DVD Studio Pro 4 User Manual
K Apple Computer, Inc. © 2006 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. Under the copyright laws, this manual may not be copied, in whole or in part, without the written consent of Apple. Your rights to the software are governed by the accompanying software license agreement. The Apple logo is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.
1 Contents Preface 15 15 18 19 19 20 22 23 24 25 26 28 29 29 29 30 31 31 33 34 34 34 An Introduction to DVD Studio Pro 4 What’s New With DVD Studio Pro 4 Moving From iDVD to DVD Studio Pro About Standard and High Definition DVDs But I Thought DVDs Were Already High Definition? About DVD Studio Pro 4 and HD Resolution DVDs HD Video Assets Brief Overview of the DVD Creation Process Creating Source Material Encoding Video and Audio Authoring With DVD Studio Pro Creating a Disc What Makes a DVD Authoring Sy
Chapter 2 4 47 48 48 49 50 54 54 62 68 70 76 76 76 77 77 77 80 81 81 81 82 82 86 91 91 93 96 97 97 97 98 98 98 100 100 102 102 103 103 104 104 106 Preparing Assets Preparing Video Sources NTSC or PAL? Using 24 fps Video Choosing an Aspect Ratio About MPEG Video Encoding Video Materials for DVD Using the Embedded MPEG Encoder Encoding Video for Multi-Angle Tracks Adding Markers to Your Video About H.264 Video H.264 Bit Rates H.
Chapter 3 109 109 112 125 131 133 134 135 Starting a Project Opening DVD Studio Pro Setting DVD Studio Pro Preferences Creating a New Project Opening an Existing Project Video Standards of the World Changing a Project’s Video Standard Changing a Project’s DVD Standard Chapter 4 137 139 141 142 144 147 154 154 155 155 156 156 157 160 160 162 164 164 164 165 167 177 The DVD Studio Pro Interface Configuring the Interface DVD Studio Pro Quadrants and Tabs Working With the Quadrants Working With the Tabs Ov
Chapter 6 205 205 206 208 208 209 209 211 212 212 215 218 218 219 219 220 222 223 224 225 226 Introduction to Creating Menus About Menus DVD Studio Pro Menu Creation Methods Working With 16:9 Menus Creating Menus for HD Projects Adding Intro and Transition Clips to Menus Adding “Easter Eggs” to Your Menus About the Menu Editor Using the Menu Rulers Menu Object Alignment Features Using the Menu Editor Pop-Up Menus and Tools Starting and Working With a Menu Creating a New Menu Opening a Menu Naming Menus
272 273 276 276 279 280 280 282 285 285 294 299 Adding Drop Zones, Text Objects, and Audio to a Menu Adding Drop Zones to Your Menu Working With Assets in Buttons and Drop Zones Adding Text Objects to a Menu Adding Audio to a Menu Configuring Drop Shadow and Motion Settings Configuring the Menu’s Drop Shadow Configuring Motion Menu Settings Options in the Drop Palette for Standard Menus Drop Palette for Standard Menus—Dragging Assets Drop Palette for Standard Menus—Dragging Project Elements Drop Palette fo
Chapter 11 8 352 353 355 Using Languages With Menus Creating and Configuring Menu Languages Setting Up Menus for the Languages 357 357 358 358 358 359 359 359 360 364 364 366 370 370 372 376 378 379 380 380 381 384 385 386 387 390 390 391 392 393 394 395 395 396 396 397 398 398 399 Creating and Editing Tracks Working With a Track’s Assets How Many Tracks Should You Have? About Subtitle Streams DVD Studio Pro Tools for Working With Tracks Getting Started With Tracks Creating Tracks Opening Tracks Settin
400 400 401 402 403 Transition Parameters Viewing a Track About the Viewer Tab Previewing Angles Simulating a Track Chapter 12 405 405 406 407 407 408 409 411 415 415 415 416 417 418 419 420 421 424 425 428 429 430 Creating Slideshows But I Want My Slideshow To Do More File Formats for Slideshows Creating Slideshows Adding a Slideshow to Your Project Creating a Slideshow Using the Menu Editor Working With Slides in a Slideshow Adding Audio to Your Slideshow Working With Slideshows Setting the Slideshow
Chapter 14 10 447 452 452 453 453 454 454 454 456 460 460 461 461 462 462 Entering, Formatting, and Positioning Text Importing Graphics Files for Subtitles Importing a Graphics File Using Graphics Files to Create an Animation Creating and Importing Subtitle Files Using a Single Subtitle File Using a Group of Graphics Files Importing a Subtitle File Creating an STL Format Subtitle File Creating Buttons Over Video How Do Buttons Over Video Work? Adding Button Highlight Markers How a Button Highlight Marker
491 503 504 504 509 509 510 512 517 519 SPRMs’ Values and Their Meaning Using Bit-Wise Operations General Purpose Register Memories GPRM Specifics Scripting Examples Jumping to a Menu’s Loop Point Randomly Playing Tracks Playing All Tracks Checking a DVD Player’s Parental Management Setting Language Code Table Chapter 15 525 525 526 527 531 531 532 534 534 541 Establishing Connections About Connections Connections Tab Connection Items Making Connections Changing the Displayed Sources Establishing Connec
Chapter 17 12 572 572 572 576 580 581 581 583 585 585 Setting Disc Format Properties Preformat Disc Properties About DVD-ROM Discs About Dual-Layer Discs About Two-Sided Discs Formatting Your Project Starting a Format Process Configuring the Output Type The Cutting Master Format Reading a DLT Drive 587 588 588 589 593 594 594 596 597 598 598 599 602 603 603 604 604 605 606 607 608 608 609 610 611 611 611 Using Advanced Features VTS Editor About VTS Blocks Using the VTS Editor VTS Inspector DVD@CCESS Cr
Appendix A 613 613 615 616 616 617 618 618 619 620 622 623 623 623 624 624 625 626 628 Keyboard Shortcuts General Interface and Application Controls General Project Controls Adding Project Elements Scrolling Through Lists Assets Tab Connections Tab Graphical Tab Log Tab Menu Tab (Menu Editor) Outline Tab Palette Script Tab (Script Editor) Simulator Slideshow Tab (Slideshow Editor) Story Tab (Story Editor) Subtitle Editor Track Tab (Track Editor) Viewer Tab Appendix B 629 629 631 632 Importing Other Pro
Preface An Introduction to DVD Studio Pro 4 DVD Studio Pro is software for authoring DVD-Video titles. It is both powerful and easy to use. DVD Studio Pro lets you work with audio, video, graphics, and text materials that you have already created and edited and orchestrate them into a DVD that can be played on a DVD player or a suitably equipped computer. If you have used such production tools as Final Cut Pro, Adobe Photoshop, Media 100, or Discreet cleaner, DVD Studio Pro will be easy for you to learn.
See “About Standard and High Definition DVDs” on page 19 for additional information. See “Emulating Your Project” on page 570 for more information on DVD Player requirements. Support for External Video and Audio Monitors You can now connect external video and audio monitors that can be used when simulating your project. When you author a DVD, it can be important to see the video and hear the audio with devices that closely match those that the viewer is expected to use.
Improved General Purpose Register Memory (GPRM) Usage When creating scripts, you may find that you could use an additional GPRM or two. DVD Studio Pro provides access to eight 16-bit GPRM registers, but you don’t always need the full 16-bits of a register. DVD Studio Pro 4 allows you to increase the number of GPRM registers by partitioning one or more of them into smaller sizes. For example, you could choose to partition GPRM 1 into four 4-bit registers.
Menu Loop Point Feature Improved You are now able to use the menu loop point feature with any motion menu, even those with drop zones, text items, and buttons with video assets. Additionally, you can now use a script to jump to a menu’s loop point. When configuring the Jump command, an option has been added to the Script Inspector that allows you to jump directly to a menu’s loop point rather than the start point.
About Standard and High Definition DVDs Standard definition (SD) DVDs provided most viewers with their first digital video experience. The great video quality, interactive menus, and surround sound audio found on current DVDs set a high standard for viewer expectations. Meanwhile, the establishment of high definition (HD) video format standards and the increasing availability of HD broadcasts have led to more and more viewers having HD video monitors, and even higher expectations for DVDs.
About DVD Studio Pro 4 and HD Resolution DVDs In addition to supporting standard definition (SD) format video DVDs, DVD Studio Pro 4 now supports creating high definition (HD) format video DVDs. With the exception of support for HD video resolutions and the number of buttons on menus and button over video subtitles, HD projects in DVD Studio Pro 4 have the same limits as SD projects. There are two aspects to creating DVDs with HD content: what you can put into the DVD video zone and the DVD disc media.
Supported Video Resolutions All video resolutions supported by SD-based DVDs are also supported by HD-based DVDs. This means that an HD-based DVD can use an HD video resolution for the main feature, then use an SD video resolution for extras. The following list includes the SD and HD video resolutions supported by DVD Studio Pro 4. Note: MPEG-1 encoded video files are not supported in HD projects.
Using 24P Video Formats Both SD and HD projects can use assets encoded at 24 fps (actually 23.98 fps), as long as they are encoded specifically with NTSC or PAL flags set. Video at 24 fps has two main advantages: It matches the film frame rate, and, in the case of NTSC, provides much smaller files due to having six fewer frames per second. See “Importing 24 fps Assets” on page 49 for more information.
Using DVCPRO HD and Uncompressed HD Assets Another source of HD assets for your HD projects is video encoded with the DVCPRO HD compression types or uncompressed video. DVCPRO HD video, like DVCPRO SD video, and uncompressed video cannot be used directly in your DVD Studio Pro projects. You can import them, however, and DVD Studio Pro will automatically encode them to compatible HD MPEG-2 assets using the embedded MPEG encoder. You can also encode them to HD MPEG-2 or H.264 using Compressor or QuickTime.
Creating Source Material The first part of the DVD creation process is to create or assemble your source material. This might mean shooting video, recording voice or music tracks, designing graphics to be included, and planning the general functionality of your project. If you are converting an existing video program into a DVD, you may only need to gather your original video and audio material and design graphics for the menus that will weave them together.
Here are some guidelines to help you maintain high quality. • Capture and edit your video material at the same resolution that you will use on the DVD (typically 720 x 480 at 29.97 frames per second [fps] for NTSC or 720 x 576 at 25 fps for PAL for SD-based DVDs). • When recording and editing audio, use a 48 kilohertz (kHz) sample rate and no compression. This assures the best quality whether you use the uncompressed audio on the DVD or decide to use the Compressor AC-3 encoder to compress it.
Using the DVD Studio Pro Tools DVD Studio Pro includes embedded MPEG-2 and AIFF encoders. When you add a QuickTime asset directly to your DVD Studio Pro project, it is automatically encoded to be DVD-compliant. You can choose whether the asset is encoded in the background while you continue authoring or whether the encode waits until you build your project.
Authoring in DVD Studio Pro consists of these basic steps: Step 1: Set the DVD and video standard You can use DVD Studio Pro to author traditional SD-based DVDs or HD-based DVDs using either NTSC or PAL frame rates. It is important to set this before importing your assets since these settings control what happens when QuickTime assets are imported. Step 2: Import assets Import your video, audio, graphics, and subtitle assets into DVD Studio Pro.
Creating a Disc Creating a disc involves two steps: building the DVD-formatted video zone (VIDEO_TS for SD-based DVDs and HVDVD_TS for HD-based DVDs) and formatting it for how you intend to deliver it. Building the Video Zone When you build your SD-based DVD project, a set of files is created and stored on your hard disk in a folder named “VIDEO_TS” (video title set). The contents and structure of this folder is strictly defined by the DVD specification.
What Makes a DVD Authoring System? The DVD Studio Pro installation booklet lists the minimum hardware and software requirements necessary for using DVD Studio Pro to build DVD titles. However, you may find you need additional items beyond the minimum requirements to make up your DVD authoring system. Depending on the types of DVD titles you intend to create, your DVD authoring system can be an off-the-shelf Power Mac G4 with a SuperDrive, or a specialized system with additional drives and hardware.
DVD Burners Being able to burn a DVD is useful for both proofing your titles on set-top DVD players and burning the finished project (when only a small number of discs are required). You can also burn a disc for a duplication or replication facility to use as a master when larger quantities are needed. You cannot burn discs that support Macrovision copy-protection or Content Scrambling System (CSS) encryption. These must be created at a replication facility.
Even with authoring media, you cannot burn a DVD that supports any of these highend features on your own system. However, authoring media supports the Cutting Master Format (CMF), which can be used to add information required by the replicator to put these features on your discs. General media does not support CMF. See “The Cutting Master Format” on page 585 for more information on the CMF standard.
Connecting an External Video Monitor When simulating your project on your computer’s video monitor, you do not see video exactly as a viewer would when playing the video using a set-top DVD player connected to an NTSC or PAL monitor. There are two primary differences: • Pixel aspect ratio: Computer monitors always use square pixels, while SD video uses rectangular pixels.
Connecting an External Audio Monitor There are two primary issues with monitoring your project’s audio using the computer’s built-in audio system: • The built-in system cannot play surround sound audio. The audio is first downmixed to stereo, then played. • The built-in system cannot play DTS audio.
Resources for Learning About DVD Studio Pro This manual provides background and conceptual information, as well as step-by-step instructions for tasks, and a glossary of terms. It is designed to provide the information you need to get up to speed quickly so that you can take full advantage of DVD Studio Pro. In addition to this manual, DVD Studio Pro provides other sources of support.
Apple Service and Support Website For software updates and answers to the most frequently asked questions for all Apple products, including DVD Studio Pro, go to: • http://www.apple.com/support/dvdstudiopro You’ll also have access to product specifications, reference documentation, and Apple and third-party product technical articles. Other Apple Websites Start at the Apple homepage to find the latest and greatest information about Apple products: • http://www.apple.
1 Planning Your Project 1 Before you start authoring your DVD title, it is highly recommended that you set aside some time to plan your project. Spending time in the beginning to outline the various aspects of the project will lead to a smoother production with minimal surprises. Investigating Existing DVDs A very effective way to start planning your project is to spend some time viewing existing DVDs.
Determining Your Target Audience and Playback Device As with any media project, you must have a clear idea of who the viewers are and what their expectations will be. You may need to create a title that simply plays a movie as soon as the DVD is loaded, with no viewer interaction at all. Or, you may need to create a title with highly customizable languages or display types. Another major consideration is whether your DVD will be played on a computer.
Deciding Which Video Standard to Use In addition to choosing the DVD standard you want to use, you must also choose the video standard to use. You can choose between NTSC and PAL. This choice affects the video resolutions and frame rates that are supported. Important: You cannot use both NTSC and PAL assets in the same project. Also, be careful not to confuse the video standard setting with the region code setting.
Creating a Storyboard Even simple DVD titles with only a few menus can benefit from the time you spend in the planning stages. Storyboarding includes planning the interaction between the menus, tracks, slideshows, and stories. It helps you visualize what the viewing experience will be, and ensures that there are minimal surprises during the authoring process. You’ll find that storyboarding can give you the overarching view of your project needed to plan fairly complex interactivity.
Important: When displaying estimated sizes, DVD Studio Pro uses the “1000 bytes equals a kilobyte” system. This means that the estimated sizes refer to the amount of space they will require on the DVD, and will be a bit larger than the file sizes shown in the Finder. Disc Options You have a variety of DVD discs to choose from. The one you choose depends on your content, your budget, and whether you intend to use a DVD replication facility.
Blue Laser Discs DVD name Disc size Type Capacity HD DVD-4 8 cm Single-sided single-layer 4.5 GB (4.19 binary gigabytes) HD DVD-9 8 cm Single-sided dual-layer 9.0 GB (8.38 binary gigabytes) HD DVD-15 12 cm Single-sided single-layer 15.0 GB (13.97 binary gigabytes) HD DVD-30 12 cm Single-sided dual-layer 30.0 GB (27.94 binary gigabytes) Estimating Whether Your Content Will Fit While you will often hear that a DVD-5 (or a 4.
Beware of Setting Your Bit Rate Too High You will find that with some DVD projects, the content easily fits on the disc, and you may be tempted to use the highest video bit rate available. While higher bit rates produce better quality, you must take into account other factors before deciding to use the maximum allowable value. The maximum video bit rate allowed on SD-based DVDs is 9.
Multiple Video Angles Using multiple video angles in a track also affects the maximum allowable video bit rate you can use. Due to the way the DVD specification requires video streams to be multiplexed together, the number of video streams determines the maximum video bit rate you can use in SD projects. The maximum combined bit rates (highest bit rate video stream + all audio streams + all subtitle streams) you can use for each multi- and mixedangle track in an SD project is from 8.
Using the Video Bit Rate The video bit rates you calculate can be used as the bit rate entry of your encoder, regardless of the encoding method you intend to use (one pass, one-pass variable bit rate [VBR], or two-pass VBR).
Tracks • Maximum number of video streams in a track: 9 • Minimum number of video streams in a track: 1 • Maximum number of audio streams in a track: 8 • Maximum number of subtitle streams in a track: 32 • Maximum number of cell markers in a track: 255 • Maximum number of chapter markers in a track: 99 (Each chapter marker is also a cell marker.
2 Preparing Assets 2 Before you can begin building a DVD project, you must have correctly prepared source material: edited video and audio, subtitles, and graphics or video for menus. After you have captured and edited your source material, you need to encode it to make it DVD-compliant. DVD Studio Pro includes embedded MPEG and AIFF encoders for encoding QuickTime video to MPEG-2 or H.264 streams and QuickTime audio to AIFF streams.
Preparing Video Sources Several source types are commonly used to create DVD titles: • Movies: These typically include both video and audio, and can be the primary component of the title or can be short clips used for menu backgrounds. Audio-only clips are often used along with still menus and slideshows. • Stills: These can be used either as part of a slideshow, or more commonly, as menu backgrounds.
Using 24 fps Video Often the video content for a DVD project originates from film shot at 24 frames per second (actually 23.976 fps). The DVD specification allows you to include 24 fps MPEG-2 assets as long as they are properly flagged so the DVD player can decode them by either using a 3:2 pulldown (for NTSC DVD players) or playing them 4% faster (for PAL DVD players). The video resolution also must match those allowed for the intended video standard.
Using 24 fps Video in Menus You can use 24 fps assets in menus as backgrounds or assets for buttons and drop zones. You can also combine 24 fps assets with regular video assets within a menu. If the menu must be rendered because it contains shapes, drop zones, or text objects, it is rendered at the project’s frame rate, even if the menu’s background is 24 fps. Choosing an Aspect Ratio The aspect ratio is the ratio of the width of the visible area of the video frame to the height of the visible area.
This illustration shows the viewing options for a 4:3 asset. 4:3 monitor 4:3 aspect ratio 4:3 video on 16:9 monitors 4:3 pillar box 4:3 stretched (The dashed line shows the circle’s original size.) Read the following sections to find out more about using 16:9 assets in your projects. What Exactly Is a 16:9 Asset? When you decide to use 16:9 assets in a DVD Studio Pro project, it is crucial that you understand exactly what attributes your 16:9 media should have.
Using Pan-Scan to Display 16:9 Video The pan-scan method of displaying 16:9 video on a 4:3 monitor was developed as a compromise between letterbox, which displays all the video content but with black areas at the top and bottom, and the only other alternative: filling the entire 4:3 screen, but cropping some of the content. With pan-scan, you can choose which bits of the 16:9 content to crop, ensuring the action is not lost by displaying the center of the screen only.
Mixing 16:9 and 4:3 Assets in a Track Keep in mind that a track’s aspect ratio setting applies to the entire track. If you mix 16:9 assets with 4:3 assets in a track, you will have problems when playing it back. For example, if you set the aspect ratio to 16:9 Letterbox, the 4:3 video will also be letterboxed, and end up looking vertically compressed. To be safe, do not mix 16:9 and 4:3 assets in the same track. Instead, create separate tracks for each.
Issues With Film Aspect Ratios While 16:9 is a fairly wide aspect ratio, it is not wide enough to contain an entire frame from a typical Hollywood movie. Two film aspect ratios are widely used now: Normal is 1.85:1 and Panavision is 2.35:1 (for comparison, 16:9 is 1.78:1). For normal titles (those that use the 1.
Elementary and Multiplexed MPEG Files There are two common types of MPEG file structures: elementary and multiplexed. Elementary files contain only one stream of data, either the video or the audio. Multiplexed MPEG files, also known as system, transport, or program files, have the video and audio combined into a single file. If you import MPEG files directly into DVD Studio Pro, they must be elementary MPEG files. You can use an MPEG utility to convert multiplexed MPEG files into elementary streams.
Choosing a Bit Rate for HD Projects Choosing a bit rate for use in HD projects is similar to doing so for SD projects, but there are some differences. The maximum overall bit rate for HD projects is 30.24 Mbps. While an HD project can use both SD and HD video assets, the maximum bit rate you can use is different for each: • HD assets: 29.4 Mbps Note: HD assets include the 480p and 576p resolutions. • SD assets: 15.
Choosing a Video Resolution The resolution determines the number of pixels processed within a frame. The more pixels used, the sharper the details in the image. Note that regardless of the resolution you choose, most DVD players play back at full screen. The following is a list of common resolutions used with MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 video with DVD Studio Pro. Note: Menus must use full D1 resolution MPEG-2 video.
HD Projects HD projects can use the following resolutions: Note: MPEG-1 video is not supported. NTSC Frame rates with an “i” indicate the interlaced scanning method; those with a “p” indicate the progressive scanning method. Resolution Frame rate Aspect ratio Notes 352 x 240 29.97i 4:3 Also known as SIF format 352 x 480 29.97i 4:3 Also known as 1/2 D1 704 x 480 29.97i 4:3, 16:9 Also known as Cropped D1; 16:9 is anamorphic 720 x 480 29.
Working With GOP Settings A major function of MPEG encoding is to identify redundancy not only within a frame, but also among a group of frames. A scene with no movement except a car driving by has a lot of redundancy over time. In this case, a single complete frame could provide the majority of the video; subsequent frames only need to provide for the areas that change. Each MPEG stream contains three types of frames that define the video.
GOP Pattern The GOP pattern determines the ratio of P- to B-frames within a GOP. The most common patterns used for DVD are IBP and IBBP. All three frame types do not have to be used in a pattern; an IP pattern is also used in special circumstances. IBP and IBBP GOP patterns, in conjunction with longer GOP lengths, produce the most efficient encodes. Smaller GOP patterns with shorter GOP lengths work better with video that has quick movements.
Open or Closed GOPs An open GOP allows the B-frames from one GOP to look at an I- or P-frame from an adjacent GOP. Open GOPs are more efficient, but cannot be used with multi-angle or mixed-angle titles. A closed GOP keeps all references within itself, standing alone with respect to other GOPs. DVD Studio Pro works with either type in single-angle titles, and requires closed GOPs with multi-angle and mixed-angle titles.
Using the Embedded MPEG Encoder When you install DVD Studio Pro, you also install an embedded MPEG encoder. The embedded MPEG encoder outputs an MPEG-2 video stream with a closed GOP pattern and a fixed GOP size (15 frames for NTSC and 12 frames for PAL). The exported MPEG video stream can be used for multi-angle tracks. The file type is “.m2v.
Encoding Preferences The Encoding pane of DVD Studio Pro Preferences contains two tabs: MPEG-2 SD and MPEG-2 HD. Each tab has the same settings, with the exception of the higher bit rate settings allowed in the MPEG-2 HD tab. The settings in the MPEG-2 SD tab are automatically applied to QuickTime video assets with an SD video resolution, and the MPEG-2 HD tab’s settings are applied to QuickTime video assets with an HD video resolution. (An exception are H.
• Field Order: Choose the field order (Top or Bottom) that matches the video being encoded. This is also known as the field dominance setting in other products. Each interlaced NTSC and PAL video frame is comprised of two fields, each containing every other video line. The top field is also known as field two, the upper field, or the odd field. The bottom field is also known as field one, the lower field, or the even field.
• Motion Estimation: Choose a Motion Estimation setting that provides a balance between quality and speed of encoding. This setting controls how much time is spent determining the motion between video frames. • Good: The fastest Motion Estimation setting. This mode does well even with significant amounts of motion between frames, if the motion has minimal interfield motion within frames.
Using the Embedded MPEG Encoder Depending on the Method setting in Encoding Preferences, video assets can either begin encoding as soon as you add them to your project, or they can wait until you perform a build of the project. Is That the QuickTime or MPEG Encoded Version? When you import QuickTime assets and assign them to elements in your project, it can be important to know whether you are seeing the original QuickTime version of the asset or the MPEG encoded version in the Viewer or Simulator.
