PCM. So if you want the same audio as your BGM, you can do it by
re-encode your audio data in your chapter.

In the "Source setup" window, on it left block, you can see "Track list", for
change it settings by "Settings" button, so you can change the "Audio format"
setting in "Track settings" windows. For re-encode your audio in it track, you
need just to change "Compression Format" of Audio Format in "Linear PCM". you
can have a same volume as your BGM.

UOTE]

So by selecting linear PCM the Audio is perfect on both BGM and most importantly the chapters.
Thanks for your help regarding this Setarip.
Danny

[setarip]

"So by selecting linear PCM the Audio is perfect on both BGM and most importantly the chapters."

But that also makes for a VERY significantly larger audiostream filesize than .AC3...

[Danny-p]

Originally posted by setarip
"So by selecting linear PCM the Audio is perfect on both BGM and most importantly the chapters."

But that also makes for a VERY significantly larger audiostream filesize than .AC3...

I know, tell me about it!!
Had to remove a track per dvd to fit them all on, but at least the audio is perfect.
Danny-p

[reboot]

Why not encode to mp2 audio in tmpgenc? Cuts the size down, and if you use a decent bitrate, you don't lose a ton of quality.
Author everything in DVDLab

[Danny-p]

Ok, i'll give it a try.