- WinX DVD Author -
Has anyone ever given you a DVD with a "must see" video clip that just displays a blank blue screen when you put it in your DVD player? Have you ever tried to share home movies with someone with out a PC and have them tell you the DVD doesn't work?
Video is everywhere. Even if you don't take home movies, you can still access and record all kinds of video on your PC through inexpensive, high quality video capture/TV Tuner cards that are available for under $20.
The problem is that you just can't copy your video format files to a DVD and expect it to work on a DVD player. A DVD video is created using a technique called "DVD Authoring" that must follow the specifications defined by the DVD Forum group in 1995. Since most DVD burning software will NOT burn your information in that format, another solution is needed.
Thankfully, that solution exists in an easy to use format.
WinX DVD Author solves your DVD authoring problems that allows you to quickly create DVD Video in three easy steps.
First: select and convert the video clips you want on the DVD
Second: design a menu for the DVD
Third: Burn the data to a DVD. Please note that you will need a writeable DVD drive for WinX DVD Author to burn a DVD.
It's that simple! You may wish to download the evaluation version of WinX DVD Author and follow along. One of the limitations of the evaluation version is that it will only convert five minutes of your video clip.
Three Steps
WinX DVD Author allows you to perform each of the three steps individually or all at once. The first window gives you four options:
Video DVD Author - performs all three of the above command sequentially.
Convert Video to VOB - converts video clips to VOB format
VOB to DVD compiler - This creates menus.
DVD disk burner - Burns your files to DVD
This review will evaluate the Video DVD Author selection since it covers all three of the other commands. Click on the Video DVD Author button to open the following window.
Set Options
In order to get the best DVD for your personal use, you need to select certain options. They are very basic and you don't need specialized information to figure them out.
1) Image Ratio - This will determine the size of the picture on your TV. The settings are 4:3 for a standard TV and 16:9 for a widescreen TV. You select this on the checkbox beneath the video clip viewer.
2) DVD format - The choices are DVD-5 or DVD-9. The difference between the two is that DVD-5 or Single Sided Single Layer will hold 4.7GB of data while DVD-9 or Single Sided Double Layer will hold 8.5 GB of data. DVD-9 is also known as Dual Layer and is not as common as DVD-5.
3) Create DVD menu will be selected in this example to demonstrate how the menus are created. You don't have to create a menu but it helps users find individual video clips on your completed DVD.
4) Auto Add Letterbox will also be added even though this example will use standard video on a standard TV. The letterbox becomes important if you plan on watching a DVD on different types of TV.
Click on the wrench icon to access the rest of the options.
5) Video Format - North and South America use NTSC while Europe and much of the rest of the world use PAL. Select the appropriate option based on your location.
6) DVD menu duration - The default on this is 5 seconds which is much too short. This option controls how long the cursor will stay on a DVDs menu button before it returns to the original button. It also controls how long the background music will play on the menu. This will be covered more later but it should be set around 45 seconds.
7) DVD Menu Safe Distance - This places a margin around your DVD menu. Without this margin, the DVD player could crop your menu and place buttons off of the screen where users can't access them. Set this for 25 to be safe.
Leave the rest of the options on their default values. Now let's pick some video clips.
Selecting Video Clips
You can add as many video clips to your DVD as you want providing there is enough memory space available. The bar next to the DVD icon shows how much memory space is left and a warning will pop up if you go over that amount.
To add a clip, select the + icon from the tool bar and browse your PC for the desired video file. Most video file formats such as AVI, ASF, MPEG, MKV, MOV, RM, RMVB, XIVD, DVIX ,H264, OGG, QT(quick time), FLV, etc., are supported.
The added video clip will show up on the right column of the window and will be burned to your DVD in the order that they appear. If you don't like the order of the clips, select a clip by clicking on it then use the up or down arrow keys to change the order. Selected clips are displayed in the viewer on the left side of the window.