Verifying and Changing Encoding Settings If your project contains a mixture of 4:3 and 16:9 assets, or has some assets you want to encode differently than others, you must be sure to set the Encoding Preferences settings before you import the assets. You can verify and change the encoding settings on assets that have been imported. m To change the encoding settings after importing an asset, do one of the following: Select the asset and choose File > Encoder Settings.
Important: Encoding an asset at a resolution other than its native resolution may result in unacceptable artifacts appearing in the video. How the Encoded Files Are Named When you import QuickTime video assets into DVD Studio Pro, the embedded MPEG encoder names the encoded files as follows: • The first half is the complete original filename, including its extension. • The second half has three parts—the video standard (NTSC or PAL), the encoding bit rate (shown as a four-digit number), and the “.
There are some additional considerations when creating a mixed-angle track: • Within a track, you can use markers to define multiple sections to use additional angles, but each section must have the same number of streams. For example, you cannot have one section early in the track with two alternate streams and a section later in the track with three alternate streams—both sections must have either two or three streams.
You can either set Compressor to process the automatic compression markers or ignore them. The Extras pane of the Compressor MPEG-2 presets includes an “Include chapter markers only” checkbox. Select the checkbox to force Compressor to ignore the automatic compression markers if you are encoding clips for use in a mixed- or multiangle track. See “Using Compression Markers to Improve the MPEG Encode” on page 71 for more information about compression markers.
Note: The markers embedded in MPEG files encoded with the DVD Studio Pro 4 version of the embedded MPEG encoder are not compatible with 1.X versions of DVD Studio Pro. Placing Chapter Markers Exactly Where You Want Them Adding markers in Final Cut Pro, Final Cut Express, iMovie, or Compressor offers the potentially large advantage of allowing you to position them on the exact frame where you want them to appear. When adding markers to a track in DVD Studio Pro, you can only place them at GOP boundaries.
About the Markers You Add in an External Editor There are several issues to be aware of when adding chapter and compression markers in an external video editor: • DVD tracks can support a maximum of 99 chapter markers. Since compression markers are only used in the MPEG encoding process, they do not count as chapter markers and do not count against the 99-marker limit.
To configure a marker in Final Cut Pro: 1 Select the marker and open the Edit Marker dialog. 2 Enter a name for the marker. This is the name that appears in the Track Editor in DVD Studio Pro and can be used as button text. 3 Click either Add Chapter Marker or Add Compression Marker. Text is added to the Comment area. Only chapter markers appear in DVD Studio Pro. Since each chapter marker forces an I-frame at that location, it is unnecessary for you to add both marker types.
To export a Final Cut Pro or Final Cut Express movie with markers: 1 Do one of the following: • If exporting a clip with markers, select the clip in the Browser. • If exporting a sequence with markers, select the sequence in either the Browser or the Timeline. 2 Choose File > Export > QuickTime Movie. The Save dialog appears. 3 Choose the type of markers to export from the Markers pop-up menu.
Adding Markers in iMovie You can add up to 36 chapter markers in an iMovie movie. These markers can be used by either iDVD or DVD Studio Pro. Note: The following is based on iMovie 4 and iMovie HD. To add chapter markers in iMovie: 1 Edit your movie in iMovie. 2 Click the iDVD button. 3 Position the playhead, using either the scrubber or timeline, to the point at which you want to insert a chapter marker.
About H.264 Video You can use the H.264 video format, also known as MPEG-4 part 10 and the Advanced Video Codec (AVC), in your HD projects. The H.264 encoder is twice as efficient as the standard MPEG-2 encoder. When compared to encoding with MPEG-2, this means that with the H.264 encoder: • You can use a lower bit rate to get the same quality, resulting in smaller files. • You can use the same bit rate and get better quality with the same file size. While DVD Studio Pro does not include an embedded H.
Preparing Audio Sources The DVD specification restricts the types of audio formats that you can include on a DVD. There are also restrictions on mixing audio of different types within a track or set of menus. There are also required audio formats to make a DVD-compliant disc.
Note: When importing DVD-compliant audio files, DVD Studio Pro imports only elementary files (not multiplexed). See “Elementary and Multiplexed MPEG Files” on page 55 for more information. Uncompressed PCM Audio Uncompressed audio is typically referred to as PCM, although the files usually have a “.wav” or “.aif” extension. The DVD specification supports uncompressed PCM audio at sample sizes of 16 bits and 24 bits, and sample rates of 48 kHz or 96 kHz.
DTS Audio DTS (Digital Theatre Systems) is an alternative format for surround audio. DVD Studio Pro can import and use DTS audio files. DVD Studio Pro supports DTS ES audio that can have up to 6.1 channels, as well as audio that uses a 96 kHz sample rate and a 24-bit sample size. Important: All DTS audio imported into DVD Studio Pro must use the compacted file format, with a “.cpt” file extension. See “Previewing AC-3 and DTS Audio” on page 79 for information on listening to surround audio.
To configure DVD Player for external audio decoder support: 1 Start DVD Player. 2 Choose DVD Player > Preferences. 3 Click the Disc Setup icon to show the Disc Setup pane. 4 Choose the external audio device to use from the Audio Output pop-up menu. 5 Click OK. Using Multiple Audio Formats in Your Project A project can contain audio in a variety of formats; however, there are some restrictions regarding mixing formats within an element or group of elements, such as menus.
Required Audio Formats for SD Projects To ensure that a DVD will play on all SD-based DVD players, there is a DVD specification requirement that at least one stream of audio for each element be in a specific format. • For NTSC DVDs, at least one of the audio streams must be either PCM or AC-3. • For PAL DVDs, at least one of the audio streams must be either PCM or MPEG compressed audio. Note: HD projects can use any supported audio format and do not require specific ones to be present.
Creating a Menu Creating a menu involves two basic steps: selecting the background graphic or video, and setting up the buttons. Selecting the background graphic or video is fairly simple; the only challenge is when you use multilayer Photoshop files. Setting up the buttons involves identifying where they are located by drawing boxes over them, and then setting up their actions (what happens when they are activated) and the colors to display for their different states.
Additional support is also included for files that conform to the Adobe Photoshop (PSD) format. DVD Studio Pro can recognize individual layers and allows you to assign them to separate functions in a menu. You can even use the same file for several menus by selecting the appropriate layers to use for each menu. • Layers for standard overlay menus: When creating graphics for standard overlay menus, you can select the layer (or layers, as is often the case) to use as the background and the overlay.
To flatten a layer of a Photoshop file: 1 Add a new empty layer immediately below the layer with the effects you want to flatten. 2 Either merge or stamp the layer with the effects into the empty layer. Merging deletes the effects layer, and stamping leaves the effects layer in place (which can be a good idea if you need to make changes to the layer later on). • To merge the layer, select it and choose Layers > Merge Layers, or press Command-E. • To stamp the layer, select it and press Option-Command-E.
Square Pixels in Graphics Graphics programs use square pixels. If you set the dimensions of a graphic to 720 x 480 pixels (the NTSC frame size), you will notice that the drawing area of the graphic in the graphics program is not a 4:3 aspect ratio (it is a bit short). If you set a graphic to PAL dimensions (720 x 576 pixels), the drawing area you see in your graphics program is taller than 4:3.
HD Video Pixels There are a variety of video resolutions supported by HD projects: Resolution Square pixels Starting dimension Rescale dimension 480p (NTSC; 16:9) No (anamorphic) 864 x 480 pixels 720 x 480 pixels 576p (PAL; 16:9) No (anamorphic) 1024 x 576 pixels 720 x 576 pixels 720p (NTSC, PAL; 16:9) Yes 1280 x 720 pixels 1280 x 720 pixels 1080i (NTSC, PAL; 16:9) Yes (anamorphic) 1920 x 1080 pixels 1440 x 1080 pixels 1080i (NTSC, PAL; 16:9) Yes 1920 x 1080 pixels 1920 x 1080 pixels
About the Overlay Colors Overlays can contain up to four colors. A peculiar feature of overlays is that the colors used to create them are not the colors that are displayed when viewers see the menu. The overlay only identifies the areas on the screen where highlights are to be applied—not the color or transparency of the highlights. You define the actual colors viewers see when you create the menu.
Creating Simple Overlays With simple overlays, you must use only white and black to create the graphics. To create a simple overlay: 1 Create a full-screen white background. See “Square Pixels in Graphics” on page 85 for information on the frame size to use. 2 Choose black and add the highlight elements to the background. Be sure to disable anti-aliasing and avoid using soft edges. Depending on your graphics application, choose to use a 1-bit or bitmap mode.
For example, if you had a menu background with a group of buttons that were actually just text, such as “Play Movie” and “Select Chapter,” initially your overlay would start as all white. If you wanted the button text to change to green when each button was selected, you’d need to add the text to the overlay and make it an overlay color such as light gray (or dark gray or black—remember that you will set the green color as the “selected” highlight color when you create the menu in DVD Studio Pro).
Pseudo-Soft Overlay Edges Instead of using the advanced overlay’s four colors to create multiple color highlights, you can use them to create pseudo-soft edges and take advantage of anti-aliased graphics. This requires you to use the grayscale method, using either white elements on a black background or black elements on a white background. The soft or anti-aliased edges are mapped to the dark and light gray overlay colors.
Creating a Layered Menu Layered menus can provide greater flexibility in showing a button’s selected and activated states, compared to standard overlay menus. In addition to the background image (which may contain the buttons in their normal states), a layered menu has two separate layers for each button (or three, if the button’s normal states are not part of the background).
• If you want to include button art beyond the capabilities of what an overlay can provide, you need to edit these over the video with an application such as Motion or Final Cut Pro. You can create the button art and associated overlay with your graphics program, and then superimpose the button art over the video with your video editor and use the overlay in DVD Studio Pro to set up the buttons. Note: An alternative is to use shapes to provide buttons over motion video.
Creating Shapes Shapes provide an easy way to create a standard menu using a simple background image (still or moving) without an overlay. These shapes can be either the ones supplied with DVD Studio Pro or shapes that you create. Shapes can be used for buttons and for drop zones. (Drop zones are graphic elements that get added to the menu background, and have no effect on the buttons.) You can position the shapes and change their size freely, and even have full-motion video play in them (motion buttons).
• Second layer: Contains the shape’s visible graphic. When used as a button, this is the layer that determines how the button looks in its normal state. DVD Studio Pro uses the RGB values for the shape. See “Setting the Shape’s Opacity” on page 95 if you want this layer to be partially transparent. Be sure to flatten any effects you apply to the layer. (See “Flattening a Photoshop Layer” on page 83 for details.
Note: Do not include the fourth layer in the file unless you are adding a graphic to be used as the thumbnail. Adding an empty fourth layer results in a shape that you cannot use in DVD Studio Pro. Setting the Shape’s Opacity DVD Studio Pro does not use the opacity settings you can apply to the layers within Photoshop. As a result, you cannot use the second layer’s opacity setting to control the transparency of the shape’s visible graphic.
Keep these additional points in mind when creating your shapes: • It does not matter which layers are visible when you save the shape’s file. • You do not have to rasterize layers with text. You do have to flatten them if you apply an effect to them. • Also be sure that the colors you use are within broadcast limits. You can create shapes that look great in the graphics program but look a lot different once you use them in a DVD project.
Preparing Stills for Slideshows When preparing still images for use in DVD Studio Pro slideshows, most of the same rules for preparing menu backgrounds apply. These same considerations apply if you intend to add slides to a track. File Formats DVD Studio Pro lets you use most common image formats in slideshows: • Photoshop PSD files using the 8-bit RGB mode Slideshows do not support layer selection, as menus do. The layers visible when the file was last saved become the visible image of the graphic.
Colors The DVD specification requires all video, including stills and menu graphics, to conform to the NTSC or PAL video broadcast standard for allowable colors. In order to support broadcast bandwidths, NTSC and PAL video must use colors that are substantially restricted compared to those your graphics program can create. It’s important to work within the broadcast standard, because pictures and graphics that look fantastic when viewed in a graphics application can look very different when viewed on a DVD.
Creating an Alpha Transition requires from one to three QuickTime movies, depending on the type of transition you want to create. Some features to consider include: • Do you want any kind of video other than the start and end frames to appear during the transition? For example, if you want a spinning DVD to fly across the screen during the transition, you must have an asset movie that provides the flying DVD image.
Transition Asset Folder The transition asset folder contains the movies that make up the Alpha Transition. The name of this folder becomes the name of the transition. The names of the files within the folder must include the folder name, with additional text to distinguish the file’s purpose.
Alpha Channels In the above example with the spinning DVD flying by, you would most likely want to be able to see the start or end frame video through the DVD’s hole and around its edges. For this to happen, there must be an alpha channel for DVD Studio Pro to know which parts of the asset movie video should appear and which should be ignored. There are two ways to provide this alpha channel: embedded with the asset movie or as a separate asset matte movie (described in “Asset Matte Movie” on page 102).
Asset Matte Movie The asset matte movie is required only when an asset movie that does not include an alpha channel is used by the transition. Having a separate asset matte movie is particularly useful when the asset movie is normal video (as opposed to an animation). The asset matte movie must have the same name as the transition asset folder, followed by “-matte” and can have an extension.
The background matte movie must have the same name as the transition asset folder, followed by “-backgroundMatte” and can have an extension. For example, if the transition asset folder’s name is Spinning DVD, the background matte movie could be named Spinning DVD-backgroundMatte.mov. The black areas define where the end frame background video appears. The white areas define where the start frame background video appears.
DVD Source Settings Summary Following is a summary of the required settings for MPEG and other sources that can be used with DVD Studio Pro. Note: All assets within a project must use the same video standard (all NTSC or all PAL). For the other settings, such as encoding format, resolution, and bit rates, you can mix assets with different settings. DVD Video and Audio Settings for SD Projects The following settings work with SD projects.
Frame Rate • NTSC with 525 lines (29.97 fps) • PAL with 625 lines (25 fps) • Versions of 23.976 fps video using either the NTSC or PAL video resolutions Aspect Ratio 4:3 and anamorphic 16:9 are supported. (See “What Exactly Is a 16:9 Asset?” on page 51.) Chroma Format The DVD specification requires a 4:2:0 chroma format. GOP Size (Maximum) • 18 frames NTSC; 15 frames PAL GOP Size (Typical) • 15 frames NTSC; 12 frames PAL Audio Settings Following are the audio settings supported by DVD Studio Pro.
DVD Video and Audio Settings for HD Projects The following settings work with HD projects. Video Settings Following are the video settings supported by DVD Studio Pro. MPEG Type MPEG-2, HDV, and H.264 are supported, at the video resolutions listed below. MPEG Structure Only elementary streams are supported. MPEG Bit Rates Multi-angle and mixed-angle tracks have stricter requirements. See “Encoding Video for Multi-Angle Tracks” on page 68 for details. SD MPEG-2 Video • From 2.0 Mbps to 15.
Video Resolution There are a variety of resolutions supported by DVD Studio Pro. See “Choosing a Video Resolution” on page 57 for more information.
Bit Rates The audio bit rate depends on the format and quality level you need (higher bit rates provide better quality, but reduce the bit rate you can use with the video). MPEG-1 Layer 2 Audio • 64 to 384 kbps (192 kbps and 224 kbps are typical.) Dolby Digital AC-3 • 64 to 448 kbps (192 kbps, 224 kbps, and 448 kbps [for 5.1] are typical.) DTS ES • 754.5 kbps or 1509.
3 Starting a Project 3 When you start a new DVD project, especially if it’s the first project you’ve created on a particular system, you need to set certain preferences and disc properties before you begin working with your assets. This chapter describes how to open DVD Studio Pro, set preferences and properties, and create a new project. DVD Studio Pro includes a number of views and windows that you use while building your DVD.
To open DVD Studio Pro the first time: 1 Start up your computer. 2 Double-click the DVD Studio Pro icon (in the Applications folder) to open the application. The Choose Application Defaults dialog appears. 3 Select the configuration that best fits your needs. • Basic: Use this configuration if you intend to use the templates and styles provided by DVD Studio Pro, and intend to rely on dragging and dropping assets to create your projects.
• Extended: Use this configuration if you are familiar with the DVD creation process and require easy access to more of the features of DVD Studio Pro. The extended configuration displays three quadrants to provide access to additional tabs, and the Inspector. • Advanced: Use this configuration to gain access to all of the capabilities of DVD Studio Pro. Use this configuration if you are authoring complex titles.
Note: Once DVD Studio Pro opens, you can choose from these three configurations and others suitable for specific monitors. In addition, you can create and save your own configurations. See “Configuring the Interface” on page 139 for more information on selecting, creating, and saving configurations. 4 Select the video standard, NTSC or PAL, that you will use for your projects. If you are unsure of which standard to use, see “Video Standards of the World” on page 133.
The Preferences window opens, displaying the last selected pane. The Preferences window includes ten panes, each containing settings related to specific areas of DVD Studio Pro. To use the Preferences window: 1 Click an icon along the top to open its pane. 2 Click Apply to apply the current settings and leave the Preferences window open. 3 Click OK to apply the current settings and close the Preferences window. 4 Click Cancel to close the Preferences window without applying the current settings.
General Preferences The General pane in DVD Studio Pro Preferences contains settings used in a variety of areas in DVD Studio Pro. Slideshows and Tracks • Default Slide Length: Enter a value, in seconds, that is used as the duration of still images added to slideshows and to a track’s video stream. • Background Color: You can set the color used as a background by the Slideshow Editor. Normally, this color will not be seen because it will be covered by the slide.
Thumbnail Size • Palette: Choose Small or Large as the thumbnail size used in the Palette. • Slideshow: Choose Small or Large as the thumbnail size used in the Slideshow Editor. Subtitle • Fade In: Enter a value, in frames, that controls whether a subtitle, by default, appears instantly (0 frames) or fades on over a number of frames. • Length: Enter a value, in seconds, that controls the default length of new subtitles you create.
The Final Rendering settings allow you to choose how the menus and transitions are rendered: • Hardware based: This setting provides the fastest rendering. However, since the quality is dependent on your system’s video card, the quality might not be as good as when using the “Software based” setting, and may not be consistent between different systems. • Software based: This setting provides consistent, good-quality rendering on all systems.
• Generate Marker Names: You can choose how markers are named when you create them. Note: You can rename the markers in the Marker Inspector. • Automatically: Names new markers with the prefix followed by a number that increments each time you add a marker. (You set the prefix below.) An advantage of this option is that you can easily tell how many markers have been added (although the number does not take into account any markers that you may have deleted).
• Space bar toggles between play/pause: This setting controls what happens when you press the Space bar while viewing a track. When you play a track, the timeline’s playhead follows along. With the checkbox next to “Space bar toggles between play/ pause” selected, the playhead in the track’s timeline remains at its current position when you press the Space bar. When the checkbox is not selected, the playhead jumps back to where you started playing from when you press the Space bar.
Rulers These settings allow you to customize the rulers that appear in the Menu Editor. • Show and Hide: Select one of these options to set whether the rulers are displayed. Note: Alignment guides can only be dragged onto the Menu Editor if the rulers are visible. • Units: Choose the units for the rulers from the pop-up menu. • Pixels: The rulers show the number of pixels. • Centimeters: The rulers show the number of centimeters, based on 28.35 pixels per centimeter.
Text Preferences The Text preferences contain the default settings that apply when adding text to a menu, a menu’s button, and to a subtitle. All Text Types • Show: Choose the type of text to configure (subtitle, menu, or menu button). The type you choose determines the other settings available in this pane. • Font: Shows the current settings. • Font Panel: Click to open the Font panel to configure the font.
Menu Text Settings See “Adding Text Objects to a Menu” on page 276 for more information. • Color Panel: Opens the Colors window for configuring the text color. Colors Preferences The Colors pane contains the color mapping settings for the Menu and Subtitle Editors. • Show: Choose whether to show the settings for the Menu Editor or Subtitle Editor. This affects all other settings in this pane. • Mapping Type: Choose the type of overlay mapping, Chroma or Grayscale, you are using.
Simulator Preferences The Simulator preferences apply to the Simulator you can use to test your project. See “Testing Your Project With the Simulator” on page 545 for more information. Default Language Settings • Audio, Subtitle, and DVD Menu Default Language: Choose the languages to use as the Simulator’s default for menus, audio, and subtitles. This simulates the language settings in a DVD player.
• Resolution: Choose the monitor resolution to simulate. The choices include SD, HD 720, and HD 1080. • Display Mode: Choose the monitoring situation to simulate: • 4:3 Pan-Scan: Simulates a 4:3 aspect ratio monitor with a DVD player configured to use the pan-scan method when showing 16:9 content. • 4:3 Letterbox: Simulates a 4:3 aspect ratio monitor with a DVD player configured to use the letterbox method when showing 16:9 content. • 16:9: Simulates a 16:9 aspect ratio monitor.
• Location: Choose the location to save files to: • Same Folder as the Asset: This is the default setting. It places the files into an MPEG or PAR subfolder (depending on the type of file being created) in the original file’s folder. For QuickTime assets, an MPEG folder is created, with a PAR subfolder. The encoded file is placed in the MPEG folder and, if necessary, the parse file is placed in the PAR folder.
Encoding Preferences The Encoding pane contains the settings that control the embedded MPEG encoder, which is used when you import a QuickTime asset. See “Using the Embedded MPEG Encoder” on page 62 for more information on the embedded MPEG encoder and details on these settings. Creating a New Project When you open DVD Studio Pro, a new project file is automatically created. You can also create a new project at any time. To create a new project: 1 Choose File > New.
• Setting the DVD standard: You can author either SD or HD projects with DVD Studio Pro. If you are authoring an SD project, you can change it to HD. If you are authoring an HD project, you cannot change it to an SD project just by changing the DVD standard. See “Changing a Project’s DVD Standard” on page 135 for more information. • Naming the project: Each project is given a name that can be seen by the viewer when the finished DVD is played on a computer or on some set-top DVD players.
To set the video standard for the current project in the Disc Inspector: 1 Choose View > Show Inspector if the Inspector is not visible. 2 Do one of the following: • Select the project’s name (next to the disc icon) in the Outline tab. (Choose Window > Outline if the Outline tab is not visible.) • Click an empty area in the Graphical tab. The Disc Inspector appears. Select the video standard before adding assets. 3 In the General tab, select either NTSC or PAL to set the project’s video standard.
Setting the DVD Standard in DVD Studio Pro Preferences You can set the DVD standard for all new projects in the Project pane of DVD Studio Pro Preferences. This setting does not affect the current project. To set the DVD standard for new projects: 1 Do one of the following to open the Preferences window: • Choose DVD Studio Pro > Preferences. • Press Command-, (comma). 2 Click the Project icon along the top of the Preferences window to open the Project pane.
Naming the Project By default, each DVD disc you create is automatically given the same name as the project’s file, entered when you saved it. The disc’s name can be seen by the viewer when the finished DVD is played on a computer or on some set-top DVD players. In most cases, the name of the project’s file is suitable to use as the disc’s name. However, there are some cases in which you might want to set the disc’s name independently of the project’s filename.
To set a project’s disc size: 1 Do one of the following: • Select the project’s name (next to the disc icon) in the Outline tab. • Click an empty area in the Graphical tab. The Disc Inspector appears. (Choose Window > Outline if the Outline tab is not visible. Choose View > Show Inspector if the Inspector is not visible.) 2 Click the Disc/Volume tab in the Disc Inspector. Choose the disc media required for this project. (HD projects only) Choose the disc capacity required for this project.
Setting the Project’s First Play An important consideration when starting a project is deciding which of its elements will be the first to appear when a viewer starts playing the DVD. Some examples might be: • Using the default setting and opening Menu 1 when the DVD starts playing • Setting First Play to a motion menu or track that plays before the main menu appears. This motion menu or track could be a short animated company logo or a disclaimer. • Creating a DVD for continuous kiosk playback.
m m To open a recently opened project: Choose File > Open Recent > [name of project]. Choose File > Open Recent > Clear Menu to remove existing projects from the Open Recent submenu.
Video Standards of the World Since you may find yourself needing to know the video standard of a particular country, following is a list of the different continents and regions of the world, and the video standards they use. Note: This list is subject to change, and should be used as a guideline only. Continents and regions Video standard Africa All countries in the African continent use either the PAL or SECAM video standard.
Changing a Project’s Video Standard When you create a project, all assets used in it must be the same video standard (NTSC or PAL). If you want the project to be available in both video standards, you need to create two projects—one for each standard. You can minimize the amount of work involved in re-creating the project in the other video standard by keeping the following rules in mind: • You cannot have any video assets assigned to the project when you try to change the project’s video standard.
