A program for creating a movie disc. DVD Creator

Before creating your own DVD Video disk, many are stopped by the need to install complex programs and their subsequent study. V Windows 7 there is a program DVD Studio Windows, which allows, without having special knowledge, in a few clicks to create a complete DVD disc with menu.

DVD creation starts by starting the program.

Let's add a movie for DVD creation.

Make DVD disc with a large number of films, we will not succeed, since from the fit 150 minutes our film already takes 107 minutes... You can see the parameters of the disk being created and change if necessary.

Since we know the characteristics of our film, we can set the parameters that are most suitable for us. DVD, i.e. NTSC 16: 9.

After choosing a menu style, we will change the name of our disc. To do this, click "Menu text"... We change any text to the one we need. Inscription "Notes", in the graph "Notes button", will appear in the disc menu if in the column "Notes" some text will appear. It should be noted that the length of the text in the titles is limited and the non-fitting text is simply not displayed.

Let's customize the look of our menu. Go to the menu "Menu setting"... By default, the encoded video is used as the foreground video and background video. Let's change it to something else. You can also put any music for the menu and choose the style of the button "Scenes".

If you also add photos to the disc, you can set up a slide show for them. You can choose any background music and frame transition effect. Slide show can be started from the scene mode, where one of the scenes will be reserved for the added pictures.

DVD menu creation over, only left burn DVD Video.

You can preview how our disk will work. To do this, in the menu, press the button "View"... In this case, the disk menu will work as we configured it.

The disadvantage of this program is the impossibility create DVD Video without a disc in the drive.

Before recording starts, files are created in a temporary folder, which are immediately deleted after the program is closed.

The disc is burned and ready to watch. It is immediately suggested that you make another copy and insert a blank disc.

It seemed to me a simple task to make a DVD disc from the existing video files in AVI, MPEG, MP4 and other formats. But I didn’t assume that you also have to pay for the conversion to the de facto standard. But from the videos that were shot with a smartphone or tablet, an interesting video may well turn out.

1. Windows DVD-maker

Included with Windows 7, no additional costs. Understands a bunch of file formats, you can make both a disc from video files and a presentation from photos, you can create a DVD menu. But a huge disadvantage is that the program immediately writes to disk. In my case, it turned out to be impracticable, because the drive in a laptop has long outlived its usefulness. I just wanted to make a DVD project, but I wanted to burn DVD on a stationary computer.

2. WinX DVD Author

WinX DVD Author is found by Google when looking for free DVD authoring software. And it even works for free. You can create a menu in it. Only the program's logo and the message that the DVD was made as a free version negate all the program's features.

3. DVD Styler

It turns out that there are also programmers who are simply doing good to other users. Alex Thuring has released DVD Styler, which can be used to create a DVD from a set of video files of different formats. The program contains some nice templates for the menu.

DVD gradually conquers the market and the issues of software and hardware solutions for working with DVD are becoming more and more interesting for many, many people. With the hardware component, everything is more or less clear - there are DVD burners of two competing standards, there are hardware MPEG encoders for those who cannot wait hours for the results of software encoders. It remains only to understand what programs can and / or should be used to create DVD-Video discs.

This question is not as simple as it seems. A few years ago, there were very few programs for DVD Authoring, they cost a lot, even in Western terms, money (up to $ 30,000) and their use was the lot of only a few thousand people, 90% of whom worked in the United States. With the advent of computer-based DVD recorders, the situation has changed, but now there is an inflection in the other direction. The release of a program for creating DVD-Video discs has become, as it were, a matter of honor for all companies that have anything to do with video. Producers' promotional press releases now touted any DVD-Authoring software as a versatile tool ideal for creating Hollywood Video-grade DVD-Videos. Some of these programs even have menu templates that are so modestly called Hollywood Quality. In fact, of course, this is far from the case. One hand is enough to list the programs that can actually create Hollywood Quality DVD-Video discs. The massive development of DVD Authoring programs is also facilitated by the inviolability of the DVD-Video standard, and changing this standard is hardly possible in the foreseeable future, since tens of millions of DVD players are already in tens of millions of apartments and it is impossible to ignore such a number of users in a hypothetical change of the standard.