Although there are no editing features, you can omit certain parts of the clip by adjusting the start and stop time. If there is a section you want removed from the center of the clip, add it twice, set the stop time on the first clip before the unwanted section, then set the start time of the second version of the clip to after the unwanted section. The blue bar in the image below shows the section of the clip that is selected.
The start and stop time can be set by either moving the sliders on the blue bar under the viewer or by setting the actual time in the start or stop boxes and clicking the arrow keys next to it. The sliders will get you to a general location in a clip while entering values in the start or stop boxes give you pinpoint control.
If you decide you really don't want a clip that you selected, highlight it by left clicking on it, then left click the "-" button to remove it. Removing the file from your list of clips to burn DOES NOT erase the clip from your drive.
If your clip uses a language that you or your target audience is not familiar with, you can add a subtitle file to your DVD. To do this, click on a clip in the right column, then select the Subtitle button. This will open the window shown below:
Click on the + button and select the appropriate SRT file. Subtitle names usually include the language for example the German subtitle file for MyHomeMovie would be MyHomeMovie.ger.srt. If you are unfamiliar with subtitles, you can find more information by performing a simple web search on "subtitle files download" ,"SRT Files" or looking up "subrip" on wikipedia. There are many online sources of subtitle files for existing movies in many different languages.
Now that the selection process is over, click on the double right arrow icon to proceed to the next step.
Creating DVD Menus
A menu on your DVD is very helpful since allows users to access points on your video directly without having to fast forward from the beginning. Clicking the double right arrow brings up the DVD Menu window shown below.
By default, each clip will have a menu button to allow direct user access to each clip. You have the option to retain or eliminate any of these buttons. Additionally, you can add submenu or "chapter menu" buttons to each clip. Making a menu is easy and completely configurable. Below is a summary of your options.
1) Select background photo
The menu screen will show up with a default background and menu buttons for each clip. The left column displays a selection of alternate backgrounds that you select by left clicking on them. To add your own background, click on the select picture icon at the bottom of the column and choose your own image file from your hard disk drive or other memory source.
2) Selecting the menu buttons
Each clip will have a menu button. Use the "Delete Selected Button" icon to remove a button. The button can easily be replaced by selecting the clip at the bottom of the window and left clicking the "Add Title Menu Button" icon. Very short clips may not need their own menu button.
3) Select the menu button picture.
You can change the image on the menu button by right clicking on it and selecting "Change title menu button image". This will open a window that displays the clip and has a slider bar on the bottom. As you move the slider, the picture will change to display the location in the clip the slider is pointing at. Once you find a point that displays a picture you like, click the check icon and the menu button picture will change.
4) Select menu text
Your menu buttons will be much more effective if you add text to let users know what scene it points to. Adding text with WinX DVD Author is easy. Click on the "Tt" text icon and white lettering will appear in the upper left corner that reads "Double Click to Edit". Double click on the text and the following menu appears:
The options on this window will allow you to change the color, style, font, size, and of course, the content of your text. After you have modified your text message, you can move it to anywhere on the menu by using the standard drag and drop technique (Left Click hold and move mouse).
Please note that each time you click on the "Tt" text icon, it places text in the upper right hand corner. Multiple text entries may not be noticed since the default text is always placed in the same position with the same content. After editing, move your text to make sure no extra entries exist. Should you find an extra entry, you can delete it by right clicking on the text and selecting "Delete Text".
5) Select background music
You can have background music play while the menu is being displayed. To add music, click on the add background music icon and select the audio file of your choice. Most popular formats are supported.
The length of time that the music clip plays is determined by the value of the "DVD Menu Duration". This option can be found on the add clips screen by clicking on the wrench icon and was mentioned in the "Set Options" section above. This value controls how long the cursor stays on another button before it jumps back to the starting point. It also determines how long the audio clip will play before it repeats.
The default value is only 5 seconds; I recommend you set it for at least 45 seconds or you'll find the music won't play and the cursor jumps away from buttons too fast. If you want an entire audio clip to play, set the DVD Menu Duration to a value that is longer than the total play time of the music clip.