Changing a Project’s DVD Standard DVD Studio Pro makes it easy to convert an SD project to an HD project. However, there is no comparable method to use to convert an HD project to an SD project. For that reason, if you are intending to build both an SD and HD version of the project, you should start by building the SD version first.
4 The DVD Studio Pro Interface 4 The DVD Studio Pro user interface is designed to provide a flexible environment that can be configured easily to fit the needs and skill levels of all users. A wide variety of users use DVD Studio Pro, from those who are familiar with iDVD and want to access a few more DVD authoring features, to those who have extensive experience with professional DVD authoring applications.
The interface also includes a customizable toolbar. You can choose which tools appear and which are hidden. See “Customizing the Toolbar” on page 160 for more information. A floating Inspector displays properties for each project element, with its contents changing based on the currently selected element. For example, if you are working on a menu’s buttons, the Inspector displays all properties and settings that apply to buttons.
Palette Configuring the Interface To make it easy to change between different configurations of the DVD Studio Pro interface, DVD Studio Pro lets you save each configuration. For example, once you configure the quadrants so they are optimized for creating subtitles, you can save that configuration for easy recall later.
m To choose a DVD Studio Pro configuration: Choose Window > Configurations, then choose a configuration from the submenu. Each standard configuration has a keyboard shortcut assigned. The submenu lists the supplied configurations plus any that you have created. Each of the first three supplied configurations are automatically assigned keyboard shortcuts F1 through F3. You can assign keyboard shortcuts for any custom configurations in the Manage Configurations dialog.
To manage your configurations: 1 Choose Window > Manage Configurations. A list of existing configurations appears. The Key column lists the “F” key assigned as each configuration’s keyboard shortcut. 2 Do any of the following: • • • • Click the Add (+) button to add a new configuration. Delete a configuration by selecting it and then clicking the Delete (–) button. Rename a configuration by double-clicking it and entering a new name.
Working With the Quadrants You can adjust each quadrant’s size by dragging its borders, or adjust the size of all four quadrants at once by dragging the point where they intersect. You can “close” a quadrant by dragging its inside edge to the DVD Studio Pro interface edge. Resizing the Quadrants You can resize the quadrants in pairs, either horizontally or vertically, or resize them all at once.
m To change only the widths of the left and right quadrants, drag the boundary between the left and right halves left or right. m To change both the heights and widths of the four quadrants, drag the point where they intersect. m To split either the vertical or horizontal boundary, so that you can resize two quadrants while leaving the other two as they are, Option-drag the boundary you want to move. This creates two intersection points, each of which can be dragged as needed.
Adding Quadrants to the Basic and Extended Configurations There are two ways to add quadrants to the basic and extended configurations: Choose a different configuration or drag their edges in toward the center. The basic configuration is actually just the upper-right quadrant with its left and bottom boundaries dragged to the edges of the interface. To add a quadrant to the left half of the interface, drag the left edge toward the center.
Moving a Tab to a Different Quadrant You can move a tab from one quadrant to another. This allows you to group tabs that work best for you. For example, you may group the tabs so that you can reduce the number of quadrants that appear and see just the tabs you use most. m To move a tab to a different quadrant by dragging: Drag a tab to the new quadrant’s tab area.
Tearing Off a Tab Into Its Own Window You can “tear off” a tab so that it appears in its own window. This is useful if you have a large computer display or use multiple displays and are able to spread out. It is also useful if you have a small display and a limited workspace, since it allows you to have larger windows without resizing the quadrants. m To tear off a tab, do one of the following: Drag a tab to a position outside of the immediate tab area.
What Happens If You Close a Torn-Off Tab’s Window? If you close a tab’s window by clicking the close button in the upper-left corner of the window, the tab does not automatically get added back to a quadrant, and it is no longer displayed. You can either reopen the window or add the tab to one of the quadrants (as described in the previous section). m To reopen the tab in its own window, do one of the following: Choose Window > [the tab name]. m Press the tab’s keyboard shortcut.
Connections Tab The Connections tab provides a comprehensive tool for linking elements—such as a menu button and a track marker—to each other. While there are a number of ways to make most connections, including directly in the Menu Editor, the Connections tab is the only way to access some advanced features. See Chapter 15, “Establishing Connections,” on page 525 for details on working with the Connections tab. Graphical Tab The Graphical tab provides a tile-based view of all elements in your project.
Log Tab You can use the Log tab to see status information for a variety of functions: • Build: Displays messages generated while building your project’s files in preparation for writing them to a DVD disc. • Encode: Displays messages generated by the embedded MPEG and AIFF encoders. • Simulate: Displays messages generated while using the Simulator with your project. Menu Tab The Menu tab contains the Menu Editor. You use the tools in the Menu Editor to build your project’s menus.
Outline Tab The Outline tab provides an organized list of all project elements. Each element is grouped by type, such as Menus or Tracks, in sections that function a bit like file folders. Next to each section name is a disclosure triangle—clicking the triangle allows you to hide or display the elements listed in that section. See “Using the Outline Tab” on page 165 for details on using the Outline tab. The Outline tab also contains the VTS Editor.
Script Tab The Script tab contains the Script Editor. You use the Script Editor to add and manage commands in your scripts. The editor lists each command and its step number. See “The Scripting User Interface” on page 470 for details on using the Script Editor. Slideshow Tab The Slideshow tab contains the Slideshow Editor. You use the tools in the Slideshow Editor to create and edit slideshows. The editor contains thumbnails of each slide in display order, along with the slide’s duration.
Story Tab The Story tab contains the Story Editor, which you use when creating a story for a track. To create a story, you choose which sections of the track to play, as defined by chapter markers. See “Using the Story Editor” on page 391 for details on using the Story Editor. Track Tab The Track tab contains the Track Editor. The Track Editor displays all streams associated with a track (video, audio, and subtitle) in a linear, timecode-based manner. It provides tools for adding and editing markers.
Viewer Tab The Viewer tab lets you view your project’s elements. See “Viewing a Track” on page 400 for details on using the Viewer tab. The Viewer tab is also used when editing subtitles. You use the tools along the bottom to build subtitles within DVD Studio Pro or to view subtitles imported from an external source. The display shows both the subtitle and the first frame of video that it appears over. See “Creating Subtitles With DVD Studio Pro” on page 445.
Inspector The Inspector is a floating window that displays the properties of the element you are currently working with. In some cases, it contains multiple tabs, with the properties grouped by type and function. With the exception of the Palette, the Inspector always has the highest viewing priority of the DVD Studio Pro windows—it is never covered by any other DVD Studio Pro window. (If the Inspector and Palette are in the same area of the screen, the one last selected will cover the other.
Palette The Palette provides easy access to the templates, styles, and shapes used to create menus. Additionally, the Palette includes three media tabs—Audio, Stills, and Video— that can make it easier to locate the assets you want to import. Hiding and Showing the Palette With the exception of the Inspector, the Palette always has the highest viewing priority of the DVD Studio Pro windows—it is never covered by any other DVD Studio Pro window.
Templates and Styles Tabs A template comprises up to five styles that define most aspects of a menu. You can create your own templates and styles or use those that DVD Studio Pro provides. You can apply all or just selected parts of a template or style to a menu or a selected part of a menu. This makes it easy to create a series of menus using an identical button layout and background.
See “Creating Shapes” on page 93 for details on creating shapes and “Adding Shapes to a Menu” on page 256 for details on using them in your menus. Media Tabs The Palette includes a set of three media tabs—labeled Audio, Stills, and Video—that display DVD Studio Pro–compatible assets located in folders that you specify. You can add these assets to your project by dragging them from the Palette to the Assets tab, Menu Editor, or anywhere else you can directly add assets. Use these to add and delete folders.
The media tabs, and the folders assigned to them, are available to all DVD Studio Pro projects. They provide an additional method to organize your assets, and are especially useful for accessing assets you use often. Important: Assets that appear in the media tabs are not automatically part of a project in DVD Studio Pro. You must add them to a project by dragging them to it. You should think of the media tabs as being a specialized Finder window.
Managing the Folder List There are several ways to make the folder list easier to use: • You can change the folder list display order to have folders you use frequently appear at the top. • You can remove folders that are no longer needed, such as those specific to a project that is completed. To change the folder list display order: 1 Click the tab whose display order you want to change (Audio, Stills, or Video).
m To play a folder’s video or audio asset: Click the Play button in the bottom-right corner of the Audio or Video tab. Click it a second time to stop playback. Audio assets play through your system’s audio setup. Video assets play in their thumbnail image. The General pane in DVD Studio Pro Preferences contains a setting that allows you to choose small or large thumbnail images, which may make viewing the video easier.
Hiding and Showing the Toolbar You can choose to hide the toolbar completely. m m To hide the toolbar: Choose View > Hide Toolbar. To show a toolbar that has been hidden: Choose View > Show Toolbar. Managing the Toolbar DVD Studio Pro provides a simple drag-and-drop interface for managing the toolbar. To manage the toolbar: 1 To display the toolbar palette, do one of the following: • Choose View > Customize Toolbar. • Control-click the toolbar, then choose Customize Toolbar from the shortcut menu.
Toolbar Items The following items (listed in alphabetical order) can appear in the toolbar. Note: With the exception of Space, Flexible Space, and Separator, you can have only one of each item in the toolbar. • • • • • • • • • • • • 162 Add Language: Adds a new menu language to the project. Add Layered Menu: Adds a new layered menu to the project. Add Menu: Adds a new standard menu to the project. Add Slideshow: Adds a new slideshow to the project.
• Disc Meter: Displays the disc meter. A progress bar shows both the amount of disc • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • space used and what is still available (based on the Disc Media you select in the Disc/ Volume tab in the Disc Inspector). The number underneath the progress bar shows the amount of space used. Flexible Space: Inserts a space into the toolbar that automatically expands to fill any existing empty space. This ensures that there are tools at the left and right edges of the toolbar.
Drop Palette The Drop Palette appears in the Menu Editor when you drag an asset or project element to it. Once you stop moving the pointer, the Drop Palette appears, allowing you to choose how to use the asset within the menu. The contents of the Drop Palette vary, depending on the asset or element type, how many assets you drag, and whether you have dragged to an existing button.
The Outline tab also has these capabilities: • It includes the menu language elements that you use when configuring your menus to support multiple languages. • It includes the VTS Editor that provides extensive control over how your project’s elements are burned to a DVD. The Graphical tab also has these capabilities: You can choose whether to view all elements or just specific types. Elements that use the transitions feature are marked. The element assigned as First Play has a special icon.
The primary difference is in how they are organized. • By VTS lists the elements based on the VTS they belong to. A VTS can have only one track (which can also have stories) or one slideshow, but it can have multiple menus and scripts. The primary use of the By VTS display is to control how your project’s elements are written to a DVD. See “VTS Editor” on page 588 for more information. • By Type lists the elements based on their type (menus, tracks, slideshows, and scripts).
Moving Elements in the By Type Display You can move an element from one position to another within the same section. Note: The order of the elements in the By Type display does not affect how the elements are written to the DVD. m To change an element’s position in the Outline tab’s By Type display: Drag the element to its new position. As you drag, a line appears between elements to indicate where the dragged element will be moved when you release it.
Graphical Tab Introduction The Graphical tab uses tiles to represent each element in your project. Similar to the Outline tab, you can use the Graphical tab to select elements to work with and can rename the elements. Each tile contains a thumbnail image that represents the element. You are able to position the tiles as needed, and can choose to view either large or small versions of the tiles. You can also choose to view connection lines between the elements.
m m To use the Graphical tab scrollers, do one of the following: Drag them to control which part of the tile area you can see. Drag the ends of the horizontal scroller to zoom in or out on the tile area. Drag the scroller ends to zoom in or out on the tile area. There are also several zoom and positioning keyboard shortcuts available. m To zoom using keyboard shortcuts, do one of the following: Press Z, then click the area of the Graphical tab that you want to zoom in on.
m Position the pointer over the macro view (which causes the title bar to appear), then click the hide symbol in the macro view’s title bar to hide the macro view. Note: The title bar can appear on the top or bottom of the macro view, depending on where the pointer is. Working With the Macro View You are able to position the macro view anywhere within the tab, but you cannot move it outside the tab’s boundaries.
Selecting and Managing Tiles You can use several tools to select and arrange tiles—many are the same as those used with buttons in the Menu Editor. There are also a variety of methods you can use to add, delete, and copy tiles. Selecting Tiles There are several reasons you might want to select one or more tiles: • Selecting a tile makes it the current element, and opens it in its editor. • Selecting one or more tiles allows you to arrange them.
To drag an element to the Menu Editor: 1 Click the element’s tile and hold down the mouse button for a moment without moving the tile. A transparent tile appears. 2 Drag the transparent tile to the Menu Editor. You can also drag multiple tiles to the Menu Editor by selecting them before holding down the mouse button on one of them.
m Click the Graphical tab’s Lock button. Tile position lock button m Press L. You can use the same button and keyboard shortcut to unlock the tiles. If you need to move a tile while they are locked, you can press the Option key, then drag it to the new location. While the tile positions are locked, you are still able to change your view of the tiles by zooming or using the scrollers. You can also change the connections view.
Tile Sizes You can choose large or small sizes to view the tiles. m To change the tile size: Choose Small Tiles or Large Tiles from the Graphical tab’s Settings pop-up menu. Flagging Tiles You can flag a tile so that it stands out from the others. For example, you might want to flag tiles for elements that still require assets or use DVD@CCESS. m To flag one or more tiles, do one of the following: Control-click a tile and choose Flag from the shortcut menu.
Viewing Connections You can configure the Graphical tab to show lines indicating which elements are connected to each other. Arrows indicate which element is the target. The connection lines are useful when you want to view the project as a flowchart. They can also be helpful to ensure you have not inadvertently left out an intended connection. Note: You cannot make connections or change existing connections in the Graphical tab.
Printing the Graphical Tab’s Tile Area Printing the Graphical tab’s tile area can be a useful way to show others the basic construction of a project. The contents of the Graphical tab print as they currently appear with respect to tile size and placement and connection view status. You can choose to print the whole tile area on a single sheet of paper or to print the tile area over multiple sheets of paper.
Managing Elements Using the Outline and Graphical Tabs You can use either the Outline or Graphical tab to manage your project’s elements. Renaming Project Elements In addition to entering an element’s name in its Inspector, you can rename an element in the Outline or Graphical tab. To rename an element in the Outline tab: 1 Select the element whose name you want to change. 2 Click the element’s name. 3 Type the new name, then press Return. The element’s name is changed.
To duplicate an element: 1 Select the element to duplicate. You can also select multiple elements. 2 Do one of the following: • Choose Edit > Duplicate. • If you have selected a single element, Control-click the element, then choose Duplicate from the shortcut menu. • If you have selected a group of elements, Control-click in an empty area of the tab, then choose Duplicate from the shortcut menu. • Press Command-D.
Simulating Elements The Simulator provides a way to verify your project before you build the title. Starting the Simulator by clicking Simulate in the toolbar simulates the project from its beginning, at the element designated as “First Play.” However, often you will want to start the Simulator at a specific project element, for example, to verify the navigation of a chapter index menu.
To load an item description: 1 Choose File > Import > Item Description. 2 Locate the description file to load and click Import in the dialog that appears. Important: Item descriptions from previous versions of DVD Studio Pro cannot be loaded into DVD Studio Pro 4. An alternative is to open a project in DVD Studio Pro 4 that contains the element you originally made the item description from, then save a new item description from it.
5 Importing and Managing Assets 5 DVD Studio Pro provides tools and workflow options that give you the flexibility to decide how best to import and manage your assets. As you work on your DVD project, it’s important to give some thought as to how best to organize and manage your assets. Even a simple project can use enough assets to make it worth investing the time to plan for them.
Missing or Renamed Assets Once you import an asset into a project, it’s important not to move or rename its source file. A Missing Files window appears if you open a project and DVD Studio Pro cannot locate an asset in its original location. You can manually locate the asset or cancel the dialog. To locate a missing asset when opening a project: 1 Select the asset in the Missing Files window. 2 Do one of the following: • Click Locate and use the file location dialog to find the asset.
Any elements that use missing assets are displayed in red in the Outline and Graphical tabs. The elements cannot be opened, either from the Outline tab, the Graphical tab, or in their editor. If you select an element with missing assets, a dialog appears with three choices: • Relink: Opens the Missing Files window so that you can locate the missing files. • Delete Clips/Slides/Assets: The missing assets are removed from the element. • For tracks, any clips with missing assets are removed.
The current encoding settings are applied to assets as soon as they are imported, whether you choose to start encoding them right away or wait to encode them when you build your project. Changes you make to the Encoding Preferences only affect assets you import from then on. See “Verifying and Changing Encoding Settings” on page 185 for more information.
Verifying and Changing Encoding Settings If your project contains a mixture of 4:3 and 16:9 assets, or has some assets you want to encode differently than others, you must be sure to set the Encoding Preferences settings before you import the assets. You can verify and change the encoding settings on assets that have been imported. You can also re-encode a QuickTime asset if you want to try different encoding settings.
This method of configuring encoding settings for specific assets allows you to customize how the embedded MPEG encoder gets used in your project, and makes it possible to have a mixture of assets with different encoding requirements (such as some that use the 4:3 aspect ratio and others that use the 16:9 aspect ratio). Using Still Assets That Are Not DVD-Compliant You can add still assets in any format supported by QuickTime to a slideshow or a track.
Using Motion and LiveType Projects DVD Studio Pro allows you to import Motion and LiveType projects directly into your DVD project. This has several benefits: • You do not have to render the projects before importing them. DVD Studio Pro allows you to use them as if you had rendered them and exported a QuickTime movie from them. You import the projects using the same methods you would use to import other assets.
The Assets tab can contain up to 15 columns. For information on choosing which columns appear, see “Managing Columns in the Assets Tab” on page 190. The Assets tab also has three buttons you can use to manage the assets. • Import: Opens the Import Assets dialog so you can choose assets to import. See “Using the Import Asset Feature” on page 193 for more information. • New Folder: Creates a new folder in the assets list. If you have an existing folder selected, the new folder becomes its subfolder.
• Status: Applies to all asset types. Displays whether the asset is being encoded, • • • • • parsed, or is ready to use. • Progress bar: Appears while the asset is encoding or parsing. • Yellow: The asset has not been encoded (applies to assets to be encoded with the embedded MPEG or AIFF encoder). If the setting in the Encoding pane of DVD Studio Pro Preferences is set to “Encode on build,” the yellow dot shows for any assets that will be encoded once you build the project.
Managing Columns in the Assets Tab DVD Studio Pro lets you customize the columns in the Assets tab, making it easy to display only the information you want. m To customize the columns in the Assets tab: To display a hidden column, Control-click the column name to the left of where you want the hidden one to appear, then choose the column’s name from the shortcut menu. All columns that are currently displayed have checkmarks next to their names.
Managing the Contents of the Assets Tab As you add assets to your project, you will want to keep them organized to reduce the potential for confusion. There are several tools you can use to organize and keep track of your assets: • Folders: Folders are the most powerful organizing tool for managing your assets. For added flexibility, you can create subfolders (folders within folders), import assets directly into a folder, and move assets between folders. You can also drag a folder to a new location.
Sorting Assets You can sort the assets in the Assets tab by any of the columns. To sort the assets: 1 Click the name of the column by which you want to sort the assets. The assets sort in the order of that column’s contents, and a triangle appears next to the column’s name to indicate it is controlling the sort and to show the sort’s direction (up or down). The triangle indicates the column controlling the sort and the sort direction (up or down).
See “Media Tabs” on page 157 for information on using the Audio, Stills, and Video tabs in the Palette. Note: To help organize your assets, it’s a good idea to create folders in the Assets tab before you import your assets, although you can create folders and move assets into them at any time. Importing Assets That Are Not DVD-Compliant When you import video and audio assets that are not DVD-compliant, DVD Studio Pro uses its embedded encoder to convert them.
Dragging Assets to the Assets Tab You can drag one or more assets from the Palette or a Finder window to the Assets tab, and place them directly in folders if desired. To import assets from the Palette or a Finder window: 1 In the Palette or a Finder window, select the assets to be imported. 2 Do one of the following: • To import them at the root level of the Assets tab, drag the assets to an empty area of the tab. • To import them into a folder in the Assets tab, drag the assets directly to the folder.
Dragging Assets to the Menu Editor You can drag video, audio, and still images to the Menu Editor. You can drag multiple assets, but they must all be of the same type (video or still image). You can drag a folder that contains still images to create a slideshow. • If you drag the asset to the Menu Editor and drop it immediately, it uses the default action for that asset type.
Dragging Assets to the Outline and Graphical Tabs You can drag video, audio, and still images to the Outline and Graphical tabs. How the assets are used depends on where you drag the assets. The only difference between dragging to the Outline or Graphical tab is that only the Outline tab has section titles for each element type. The following tables list the supported actions. Note: Most of the following actions work with the Outline tab’s By Type and By VTS displays.
When you drag the following assets to a specific standard menu Action One video asset Sets the video as the menu’s background. One audio asset Assigns the audio to the menu. Multiple audio assets Assigns the audio to the menu. One video/audio asset pair Sets the video as the menu’s background and assigns the audio to it. One still image Sets the still image as the menu’s background. One multiple-layer PSD file Sets the file as the menu’s background with all layers selected.
When you drag the following assets to a specific track Action One video asset Adds the video to stream V1, at the end of any existing video. Multiple video assets Adds the videos to stream V1, at the end of any existing video. One audio asset Adds the audio to stream A1, at the end of any existing audio. Multiple audio assets Adds the audios to stream A1, at the end of any existing audio.
Removing Selected Assets If you no longer need assets in a project, you can remove them from the Assets tab. Important: The Assets tab only contains links to the actual asset files. Removing an asset from the Assets tab does not actually delete the asset’s file from your hard disk. To remove assets from the Assets tab: 1 Select one or more assets to remove. 2 Do one of the following: • • • • Choose Edit > Remove Asset. Control-click in the Assets tab, then choose Remove from the shortcut menu.
Refreshing Still and QuickTime Assets It is possible, during the course of creating your project, that you will need to update a still or QuickTime asset. DVD Studio Pro includes both an automatic and a manual asset refresh capability to make it easier to use updated versions of your still and QuickTime assets. Important: An alert appears when updated assets have been detected, and the Encode view of the Log tab lists specific elements that use those assets.
Issues With Refreshing QuickTime Assets Changes made to QuickTime assets, which can include video, audio, or both together, can have large impacts on any project elements that use them. Reencoding Any QuickTime assets you make changes to that have already been MPEG encoded by the DVD Studio Pro embedded MPEG encoder will need to be reencoded. If you have enabled background encoding in the Encoding pane of DVD Studio Pro Preferences, this reencoding will start automatically.
Opening Assets in Their Editor You can open a selected asset in a different application. This can make it easier for you to update the asset. Note: See “Using Motion and LiveType Projects” on page 187 for information on opening Motion and LiveType projects. m m To open an asset in a different application, do one of the following: Choose File > Asset > Open In Editor or File > Asset > Open With.
Previewing Assets You can display an asset in the Viewer tab or listen to its audio. To preview an asset: 1 Select the asset in the Assets tab. 2 Preview the asset by doing one of the following: • • • • Choose File > Asset > Preview. Control-click the asset, then choose Preview from the shortcut menu. Double-click the asset. Select the asset and press the Space bar. Preview controls You can use the controls in the Viewer tab to pause and stop playback.
Asset Inspector When you select an asset in the Assets tab, the Asset Inspector appears. The Asset Inspector shows general information about the selected asset. The only information you can edit is the asset’s name as it appears in DVD Studio Pro. Video assets include a thumbnail image and a scrubber so you can scrub through the video. Still assets also include a thumbnail image.
6 Introduction to Creating Menus 6 Menus are the backbone of your project. To ensure a positive experience for the viewer, it’s important to create menus that provide logical navigation and a consistent experience. Menus provide the buttons that the person viewing a DVD uses to configure the disc’s playback and to choose the tracks and slideshows that supply the DVD’s content. DVD menus are made up of a background, which can be a still image or a full-motion movie, and buttons.
DVD Studio Pro Menu Creation Methods In DVD Studio Pro, you can create menus using either a standard, or overlay method, or a layered method. You can use menus created with both methods in a project, so you can use the method best suited to each individual menu. The menu creation methods differ primarily in how each button’s states are displayed.