But there is one distinguishing feature that allows you to separate one group of programs from another is the approach to creating DVD-Video disc menus. The overwhelming majority of new programs created for the general user provide an opportunity to vary only within small limits both the design of the menu and the methods of selection in it, and most importantly, do not allow using a video clip as a menu. This limitation significantly reduces the creative possibilities of the author of the disc.

But, unfortunately, we will not be able to discuss further the pros and cons of programs for creating DVD-Video discs without getting to know at least briefly the requirements for a DVD-Video disc.

The table below shows the most important parameters of the initial data for the further creation of a DVD-Video disc (hereinafter we assume that PAL is used as a television system):

** GOP - Group of Pictures - literally "group of pictures". An MPEG stream always consists of sequential GOPs. Each GOP starts with a reference, or I-frame, in which the image is compressed without considering the video information in the adjacent frames. All other GOP frames contain only information that is not in the I-frame. DVD compliant MPEG must contain only GOPs with titles. The GOP header specifies parameters such as bit rate, GOP size, aspect ratio, etc.
*** Not recommended format. Playable on PAL DVD players only.
**** Many encoders or DVD creation software limit the minimum bit rate. In particular, ReelDVD does not allow encoding static (still) menus at a rate of less than 1 Mbps. Scenarist has no such restrictions.

If you look closely at the permissible video and sound parameters for DVD-Video, it is easy to see that the video quality depends on the format in which the sound is recorded, for example - if the sound is in PCM, then the maximum video bitrate should be much less than with audio encoding in Dolby Digital format. Audio encoding in MPEG-1 Layer II format gives audio bitrate comparable to Dolby Digital, but the quality of compressed audio itself is inferior to Dolby Digital at the same bitrate.

Briefly about many things

We can now move on to a brief analysis of the most popular DVD Authoring software. Like any other similar analysis, it is partially subjective, but nonetheless:

Ulead MediaStudio Pro 6.5- in terms of creating a DVD, it is very simple, practically has no degrees of freedom for the author, but therefore does not have a stage of development and any beginner can make a DVD disc on it.

Advantages:

No skill or knowledge required to create DVD.

Fast work - it will take 10-15 minutes to prepare the menu and you can burn a disc.

Supports VCD, SuperVCD, XSVCD.

Flaws:

The film should consist of only one file (not counting the short introductory file), and only the MPEG Program Stream format (video + sound in one file) is supported.

No other video and audio formats are supported.

The menu cannot be voiced.

The menu can only contain frames from the movie as buttons, and only to the place where these frames were taken can there be a transition.

SpruceUP- entry-level program. The degrees of freedom are also few, but slightly more than in Ulead MediaStudio Pro 6.5. But with this program, you cannot make a DVD disc only by mechanically pressing Next, and you will have to perform several independent actions. Unfortunately, the company-developer of the Spruce Technologies program was acquired by Apple in 2001 and there will no longer be any further development of this and a number of other programs of the Spruce line.

Advantages:

Support for sound in the Dolby Digital (AC-3) format. The program does not have its own encoder in Dolby Digital, but it allows the use of ac3 files.

It is possible to use control buttons of your own design.

Any frame of the movie can be used to indicate the chapter.

Flaws:

The movie should consist of only one file, since the sequence of playing the files is not specified. At the end of the playback of each file, you return to the menu.

Can make a disc that is not correct for a consumer DVD player, which will only play normally on a computer DVD-ROM.

Without entering the menu, watching a movie is impossible.

Ulead DVD Movie Factory- a more "advanced" version of the DVD Plug-in for Ulead MediaStudio Pro. Allows the use of multiple files, allows the menu to be voiced. Has a built-in MPEG encoder. The rest is almost identical to DVD Plug-in.

Programs for advanced amateurs

Sonic DVDiT Professional Edition 2.5.2- this program, despite its simplicity, has a number of significant differences from the entry-level programs.

Advantages:

No extensive knowledge is required to create DVD.

Support for sound in the Dolby Digital Stereo format. Has a built-in audio encoder for this format.

A movie can consist of many files, and the playback sequence is easily defined by the user when creating a disc.

