Aperçu partiel du document demandé
Pour afficher le document en entier, vous devez être enregistré comme VIP.
Ulead´s DVD MovieFactory review
Ulead is probably best known for it's video editing program VideoStudio. Since more and more people become interested in burning their movies to S(VCD) or DVD, Ulead also developed DVD MovieFactory. Unlike the name suggests, this program cannot only be used to create DVD but also SVCD and VCD. The version reviewed here is 1.0 that was developed for Windows XP but also runs under 98, 2000 and ME.
1. Contents of the package
The package actually contains three separate programs that are all installed when the setup program from the supplied CD-ROM is executed. Each program can be executed separately but can also be accessed through a main menu that appears when you start DVD MovieFactory. The programs are:
- Video ToolBox, used for capturing video, simple edits and encoding
- DVD MovieFactory, used for authoring and burning
- VCD/DVD Disc Image Recorder, used to burn previous generated disc images
As an extra bonus the package is also supplied with Photo Express 4.0 to create CD labels and covers. Of course the package contains a printed manual and also a manual in pdf format.
2. Preparing clips
You can go directly to the DVD Movie Factory authoring process if you already have created mpegs that are compliant with the type of disc that you want to burn. If you don´t, the package contains the Video Toolbox that is used for preparing clips that you want to use in your production. The program is divided in three tabs that are described below.
The first tab is for Capturing. The Toolbox supports both Digital Video transfer through a standard Firewire card and capturing analog source through an analog capture card. For capturing purposes the program contains 4 Capture plugins.
- a VFW capture plug-in that can be used with analog capture cards
- a DirectShow capture plug-in that can be used to capture digital video through a standard Firewire card
- an MPEG VFW capture plugin that is used to capture from analog capture cards and real time encodes to MPEG
- an MPEG DirectShow capture plugin to capture from digital source and real time encodes to MPEG.
I have tested the VFW capture driver with a Pinnacle DC10+ capture
card and it worked without any problems. For video transfer through Firewire
the Toolbox also supports Device Control and I could select both
IEE1394 device control from Microsoft and Texas
Instruments. When I connected my Sony Digital Video camera to the
Firewire port, the program immediately recognized it and switched to Sony
Microsoft Device Control and the video transfer worked without any problem.
A nice feature is that you can have the Video Toolbox automatically
split the videofile per scene when transferring from a digital source.
Although I have not tested it, Ulead also claims it can bypass the 2
or 4Gb limit. In order to use capturing with real time encoding
you must have a system that is powerfull enough. The Ligos GoMotion
encoder that is used for real time MPEG capturing can be tweaked to prevent
dropped frames when your system lacks sufficient power. I tried some real-time
MPEG capturing on my Pentium II system, but I did not get it going...
More about encoding in the next section.
All captured files are placed on a timeline in the bottom of the screen
for use in the next step. If you want to use files that are already on
your hard drive you can also import them and place them directly on the
timeline.
The second tab is called Edit. Unlike the name suggests you
can not really do a lot of editing here. You can cut files in
pieces and define in- and out-markers to determine which part
of the files that you want to use in your production.
A more interesting function of this tab is encoding. For this the Ligos
LSX encoder is incorporated into the program. The encoder can be
tweaked according your needs.
Standard templates are supplied for VCD, SVCD and DVD (both PAL and NTSC), but you can also create user defined templates in which settings like framesize, framerate, bitrate, CBR or VBR etc. can be changed.
The last tab of the Video Toolbox is the Export tab. From here you can export your prepared files to the authoring process.
(...)