The drawback of the standard method is that using overlays limits your creativity when showing the different states of a button. While the normal state of a button can be a full 24-bit image, you can only use up to four colors (as defined by the DVD-Video specification) to modify the normal image to show the selected and activated states. Since one of these colors is typically used as a transparent background color, that leaves only three colors.
Working With 16:9 Menus When using 16:9 menus in your project, you need to be aware of several things. How the Menu Will Be Displayed on a 4:3 Monitor Be sure to choose the proper display mode in the Menu tab of the Menu Inspector. Also, a default Display Mode setting in DVD Studio Pro Preferences sets all new menus, tracks, and slideshows to the proper display mode. The options include 4:3, 16:9 Pan-Scan, 16:9 Letterbox, and 16:9 Pan-Scan & Letterbox.
For example, if your default resolution as defined by the Preferences setting is 1280 x 720p and you create a new menu, its resolution is 1280 x 720p. If you set the menu’s background video to a 1920 x 1080i asset, the menu’s resolution automatically changes to match it.
For example, if you have a menu with a column of six buttons, you could set the button navigation so that the invisible button is reached only by pressing the left arrow button when on the fourth button in the column. (Most viewers would not think to press the left arrow button if the menu’s buttons are arranged in an obvious up/down fashion.
About the Menu Editor The Menu Editor is contained in the Menu tab. It displays the menu graphics in either a 4:3 or 16:9 aspect ratio (depending on what is set in the Menu tab in the Menu Inspector). There are also several buttons and pop-up menus that let you select what appears in the editor and provide tools that help with the menu creation process. Open this pop-up menu to choose a menu language. Choose a menu to configure. Open to configure additional Menu Editor settings.
Using the Menu Rulers The left and top sides of the Menu Editor can display rulers. When you click within the Menu Editor, marks on the ruler show the pointer’s position. The Alignment pane in DVD Studio Pro Preferences contains configuration settings for the ruler. These settings include whether the rulers are shown and the units they use (pixels, percentage, and so on). See “Alignment Preferences” on page 118 for details on setting the ruler’s preferences.
m m To temporarily disable snapping to the guides while moving an item: Press Command while dragging the item. This also disables the dynamic guides discussed in the next section. To remove a guide: Drag the guide back to the ruler. Note: Like button outlines, guides are not included when you build your project, so it is not necessary for you to remove them when you are done.
Using the Align Objects Feature The align objects feature allows you to select a group of objects and apply an alignment mode to them. For example, you could select three buttons and set them so that their left edges align. The usual way of dragging to select a group of items will not work—you will end up creating a new button. m To select multiple menu items, do one of the following: To individually select items, hold down the Shift key and click them.
Using the Menu Editor Pop-Up Menus and Tools The Menu Editor tools let you customize the editor to your needs. m To show or hide the Menu Editor tools: Click the dots at the bottom of the Menu Editor. Menu Editor Pop-Up Menus The top of the Menu Editor contains several pop-up menus. • View: Choose the menu you want to open in the Menu Editor from this pop-up menu. This is an alternative to selecting the menu in the Outline or Graphical tab.
• Square Pixels and Rectangle Pixels: You can choose to switch between viewing the menu images with square pixels or scaled to the video aspect ratio (either 4:3 or 16:9). See “Understanding Pixel Differences in Graphics and Video” on page 84 for more information. You can also press P to toggle the pixel display type. • Show Single Field: Optimizes playback when using field-based video sources. This is especially important with video that has fast motion, because it will reduce the motion artifacts.
• Button state selections: These buttons allow you to see the selected button in any of the three states (normal, selected, or activated). You can also press W to step through these options. Shows the normal state. Shows the activated state. Shows the selected state. • Button Outlines button: You can turn on button outlines, which show each button’s active area box and the button name.
Starting and Working With a Menu By default, all projects have an empty standard menu for you to start with. You can also add additional menus as needed. Creating a New Menu The following describes how to add a new standard or layered menu to your project. m To add a standard menu, do one of the following: Choose Project > Add to Project > Menu. m Control-click in the Outline or Graphical tab, then choose Add from the shortcut menu and Menu from the submenu. m Click Add Menu in the toolbar.
Opening a Menu To work with a menu, you need to open the Menu Editor for that menu. You can do so from the Outline tab, the Graphical tab, or within the Menu Editor. To open a menu from the Outline tab: 1 Click the Outline tab. 2 Click the disclosure triangle next to Menus to display a list of current menus (if they are not already visible). 3 Select a menu by clicking its name. The menu appears in the Menu Editor, and the Inspector switches to show the menu’s settings.
Adding Assets to a Menu There are several ways to add assets to a menu: • Drag an asset to the Menu Editor. See “Dragging Assets to the Menu Editor,” next, for details. • Apply a template or style from the Palette. See “Applying a Template or Style” on page 309 for details. • Select the assets in the Menu Inspector. See “Creating Menus Using the Standard Method” on page 229 or “Creating Menus Using the Layered Method” on page 323 for details.
The options in the Drop Palette depend on the type of asset you are dragging, whether you drag it to a button or an empty area of the menu, and the type of menu (standard or layered). For example, if you drag a video asset to an existing button, the Drop Palette provides the options of linking the video to the button and creating a track for it.
About Dragging Video and Audio Assets Together Several of the Drop Palette options only appear when you select and drag a video/ audio asset pair. A video/audio asset pair is created when you select a video asset, and then hold down the Command key and select a companion audio asset. (There are also other ways to select an asset pair, depending on where you are dragging from.
Copying Menu Items You are able to copy menu items, such as buttons, drop zones, and text objects, within an existing menu or from one menu to another. You can even copy multiple items at once. See “Selecting Multiple Menu Items,” above, for more information. The copied items retain all attributes of their original, including assigned assets and, in the case of buttons, their target settings. The new items have a higher priority than the original items.
If there are no items selected in the menu before you paste the copied items, the copied items are placed in the same locations as the originals. If an item is selected in the menu before you paste the copied items, the copied items are positioned relative to the selected item with a small offset. You can use the Paste command multiple times after using the Copy command. This makes it easy to add a button to multiple menus. To move one or more menu items using cut and paste: 1 Select the items to be moved.
m To move an item’s corner (which moves two edges at once), click the resize handle at the corner and drag it to the new position. This also changes the item’s size. m To change a button’s or drop zone’s size while maintaining the button’s aspect ratio, Shift-drag an edge or corner. See “Working With Assets in Buttons and Drop Zones” on page 276 for more information.
Verifying Menu Aspect Ratios and Languages When you create menus using the 16:9 aspect ratio or multiple languages, you can use the Simulator to verify the menu configurations. In DVD Studio Pro Preferences, you can configure the Simulator to mimic a 16:9, 4:3 letterbox, or 4:3 pan-scan display. You can also configure the default language settings of the Simulator.
Templates can also define the menu background, assign an audio asset to the menu, and add text objects, such as a title. If there are more markers or slides than buttons on the template or layout style you choose, additional chapter index menus are created. Templates and layout styles can also include buttons that do not get markers assigned to them. These are special-purpose buttons that you can use to provide navigation between the chapter index menu and other menus in your project.
7 Creating Menus Using the Standard Method 7 Standard menus provide the most flexibility when creating menus. You can choose to use static or full-motion backgrounds, audio, text objects, and drop zones. When creating a menu using the standard method, you have a wide variety of options: • Choosing the background: You need to assign an asset as the menu background. This • • • • • • • can be a still graphic or a full-motion video image.
About Menu Rendering Depending on how you create your standard menus, they may have to be rendered into an MPEG-2 video asset when you build your project. The menu must be rendered if it uses any of the following: • Assets assigned to a button • Shapes • Drop zones • Text objects • SIF (MPEG-1 or MPEG-2), 1/2 D1, or cropped D1 video Standard menus that only use a background (whether still or video), an overlay, and one or more audio files do not get rendered.
Setting a Menu’s Background and Overlay The first step in creating a menu is to choose its background and, if you are using one, its overlay. Choosing the Background The menu background can be a still image or a video clip. Still Images You can use a wide variety of graphic formats as still backgrounds in DVD Studio Pro. See “Using Your Graphics Program” on page 82 for a list of supported formats.
See “Configuring Motion Menu Settings” on page 282 for more information on setting looping options. Assigning a Background to a Menu There are several ways to assign a background to a menu. Use the method that you feel most comfortable with. In all cases, these methods also replace an existing background. Assigning a Menu Background Using the Inspector You can assign a menu background using the Inspector. With this method, you can only choose from assets already imported into DVD Studio Pro.
Choosing a Menu’s Background From a Layered Photoshop File You can choose a layer (or several) from an Adobe Photoshop format (PSD) file to use as the menu background. One PSD file can supply backgrounds and overlays for several menus. To choose a menu background from a PSD file: 1 Either create a new menu or select an existing one. 2 Click the Menu tab in the Menu Inspector.
The overlay typically provides the art only for each button’s selected and activated states. It can also provide the art for the normal state, but this state is most often incorporated into the background, allowing for very nice-looking, 24-bit resolution buttons. An advanced overlay’s four-color limit, and especially a simple overlay’s one-color limit, greatly restrict the visual quality of normal-state buttons.
Assigning a Menu Overlay by Dragging You can assign an overlay to a menu by dragging it from the Assets tab, the Palette, or a Finder window. To assign a menu overlay by dragging it to the Menu Editor: 1 Select the menu in the Outline or Graphical tab or choose it from the Menu Editor’s View pop-up menu to display it in the Menu Editor. 2 Locate the overlay file you want to use in the Assets tab, Palette, or Finder window.
Understanding Color Mapping Color mapping is the process of assigning highlight colors with transparency values to the colors used in an overlay. The colors you assign can be different for each of the three button states (normal, selected, and activated). There are two types of overlays you can use: a simple one that uses a single overlay color and an advanced one that uses up to four overlay colors. For many menus, a simple overlay will provide what you need with minimal complexity.
Color Mapping Palette The DVD specification allows a single 16-color palette to be assigned to each menu. This palette provides the colors used by the overlay to create the three button states. You can set each of the 16 colors and save the palette as the default palette for DVD Studio Pro. You can also create a different palette for each menu. Note: Avoid choosing highly saturated colors. All colors used in your project must conform to broadcast limits.
Methods for Choosing Colors DVD Studio Pro uses the standard Mac OS X Colors window. The window provides a variety of methods for choosing your colors, including a magnifying glass for grabbing colors from anywhere on your system’s display. See Mac Help for information on using the Colors window. Color Mapping Sets While the DVD specification limits you to 4 colors in a menu overlay and 16 colors in a menu’s palette, you can use those colors in different ways on each button on a menu.
Using Simple Overlay Color Mapping Simple overlays have one color setting for each button state (normal, selected, and activated). All white areas of the overlay graphic are automatically set to be transparent—all black areas become a highlight area. You can use palettes and color mapping sets with a simple overlay. Setting Up a Menu’s Color Mapping Using a Simple Overlay The following steps show you how to set up color mapping for a menu when using a simple overlay.
Set the normal color settings based on whether the background includes the normal button graphics. • If the normal button graphics are included in the background, set the opacity for the Normal color to 0 (completely transparent). • If the normal graphics are not included in the background, set the opacity and select the color so that the buttons appear as intended. 6 Select Selected and Activated under Selection States and set the highlight color settings for the selected and activated states.
Selected State To avoid viewer confusion, it is important to clearly show that a button has been selected. The way you do this depends on whether the normal state of the button is part of the background. • If the normal state of the button is part of the background, then the overlay typically provides a highlight by adding something to the existing button, such as an outline or a small graphic (such as a checkmark, logo, or some text).
Setting Up a Menu’s Color Mapping Using an Advanced Overlay The following steps show you how to set up color mapping for a menu when using an advanced overlay. Once you start creating buttons (described in “Adding OverlayBased Buttons” on page 253), you will be able to select the color mapping sets for them separately. To set up color mapping for a menu using an advanced overlay: 1 Select a menu that has a background and overlay assigned. The Menu Inspector appears.
Using an Advanced Overlay to Support Anti-Aliasing Instead of using the advanced overlay’s four colors to create multiple color highlights, you can use them to create pseudo-soft edges and take advantage of anti-aliased graphics. This requires you to use the grayscale method, using either white elements on a black background or black elements on a white background. The soft or anti-aliased edges are mapped to the dark and light gray overlay colors.
Configuring the Menu Inspector for Standard Menus The tabs within the Menu Inspector provide a variety of menu configuration settings. These settings control everything from background and overlay configuration, to transition and timeout settings. Setting Menu Properties The Menu Inspector has five tabs: General, Menu, Transition, Colors, and Advanced. The Colors tab changes depending on whether you are using simple or advanced overlay color mapping.
General Tab in the Menu Inspector for Standard Menus The General tab in the Menu Inspector is divided into four sections: The upper section contains basic menu settings, the next section contains settings for motion menus and menu timeout actions, the next section contains the overlay selection settings, and the bottom section contains the audio file settings.
• Single Field: Optimizes playback when using field-based video sources. This is especially important with video that has fast motion, and will reduce any motion artifacts. Selecting Single Field with frame-based video sources results in reduced resolution (edges may appear jagged). • At End: Sets the motion menu action when the End time is reached during playback. Choose one of these settings: • Still: Freezes the video’s last frame once the video asset finishes playing.
Menu Tab in the Menu Inspector for Standard Menus Most settings in the Menu tab in the Menu Inspector are optional. Exceptions are the Resolution and Display Mode settings, which must be set correctly for each menu, and the Background Layers area that is used when a Photoshop layered file (PSD) is assigned as the background.
• Resolution: Choose the menu’s resolution. • For SD projects, the resolution is either 720 x 480i (NTSC) or 720 x 576i (PAL). • For HD projects, you can choose from any of the supported resolutions. DVD Studio Pro Preferences includes a setting for the default resolution. The resolution automatically changes to match the menu’s background video resolution if it matches one of the supported resolutions.
Transition Tab in the Menu Inspector for Standard Menus The Transition tab is used to configure a button transition for this menu. See “Transition Tab in the Menu and Button Inspectors” on page 350 for details on this tab. Colors Tab in the Menu Inspector With Simple Selected Select Simple or Advanced, depending on the overlay you are using. Select the color mapping set to configure. Choose a color for each button state. Set the highlight’s opacity.
The following settings are available in the Colors tab in the Menu Inspector when you select the simple overlay color mode. • Overlay Colors: Select Simple or Advanced, depending on the kind of overlay you are using. • Set: Select the color mapping set (1, 2, or 3) to configure. You cannot assign sets to buttons from the Menu Inspector; you must select a button or group of buttons and select their set in the Button Inspector. All new buttons use set 1.
Colors Tab in the Menu Inspector With Advanced Selected Select the mapping type used for the overlay graphic. Select Simple or Advanced, depending on the overlay you are using. Select the button state. Select the color mapping set to configure. Shows the overlay graphic’s colors. Choose the colors to map to each overlay graphic color. Set the highlight’s opacity. The following settings are available in the Colors tab in the Menu Inspector when you select the advanced overlay color mode.
Advanced Tab in the Menu Inspector for Standard Menus The Advanced tab in the Menu Inspector for standard menus contains settings that are used only in specialized projects. Disabled User Operations settings Playback Options settings Disabled User Operations Settings • Disabled User Operations: Select the functions that you want to be disabled while this menu plays. See “User Operations” on page 598 for more information.
Adding Buttons to Your Menu Once you have set your background and overlay, you are ready to start adding buttons to your menu. You can add buttons either by creating active areas in the overlay or by dragging shapes to the Menu Editor. You can then set each button’s properties, such as what the button jumps to when activated and how to navigate from it when using the DVD player’s remote control. The number of buttons a menu can have depends on the DVD standard and its display mode.
To create and modify a button’s active area: 1 Click the menu background where you want one of the button’s corners to be, then drag to the opposite corner. You see a rectangle with dashed lines. 2 To move the button by dragging, click inside the dashed lines and drag it to the new position. 3 To move the button by dragging in one direction only (horizontal or vertical), press the Shift key, then drag the button.
Viewing the Selected and Activated States You can view the highlights for all three button states when you have a button selected. This makes it easy to see how the color mapping settings interact with the overlay. To view and set highlights for a button: 1 In the Menu Editor, choose Display Composite from the Settings pop-up menu. The Menu Editor displays both the background and the overlay based on the color mapping settings.
Adding Shapes to a Menu There are two ways to add a shape to a menu: • Drag it from the Shapes tab in the Palette. • Create a button active area, then select the shape from the Button Inspector. When you drag a shape from the Palette, it appears at its actual size, as created in the graphics program. When you add a shape by assigning it to an active area, it is scaled to fit the area, which can make it appear squashed or stretched.
4 To add the shape to any empty part of the menu, drag it to the Menu Editor. If you hover over the area for a second, the Drop Palette appears, where you can choose to create a button or drop zone. See “Adding Drop Zones to Your Menu” on page 273 for additional information about drop zones. 5 To apply the shape to an existing button, select the button in the Menu Editor, then do one of the following: • Click Apply in the Palette. • Drag the shape to the button.
Copying a Button You can make a copy of a button to use on the same menu. To make a copy of a button: 1 Select the button to be copied in the Menu Editor. 2 Hold down the Option key, then drag the button’s copy to its new location. The copy is automatically given the same name as the original, with a number added to distinguish it. The copy has all the same properties as the original, including its Target and navigation settings.
To set a button’s connection using the shortcut menu: 1 Control-click the button whose connection you want to set. 2 Choose Target, then choose the element to connect to from the shortcut menu. A checkmark appears next to the currently selected target. Those elements that can have a pre-script assigned to them (menus, tracks, stories, and slideshows) are listed in square brackets.
Settings at the Top of the Button Inspector There are three settings at the top of the Button Inspector. • Name: By default, buttons you manually add are named “Button _,” where “_” is the button number on that menu. To reduce confusion when viewing a list of the menu’s buttons, it is helpful to rename the buttons based on their functions. Note: Buttons created as a result of a Drop Palette action that creates other project elements are named after the new project elements.
• Start Frame: When the asset assigned to this button is a video clip, this area displays • • • • the video. Use the slider or timecode entry to choose the start point for motion playback (if motion is enabled) or to choose the frame to use in the button’s thumbnail if motion is not enabled. Motion: Select this checkbox to enable motion in the button when the button’s asset is a video clip. See “Configuring Motion Menu Settings” on page 282 for looping details with motion buttons.
Advanced Tab in the Button Inspector • Navigation: The pop-up menus in this area let you set the actions that take place when the viewer uses the arrow buttons on the DVD player’s remote control to navigate around the title. Since this is the typical way the title will be viewed, it is important to spend some time configuring the navigation in a logical, predictable way. See “Configuring Button Navigation” on page 268 for information.
Colors Tab in the Button Inspector The Colors tab works exactly as does the Colors tab in the Menu Inspector. See “Colors Tab in the Menu Inspector With Simple Selected” on page 249 and “Colors Tab in the Menu Inspector With Advanced Selected” on page 251 for information on this tab. Transition Tab in the Button Inspector The Transition tab is used to configure a button transition for this button. See “Transition Tab in the Menu and Button Inspectors” on page 350 for details on this tab.
About Button Numbers Each time you add a button to a menu, in addition to its name (which you can change), it is assigned a number (which you cannot directly change) based on the order in which you added it to the menu. The button’s name The button’s number The first button you manually add to a menu is named and numbered “Button 1,” the second is “Button 2,” and so on.
There are also four buttons along the bottom of the Menu Editor (the Arrange controls) that allow you to rearrange the button order. Sends the item’s priority one step back. Sends the item to the back, making it the lowest priority. Moves the item’s priority one step up. Brings the item to the front, making it the highest priority. • Send To Back: Makes the selected button button 1, the lowest priority button. The existing button 1 now becomes button 2, and so on. The button names don’t change, however.
Adding Text to a Button You can add text to any button on a standard menu. You can even create text-only buttons by creating a button active area and then adding the text to it. The default text font and color are set in the Text pane in DVD Studio Pro Preferences. To add text to a button: 1 Make sure the Style tab in the Button Inspector is displayed. 2 To add the text, do one of the following: • Select the button in the Menu Editor, then press Return.
Setting the Button Text’s Font and Color A button’s text can use a mix of colors and fonts. To change the text font and color: 1 Select the text you want to change. 2 Do one of the following to open the Font panel: • Choose Format > Font > Show Fonts. • Click Fonts in the toolbar. • Press Command-T. 3 Choose the font and size to use. 4 Do one of the following to open the Colors window: • Choose Format > Font > Show Colors. • Click Colors in the toolbar. • Press Shift-Command-C. 5 Choose the color to use.
To create a text-only button: 1 Create a button active area by dragging in the Menu Editor. 2 Add text to the button, either in the Button Inspector or by typing directly in the Menu Editor. 3 Set the text’s font and color. 4 In the Style tab in the Button Inspector, choose Center for the Position, and select Include Text in Highlight. 5 Adjust the size of the button’s active area so that it fits the text.
Setting Button Navigation Manually by Dragging in the Menu Editor You can set button navigation in the Menu Editor by dragging a button’s edge to the button that it should navigate to. Each edge of a button corresponds to an arrow button on a remote control. For example, dragging the right edge of a button determines what will happen when you press the Right Arrow button. To set button navigation by dragging button edges: 1 Select the button whose navigation you want to set.
Setting Button Navigation With the Auto Assign Feature The Auto Assign feature makes it easy to configure the button navigation for a menu. You can also use it as a starting point for configuring your navigation, and then freely adjust the settings it creates. To use Auto Assign to set button navigation: 1 Set up your menu as you want it, with its buttons in their final locations. 2 Do one of the following: • Choose Auto Assign Buttons Now in the Menu Editor’s Settings pop-up menu. • Press Shift-Command-D.
Setting Button Navigation With Continuous Auto Assign The Menu Editor includes a Continuous Auto Assign feature that updates the navigation of all buttons on the menu each time you add a new button or move an existing one. You are unable to manually assign button navigation while the Continuous Auto Assign feature is active. m To enable Continuous Auto Assign: Choose Auto Assign Buttons Continuously in the Menu Editor’s Settings pop-up menu.
About Overlapping Buttons In general, it’s a good idea to avoid overlapping buttons. Some DVD players may behave erratically when they try to process menus with overlapping buttons. This problem is worse if you are playing the title on a computer and using a pointer to select a button. Sometimes, however, while the button graphics do not actually overlap, their active areas do.
Adding Drop Zones to Your Menu Drop zones are similar to buttons; you can assign an asset to them, move them around, and change their size. Unlike buttons, however, they do not have jump targets and they are not counted as buttons in the menu’s button count. Drop zones allow you to add graphics to a menu that you would otherwise have had to add to the background using an external video editing application.
Setting Drop Zone Properties The Drop Zone Inspector appears once you create a drop zone. It contains basic settings for configuring the drop zone. • Name: Enter a name for the drop zone. • Asset: Use this pop-up menu to assign an asset to the drop zone. You can choose any applicable assets. • Start Frame: When the asset assigned to the drop zone is a video clip, this area • • • • • 274 displays the video.
About Using Drop Zones Any drop zones you add to your menu will become part of the menu’s background when the project is built. Overlapping Drop Zones While you should avoid overlapping buttons, you can feel free to overlap drop zones, since they are not involved in navigation. Because drop zones can be overlapped, you should use care when adding them to the menu—those added later have a higher priority and will cover up those added earlier.
Working With Assets in Buttons and Drop Zones A button’s or drop zone’s active area aspect ratio may not match the aspect ratio of the asset assigned to it. In these situations, part of the asset ends up being cropped off. You have two options for working with the asset: • You can leave the active area’s aspect ratio as it is, and move the asset to control which part of it is cropped off. • You can force the active area’s aspect ratio to match the asset’s aspect ratio.
To add a text object to a menu: 1 Double-click the menu where you want to add a text object. You will be able to move the object later, so the actual position is not critical. 2 Start typing the text. As you type, the text appears on the menu, with a handle on each end. To create a new line, press the Return key, or press Enter to exit the text entry mode. The Text Object Inspector appears.
4 Do one of the following to open the Colors window: • Choose Format > Font > Show Colors. • Click Colors in the toolbar. • Press Shift-Command-C. 5 Choose the color to use. You can also add bold, italic, and underline attributes to the text. Note: The bold and italic attributes are available only if the current font supports them. To apply bold, italic, and underline attributes: 1 Select the text you want to change. 2 Do one of the following to add the bold attribute: • Choose Format > Font > Bold.