A hierarchical structure from several menus is allowed.

Viewing the entire movie, including the opening clip (First Play), is possible without going to the menu.

Ability to specify the coordinates of chapters (chapters) through timecode.

Flaws:

Does not support 6-channel Dolby Digital AC-3 audio (i.e. 5.1).

Doesn't support motion menu.

Ulead DVD Workshop 1.3- outwardly it looks like a program that has many features of professional products, but in fact it can in no way be classified as a program of a serious class.

Advantages:

Intuitive interface.

LPCM audio support.

Each menu can have its own soundtrack.

Built-in MPEG encoder.

It is possible to use control buttons, backgrounds, text, etc. own design.

Any frame of a movie or any other picture can be used to indicate a chapter.

Motion menus are supported.

Supports audio compression in Dolby Digital Stereo format when upgrading Workshop to AC-3 version.

Flaws:

After playing the intro clip, you always go to the menu.

On some DVD players, the menu does not work.

The menu view can only be rather monotonous - rectangular windows for video fragments / movie stills. A different look requires a noticeable amount of manual work from the author.

Dazzle DVD Complete- the program is almost identical to Ulead DVD Workshop 1.3, but differs in slightly more possibilities in menu design. On the other hand, DVD Complete is more difficult to understand than DVD Workshop.

Programs for professionals and very advanced amateurs

Sonic (formerly Daikin) ReelDVD 2.5.1 / 3.02- semi-professional level program. Operates with subpicture, so the possibilities for disc design are great.

Advantages:

Doesn't require serious knowledge to create DVD.

Intuitive interface.

Built-in Dolby Digital Stereo encoder and the ability to use Dolby Digital 5.1.

Since the menu is created either in a graphic or video editor, the menu design is limited only by the author's imagination.

A movie can consist of many files, and the playback sequence is determined by the user when creating a disc.

Flaws:

Requires an understanding of how a DVD player works.

Mastering the program only from the description to it is very difficult

Sonic (formerly Daikin) Scenarist NT 2.5 / 2.7- professional level program. In short, you can say that everything can do it. There is only one drawback - the program is somewhat difficult to understand and master.

So what to work on?

This short overview of DVD-Authoring software certainly does not claim to be complete, we only talked about the most famous software on the market. A reasonable question arises - which program to choose for creating your DVD-Video discs? In our opinion, there are 3 options for such a choice:

There is no desire to spend more than 15 minutes on creating a DVD-Video disc.- in this case, the most correct choice would be to use Ulead DVD Movie Factory. Everything is simple and clear, you don't even need to think about anything.

I just want to make a disc with a movie, no menus need to be done, but the disc should be played in its entirety, without going to any menu- in this version it is forgiven to just use Sonic DVDiT Professional Edition 2.5.2. Oddly enough, this program is no more complicated than the entry-level programs, but it allows you to simply link several different clips and, having made one symbolic (phantom) menu, simply put your movie on a DVD disc, easily ensuring its continuous viewing.

I am not looking for easy ways, I want to make my DVD disc as interesting as my movie on this disc- in this case, only ReelDVD or Scenarist NT will allow you to create any design for your disc.

I would like to tell you a little more about the last point - in our opinion, ReelDVD covers 95% of the needs of both amateurs and a number of professionals to create their projects. Of course, Sonic Scenarist NT can do even more, but its interface is somewhat less intuitive and its capabilities, which differ from ReelDVD, may never be required. Mastering ReelDVD, if necessary, will greatly facilitate the transition to Sonic Scenarist NT, since these programs are in many ways similar and you can easily transfer your project from ReelDVD to Sonic Scenarist NT, and this opportunity is provided by the authors of both programs.

Based on materials from the site radiolocman.ru, 2004

Watching your favorite films in a pleasant company is always an interesting pastime. And although many of us are used to enjoying the latest movies on the Internet or on the big screen, the most convenient way to watch them is on a DVD player. To do this, you just need to burn the desired movie to disk. A visual DVD creation program such as "VideoMASTER" will help you with this.