6) Change menu button location.
All menu buttons can be easily moved by dragging and dropping them. This allows you to move buttons away from dark section of any background image you may choose or to make sections of the background image more visible.
7) Add Chapter Menus to film clips
Longer clips may need to have additional menu selections. You can create a submenu or chapter menu for all clips by checking the box next to "Add DVD Chapter Menu" which enables the chapter menu tab under the menu display. Display the chapter menu for a clip by selecting the clip and clicking on the "Chapter Menu" tab. The chapter menu will have a different background and a default number of chapter menu buttons depending on the length of the clip. Changes to the chapter menu, such as adding text, changing menu or background images or adding music, is done in the same manner as described above for the main menu.
8) Select how many chapter buttons
Since the chapter menu option creates submenus for ALL clips, the default number of buttons that are created may not suit your needs. Click on the Setup Chapter Menu icon will open up the chapter property window. To create a certain number of chapter menu buttons, select a number from the "auto split chapter" box. The new chapter menu buttons will point to sections of the clip that are an equivalent time period apart.
For example, creating three chapters for a 10 minute long clip results in three chapter menu boxes that point to sections of the clip that are 3 minutes and 20 seconds apart; the first would start at the beginning, the second at 3 minutes and 20 seconds into the clip and the last at 6 minutes and 40 seconds into the clip.
If this doesn't point to the section of the clip you want, you can add custom points. Just fill out the hour, minutes, and seconds into a clip and click the "Add A Chapter Time" icon. This will create an additional chapter menu button. The "Modify a chapter time" icon lets you change the values of existing chapter menu buttons. If you have a short clip and only want one chapter button, you can remove extra buttons by clicking on the "Delete a chapter time" icon.
Now that you've selected your clips and created your menu, you can burn your DVD.
DVD Builder
Building the DVD is the easiest part of the DVD authoring process. Click on the double right arrow to bring up the DVD Builder window that is shown below.
The process is simple.
1) Select which DVD burner you want to use in the device name text box. If you have more than one DVD burner in your PC, the down arrow in the device name text box will list all of them and allow you to choose which one to use.
2) Select the write speed by placing a blank DVD in your burner. Once the DVD is detected, a selection of write speeds will appear for you to choose from. Your choice of write speeds should be based on your experience with your DVD writer. Some do not perform well at the highest speeds while other work fine. I always use the fastest speed available with no problems.
2) Change the value in the Disk Volume to name your disk. It can be any name you want as long as it will fit in the text box.
3) Output folder is where your completed project will be placed. You can use the default, but creating your own folder to keep your projects often makes them easier to find.
4) Select NTSC or PAL for an output format. The guideline is that North and South America use NTSC while Europe and much of the rest of the world use PAL. Select the appropriate option based on your location.
5) Encoder engine allows you to convert your videos faster by sacrificing video quality. Use the High Video Quality setting for the best results.
6) Clicking on the large Circular Start button starts the converting/burning process. The status bars shows the converting and burning progress.
This part takes awhile so go do something else and it will be done when you come back.
Put it in your DVD player and enjoy the movie!
The example I've just shown demonstrates the Video DVD Author method which does all three steps at once. Each step, however, can be done individually using the same techniques discussed above.
Conclusion
Advances in Video technology, faster PCs with larger hard disk drives, and inexpensive writeable DVD drives put video within the reach of everyone. Expensive and specialized equipment is no longer need for the casual user to access this wonderful technology. With all these advantages, there's no reason at all to let a difference in video format chain your movies, unseen, to your hard disk drive.
WinX DVD Author will have you creating DVDs that can be viewed on any DVD player and that can be readily shared with family, friends and co-workers. You don't have to be an expert in video format or a graphic artist thanks to WinX DVD Author's easy to use interface.
Start sharing life's captured moments; download WinX DVD Author and see for yourself.
You can download the trial version by clicking on the button below. I hope you find the program useful and would like to hear your comments at
- Dave -