• Text: This area contains the text displayed in the text object. You can also enter or edit the text here. To add additional lines, press Return. • Shadow: Select this checkbox to apply the menu’s drop shadow setting to this text object. • Position: Select the justification to apply to the text object (left, center, or right). • Rotation: Rotate the knob or enter a value to rotate the text object. The values can go from 0.0 to 359.9, with a value of 0.0 as normal.
m To assign an audio file to a menu, do one of the following: Drag an audio file to the Menu Editor, then choose Set Audio or Add to Existing Audio from the Drop Palette. m Click the General tab in the Menu Inspector, then do one of the following: • Drag an audio file to the Audio Filename area. • Click the Add (+) button and select the audio file from the file selection dialog.
Enabling Drop Shadows Enabling the drop shadows on a menu is a two-step process: Enable drop shadows for each menu item you want to apply them to, and then configure the menu’s drop shadow settings. This allows you to see the effect of the menu settings on all of the items at once. To enable the drop shadow: 1 Select a menu item that supports drop shadows (button text, button shapes, drop zone shapes, or text objects). 2 In that item’s Inspector, click the Shadow checkbox to enable it.
Configuring Motion Menu Settings There are several parts of a standard menu that can include an asset with motion or a time setting: • The menu’s background • The menu’s audio • Buttons • Drop zones A motion menu can have anywhere from one to all four of these motion items. The items it contains determine how they will interact. About Motion Menu Playback The Menu Editor contains a motion menu start/stop button. Clicking the button starts motion menu playback. Clicking it a second time stops playback.
Start Setting You can use the Start setting to set the video’s starting frame. By default, the start is set to the background video’s first frame. If there is audio assigned to the menu, its start time is also moved by the same number of frames as the video. Note: If there are other motion assets assigned to buttons or drop zones, they are not affected by the change in start time. When the menu’s background is a still image, the Start setting only affects the menu’s audio.
End Setting You can use the End setting to set the menu’s ending frame. By default, this is set to the value entered in the Menu pane in DVD Studio Pro Preferences if the menu has any motion assets. You can adjust it to be shorter or longer. This is most useful when you do not want to use the entire video background asset—when used along with the Start setting, you can choose the specific part of the video to use.
Options in the Drop Palette for Standard Menus Following are descriptions of the various Drop Palette options that can appear when you drag an asset or element to the Menu Editor. See “Viewing the Drop Palette” on page 220 for information on using the Drop Palette options. The following descriptions are grouped by the type of item you are dragging (asset, project element such as a track or slideshow, and a template, style, or shape from the Palette).
Create Button • Creates a button at this menu location. • Assigns this video to the button’s thumbnail, creating a motion button. This option does not create a track or link the button to anything. Create Drop Zone • Creates a drop zone at this menu location. • Assigns this video to the drop zone. Create Button and Chapter Index Use this option with video that has had chapter markers added with Compressor, Final Cut Express, Final Cut Pro, or iMovie.
Create Track • Creates a new track with this video. • Assigns matching audio as the track’s audio. • Names the track the same as the video asset. • Adds a link from the button to the first marker of the new track. The button’s thumbnail image does not change. Set Asset and Create Chapter Index Use this option with video that has had chapter markers added with Compressor, Final Cut Express, Final Cut Pro, or iMovie. • Creates a track and adds the chapter markers to it.
Dragging a Motion Video Asset to a Drop Zone The following options appear in the Drop Palette: Set Asset The default action. • Sets this video to be the drop zone’s asset. Create Button and Track Creates a button on top of the drop zone. Assigns this video to the button’s thumbnail. Creates a new track with this video. Assigns matching audio as the track’s audio. Names the track the same as the video asset. Adds a link from the new button to the first marker of the new track.
Dragging a Video/Audio Pair to an Empty Area The following options appear in the Drop Palette: Set Background and Audio The default action. • Sets this video to be the menu’s background. • Sets this audio to be the menu’s audio. Create Button and Track Creates a button at this menu location. Assigns this video to the button’s thumbnail. Creates a new track with this video and audio. Names the track the same as the video asset. Adds a link from the new button to the first marker of the new track.
Create Track • Creates a new track with this video. • Names the track the same as the video asset. • Adds a link from the button to the first marker of the new track. The button’s thumbnail does not change. Set Asset and Create Chapter Index Use this option with video that has had chapter markers added with Compressor, Final Cut Express, Final Cut Pro, or iMovie. • Creates a track and adds the chapter markers and audio to it. • Names the track the same as the video asset.
Dragging a Still Picture to an Empty Area The following options appear in the Drop Palette: Set Background The default action. • Uses the picture as this menu’s background. Set Overlay • Uses the picture as this menu’s overlay. Create Button • Creates a button at this menu location and assigns this picture to its thumbnail. This option does not create a new menu or link the button to anything. Create Drop Zone • Creates a drop zone at this menu location and assigns this picture to it.
Dragging a Still Picture to a Drop Zone The following options appear in the Drop Palette: Set Asset The default action. • Sets this picture to be the drop zone’s asset. Create Button • Creates a button on top of the drop zone and assigns this picture to its thumbnail. This option does not create a new menu or link the button to anything. The drop zone is unaffected.
Dragging Multiple Still Pictures (or a Folder) to a Button The following options appear in the Drop Palette: Set Asset and Create Slideshow The default action. • Sets the button’s thumbnail to the first picture. • Creates a new slideshow. • Adds a link from the button to the new slideshow. • Sets the slideshow’s End Jump setting to this menu. Create Slideshow • Creates a new slideshow. • Adds a link from the button to the new slideshow. • Sets the slideshow’s End Jump setting to this menu.
Create Standard Submenu • Creates a button at this menu location. • Assigns this picture to the button’s thumbnail, using the layers left visible by the graphics application. • Creates a new standard menu with this picture as the background, with all layers visible. • Adds a link from the new button to the new menu. Once set, you can disable layers for the new menu in the Menu Inspector. Create Layered Submenu • Creates a button at this menu location.
Create Button and Chapter Index Note: If the menu contains no buttons, drop zones, or text objects, then this option changes to Create Chapter Index. Instead of creating a separate menu as the first chapter index menu, this menu is used. Additional chapter index menus are created if necessary. • Creates a button on this menu to link to the first of the new chapter index menus. • Creates one or more new chapter index menus, depending on the number of markers and the button layout used.
Create Chapter Index • Links the button to the first of the new chapter index menus. • Creates one or more new chapter index menus, depending on the number of markers and the button layout used. • Opens the Choose Template or Layout Style dialog so you can choose the template or layout style to use for the chapter index menus. • Links each chapter marker from the track to buttons on the chapter index menus. • Assigns the video from each marker to its button’s thumbnail.
Dragging Multiple Existing Stories to an Empty Area The following option appears in the Drop Palette: Create Buttons The default action. • For each story, creates a button. • Assigns each story as its button’s asset. • Adds a link from the new buttons to each story’s first video clip. • Sets each story’s End Jump setting to this menu (if it has not already been set). Dragging a Slideshow to an Empty Area The following options appear in the Drop Palette: Create Button The default action.
Connect to Slideshow • Adds a link from the button to the slideshow. • Sets the slideshow’s End Jump setting to this menu (if it has not already been set). The button’s thumbnail does not change. Create Chapter Index • Links the button to the first of the new chapter index menus. • Creates one or more new chapter index menus, depending on the number of slides and the button layout used.
Dragging a Script to an Empty Area The following option appears in the Drop Palette: Create Button The default action. • Creates a button at this menu location. • Adds a link from the new button to the script. Dragging a Script to a Button The following option appears in the Drop Palette: Connect to Script The default action. • Adds a link from the button to the script.
Dragging a Template to an Empty Area The following options appear in the Drop Palette: Apply to Menu The default action. • Template buttons are only applied to existing buttons (no new buttons are created). Note: An exception is if the menu has no buttons, in which case all buttons from the template will be added. Apply to Menu—Add All Buttons • Template buttons are all applied, replacing existing buttons and adding new ones (if necessary). Create Submenu Creates a button at this menu location.
Dragging a Button Style to a Button The following option appears in the Drop Palette: Apply to Button The default action. • Applies this button style to the button. Dragging a Text Style to an Empty Area The following options appear in the Drop Palette: Create Text Object The default action. • Creates a text object at this menu location. • Assigns this style to the text object. Create Text Object—Set Default Text Style • Creates a text object at this menu location. • Assigns this style to the text object.
Dragging a Drop Zone Style to a Drop Zone The following option appears in the Drop Palette: Apply to Drop Zone The default action. • Assigns this style to the drop zone. Dragging a Layout Style to the Menu Editor The following options appear in the Drop Palette: Apply to Menu The default action. • Layout style buttons are only applied to existing buttons (no new buttons are created). Note: An exception is if the menu has no buttons, in which case all buttons from the layout style will be added.
8 Using Templates, Styles, and Shapes to Create Your Menus 8 DVD Studio Pro includes templates and styles that can make it easier to create menus. You can use the supplied templates and styles to quickly produce your menus, or you can make your own templates and styles. DVD Studio Pro includes templates and styles that are designed to make the menu creation process quicker and easier. By applying a template or style to all menus in a project, you can create a cohesive, consistent look for your project.
Note: Templates and styles are in either PAL or NTSC format. You cannot use a template or style created using NTSC assets in a PAL project. The Palette only shows templates and styles that are compatible with the current project’s video standard. Additionally, templates using HD-specific resolutions (such as 1280 x 720p) or HD-specific video formats (HDV or H.264) cannot be imported into SD projects.
Template and Style Groups To see the available templates and styles, you click the buttons at the top of the tabs. There are three choices for templates and four for styles: • Apple: The templates and styles provided by DVD Studio Pro. These are available to all projects. • Custom: The templates and styles you create and do not designate as “Project.” These are available to all projects. • Project: The templates and styles you create for use only in a specific project.
Linking Styles to Templates You can link, or associate, styles to templates. That way, if you apply a template to a menu and then want to use a different button style on one of the buttons, you can choose to see only those button styles that have been linked to that template. This makes it easier to create menus based on families of templates and styles, helping you maintain a consistent look while creating a project.
A template contains the properties of each of the four styles plus some additional properties. The following property list is grouped by style, with an additional group of properties applying only to templates. Button Style Properties Button styles and all buttons in a template contain the following properties. Templates also contain the following properties as the default button style, used when a Drop Palette action requires new buttons to be created on the menu.
Drop Zone Style Properties Drop zone styles contain the following properties. Templates contain the following properties for each of their drop zones. • Size: The width and height of the drop zone’s active area • Asset: The asset file assigned to the drop zone and the timecode setting below the thumbnail. When a drop zone style is applied to an existing drop zone, this asset only appears if the existing drop zone does not already have an asset assigned.
• Color: The color mapping settings for the menu. These include the color and opacity • • • • • • assigned to each button state for each of the three color sets, as well as the Color Palette’s 16 colors.
Using the Palette’s Apply Button The Palette includes an Apply button that you can use to apply the selected template or style to a menu. When applying button, text, or drop zone styles using the Apply button, the style is applied to all selected items at once. When dragging, you can only apply the style to one item. To apply a template or style using the Apply button: 1 Make sure the Menu Editor is displaying the correct menu.
Applying Templates or Layout Styles to a Menu With Buttons When you apply a template or layout style to a menu that already has buttons, you are given the option of adding only enough buttons to replace the existing ones, or of adding all template or layout style buttons. If the menu has more buttons than the template or layout style, all buttons are added with the extra ones on the menu remaining unchanged.
Setting Default Styles You can set a default button and text style for each menu. Additionally, you can choose a default text style for the entire project in DVD Studio Pro Preferences. DVD Studio Pro uses the default button style any time you drag an asset to the Menu Editor and choose an option from the Drop Palette that creates buttons. The default button style applies only to menus to which you’ve assigned it. The default text style is used whenever you add a text object to any menu in a project.
Creating a Template or Style While creating a template or style is not difficult, it is worth spending some planning time so that you can make the templates and styles as useful as possible. To create a template or style: 1 Configure a standard menu to match what you want the template or style to be. If you’re creating a template or a layout style, use care to name the buttons and create them in the correct order. See “About Button Numbers” on page 264 and “GeneralPurpose Buttons” on page 311 for details.
About Self-Contained Templates and Styles A template or style can use a surprising number of assets. Motion backgrounds and assets assigned to the button thumbnails can be very large files. In many cases, templates and styles you create that use motion assets will be specific to a particular project. In these cases, there is no reason to save them as self-contained. If you are creating a template or style and want to be sure it will always have the assets it requires, you can save it as self-contained.
Importing Templates and Styles You can import templates and styles from other systems. When you import a template or style, it is copied to the same locations used when you create a custom or project template or style. See “Locations of Template and Style Files” on page 314 for more information. To import a template or style using the File menu: 1 Choose either File > Import > Style or File > Import > Template. 2 Use the import dialog to navigate to the templates or styles you want to import.
Deleting Templates and Styles You can delete templates and styles once you no longer need them. To delete a template or style: 1 Select the template or style to delete. You can select multiple items to delete. 2 Do one of the following: • Click Delete at the bottom of the Palette. • Control-click the item to be deleted, then choose Delete Selected Template or Delete Selected Style from the shortcut menu. 3 A dialog appears, warning that deleting this item may affect this and other projects. Click OK.
Managing Shapes The Palette contains a Shapes tab. You can use this tab to view thumbnails of the shapes, drag the shapes to the Menu Editor to use them as buttons or drop zones, and import shapes that you have created. You can choose either small or large as the size for the thumbnails in the Palette in the General pane in DVD Studio Pro Preferences. See “General Preferences” on page 114 for more information on the preferences.
Applying a Shape You can apply a shape to an existing button or drop zone (or group of buttons or drop zones) on a menu, or you can create a new button when you apply the shape. The method you use to apply the shape (use the Apply button or drag the shapes) determines what you are able to do. Shapes are sorted into three groups: • Apple: The shapes provided by DVD Studio Pro. These are available to all projects. Note: Not all shapes supplied with DVD Studio Pro support highlights.
To apply a shape by dragging: 1 In the Palette, select the shape’s group (Apple, Custom, or Project) so that the shape’s thumbnail appears. 2 Drag the shape from the Palette to the Menu Editor, then do one of the following: • To apply the shape to an existing button or drop zone, drag the shape to it. • To create a new button or drop zone, drag the shape to an empty area of the menu and when the Drop Palette appears, choose either Create Button or Create Drop Zone.
Importing a Shape You can import shapes that you create. See “Creating Shapes” on page 93 for information on creating shapes. When you import shapes, you choose whether they are specific to a project or shared. To import a shape: 1 Click Import in the Shape tab in the Palette. 2 In the selection dialog that appears, locate and select the shape (or shapes) to import. Select if you want the imported shapes to be used only with this project.
Updating a Shape When you create a custom shape, you will often find, once you’ve applied it to a button or drop zone on a menu, that you need to make an adjustment to it. For example, you might need to make the highlight area larger. To reimport a shape: 1 Click Import in the Shape tab in the Palette. 2 In the selection dialog that appears, locate and select the shape (or shapes) to reimport. 3 Select the Project checkbox if the shapes are used only with this project.
9 Creating Menus Using the Layered Method 9 The layered method allows you to create independent versions of each button for each of the three states. This gives you great flexibility in changing a button’s appearance when it is selected and activated.
For best quality, be sure your graphic: • Matches the menu’s resolution and aspect ratio (4:3 or 16:9): If you are creating 16:9 menus in SD projects, or with the 720 x 480p, 720 x 576p, or 1440 x 1080i HD resolutions in HD projects, be sure the graphic is anamorphic. See “Creating Graphics to Use in Menus” on page 82 and “Choosing an Aspect Ratio” on page 50 for details.
4 Choose one of the following: • Set Background—All Layers Visible if you want all layers in the file to show. • Set Background—No Layers Visible if you want all layers in the file to be hidden. The background appears in the Menu Editor. You can choose which layers to show in the Menu Inspector. To assign a menu background by dragging it to the Outline or Graphical tab: 1 Click the Outline or Graphical tab and select the menu you want to assign the background to.
Choosing the Overlay You can use overlays with layered menus as well as with standard menus. Every aspect of using them, from selecting the file and configuring its color mapping, is identical to how you use overlays in a standard menu. See “Choosing the Overlay” on page 233 for information on adding an overlay to your layered menu. See “Understanding Color Mapping” on page 236 for information on configuring color mapping for simple and advanced overlays.
General Tab in the Menu Inspector for Layered Menus The General tab in the Menu Inspector for layered menus is divided into three sections: The upper section contains the menu timeout settings, the middle section contains the background configuration settings, and the lower section contains the overlay configuration settings.
Menu Tab in the Menu Inspector for Layered Menus Most settings in the Menu tab in the Menu Inspector for layered menus are optional. An exception is the Aspect Ratio setting, which must be set correctly for each menu. • Default Button: Choose the button to be selected when the menu appears during • • • • 328 playback of the title. This setting can be overridden by any element that jumps to this menu, based on its jump setting, and the Highlight Condition setting.
• Display Mode: Set the aspect ratio for this menu (4:3 or 16:9). With 16:9, you also choose how it will display on a 4:3 monitor. The aspect ratio of the background and overlay must match this setting. See “Working With 16:9 Menus” on page 208 for more information. • Number Pad: Defines which buttons are directly accessible by a DVD player’s numeric keypad. Choose All, None, or a button number from the pop-up menu.
Colors Tab in the Menu Inspector for Layered Menus The Colors tab is identical to the Menu Inspector for standard menus. See “Colors Tab in the Menu Inspector With Simple Selected” on page 249 and “Colors Tab in the Menu Inspector With Advanced Selected” on page 251 for information on the Colors tab. Advanced Tab in the Menu Inspector for Layered Menus The Advanced tab in the Menu Inspector for layered menus contains settings that are used only in specialized projects.
Disabled User Operations Settings • Disabled User Operations: Select the functions that you want to be disabled while this menu plays. See “User Operations” on page 598 for more information. Playback Options Settings • Pre-Script: Choose a script to run before the menu appears. This script can decide whether to show the menu or configure the DVD player before showing it. See “Pre-Scripts” on page 467 for information on pre-scripts.
Configuring a Layered Button Configuring a layered button is a matter of selecting layers in the menu’s PSD file to display in the three button states (normal, selected, and activated). To configure a layered button: 1 Click in the button’s active area. The Button Inspector appears. 2 Set the button’s connection by choosing an element from the target pop-up menu in the top section of the Button Inspector. 3 Click the Layers tab. A list of all layers in the PSD file appears.
6 Select the checkbox in the Activated column next to the layer to display when this button is activated. You can select more than one layer. 7 To verify the layer settings, use the Menu Editor’s button state icons to select the state (normal, selected, or activated) to display. Shows the normal state. Shows the activated state. Shows the selected state. You need to repeat this process for each layered button in your menu.
Button Tab in the Button Inspector for Layered Menus The Button tab in the Button Inspector for layered menus contains settings that allow you to customize the selected button. • Navigation: This area lets you set the actions that take place when the viewer uses the arrow buttons on the DVD player’s remote control to navigate around the title. Since this is the typical way the title will be viewed, it is important to spend some time configuring the navigation in a logical, predictable way.
• Invisible: Applies to overlay-based buttons. Allows you to have a button that does not display highlights in the normal, selected, or activated state. This is useful when you want to have a menu with text and no visible buttons. The text could tell the viewer to press the Enter button to go to the next menu or start playback (or whatever the button is set to jump to). • Highlight: Applies to overlay-based buttons. Allows you to choose the color mapping set to assign to this button.
Colors Tab in the Button Inspector for Layered Menus The Colors tab is identical to the one used in the Button and Menu Inspectors for standard menus. See “Colors Tab in the Menu Inspector With Simple Selected” on page 249 and “Colors Tab in the Menu Inspector With Advanced Selected” on page 251 for details on using this tab. Transition Tab in the Button Inspector for Layered Menus The Transition tab is used to configure a button transition for this button.
Options in the Drop Palette for Layered Menus Following are descriptions of the various Drop Palette options that can appear when you drag an asset or element to the Menu Editor. See “Viewing the Drop Palette” on page 220 for information on using the Drop Palette options. The following descriptions are grouped by the type of item you are dragging (asset, project element such as a track or slideshow, and a template, style, or shape from the Palette).
• Creates a button on this menu to link to the first of the new chapter index menus. • Creates one or more new chapter index menus (using the standard method), depending on the number of markers and the button layout used. • Opens the Choose Template or Layout Style dialog so you can choose the template or layout style to use for the chapter index menus. • Links each chapter marker from the new track to buttons on the chapter index menus. • Assigns the video from each marker to its button’s thumbnail.
Create Button and Chapter Index Use this option with video that has had chapter markers added with Compressor, Final Cut Express, Final Cut Pro, or iMovie. • Creates a track and adds the chapter markers to it. • Names the track the same as the video asset. • Sets the new track’s End Jump setting to this menu. • Creates a button on this menu to link to the first of the new chapter index menus.
Dragging a Single-Layer Still Picture to an Empty Area The following options appear in the Drop Palette: Set Overlay The default action. • Uses the picture as this menu’s overlay. Create Standard Submenu • Creates a button at this menu location. • Creates a new standard menu with this picture as the background. • Adds a link from the new button to the new menu. Dragging a Single-Layer Still Picture to a Button The following option appears in the Drop Palette: Create Standard Submenu The default action.
Create Layered Submenu • Creates a button at this menu location. • Creates a new layered menu with this picture as the background, with no layers visible. • Adds a link from the new button to the new menu. Once set, you can enable layers for the new menu in the Menu Inspector. Dragging a Multiple-Layer Still Picture to a Button The following options appear in the Drop Palette: Create Standard Submenu The default action.
Drop Palette for Layered Menus—Dragging Project Elements The following section lists the choices in the Drop Palette that appear when you drag project elements from the Outline or Graphical tab to an empty area or a button in a layered menu. Dragging an Existing Track to an Empty Area The following options appear in the Drop Palette: Create Button The default action. • Creates a button at this menu location. • Adds a link from the new button to the first marker of the track.
Dragging a Story to an Empty Area The following option appears in the Drop Palette: Create Button The default action. • Creates a button at this menu location. • Adds a link from the new button to the story. Dragging a Story to a Button The following option appears in the Drop Palette: Connect to Story The default action. • Adds a link from the button to the story. Dragging a Slideshow to an Empty Area The following options appear in the Drop Palette: Create Button The default action.
Dragging a Slideshow to a Button The following options appear in the Drop Palette: Connect to Slideshow • Adds a link from the button to the slideshow. • Sets the slideshow’s End Jump setting to this menu (if it has not already been set). Create Chapter Index • Links the button to the first of the new chapter index menus. • Creates one or more new chapter index menus (using the standard method), • • • • depending on the number of slides and the button layout used.
10 Using Advanced Menu Features 10 Adding menu transitions and creating menus for multiple languages are advanced features that can add value to your DVD project. Menu transitions are short video clips that play at the beginning of a menu (intro clips) and when buttons are pressed (transition clips). There are several approaches you can take to add these clips to your project. See “Adding Intro and Transition Clips to Menus” on page 345 for more information.
There are three approaches you can take to create a menu intro effect: • Combine the intro clip with the menu’s background video. This method guarantees a seamless transition between the intro clip and the original menu’s background. The Menu Editor includes a Loop Point setting that you can use to control where the menu jumps to when its playback is looped. This allows you to configure the intro clip to play only the first time a menu’s background plays.
Button Transition Clips Button transition clips provide the opposite effect of the menu intro clip—they provide a transition from the menu background’s buttons to the element (a track or another menu) that the menu’s button is connected to. Using the same example used for the intro clips (a shot of a building with buttons placed in its windows), the transition clip could have the button elements fly off the screen and then fade the shot of the building to black.
Important: Be aware of the aspect ratio and resolution of the button’s target when configuring transitions. All transitions from a menu are based on the menu’s aspect ratio and resolution. Depending on the type of monitor a viewer is using, if the button’s target uses a different aspect ratio or transition, there may be a noticeable glitch when the monitor switches from the menu’s settings to the button target’s settings.
Standard Transitions When you choose a Standard Transition from the Transition pop-up menu in the Transition tab in the Menu or Button Inspector, DVD Studio Pro creates a short video clip to be used as the transition. The transition clips use a start and end video frame, with the transition controlling how the video changes from one to the other. • The start frame is the menu with all buttons in the normal state.
Once you have configured the menu’s transition, you can modify or disable it at each button. To modify a button’s transition: 1 Select the button to be modified. 2 Click the Transition tab in the Button Inspector. The Transition setting shows “Same as Menu” by default. 3 Choose the transition to use from the Transition pop-up menu. You can choose “not set” to disable transitions for that button. 4 Configure the transition using its specific parameters.