VideoMASTER is incredibly simple and at the same time versatile, allowing you to work with any video files. With it, you can convert videos to various formats, as well as work with them in the built-in editor (trim and merge videos, add effects, etc.) The program easily converts both popular video extensions and more rare ones, for example, MKV, FLV, etc. .d.

Support for any video format

One of the most useful features of the utility is the function of downloading videos from YouTube and VKontakte. And if the downloaded video for any reason is not played by your player, then it can be easily converted to another format, including audio. It is also possible to upload films and clips to the Internet directly through the editor, because VideoMASTER generates FLV and SWF videos with a ready-made player. Media player settings are set in advance.

Video editing

The program for creating DVD discs has a built-in video editor. This will allow you to make various changes to a particular video file. The editor contains a huge selection of filters for processing. Thus, you can crop the video with one click of the mouse, add unusual special effects, improve the image quality, extract sound, etc. At the same time, you can add an unlimited number of files, and even entire folders with videos.

Convenient DVD burning

Now let's talk about using the VideoMASTER program. To get started, you need to insert a blank DVD media into your computer's drive. Next, you will be prompted to add video files of interest to the user - be it movies, clips or something else. After that, you can start creating an interactive menu that will be displayed on the TV screen. A special module contains a collection of ready-made design templates that you can edit. Here it is proposed to change the background, choose a title, add pictures, etc.

"VideoMASTER" is not only a convenient program for creating DVD discs, but also a high-quality video converter for various devices. With it, you can download any video to your iPhone, iPod or other device at hand. The utility has over 350 video profiles for smartphones, players and game consoles, and the list of models is constantly updated.

Conclusion

Summarizing what has been said, we note that VideoMASTER is a very good choice for home use, since this program is simple and comfortable to use. Thanks to an impressive number of possibilities and a clear interface in Russian, the converter will help you convert and process video in the shortest possible time, as well as burn a DVD with an interactive menu.

Free software for creating DVD-video images and burning them to disc.

Everyone has probably seen professionally made DVDs with all kinds of transitions and navigation menus. Have you ever had a question about how these menus are created? Wouldn't you like to try to create something like this yourself? Probably I wanted (and more than once :)).

Today we will learn how to create and burn our own DVDs, which will be little inferior to their professionally made "brothers". And one very good free program called DVD Styler.

The program combines everything you need for DVD authoring (that's the name of the menu creation process) from scratch. And although it still falls short of professional solutions, it allows you to create a decent-looking disc with a minimum investment of time and effort. If we compare DVD Styler with its paid counterparts, then ZC DVD Creator Platinum will be the closest in functionality to it.

Comparison of free DVD burning software DVDStyler with paid analogue ZC DVD Creator Platinum

With comparatively the same functionality, DVD Styler weighs five times less than its paid counterpart! Another plus is multilingualism, which makes the work of a Russian-speaking user much easier.

Installing DVDStyler

Download and install DVD Styler. In principle, the installation proceeds according to the standard scenario, but there are some minor nuances in it. The most important hitch will be associated with the proposal to install a plugin for Internet Explorer and / or Mozilla Firefox - kikin.

If you agree to the installation of this plug-in, then your browser, based on the history of visited pages, will begin to offer you the "most interesting" information for you from various online resources. If you are able to find everything you are interested in yourself, I advise you not to install kikin.

DVDStyler interface

When the installation procedure is over, the program itself will start. The first (and, in principle, the only) thing you need to configure is the interface language.

Select "Russian" from the list and click "Ok". After that, you will see the program itself, which will offer to create a new or open a finished project.

We select the creation of a new one and set the required information: Disc name (optional), disc size (standard DVD or dual layer), video format (PAL / NTSC), aspect ratio and sound format of future films. Install it as needed and click "Ok" to get started.

Let's take a closer look at the working window of the program:

We hardly need the menu bar at the top, since the toolbar (below) contains all the buttons we need. On the left is the program's file manager, with which you can manage downloaded pictures and videos. Below is a kind of storyboard for navigating the chapters of the future DVD. The main space is occupied by the work area with the display of the currently active menu item.