• Transition: Choose the transition to use. In the Menu Inspector, this sets the default transition for this menu, which you can override at each button. • not set: Disables transitions for this menu or button. • Standard Transition: Creates a transition clip based on the standard transitions supplied with DVD Studio Pro. • Video Transition: Uses a video clip you assign to create a transition. See “Video Transitions” on page 349 for more information. • Same as Menu: Only available in the Button Inspector.
Manually Creating Button Transition Clips Transition clips are inserted between the button and the button’s connection. While a menu’s intro clip plays when you jump to the menu, button transitions play when you activate a specific button. If you have eight buttons on a menu and want the transition clip to play when each button is activated, you have to create a separate transition clip for each button, since the end of the transition clip needs to jump to the button’s actual connection.
You do not actually create different menus for each language—you simply assign separate background, overlay, and audio (if applicable) files to each language. You can also change the text in any text objects and buttons. These three files and the text changes are the only differences between the languages. Button active areas, links, and all other menu settings are exactly the same for each language.
Adding Menu Languages You can use the Outline tab’s shortcut menu to create menu languages. m To create menu languages, do one of the following: Choose Project > Add to Project > Language. m Control-click in the Outline tab, then choose Add from the shortcut menu and Language from the submenu. m Press Command-/ (slash). The new language appears in the Outline tab under the Languages heading. By default it is named “English _,” with “_” being the number of the language.
Setting Up Menus for the Languages Once you have created and configured your languages, you can configure their menus. To do this, you need to have created and imported all assets (backgrounds, overlays, and audio streams) that will be used for the different languages. To configure a menu for a language: 1 Select a menu. It does not have to be fully configured yet. Keep in mind that all settings (with the exception of the background, overlay, audio file, and text) are shared among all languages.
11 Creating and Editing Tracks 11 The main content of a DVD project is contained in tracks, which hold pieces of video, audio, and subtitles that play as a unit. A DVD can have a combination of up to 99 tracks, stories, and slideshows.
How Many Tracks Should You Have? Depending on your intended result, your project may have one long track, or you may choose to divide your material into multiple tracks that can be played separately or linked together. For example, if you are working on a long project that you expect the viewer to watch from beginning to end, using one long track is the best option. This eliminates any pauses that the viewer may encounter while the DVD player jumps from one track to another.
Getting Started With Tracks There are several methods you can use to create a track. Once it has been created, you can open it in the Track Editor, using the controls there and in the Track Inspector to configure it. Creating Tracks By default, a new project contains one menu and one track. Depending on your project, you will probably want to add additional tracks. There are several ways to add a track to your project.
Setting Track Properties The Track Inspector contains a top section and four tabs: General, Other, User Operations, and Transition. Settings at the Top of the Track Inspector There are three settings at the top of the Track Inspector. • Name: Enter the name for the track. If a track is created because a video asset was dragged to the Menu Editor, the Outline tab, or the Graphical tab, it is automatically named the same as the video asset.
• Resolution: Choose the track’s resolution. • For SD projects, the resolution is either 720 x 480i (NTSC) or 720 x 576i (PAL). • For HD projects, you can choose from any of the supported resolutions, as long as • • • • • no video assets have been assigned to the track. You cannot change the resolution once a video asset has been assigned to the track. (You can change the resolution if the track only contains still assets.
Other Tab in the Track Inspector The Timestamps settings in the Other tab in the Track Inspector applies to both SD and HD projects. The other settings in the tab apply only to SD projects. • Timestamps: Shows the start timecode of the first video asset in the V1 stream. You can also enter a track offset that is used in place of the first video asset’s timecode when you choose Asset-Based Timecode in the Track Editor. See “Timecode in the Timeline” on page 367 for more information.
User Operations Tab in the Track Inspector The User Operations tab is the same as those in other DVD Studio Pro Inspectors, and is discussed in “User Operations” on page 598. Transition Tab in the Track Inspector The Transition tab is the same used in the Clip Inspector when a still clip is selected. See “Transition Tab in the Track and Clip Inspectors” on page 399 for details on the Transition tab.
About the Track Editor The streams are the heart of the Track Editor. In these parallel areas, you define the video, audio, and subtitle assets to be used in your tracks, and their relationship to one another. Choose the track to view in the Track Editor. Displays the track’s time and marker information. Drag the separator bars to set how many video, audio, and subtitle streams appear. Use these controls to configure the streams. Select the height of the streams. Set the timeline zoom amount.
Using the Stream Configuration Buttons The Track tab includes a set of controls that you can use to quickly change which streams appear. The size of the Track tab determines how many streams appear. m Click to show the video streams in the Track Editor. To choose which streams appear, do one of the following: Click the video icon to show only video streams. m Click the audio icon to show only the V1 stream and the audio streams.
m m To use the zoom control, do one of the following: Drag it to the right to zoom out, showing more of the timeline. If the playhead is not visible, the timeline scroller automatically jumps to a position that does show it. Drag it to the left to zoom in, showing less of the timeline but more detail in the part that shows. If the playhead is not visible, the timeline scroller automatically jumps to a position that does show it.
Timecode in the Timeline The timeline’s timecode is continuous throughout the track. You can choose from two sources for the timecode: zero-based and asset-based. • Zero-based timecode starts the timeline at 00:00:00:00. You cannot change the zerobased timecode, and the assets assigned to the V1 stream do not affect it. • Asset-based timecode can be based either on the timecode of the first clip on the V1 stream, or on a value you enter in the Track Inspector.
Being able to force the timeline’s timecode to start at a specific value can be useful whenever you are importing a marker list or subtitle file that is based on timecode different from the zero-based or asset-based values. Note: For NTSC projects, the type of timecode in the first asset—drop frame or nondrop frame—determines the type of timecode for the timeline. Clip Start and End Timecode Timecode start and end values appear when you select a clip (video, audio, or subtitle) in one of the streams.
A playhead icon appears in the timeline scroller area to let you know where it is relative to the part of the timeline being shown, which is useful if you cannot see the playhead in the Track Editor. For example, if the playhead icon appears to the left of the scroller, that means the playhead is at a point in time before the clips currently visible in the timeline. The playhead appears in the timeline’s scroller.
Positioning the Playhead by Using Keyboard Shortcuts There are a number of keyboard shortcuts that you can use to position the playhead. • Left and Right Arrow keys: Move the playhead one frame at a time. • Shift–Left and Shift–Right Arrow keys: Move the playhead one second at a time. • Option–Left and Option–Right Arrow keys: Move the playhead one GOP at a time. • Control–Left and Control–Right Arrow keys: Move the playhead to the next marker.
See “Encoding Video Materials for DVD” on page 54 for information on supported video assets, “Preparing Audio Sources” on page 77 for information on supported audio assets, and “Using the Embedded MPEG Encoder” on page 62 for information on the assets the embedded encoder supports.
Still clips can have a transition added to their end. The transition controls what happens at the end of the still clip—for example, you can configure it to dissolve or wipe to the next clip, whether the next clip is a video or still clip. See “Using Still Clip Transitions” on page 398 for more information.
When you add a video asset to the V1 stream, DVD Studio Pro checks to see if there is an audio asset with the same base name in the same folder. If there is, it is automatically added to the A1 audio stream. The start of the audio clip will be the same as the video clip. If any audio already exists in the A1 stream where the new audio clip needs to go, it is trimmed or moved as necessary.
m m To copy a clip to a different stream, do one of the following: Option-drag the clip to the stream that you want to copy it to. You can position it as needed. Shift-Option-drag the clip to the stream that you want to copy it to. The clip is constrained to use the same start time as the original. The original clip is not affected, and remains in its location. Copies of the original clip take up as much disc space as the original clip.
The Clip Inspector shows information about both the clip and the stream. • Name: Enter a name for the clip. This name applies to the clip in this track’s timeline only—it does not affect the asset’s name in the Assets tab. • Asset: Shows the clip’s actual filename. • Est. Size: Shows how much disc space this clip requires. Clip Information and Settings • Start: Shows the clip’s start time in the stream. • Clip Start Trim: Choose the part of the asset that the clip should use.
Editing Video and Audio Clips You can trim the start and end of a clip, which is useful when you need to remove a portion of an asset for artistic reasons (such as a bumped camera). It is important to understand that video clips in DVD Studio Pro are trimmed based on GOP boundaries—you cannot choose a specific frame to trim to. The typical GOP (Group of Pictures) size for NTSC video is 15 frames—for PAL video it is 12 frames.
To help guide you when trimming your clip, drag the playhead to the point you want to edit to. A vertical line appears across all streams, which you can use as a guide to trim an edge to. Be sure to use the timeline zoom feature to provide a close-up view of the area you’re editing. Use care not to lose your video and audio synchronization when trimming.
• If you drag a video clip to the start of a V1 stream that already has a clip assigned, the new clip becomes the first clip and the original one (and any that follow it) shuffle down the timeline. • If you drag a video clip to the point where two existing video clips meet in a V1 stream, the new clip is inserted between them.
Assigning Languages Each audio and subtitle stream in a track can have a language assigned to it. When the track plays, it can select a stream based on the DVD player’s language setting. If no suitable stream is found, the player plays the first stream. Note: The Languages area of the Outline tab and the Add Language icon in the toolbar are used when creating multiple-language menus, and are not used by the Track Editor. See “Setting Up Menus for the Languages” on page 355 for more information.
Working With Markers You can add up to 255 markers to a track, although a maximum of 99 can be set as chapter markers. Each marker has its own properties that define its purpose.
If you convert a slideshow to a track, each still clip has a marker placed at its beginning. The markers are named the same as the still asset used for its clip. These markers retain any pause and DVD@CCESS settings that may have been set in the Slideshow editor. If any slides use transitions, the transitions appear as a shaded area in the timeline with a cell marker at their beginning.
Depending on the currently selected stream size, a thumbnail image of the frame located at the marker point appears in the video stream. You can modify the thumbnail image in the Marker Inspector. See “Setting Marker Properties” on page 387 for more information. The default marker’s name is “Chapter _,” with “_” being the next number available. The number is based on the order in which you create the markers, not on their location on the track. This means Chapter 4 may occur before Chapter 2.
m m m m To delete a marker, do one of the following: Control-click the marker, then choose Delete Marker from the shortcut menu. Select the marker, then press the Delete key. To delete all markers, do one of the following: Choose Edit > Delete All Markers. Control-click in an empty part of the Track Editor’s marker area, then choose Delete All Markers from the shortcut menu.
Importing Markers From an Editor When you edit your video asset in iMovie, Final Cut Pro, or Final Cut Express, you can add chapter markers that DVD Studio Pro uses to create markers on the track. If you have named the markers, DVD Studio Pro uses those names when it creates the markers. How you add the video asset to your project determines what happens with the markers: • If you add the asset by dragging it to the Menu Editor, you can choose any of the Drop Palette options that create a track.
Importing Markers From a Text List You can create a list of timecode points that DVD Studio Pro can import to create markers. The timecode values need to match the timecode of the track’s video clip. The list of timecode values must be a plain text file; you can create it with TextEdit (as long as you save the file as plain text). If you create the list with a more advanced wordprocessing application, be sure to save the file as a plain ASCII text file with no formatting.
About the Marker Types There are four types of markers you can have in the track. One marker can be one or more of these types. The color of a marker in the Track Editor indicates its type—if you configure a marker to be more than one type, the marker symbol splits to display the relevant colors. The types of markers and their colors are: • • • • Chapter: purple Button highlight: orange Dual-layer break: black dot in the marker’s middle Cell: green You define the type of marker in the Marker Inspector.
Note: The DVD specification does not allow subtitles to extend across chapter markers. For that reason, subtitles that cross chapter markers are automatically split into multiple subtitle clips at each marker when you build your project. Button Highlight Markers You use button highlight markers when you want to have buttons display over the video on the track. These buttons are actually configured as part of a subtitle clip.
Settings at the Top of the Marker Inspector • Name: Enter the name for the marker. See “Track Preferences” on page 116 for information on how DVD Studio Pro can automatically assign names to markers. A number is automatically appended to the name you enter if a marker with that name already exists on that track. • End Jump: Choose the project element to jump to when the marker finishes playing (occurs just before the next marker is reached). This is typically left at “not set.
• Zero-Based: Shows the marker’s timecode based on the timeline’s zero-based mode • • • • (based on the timeline’s first frame being 00:00:00:00). You can reposition the marker by entering a new value or using the arrows. The new position must correspond to a GOP boundary—the arrows jump one GOP at a time. Asset-Based: Shows the marker’s timecode based on the timeline’s asset-based mode (based on the timecode of the timeline’s first clip or a value entered in the Track Inspector’s Other tab).
Working With Stories A story is simply a way to rearrange the playback of the track cells defined by the chapter markers. You may want to create a version of a track that skips some objectionable content, or you may want to use a short piece of the track as a preview. A story does not increase the amount of disc space the track requires since it is simply playing the track’s markers in a different order. A story has access to the entire track, but it does not have to include it all.
Using the Story Editor The Story Editor is where you create your story. Choose a story from the current track to edit. The source list. Drag markers from this side to the other side to create your story. The entry list. Drag markers to this list to create your story. The Story Editor contains two halves: • The left half is the source list, which contains a list of all markers in the track. You cannot directly make changes to the source list.
Setting Story Properties The Story Inspector has two tabs: General and User Operations. See “User Operations” on page 598 for details on the settings in this tab. Settings at the Top of the Story Inspector • Name: Enter the name for the story. • End Jump: Choose the project element to jump to when the story finishes playing. This is typically left at Same as Track, but can be set to any other element in the project.
• Pre-Script: The script you choose in this pop-up menu will run as soon as the story is selected. The script determines whether to play the story or configure the DVD player before playing it. See Chapter 14, “Creating Scripts,” on page 467 for information on scripts. • Wait: Use this control to set how long the DVD player displays the last frame of the story’s video before exercising the End Jump setting. • None: Immediately jumps to the End Jump setting.
• Zero-Based: Shows the story entry’s timecode based on the timeline’s zero-based mode (based on the timeline’s first frame being 00:00:00:00). • Asset-Based: Shows the marker’s timecode based on the timeline’s asset-based mode (based on the timecode of the timeline’s first asset). • Track Marker: Choose a marker from the source list to assign to this entry. • Remote Control: Choose the place in the project to jump to if the viewer uses the Menu button of the remote control.
Adding Alternate Video Streams One feature unique to the DVD medium is the viewer’s ability to switch between parallel video streams with continuous audio. Only one video stream at a time can serve as the active stream, but there can be as many as eight alternate streams, for a total of nine “camera angles.” These can be different camera views, or angles, of the same subject, or they can be any other video sources.
About Alternate Stream Video Assets If you want to switch between video streams while the DVD is playing, the DVD specification sets some restrictions on the alternate streams. They must be in the same MPEG format and have the exact same GOP structure as the main stream. It is strongly recommended that you use the same encoder for all streams to ensure they match exactly. For multi-angle tracks, all streams, including the main one, must be the exact same length.
Creating a Mixed-Angle Track With a mixed-angle track, the main video stream runs the full length of the track with the alternate streams using only a small part of that time. Each of the track’s alternate video streams is aligned to a marker, and all corresponding alternate video assets start at the same point. Each alternate stream must use assets with the same length, and their GOP structures must match the main video stream.
Using Still Clip Transitions When you add a still asset as a clip to a track, you are able to configure a transition for it. The transition can be an effect, such as a dissolve or wipe, that provides a smooth transition from the still clip to the next clip. Each still clip in a track has its own transition settings, accessible in the Transition tab in the Clip Inspector. You can also set a default transition for the track in the Transition tab in the Track Inspector.
Setting an Individual Still Clip’s Transition You can set each still clip’s transition settings. To set a still clip’s transition: 1 Click the still clip in the timeline to which you want to add the transition. 2 Click the Transition tab in the Clip Inspector. 3 Choose the transition to use from the Transition pop-up menu, or choose “Same as Track” to use the track’s default transition settings. Choose “not set” if you do not want this still clip to use a transition.
• Transition: Choose the type of transition to use. In the Track Inspector, this sets the default transition for this track, which you can override at each still clip. • not set: Disables default transitions for this track or still clip. Note: Even with “not set” chosen for the track, you can set transitions at each still clip. • Still Transition: Creates a transition clip based on the chosen transition and its related settings. • Same as Track: Only available in the Clip Inspector.
About the Viewer Tab You use the Viewer tab to preview tracks. It is also used as the Subtitle Editor when you create subtitles in DVD Studio Pro. When previewing a track, you can use four buttons to control the preview: • • • • Play/Pause Stop Step Forward Step Reverse Note: The Subtitle Editor tools in the Viewer tab are unavailable unless you select a subtitle to edit. See “Creating Subtitles With DVD Studio Pro” on page 445 for more information.
Modifying the Step Buttons The Step Forward and Step Reverse buttons move the playhead one frame at a time. You can use modifier keys to enhance their capabilities. • Holding down the Shift key while clicking the step buttons moves the playhead one second at a time. • Holding down the Option key while clicking the step buttons moves the playhead one Group of Pictures (GOP) at a time. • Holding down the Control key while clicking the step buttons moves the playhead one marker at a time.
Simulating a Track Simulating a track allows you to verify all streams and any special interactivity you may have built into it. m To simulate a track, do one of the following: Select the track, then choose File > Simulate Track. m Control-click the track’s name in the Outline tab or its tile in the Graphical tab, then choose Simulate Track from the shortcut menu. m Control-click one of the streams in the Track Editor, then choose Simulate from Track from the shortcut menu.
12 Creating Slideshows 12 Slideshows can be combined with video tracks on a DVD to provide extra information about the subject, such as historical information, newspaper and magazine articles, and cast biographies. In much the same way you assemble video assets in the Track Editor, you can assemble still images in slideshows, with fixed or user-controlled duration, and with or without audio.
You can import the movie into a DVD Studio Pro track. You can even add markers and force manual pauses so that the viewer can still control the pace of the slideshow playback. Another way to get around the 99–still image limit is to manually create a slideshow in the Track Editor. File Formats for Slideshows Slideshows can use a wide variety of still and audio formats. The following sections provide details on these formats.
After you have added one or more stills, you can choose a resolution in the General tab of the Slideshow Inspector to force the stills to be scaled to a specific resolution. Note: As with SD slideshows, when a still does not match the 4:3 or 16:9 display mode, the empty areas are filled with the slideshow background color, as defined in the General pane of DVD Studio Pro Preferences. Audio Files Slideshows can have one or more audio files for the overall slideshow, or a separate file for each still.
Creating a Slideshow Using the Menu Editor An easy way to create a slideshow and a button that links to it is to drag a group of stills to the Menu Editor and choose Create Button and Slideshow from the Drop Palette. To create a slideshow in the Menu Editor: 1 Do one of the following to select the menu to which you want to add the button that links to the new slideshow: • Choose the menu from the Menu Editor’s View pop-up menu. • Select the menu in the Outline or Graphical tab.
Working With Slides in a Slideshow Once you’ve created a slideshow, you can start adding still images to it. You can add still images one at a time or as a group, and rearrange their order. Before you begin adding slides, you should set their default duration. Setting the Default Slide Duration The General pane in DVD Studio Pro Preferences contains a default duration setting that determines each slide’s length when first imported.
Selecting Slides in a Slideshow As you add slides to a slideshow, you will need to be able to scroll through the list and select the slide you want to work on. m To scroll through the slideshow list, do one of the following: Drag the scroller along the right edge of the Slideshow Editor. m Press the Up and Down Arrow keys to move through the list one slide at a time. m Press the Option key, then the Up or Down Arrow key to jump to the first or last slide in the list.
2 Drag the slide (or slides) to a new position. When you hold a slide over another slide in the list, a line appears where you position the pointer. The repositioned slide will be inserted underneath this line when you release the mouse button. Removing Slides From a Slideshow You can remove slides from your slideshow, either one at a time or as a group. To remove slides from a slideshow: 1 Select the slide or slides you want to remove in the Slideshow Editor.
To assign audio to a slide using the Slideshow Editor: 1 Select the audio file in the Assets tab, the Palette, or a Finder window. Note: You can only add one audio file at a time when assigning them to slides. 2 Drag the file to a slide in the Slideshow Editor. When you pause the pointer, a black box surrounds the slide the audio will be assigned to. 3 Release the mouse button when the correct slide is selected. The slide’s duration changes to match the length of the audio file.
Assigning Overall Audio Files to the Slideshow You can assign one or more audio files to a slideshow as overall audio files. This allows you to have audio files that are not specific to a single slide. When you assign overall audio to the slideshow, you can choose whether the slide or audio durations determine the slideshow’s duration. To assign overall audio files to a slideshow: 1 Select the audio file or files in the Assets tab, the Palette, or a Finder window.
• Select either Fit To Slides or Fit To Audio in the Slideshow Inspector’s General tab. If you select Fit To Slides, you can also select the Loop Audio checkbox. Use Fit To Audio to calculate a slide duration value that is applied to all slides, based on the length of the audio file. The duration ensures the slides and the audio finish at the same time and that all slides appear for the same amount of time.
Working With Slideshows You use the Slideshow Editor and Slideshow Inspector to change the settings for your slideshow. Setting the Slideshow Editor’s Thumbnail Size The General pane in DVD Studio Pro Preferences contains a thumbnail image size setting that allows you to control the number of slides displayed in the Slideshow Editor. See “General Preferences” on page 114 for more information on this setting.
Slideshow Editor Controls The top of the Slideshow Editor contains several controls that you can use while making changes to your slideshow. Choose the default transition for the slideshow. Converts the slideshow to a track, allowing you to add additional features to it. Choose the slideshow to edit. Contains overall audio duration and manual advance settings. Shows that an overall audio file has been assigned. You can drag audio files here to add them. Sets the duration for the selected slides.
Slide List The Slideshow Editor displays eight columns of information for each slide. You can edit two of these columns: Duration and Pause. • No.: Displays each slide’s number, indicating its order in the slideshow. You cannot • • • • • • edit this number directly, but if you drag one or a group of slides to a new position, the number is changed to reflect the slide’s new position in the slideshow. Image: Displays a thumbnail image of each slide.
Manually Changing a Slide’s Duration You can manually change each slide’s duration except on slides that have an audio asset assigned to them or in slideshows with an overall audio file that have “Fit to audio” selected. To change a selected slide’s duration to a fixed value using the Slideshow Editor: 1 Select one or more slides to change their durations. 2 Do one of the following: • Choose a set value (1, 3, 5, 10, or 15 seconds) from the Duration pop-up menu.
To manually enter a slide’s duration in the Slide Inspector: 1 Select the slide whose duration you want to change. 2 Do one of the following: • Enter a new duration directly. Use the same methods as when entering a new duration in the slide list area of the Slideshow Editor. • Choose a duration from the Duration pop-up menu.
The pause occurs at the end of the slide’s duration. If you have added an audio asset to the slide, the audio plays and then the pause occurs. The viewer can press the Next button or the Play button on the DVD player’s remote control to continue to the next slide. Note: If the slide contains a transition, the pause occurs before the transition. When the viewer advances to the next slide using the Play button, the transition plays and then the next slide appears.
Duplicating the Last Slide Duplicating the last slide in a slideshow allows you to create a “false ending” for the slideshow, and avoid the pause issue. To duplicate and configure the last slide in a slideshow: 1 In the Slideshow Editor, determine the asset name of the last slide and drag that slide’s asset from the Assets tab to the next slide location.
Setting a Slideshow’s Default Transition Setting the transition for a slideshow affects all slides with their type set to “Same as Slideshow.” m To set a slideshow’s default transition using the Slideshow Editor: Choose the transition from the Slideshow Editor’s Transition pop-up menu. Choose the default transition for the slideshow. The triangle indicates this slide has a transition. The transition uses its default settings. You can change the settings in the Transition tab in the Slideshow Inspector.
Setting an Individual Slide’s Transition You can use either the Slide Inspector or the Slideshow Editor to set the transition for a slide. To set a slide’s transition in the Slide Inspector: 1 Select the slide for which you want to set a transition. 2 Click the Transition tab in the Slide Inspector and set the transition parameters.
• Transition: Choose the type of transition to use. In the Slideshow Inspector, this sets the default transition for this slideshow, which you can override at each slide. • not set: Disables transitions for this slideshow or slide. Note: Even with “not set” chosen for the slideshow, you can set transitions at each slide. • Still Transition: Creates a transition clip based on the chosen transition and its related settings. • Same as Slideshow: Only available in the Slide Inspector.
3 Do one of the following: • Choose Project > Slideshow > Convert to Track. • Click Convert To Track in the Slideshow Editor. The slideshow is deleted and a new track is created using the slideshow’s name. Click Convert To Track to create a track from the selected slideshow. The new track has a marker at each slide, each named with the slide’s filename. Each slide retains its duration and pause setting. If audio files were assigned, they are also present in the track.
General Tab in the Slideshow Inspector The settings in the General tab in the Slideshow Inspector are used to set the slideshow’s resolution and display mode. These settings are also used to configure a slideshow for overall audio, and are disabled when you are using no audio or are assigning audio to individual slides. • Resolution: Choose the slideshow’s resolution. • For SD DVD projects, the resolution is either 720 x 480i (NTSC) or 720 x 576i (PAL).
Parameters • Slideshow Duration: Controls how the slideshow uses the audio when it is configured to use overall audio. These settings are disabled when you assign audio to individual slides. See “Assigning Overall Audio Files to the Slideshow” on page 413 for more information. • Fit To Slides: Slide durations are not changed, which means the audio can end before or after the last slide. Selecting Fit To Slides enables the Loop Audio checkbox.
Transition Tab in the Slideshow Inspector See “Setting the Transition Parameters” on page 423 for details on the Transition tab. Setting Slide Properties If you select a slide in the Slideshow Editor, the Slide Inspector appears. It allows you to set attributes for each slide. It contains a top section and two tabs: General and Transition. See “Setting the Transition Parameters” on page 423 for details on the Transition tab.
General Tab in the Slide Inspector • Slide Duration: Displays the duration of the selected slide. You can enter a new duration or choose a duration from the pop-up menu. • Manual Advance: Determines whether the slideshow pauses (checkbox selected) or continues playing to the next slide (checkbox not selected). • Audio File: Displays the name of the audio asset assigned to this slide. You can use this pop-up menu to choose from the audio assets already imported into this project.
Simulating a Slideshow Simulating a slideshow allows you to fully test a slideshow, including its pauses and DVD@CCESS settings. m To simulate a slideshow, do one of the following: Select the slideshow, then choose File > Simulate Slideshow. m Control-click the slideshow in the Outline tab, then choose Simulate from the shortcut menu. m In the Slideshow tab, Control-click a slide, then choose Simulate from the shortcut menu. m Select the slideshow, then press Command-Option-0 (zero).
13 Creating Subtitles 13 Although the most common use for subtitles is to display a text version of the dialogue, subtitles created in DVD Studio Pro can be used for many other purposes. Each track can include up to 32 subtitle streams. Having multiple streams makes it possible to offer text in several languages, allowing the viewer to select the appropriate one.
Subtitles can also be used to superimpose buttons over the track’s video. The viewer selects these buttons just as they would buttons on a menu. Creating buttons over video is similar to creating buttons using the standard menu creation method; that is, both involve overlays, drawing rectangles to identify each button’s active area, and color mapping. There are no limits to how many subtitles you can add to a subtitle stream.
About Subtitles and Closed Captions While this chapter describes working with subtitles, it is important to understand how they compare to closed captions, which are also supported by DVD Studio Pro when creating NTSC SD projects. This is especially important if you are creating DVD titles that must comply with accessibility requirements. There are two methods available to you to provide visual text to the viewers of your NTSC SD-based DVD title: adding subtitles and importing closed caption files.
Subtitle Stream Basics There are several aspects of working with subtitle streams that apply whether you create them in DVD Studio Pro or import them. Working With Subtitles in DVD Studio Pro Working with subtitles in DVD Studio Pro involves using the Track Editor, the Subtitle Inspector, and the Viewer tab.
These rules become important if you create a long subtitle clip that is the same length as the track because you will never be able to select it or switch from it. Having a single long subtitle clip is useful if you want to place a logo in a corner of the image. For this to work, its subtitle stream must be selected before the long clip starts, and once selected, you cannot switch it off or switch to a different subtitle stream.
Applying Subtitle Settings to the Stream No matter how carefully you configure your preferences and how much time you spend deciding how the subtitles should look, there will often come a time when you need to make a change to all subtitle clips in a stream (and there could be hundreds of clips in a stream). For example, you may need to use a different color for the text or to change the font.
General Tab in the Subtitle Inspector Clip Info • Start: The timecode where this clip appears. You can change a clip’s start time by entering a new value here or by dragging the clip’s leading edge in the Track Editor. Changing the start time also affects the clip’s end time, but not its duration. • Duration: The length of the clip. If you enter a new duration here, the clip’s end time changes to fit it. You can also change a clip’s duration by dragging its edges in the Track Editor.
Formatting • Horizontal: Sets the horizontal justification of the text. Click the appropriate icon for left, center, or right alignment. • Horizontal Offset: Trims the horizontal position of the text, in pixel steps, from the selected justification setting. Positive values move the text to the right and negative values move it to the left. A value of 0 positions the text at its justification setting. • Vertical: Sets the vertical justification of the text.
Button Tab in the Subtitle Inspector The Button tab in the Subtitle Inspector is empty unless the subtitle is configured to provide buttons over video. See “Creating Buttons Over Video” on page 460 for more information. You use the Button tab to configure the buttons to add to the subtitle. • Name: By default, buttons are named “Button _,” where “_” is the button number in • • • • that menu.
• Remote: This area lets you set the actions that take place when the viewer uses the • • • • arrow buttons on the DVD player’s remote control to navigate through the title. Since this is the typical way the title will be viewed, it is important to spend some time configuring the navigation in a logical, predictable way. See “Configuring Button Navigation” on page 268 for information. Number Pad: Defines which buttons are directly accessible by a DVD player’s numeric keypad.
Colors Tab in the Subtitle Inspector The Colors tab in the Subtitle Inspector is very similar to the Colors tab in the Menu Inspector. • Mapping Type: Select the colors used to create the overlay graphic. Chroma uses black, red, blue, and white. Grayscale uses black, dark gray, light gray, and white. This setting only applies to imported graphics files. • Selection State: Unless you have configured this subtitle clip to provide buttons over video, only the Normal setting is available.
• Save As Default: Click to save this color mapping configuration as the default to be used on all new subtitles you create. Note: This is not the same palette used by the Menu Editor. • Restore Default: Click to replace the existing settings with those of the default subtitle color mapping configuration. • Edit Palette: Click to display the Color Palette dialog, which you can use to change colors within the palette. See “Color Mapping Palette” on page 237 for more information.
Buttons Over Video Using Overlay Graphic Buttons and 16:9 If you create subtitle buttons by importing an overlay graphic and configuring it for a 16:9 track, the highlights will work as expected when played on a 16:9 monitor. The highlights will not match the overlay graphic when played on a 4:3 monitor, either letterbox or pan-scan.
Previewing Subtitles Before you can preview a subtitle, you need to enable its stream; you can then start playing the track. To preview a subtitle: 1 Select the video, audio, and subtitle streams you want to preview, using the button at the far left of each stream. Click to select one video, audio, and subtitle stream to preview. See “Working With the Track Editor’s Streams” on page 370 for more information on stream settings. 2 Play the track by clicking the Play button in the Viewer tab.
m To start the Simulator at a specific track, do one of the following: Select the track, then choose File > Simulate Track. m Control-click the track in the Outline or Graphical tab, then choose Simulate Track from the shortcut menu. m Control-click a stream in the Track Editor, then choose Simulate from Track from the shortcut menu. m Select the track, then press Command-Option-0 (zero).
m Control-click in the subtitle stream at the approximate time position where the subtitle clip should appear, then choose Add Subtitle from the shortcut menu. Double-click in a subtitle stream to create a new subtitle. Control-click in a subtitle stream to open this shortcut menu. All methods create an empty subtitle, with the duration and colors set in the General and Colors panes in DVD Studio Pro Preferences. Click the Viewer tab to see the video frame that corresponds to the start of the subtitle.
Selecting Subtitle Clips Once you have multiple subtitle clips in a stream, you can use a variety of methods to select one. m To select a subtitle clip in a subtitle stream, do one of the following: Choose Project > Subtitle > Next or Project > Subtitle > Previous. m Click a subtitle clip in the subtitle stream. m Click the left and right arrows in the Viewer tab. m Press the Up and Down Arrow keys to move the playhead through the timeline, stopping at each clip edge and marker.
Copying Text Between Subtitles You can copy text from one subtitle or other text source to a subtitle. Depending on where you paste the text, you can even maintain the font and size of the copied text: • Paste at the insertion point in the Viewer tab to use the font and size information in addition to the text. The text’s color and justification are not copied. • Paste in the Subtitle Inspector’s text entry area to use only the text. The text uses the subtitle’s font and size settings.
m m To copy a subtitle clip from one stream to another stream, do one of the following: Option-drag the existing subtitle clip to the new stream. You can place the clip freely within the stream. Shift-Option-drag the existing subtitle clip to the new stream. The subtitle clip is forced to the same timeline position as the original. Formatting Subtitle Text You can format your subtitle text in a variety of ways.
Note: If you open a DVD Studio Pro project that uses a font that is not on the computer you are opening it on (either because the font was deleted or the project was created on a different computer), any items using the missing font have a different font substituted with no warning. To help make the font list manageable, you can assign fonts to collections, creating groupings of similar fonts. This makes it easy to get to a specific font type, such as script or serif.
Positioning Subtitle Text Over the Video Once you have typed your text and set its font attributes, you can set its final position. There are several tools you can use to set the text’s position: • You can set the default position for subtitles in the Text pane in DVD Studio Pro Preferences. Any new subtitles you type will be placed according to your settings. • You can drag the text to a new position.
Importing Graphics Files for Subtitles You can use graphics files, configured as overlays, to create individual subtitles. These graphics can be drawings or text created using a graphics application. See “Creating Overlays” on page 86 for information on creating overlay graphics. You must also use the correct frame size when creating your graphics.
Using Graphics Files to Create an Animation While subtitles are most often used to present text, the ability to import graphics files into subtitle streams makes it possible to use them for other purposes. For example, the video stream might show a mountain while the subtitle shows the route taken to climb it with a line that gradually grows from the start of the trail to the mountain top.
Using a Single Subtitle File When you use the single file subtitle method, you specify a timecode for each subtitle’s start and end, as well as the actual subtitle text. You can also embed commands that affect how the text appears on the screen, such as the font, position, color mapping settings, and fade in and fade out settings. There are two disadvantages of the single file subtitle method: • It requires your authoring system to have the correct fonts installed.
In both cases, a file selection dialog appears for you to choose the file to import. After you choose the file, a dialog appears stating how many subtitles were imported, and the subtitle stream shows clips for each subtitle. If the Subtitle Import Does Not Work There are several common reasons why you might have problems when importing a subtitle file. Wrong Timecode The most common problem is that the timecode in the subtitle file does not correspond to the asset timecode of the video stream.
Editing Imported Subtitles Once you have imported a subtitle file, you can work with the individual subtitle clips as if you had manually created them. You can reposition them and change their color mapping and any other subtitle attribute. If you imported the subtitles as text from a single subtitle file, you can edit the text. If you imported a group of graphics files as your subtitles, you cannot edit the actual text.
Note: If you add spaces between the comma and the text entry, they are considered part of the text and appear in the subtitle. You can use the tab character to provide space between the comma and the text entry without affecting the text. You can add a command multiple times within a file to change a setting for specific subtitles. $FontName = $FontSize = 00:00:12:04 $FontSize = 00:00:16:14 Arial 65 , 00:00:14:12 , Lemurs are the bullies of the wild. 50 , 00:00:19:08 , Here we see them bring down a moose.
Contrast Commands The contrast commands set the opacity of the colors assigned to the subtitle. The values range from 0 (transparent) to 15 (opaque). • $TextContrast: Sets the opacity of the text color. • $Outline1Contrast: Sets the opacity of the text’s outline 1 color. • $Outline2Contrast: Sets the opacity of the text’s outline 2 color. • $BackgroundContrast: Sets the opacity of the background color. This is usually set to 0, unless you are using a graphic that does not use white as the background color.
Timeline Command By default, the timecode values in an STL file are in reference to the video stream’s zerobased time, which starts at 00:00:00:00. You can use this command to reference the file’s timecode values to the video stream’s asset-based timecode. • $TapeOffset: Controls how the timecode values in the STL file are referenced to the video stream.
Referencing Graphics Files in STL Subtitle Files An STL subtitle file can contain a mix of text subtitle entries and references to graphics files. You must use the $SetFilePathToken command in the file before any lines that reference a graphics file. $SetFilePathToken = <> 00:00:12:04 , 00:00:14:12 , <>RabidLemur.tif 00:00:16:14 , 00:00:19:08 , <>MooseLemur.tif Important: Do not add spaces between the token (<> in this example) and the filename.
Adding Button Highlight Markers To create a button over video subtitle, you add a marker at the point where the subtitle should appear, select its button highlight setting, and add a second marker where the subtitle should end. Once you do this, if you create a subtitle between these markers, its start snaps to the marker with the button highlight setting selected and its end snaps to the second marker, regardless of its type. Any marker can be configured as a button highlight marker.
Adding a Button Over Video Subtitle Clip Once you have configured the button highlight marker and the ending marker, you can add the button over video subtitle. m To add a button over video subtitle clip: Double-click in the subtitle stream between the button highlight marker and the ending marker. A new subtitle clip appears, with its duration matching the time between the two markers. See the next section for information on configuring the subtitle clip to provide buttons over video.
Creating the Buttons Once you have imported the overlay graphic or entered the button text, you can create the buttons. To create the buttons, you create active area rectangles by dragging over each button’s area. See “Adding Overlay-Based Buttons” on page 253 for details on this process. The number of buttons you can have depends on the track’s aspect ratio setting, set with the Display Mode pop-up menu in the General tab in the Track Inspector. For SD projects: • • • • 4:3: You can have up to 36 buttons.
Button Targets Configuring the targets for each button with buttons over video is almost exactly the same as configuring the button targets in menus. You have the option of setting them in the Connections tab (the buttons appear as marker items), in the Subtitle Inspector, or by using a shortcut menu in the Subtitle Editor. The difference is that a button within a track cannot select a specific stream in a different track.
Copying Buttons by Dragging You can copy one or more buttons within a subtitle clip by selecting them, then dragging them to a new location. To copy one or more buttons within a subtitle clip by dragging: 1 Select the buttons to be copied. 2 Press the Option key, then drag the buttons to their new position. If multiple buttons are selected, they all move as a group, maintaining their relationships to each other.
To move one or more buttons using cut and paste: 1 Select the buttons to be moved. 2 Do one of the following: • Choose Edit > Cut. • Press Command-X. This copies the buttons to the Clipboard and removes the buttons from the current subtitle clip. 3 Select the subtitle clip to which you want the cut buttons to be pasted. 4 If the insertion point is active in the Viewer tab, click an empty area to deactivate it. 5 Do one of the following: • Choose Edit > Paste. • Press Command-V.
14 Creating Scripts 14 You can add sophisticated interactivity and control to a project with only a few simple scripts. The DVD-Video specification includes a simple yet powerful scripting language. This scripting language provides for extensive interactivity between the viewer and the DVD player. DVD Studio Pro gives you full access to these scripting capabilities.
Pre-scripts only run if you jump to the root of the element (its name shown in square brackets, or, in the Connections tab, the element’s name) they are assigned to. Choose [Track] to have a pre-script assigned to this track run when it is jumped to. Connect to the element’s name to have the pre-script run. For example, when you assign a connection to a menu, you can choose to jump to a specific button or to the menu root with no button specified (using the [Menu] selection).
Scripting Overview Scripts you add to your project contain commands that allow you to access the functionality available in all DVD players. Each script can contain up to 124 commands. Every DVD player contains a micro-controller that can execute a set of commands defined by the DVD-Video specification. The commands defined in the DVD-Video specification are at the level of microprocessor machine code, with very simple commands used to initiate desired functions.
About Scripting Commands You can choose from ten scripting commands when building your script. Each scripting command has its own set of controls that fit the command’s function. Each script can contain up to 124 commands, or operations. Depending on how you configure the scripting command, it might use up to 16 of the 124 commands. The top of the Script Inspector shows the number of commands used and available.
Script Tab You click the Script tab to access the Script Editor. The Script Editor lists the command lines within the script. You use its Add button to add command lines to the script. The other buttons provide methods for managing the order of the command lines. Since scripts generally execute the command lines in order, starting at command line 1, it is important to have them in the correct order. Select to view the values as hexadecimal.
• Add (+): Clicking the Add button, or pressing Command-=, adds a command line to the script. This command line is always placed at the end of the list, regardless of which command is currently selected. By default, each added command line is set to Nop (no operation) which works as a placeholder for the actual command you will select in the Inspector. • Delete (–): Clicking the Delete button removes the currently selected command line from the list. You can also use the keyboard’s Delete key.
Copying Command Lines When creating a script with multiple similar command lines, you may find it easier to create the first version of the command line, copy that command line multiple times, then modify the copies as needed. You can also copy a command line from one script to another. To copy command lines in the Script Editor: 1 Select the command line to be copied. You can select more than one command line. 2 Do one of the following: • Choose Edit > Copy. • Press Command-C.
Script Inspectors The Script Inspector has two displays: a general Script Inspector that appears when no command lines in the script are selected, and a Script Command Inspector that appears when you select a command line. Script Inspector To display the script’s Script Inspector, you need to either click in an empty area below the command lines in the Script Editor or click the script’s name in the Outline or Graphical tab. Enter a name for the script. Configure the GPRM partitions.
Script Command Inspector To display the Script Command Inspector, you need to select a command line in the Script Editor. Choose a command. Configure the command. Configure a compare function (optional). Enter a comment (optional). The Script Command Inspector has four sections: • The command selection section, where you select which of the ten commands to use • The command setup section, where you configure the command’s parameters.
Creating Scripts While it is easy to create scripts, it’s a good idea to first spend some time planning exactly what you intend the script to do. Sometimes a single script can be designed to fit multiple situations, or it may be easier to create multiple similar scripts, with each configured for a specific case. Creating a Script Scripts can vary greatly. Simple scripts may contain only one or two commands, while complex scripts can contain many commands and dependencies on other scripts.
Duplicating and Saving Scripts Most scripts contain command lines that are specific to a particular function in a particular project. However, since it is often easier to modify an existing script rather than start from scratch, DVD Studio Pro includes several tools that allow you to create copies of a script for use in this and other projects. Duplicating Scripts When creating several similar scripts, use the Outline or Graphical tab’s duplication function to make a copy of a script.
Testing Scripts Once you have created a script, you will want to test it. Depending on the script’s function, you can test it with the Simulator, with the Apple DVD Player as part of an emulator test, or in set-top DVD players after you burn a disc. Testing a Script in the Simulator The DVD Studio Pro Simulator has a Registers display that shows useful information when testing a script. The display appears when you click the Simulator’s Info button.
Testing a Script With DVD Player The Apple DVD Player provides an additional way to test your scripts. Testing a project with DVD Player is referred to as emulating the project. It requires you to build the project, which creates the VIDEO_TS folder that DVD Player uses. See “Emulating Your Project” on page 570 for more information. Testing a Script on Set-Top DVD Players The best test to give your scripts is to play the title in a set-top DVD player.
• There are many ways to do the same thing. When creating your script, you will often find that there are alternate ways to accomplish the same task. The simplest approach is often the best, but other considerations, such as a lack of available GPRMs, may force you to be creative in your script writing. Sometimes it is better to create several small scripts rather than one large one that covers all situations. • Make sure the script has a way to end.
Compare Function You can use the compare function to determine whether or not a command executes (also known as a conditional instruction execution). For example, you might set a jump command to go to a track, but use the compare function to make sure the DVD player supports its aspect ratio. If the compare function is not satisfied, the command is skipped and the script moves down to the next command. A compare function compares a specified element, which you select, with a value in a specified GPRM.
Element Types to Compare You can choose from five different elements to be compared to the selected GPRM. • GPRM: Allows you to select any of the available GPRMs to compare. • SPRM: Allows you to select any of the 24 SPRMs to compare. See “SPRMs’ Values and Their Meaning” on page 491 for a list of SPRMs. • Immediate: Allows you to enter a decimal value, whose range depends on the size of the selected GPRM register, to compare.
Compare Operations There are seven compare operations that you can use to compare the selected element to the selected GPRM. • = (equal): Executes the command if the two values are the same. • != (not equal): Executes the command if the two values are not the same. • > = (greater or equal): Executes the command if the selected GPRM is larger or the same as the selected element. • > (greater): Executes the command if the selected GPRM is larger than the selected element.
Jump Command Jump commands are usually the last step executed in a script, since they result in another element (menu, track, or script) starting to play. Note: Being the last step executed is not the same as being the last step in the script. A script might have multiple jump commands in it, with other commands determining which jump to execute. To configure a jump command: 1 In the Script Command Inspector, choose Jump from the Command pop-up menu.
Start At Loop Point Checkbox You can add a loop point to your motion menu that defines when the highlights appear and where the menu jumps back to when it reaches the end. A jump to a motion menu normally goes to its start point and begins playing from there. There are times, however, when you might want the jump to go to the loop point instead, ensuring the highlights appear immediately and avoiding forcing the viewer to sit through the first part of the menu.
To configure a set command: 1 In the Script Command Inspector, choose the operation from the Operation pop-up menu. 2 Choose the source element type from the Source Type pop-up menu. 3 Choose the actual source element from the Source Value pop-up menu. The list of elements is determined by the source element type selection set in step 2. 4 Choose the GPRM target from the Target pop-up menu. Operation Types There are 11 operations you can choose from to control how the source and target values are handled.
• ran: Generates a random value between 1 and the source value and writes the result in the target location. • and: Performs a “bit-wise and” operation between the 16 individual bits of the source and the target values, and writes the result in the target location. The bits that are set (value of 1) in both values are left set. Bits that are not set in one or the other value are reset (value 0).
Goto Command The goto command provides a way to jump to a specific line in a script. This is usually used in conjunction with a compare function, with the result determining whether the goto command executes, or whether the script moves on to the next line. Goto is useful when you build multiple jump commands into your script, since it allows you to choose which jump command to execute by forcing the script to its line.
To configure the set system stream command: 1 In the Script Command Inspector, choose either the Immediate Value or GPRM Based modes for stream selection by clicking the appropriate button. 2 Select the streams you want to control by clicking their checkboxes. 3 For each stream you select, use the pop-up menu to choose the stream (Immediate mode) or GPRM register (GPRM mode). 4 If you select the subtitle stream, select the View checkbox to force the subtitle to appear.
Exit Command The exit command provides a way to stop the title from playing back. If, while a script is running, an exit command is encountered, the script stops running and you are prevented from playing the title. For example, you may want to do this in response to the player’s region setting. Exit Pre-Script Command A pre-script executes as soon as an element is selected.
System Parameter Register Memories Each DVD player operates internally via a group of system parameter registers (System Parameter Register Memories, or SPRMs). The status of player operation (which DVD track is playing, what language is being used, and so on) can be read by script commands that access the SPRM status registers.
SPRM 0: Menu Language Description Code Each DVD player has three types of language settings: Menu (SPRM 0), Audio (SPRM 16), and Subtitle (SPRM 18). These values are based on a two-letter code for each language spoken. The code is derived from the lowercase ASCII value of each letter. For example, the letters “en” represent English. The lowercase “e” is converted to an ASCII value of 101 decimal or 65 in hexadecimal. The lowercase “n” is converted to an ASCII value of 110 decimal or 6E in hexadecimal.
SPRM 2: Current Subtitle Stream Number The DVD specification allows for up to 32 different subtitle streams. This SPRM contains two sets of values. The first value shows which of the 32 streams is selected. These values range from 0 through 31 with 0 being the first stream and 31 being the last stream. The second value of this SPRM is a display flag that tells you if the subtitle is turned on or off. The flag has a value of 64 for on and 0 for off.
Stream number SPRM 2 value with the stream selected and display off SPRM 2 value with the stream selected and display on 24 23 87 25 24 88 26 25 89 27 26 90 28 27 91 29 28 92 30 29 93 31 30 94 32 31 95 Similar to SPRM 1, this information is useful to determine the last subtitle stream selected by the viewer. If you have a menu for subtitle selection, you can use this information to highlight the corresponding button for the correct subtitle.
SPRM 4: Current Playing Title Number Each track, story, and slideshow element in your project is a title. You can have up to 99 titles in your project. All of these are assigned numbers based on their order in the Outline tab’s By VTS display. SPRM 4 shows the number for the currently playing element. If your project does not have stories, the VTS number shown in the Outline tab’s By VTS display will match the SPRM 4 value.