Creating a DVD menu

When creating a new DVD, we have one ready-made menu on the storyboard. True, it is empty. Let's add some background image to it. Go to the "Background Images" tab and double-click on the image you like. If you are not satisfied with the standard ones, you can add any image from your computer.

To do this, go to the "File Manager" and find what you need. The picture can be prepared in advance in any graphic editor so that it contains ready-made inscriptions and / or additional fragments that correspond to the general theme of the future DVD.

Adding Movies

When we have decided on the picture, we can start adding films to the project (although this could have been done before choosing an image for the menu). This is done simply: press the "Add File" button and select the desired movie using Windows Explorer. It is better to do this by expanding the program window to full screen.

Why? Because in this case, in the lower right corner, the time scale of the future disk will be visible. Make sure not to overdo it with the number of films!

So, the films have been added, within the allotted time, now it's time to think about the menu. Click on it with the right mouse button and select the "Properties" item.

Sound design in the menu

Here we can add a soundtrack to our menu (if we want, of course). Click on the button after the "Audio" field and select the desired music in the Explorer window that opens. You may be intimidated by the fact that only MP2 and AC3 files are specified in the formats. Just set this field to "All Files" and you can add any MP3 or WAV ringtone.

Usually a DVD consists of several menus: a main menu, and a scene menu for each movie (although the latter are not the main attribute). We will create a disc with only one main menu for example.

Creating buttons

Go to the "Buttons" tab and can add navigation keys to our menu by simply dragging the button you like right from the list. Note that among the buttons there is a frame in which arbitrary frames from the movie "attached" to it will be displayed. Adding such frames significantly improves the overall appearance of the menu.

The first button is "anchored" to the first movie added by default. Let's see what you can do with it. Call the context menu of the button with the right mouse click. Here we are interested in two items: "Add" and "Properties". Thanks to the first, we can add a beautiful inscription (for example, the title of a movie) using the items "Text" and "Text with shadow".

There shouldn't be any problems here, so let's take a closer look at "Properties".

All settings for a specific button are found here. In the first section, we can set the action to be performed when the button is clicked. This can be either a jump to a certain part of a DVD, or, for example, playing a certain melody or moving to another menu. The "View" section is responsible for the button design.

In the case of a frame, we can set any image from a computer into it or allow an arbitrary frame to be set directly from the movie (you can also manually specify the time of the desired frame). Here we also specify the level of transparency of the inserted image, the width of the frame and its color. It is better to adjust the location and size with the mouse.

Above, we looked at how to add text with the title of the movie. However, the name can also be written on the button. Select the appropriate one, drag it to the working window and write the desired name in the properties. Then we will "bind" this button in "Actions" to one of the films, and the job is done!

In the same way, we create buttons for navigating to the rest of the films, and we will get a rather nice and functional menu:

Since all films may not fit on one page, sometimes it will be very helpful to make another one, linking it to the first cross-references. You can also add additional images if you have not bothered with this in advance.

Saving a project and burning a disc

Now that everything is ready, you can move on to the last stage - saving. You can save a project, a disc image, or burn a DVD directly. If we do not want to stop there, press the "Burn" button on the toolbar and move to the next window:

This is the "last bastion" of DVD Styler a. Whatever you choose, you will have to wait anyway (and quite a long time). After all, all files are first converted to DVD format, and only then can be burned to disc. video, you will need free space on your hard disk (about half the size of a DVD project).

You can reduce the size only if you select the "Create ISO image" item (probably the word "image" was translated incorrectly). If you have chosen this option, you will also need to specify the folder for saving the image. It is also possible to activate "Preview" after DVD generation by checking the corresponding option.

After all the settings, we finally press the "Start" button and wait until everything is ready:

conclusions

As you can see, creating your own DVDs is not that difficult with good software. Although DVD Styler does not have some features that paid counterparts have, but it is quite convenient to use, and there are many functions in it.

The plus is that DVD Styler allows all manipulations to create a disc to be carried out within one window, which significantly saves time and effort when looking for the right tools. I wish you successful and beautiful projects that will give you joy every time you view them!

P.S. It is allowed to freely copy and cite this article, provided that an open active link to the source is indicated and the authorship of Ruslan Tertyshny is preserved.