SPRM 8: Current Highlighted Button Number This SPRM is the last button number of the current or last menu displayed. You can use this SPRM to track the last button position that the viewer selected. The value is calculated by multiplying the button number by 1024 (this SPRM uses bits 10 through 15 to count the buttons).
Button number SPRM 8 value 31 31744 32 32768 33 33792 34 34816 35 35840 36 36864 SPRM 9: Navigation Timer This is the timer used to count down pauses and still frames. DVD Studio Pro automatically loads this timer for timeouts and pauses. There is no real use for it in scripts. SPRM 10: Timer Target This SPRM is used in conjunction with SPRM 9. It is loaded with the PGC that is activated when the Navigation Timer (SPRM 9) expires.
Bit description Bit Bit value Reserved 13 8192 Reserved 14 16384 Reserved 15 32768 The value can be any combination of the above values (excluding reserved) with 0 indicating that no streams are added. A value of 3072 indicates that streams 3 and 4 are added to stream 2 (1024 + 2048). SPRM 12: Country Code for Parental Management This SPRM lists the intended country code for the disc’s parental management feature. For the United States this is 840.
SPRM 14: Player Video Configuration Every DVD player has several modes of video display. These are divided into the display mode and the aspect ratio. By reading SPRM 14 you can tell what modes the player is currently in. Bits 8 and 9 of SPRM 14 are used to determine the current display mode (whether the video needs processing for display on a 4:3 monitor) and bits 10 and 11 are used to determine the aspect ratio of the monitor (4:3 or 16:9). The first eight bits in SPRM 14 are not used.
Here is a table of the values for SPRM 15: Player audio configuration Bit Bit value Reserved 0 1 Reserved 1 2 SDDS karaoke capability (option) 2 4 DTS karaoke capability (option) 3 8 MPEG karaoke capability first bit 4 16 MPEG karaoke capability second bit 5 32 AC-3 karaoke capability 6 64 PCM karaoke capability 7 128 Reserved 8 256 Reserved 9 512 SDDS capability (option) 10 1024 DTS capability (option) 11 2048 MPEG capability first bit 12 4096 MPEG capability secon
It is useful to know the setting of this SPRM when dealing with multiple-language projects. By reading the value of SPRM 16, you can determine the spoken language that the viewer wants to hear. If you have a project that has audio streams in more than one language, you can play the appropriate spoken language that the viewer has selected. If the viewer must choose a language from an audio menu, this SPRM value can be used to select the appropriate button highlight.
Contents SPRM 19 value Closed captions with normal size characters 5 Closed captions with larger size characters 6 Closed captions for children 7 Reserved 8 Forced captions 9 Reserved 10 Reserved 11 Reserved 12 Director’s commentary with normal size characters 13 Director’s commentary with larger size characters 14 Director’s commentary for children 15 SPRM 20: Player Region Code In order to have some control over which parts of the world can play a disc, a regional coding system was
Here is a table of regions and values for SPRM 20: Region SPRM 20 value 1 1 2 2 3 4 4 8 5 16 6 32 7 64 8 128 Using Bit-Wise Operations More often than not, when working with the SPRM values, you will only be interested in certain bits of each 16-bit value. The “bit-wise” operations (and, or, and exclusive or), make it possible to mask the bits that are not needed, allowing you to determine the states of the specific bits you need.
The value of the result produces four possible answers: 0, 1024, 2048, and 3072. In the case of SPRM 14, 0 indicates the DVD player is set to 4:3, and 3072 indicates it is set to 16:9 (the values of 1024 and 2048 are either not specified or reserved). General Purpose Register Memories The General Purpose Register Memories (GPRMs) provide memory storage that can be used when building scripts.
Configuring GPRM Partitions You are able to individually configure the partitions of each 16-bit GPRM register. Once configured, you are then able to name them and save the configuration, which can then be loaded into a different project. Important: Once you partition a GPRM register and use it in a script, you cannot change the GPRM’s partition settings. You also cannot import a script’s item description unless the GPRMs it uses are partitioned the same as when the item description was saved.
You can choose from the following: Partition configuration Result Range of each register 1 Partition One 16-bit register 0-65535 2 Partitions Two 8-bit registers 0-255 4 Partitions Four 4-bit registers 0-15 8 Partitions Eight 2-bit registers 0-3 16 Partitions Sixteen 1-bit registers 0-1 Note: Any GPRMs that are currently used by a script have their pop-up menus deactivated and cannot have their partition configuration changed.
To name a GPRM: 1 Do one of the following: • Select a script in the Outline or Graphical tab. The Script Inspector appears. • Select the disc in the Outline tab, then click the Advanced tab in the Disc Inspector. • Click an empty area in the Graphical tab, then click the Advanced tab in the Disc Inspector. 2 Click a GPRM’s disclosure triangle to show its partitions. 3 Double-click the partition name and type the new name in the text entry box for the GPRM you want to rename.
To export a GPRM configuration: 1 Configure the GPRM register partitions, including changing their names if needed. 2 Do one of the following: • Click the Script Inspector’s Export button. • Click the Export button in the Advanced tab of the Disc Inspector. The Export dialog opens. 3 Enter a name for the file, select its destination, and click Export. A file is created using the name you entered plus a “.dspPartition” extension.
Scripting Examples By their nature, scripts tend to be very project-specific. While the function of a particular script might apply to a wide variety of projects, the specific tracks, streams, and menus it works with vary. The following examples provide you with step-by-step instructions that can help you understand the process of creating a script, from the initial concept to the final product.
Randomly Playing Tracks For this script, the project has four tracks, and you want a script to randomly choose one to play once a menu times out (has been inactive for a set amount of time). For this script, you’ll call the tracks “Ocean,” “Beach,” “Trail,” and “Shopping.” To create a Random Play script: 1 Do one of the following: • Choose Project > Add to Project > Script. • Click Add Script in the toolbar. • Press Command-’ (single quote). 2 Double-click the new script in the Outline or Graphical tab.
10 Add a compare function to the jump command to test to see if this track has been selected with the random generator. Select the Compare Command checkbox. Choose GPRM 0 as the “Execute if” element to be compared to. Choose equal (=) as the “is” compare operation type. Choose Immediate as the “to” element type to compare. Enter 1 as the “with value.” If GPRM 0 has a 1 in it (generated by the random number generator command), this jump command occurs. If not, the script moves to the next command.
Playing All Tracks For this script, the project has four tracks, each with a button on the main menu to start it playing. You want to add a Play All button that will play all four tracks in order, returning to the main menu once they have finished. In this case, you will create five scripts—one that starts the Play All progress and one for each track that determines whether a Play All function is active.
7 In the Script Editor, click the Add button. A second command line is added to the script. 8 In the Script Command Inspector, choose Jump as the command. 9 To configure the jump command, choose Tracks and Stories > Ocean > Marker 1 from the Jump To pop-up menu. This plays the first of the four tracks. Note: Remember that the Ocean track is fictitious. Unless you created a track called Ocean, you won’t see it in this pop-up menu. Link this script to the main menu’s Play All button.
To create the script for the first three tracks: 1 Create a script and select it. 2 Enter Ocean End as the script’s name. Note: Enter Beach End and Trail End as the names when creating the scripts for the other two tracks. 3 In the Script Editor, select the first command line (Nop). 4 In the Script Command Inspector, choose Jump as the command. 5 To configure the jump command, choose Tracks and Stories > Beach > Marker 1 from the Jump To pop-up menu.
This jump only occurs if the compare function was not satisfied in the previous command. This script jumps to the Beach track once the Ocean track finishes playing. This script jumps to the Trail track once the Beach track finishes playing. This script jumps to the Shopping track once the Trail track finishes playing. Once you have created all three scripts, link each to the appropriate track’s End Jump setting (at the top of the Track Inspector for each track).
Track End Script for the Last Track Follow these steps to create the script for the last track (Shopping). The main menu always appears when this track finishes playing—the difference is that the GPRM value needs to be set back to 0 so that a Play All process does not inadvertently get started later. To create the Track End script for the last track: 1 Create a script and select it. 2 Enter Shopping End as the script’s name. 3 In the Script Editor, select the first command line (Nop).
Checking a DVD Player’s Parental Management Setting For this script, the project has a track with two audio streams. One stream contains language suitable for mature viewers while the other has been edited, replacing the offensive words with those better suited to younger viewers. Before playing the track, the script needs to check the DVD player’s parental management setting, and then play the appropriate audio stream.
9 To configure the set GPRM command: Choose “and” as the Operation. Choose Immediate as the Source Type. Enter a value of 15 as the Source Value. Choose GPRM 0 as the Target. The above settings configure an operation that ensures that only the first four bits of the SPRM 13 value are in GPRM 0 (the value 15 sets the first four bits to 1 and the remaining 12 bits to 0). See “Using Bit-Wise Operations” on page 503 for more information on the “and” operation.
17 In the Script Editor, click the Add button again. The next command line is added to the script. 18 In the Script Command Inspector, choose Exit Pre-Script as the command. This command stops the script and starts playing the track. All you need to do now is to assign this script to that track as its pre-script by selecting it in the Pre-Script pop-up menu of the Track Inspector for that track.
Language Code HEX Decimal Bhutani dz 647A 25722 Bihari bh 6268 25192 Bislama bi 6269 25193 Breton br 6272 25202 Bulgarian bg 6267 25191 Burmese my 6D79 28025 Byelorussian be 6265 25189 Cambodian km 6B6D 27501 Catalan ca 6361 25441 Chinese zh 7A68 31336 Corsican co 636F 25455 Croatian hr 6872 26738 Czech cs 6373 25459 Danish da 6461 25697 Dutch nl 6E6C 28268 English en 656E 25966 Esperanto eo 656F 25967 Estonian et 6574 25972 Fa
Language Code HEX Decimal Interlingua ia 6961 26977 Interlingue ie 6965 26981 Inupiak ik 696B 26987 Irish ga 6761 26465 Italian it 6974 26996 Japanese ja 6A61 27233 Javanese jw 6A77 27255 Kannada kn 6B6E 27502 Kashmiri ks 6B73 27507 Kazakh kk 6B6B 27499 Kinyarwanda rw 7277 29303 Kirghiz ky 6B79 27513 Kirundi rn 726E 29294 Korean ko 6B6F 27503 Kurdish ku 6B75 27509 Laothian lo 6C6F 27759 Latin la 6C61 27745 Latvian, Lettish lv 6C76 27
Language Code HEX Decimal Polish pl 706C 28780 Portuguese pt 7074 28788 Punjabi pa 7061 28769 Quechua qu 7175 29045 Rhaeto-Romance rm 726D 29293 Romanian ro 726F 29295 Russian ru 7275 29301 Samoan sm 736D 29549 Sangro sg 7367 29543 Sanskrit sa 7361 29537 Scots Gaelic gd 6764 26468 Serbian sr 7372 29554 Serbo-Croatian sh 7368 29544 Sesotho st 7374 29556 Setswana tn 746E 29806 Shona sn 736E 29550 Sindhi sd 7364 29540 Singhalese si
Language Code HEX Decimal Turkish tr 7472 29810 Turkmen tk 746B 29803 Twi tw 7477 29815 Ukrainian uk 756B 30059 Urdu ur 7572 30066 Uzbek uz 757A 30074 Vietnamese vi 7669 30313 Volapuk vo 766F 30319 Welsh cy 6379 25465 Wolof wo 776F 30575 Xhosa xh 7868 30824 Yiddish ji 6A69 27241 Yoruba yo 796F 31087 Zulu zu 7A75 31349 Chapter 14 Creating Scripts 523
15 Establishing Connections 15 Your DVD title is a collection of elements you want your audience to view. The way you set the connections between these elements determines the way the viewer experiences your DVD title. You can use the Connections tab to determine how the viewer moves from one element to another. You make links so the viewer jumps from a starting point, or source, to a destination, or target.
Connections Tab Connections are listed in two sections in the Connections tab. The sources (the elements’ starting points) and their current connections are on the left and the targets (the destinations) are on the right. Drag this separator bar to set the size of the two halves of the Connections tab. The sources and current connections for the selected element in the Outline or Graphical tab (in this case, the disc) Choose the Connections tab layout to use.
The pop-up menus along the top of the Connections tab allow you to choose the detail level of the sources and whether to view only sources that do or do not have a connection assigned. Choose a connection status to show. Choose the source detail level to show. The element the sources belong to Connection Items There are three items involved in making a connection: • The project element that is the subject of the connection. This can be a menu, track, slideshow, or the disc in general.
Sources Sources fall into five categories: the disc, menus, tracks, stories, and slideshows. The number of choices you see in the list of sources depends on the selected element and whether you have chosen Basic, Standard, or Advanced from the View pop-up menu above the source list. Drag this divider to adjust the Source and Target column widths.
Additionally, for tracks and slideshows you can set connections for the following buttons found on some remote control devices: Audio, Subtitle, Angle, and Chapter menu buttons. These links can make it convenient for viewers to access DVD menus that allow them to select audio and subtitle options, an angle, or a chapter. However, be sure to design your title with other ways to reach these DVD menus, since very few remote controls offer these buttons.
Default Connections There are two types of connections that DVD Studio Pro makes automatically: linking each marker in a track to the next marker, and assigning the same menu button action to all of a track’s markers. These connections are not shown in the Connections tab, and can be overridden by assigning different targets while in the Standard or Advanced source view. Chapter-to-Chapter Connections DVD Studio Pro automatically links the end jump from one marker to the beginning of the next marker.
Menu Button Connections Once you establish a connection to the Menu button of the DVD player’s remote control, it is automatically applied to all markers in the track. Making Connections Making connections involves displaying the correct sources and then linking them to the targets. While the Connections tab provides a complete list of all possible connections between your project’s elements, many of these connections can also be configured using other methods.
You can also display all sources, only sources with connections, or only sources without connections, using the second View pop-up menu. Use each source’s connection status to choose which sources to display. Establishing Connections in the Connections Tab There are several methods you can use to establish connections in the Connections tab: dragging targets to the sources, using shortcut menus, and using keyboard shortcuts.
• Hold down the Control key and click in the Target column next to the source for which you want to create a link. Choose a target from the shortcut menu. • Click to select a source and a target, then click the Connect button at the top of the Connections tab. You can change an existing connection using these same methods.
Connection Details Many of the sources and targets are intuitive in their usage. However, some are not often used or can cause unexpected issues with your title. Note: The actual sources and targets you see depend on the elements in your project. The names used in the following descriptions are assigned by default when the elements are created. Source Details The sources displayed depend on which group of sources you choose—basic, standard, or advanced.
Menu Sources Source Usage Alternative methods Button1:Jump when activated Use to specify the action when the button is activated. Button Inspector Control-click button in the Menu Editor. Drag element directly to button. Track Sources Source Usage Alternative methods End Jump Use to specify the action when the track reaches its end during playback.
Slideshow Sources Source Usage Alternative methods End Jump Use to specify the action when the slideshow reaches its end during playback. End Jump in the Slideshow Inspector (automatically set in some cases) Menu Use to specify the action when Slideshow Inspector General tab the viewer presses the Menu button on the DVD player’s remote control. This setting overrides the disc setting. By default, this is set to Same as Disc.
Story Sources Source Usage Alternative methods Pre-Script Target Use to assign a script to be run prior to playing this story. Story Inspector General tab Marker 1 Entry:End Jump Use to specify the action when this entry marker’s part of the track finishes playing (the frame before reaching the next marker). Story Marker Inspector Marker 1 Entry:Menu Use to specify the action when the viewer presses the Menu button on the DVD player’s remote control.
Source Usage Alternative methods Subtitle Use to specify the action when the viewer presses the Subtitle menu button on the DVD player’s remote control. This setting can be overridden by similar settings in tracks and slideshows. Disc Inspector Advanced tab Return Use to specify the action when the viewer presses the Return button on the DVD player’s remote control. This setting can be overridden by a similar setting in menus.
Source Usage Alternative methods Subtitle Use to specify the action when the viewer presses the Subtitle menu button on the DVD player’s remote control. This setting overrides the disc setting. By default, this is set to Same as Disc. Track Inspector General tab (automatically set to Same as Disc) Chapter Use to specify the action when the viewer presses the Chapter menu button on the DVD player’s remote control. This setting overrides the disc setting. By default, this is set to Same as Disc.
Slideshow Sources 540 Source Usage Alternative methods Angle Use to specify the action when the viewer presses the Angle menu button on the DVD player’s remote control. This setting overrides the disc setting. By default, this is set to Same as Disc. Slideshow Inspector (automatically set to Same as Disc) Audio Use to specify the action when the viewer presses the Audio menu button on the DVD player’s remote control. This setting overrides the disc setting. By default, this is set to Same as Disc.
Target Details The list of targets is the same for all sources. Some targets only work with specific source types; DVD Studio Pro only allows you to assign appropriate targets to the sources. • Menus: Use to select the menu to link to a source. Select the menu to have the menu appear with the default buttons highlighted and to have the pre-script (if assigned) execute, or select a specific button to have the menu appear with that button highlighted.
16 16 Finishing a Project Once you have created your project’s tracks, stories, slideshows, and menus, and set the connections between them, you are ready to take the final steps to create the DVD. These steps include: • Testing your project with the Simulator. Using the Simulator allows you to verify most of your connections and button navigation before building the title. • Setting prebuild disc properties.
Should You Burn, Build, Format, or Build and Format? When your project is finished, you have the option of directly burning a DVD or stepping through the process of building and formatting the project. The option you use depends on your situation. Burning a Project Burning is a simple one-click step that creates a DVD from your project. You simply click Burn in the toolbar or press Option-Command-B to start the process.
You would usually use the format process after you had emulated the VIDEO_TS or HVDVD_TS folder and were ready to burn a disc or DLT. You can also combine the format process and the build process (described next); however, an advantage to using the format process separate from the build process is that you can choose the VIDEO_TS or HVDVD_TS folder to format.
You can also configure your system to simulate the project using an external video and audio monitor. This makes it possible to see the project as most viewers will, with actual pixel aspect ratios, colors, and if applicable, interlacing. • Emulating your project: Emulating your project by playing it on a real DVD player is the most sure test of it. To emulate your project with the Apple DVD Player, you must build the VIDEO_TS or HVDVD_TS folder.
Simulating With an External Video and Audio Monitor When you author a DVD, it can be important to see the video and hear the audio with devices that closely match those that the viewer is expected to use. Being able to do this while simulating your project allows you to verify the video and audio prior to burning a test DVD. In particular: • You see the true color based on the DVD specification’s YUV values instead of a computer monitor’s RGB values. • You see the actual pixel aspect ratios.
Stop the simulation by clicking the close button in the upper-left corner of the window or pressing Command-W. You can also start the Simulator from a specific element or part of an element, including tracks, stories and story entries, slideshows and specific slides, or menus and specific buttons. This is useful when you only want to verify a specific element without going through the normal project navigation to get to it.
You are also able to choose the resolution (SD, HD 720, or HD1080) and the display mode (4:3 Pan-Scan, 4:3 Letterbox, or 16:9) to simulate when not using an external video monitor. Note: You can set the default state of these in the Simulator pane of DVD Studio Pro Preferences. Playback Controls The playback controls are similar to those found on DVD player remote controls.
Menu Controls The menu controls let you test the project’s remote assignments. Audio Menu Angle Menu Subtitle Menu Return Chapter Menu First Play Click the Info button to open the information drawer. • Chapter Menu, Angle Menu, Audio Menu, and Subtitle Menu: Jump to the element assigned to the Chapter, Angle, Audio, and Subtitle menu buttons (not to be confused with the Angle, Audio, and Subtitle stream select buttons). The assignment can be different for each track and slideshow.
Information Drawer You can click the Info button or press Shift-I to open the information drawer. The drawer can open on any side of the Simulator, depending on the Simulator’s position. (You can press Option-Shift-I to have it open on a different edge.) The information drawer changes to match the current element type (menu, track, story, and so on). The Item Properties section shows information specific to that element; you cannot enter information into it.
Setting Disc Properties The Disc Inspector contains settings that affect your DVD title. Some settings, such as the disc’s name, its First Play action, and the video standard, can be set early in the project creation process. You do not have to make other settings until you are ready to burn a DVD, write to a Digital Linear Tape (DLT) drive, or write to a hard disk. The top of the Disc Inspector and its General and Advanced tabs contain settings that affect the title’s playback.
• First Play: This specifies what appears when the disc is first inserted into a DVD player. First Play can also be set in the Connections, Outline, and Graphical tabs. It is important to set First Play prior to building the project to ensure that all DVD players will play the disc correctly. You can choose from all menus, tracks, stories, slideshows, and scripts within your project.
Streams • Audio: You can choose an audio stream that will serve as the initial active stream, overriding the DVD player’s setting. The default setting is “not set,” which lets the DVD player control the stream setting. Note: The word Empty in parentheses after a stream number indicates that that stream is currently empty. • Angle: You can choose a video stream that will serve as the initial active stream, overriding the DVD player’s setting.
• Size: Shows the size of the files the folder chosen as the Location contains. This size uses the same convention as used by DVD media—one MB is equal to 1,000,000 bytes. The size is also shown in actual bytes. • Joliet Extension Support: This setting is active only when you select Content. Selecting Joliet Extension Support affects the filenames allowed in the DVD-ROM content when using red laser media. See “Joliet Volume” on page 574 for more information.
• Layer Options: Choose either single- or dual-layer for the media. • Track Direction: Use this control to select either PTP (Parallel Track Path, in which the second disc layer plays from the inner track to the outer track as the first layer does) or OTP (Opposite Track Path, in which the second layer plays from the outer track to the inner track, the opposite of the first layer).
Region/Copyright Tab in the Disc Inspector The only setting in the Region/Copyright tab that you must set before building a project is the Macrovision setting. • Playable Region Codes: Select the checkbox next to the regions in which you want to be able to play the disc (all are enabled by default). All DVD players (standalone and computer) must be assigned a region code. This code divides the world into six regions, with an additional region for discs played on airplanes.
• Copyright Generation: This pop-up menu specifies whether copies are allowed. • Copying Permitted: The disc is not protected against copying. The Format for CSS checkbox and Macrovision pop-up menu are disabled. The only difference between this setting and leaving the Copyright Management checkbox unselected is the number of bytes in the sectors.
• Embed Text Data: This checkbox is automatically selected if you use the DVD@CCESS feature within your project. You can also select it if you want to add the names you assigned to the tracks, slideshows, and menus to the DVD disc. This text can be displayed on DVD players designed to support the Text Display extensions of the DVD-Video specification (version 1.1). • Language: If the Embed Text Data checkbox is selected, you can identify the language in which the text names will appear.
Building Your Project Building a project compiles all of the elements into files that conform to the DVD-Video specification (SD projects). Before you build your project, you must make sure you have set your prebuild disc properties. Prebuild Disc Properties The prebuild disc properties include the following items from the Disc Inspector. See “Setting Disc Properties” on page 552 for details on these properties. You must set these properties before you can build your project.
To enable Macrovision APS: 1 Open the Disc Inspector by selecting the disc in the Outline tab or clicking an empty area in the Graphical tab. 2 Click the Region/Copyright tab. 3 Select the Copyright Management checkbox. 4 Choose No Copy Permitted from the Copy Generation pop-up menu. 5 Choose the type of Macrovision protection to use (Type 1, Type 2, or Type 3) from the Macrovision pop-up menu. Note: The Format for CSS checkbox has no bearing on the Macrovision setting.
About Jacket Pictures Jacket pictures are an optional part of the DVD-Video specification, and are intended to allow a DVD player to display a graphic representing a DVD. Jacket pictures are most commonly displayed on multi-disc players. Based on the DVD specification, Jacket Picture graphics should be supplied in three different resolutions (small, medium, and large) for display on different platforms and display devices.
Note: You cannot build an SD project in a folder that already contains an HVDVD_TS folder, and you cannot build an HD project in a folder that already contains a VIDEO_TS folder. The Log tab also appears, automatically switching to display the build results. The tab shows details on the build’s progress, as well as messages about any errors that occur. Incremental Builds While creating your project, you may find it useful to perform builds several times before you are actually finished with it.
If you decide to reuse the VIDEO_TS or HVDVD_TS folder, DVD Studio Pro looks at its contents and, for each VTS block, checks to see if anything has changed from the last build. If the VTS block has not changed, the message “VOB up to date. Muxing skipped” appears in the Log tab and the build moves on to the next VTS block. See “Non-Standard SD DVD Video Zone Files” on page 567 for more information about .layout files.
Once you have set the source and destination settings, including the preformat settings in the Disc/Volume and Region/Copyright tabs, click the Build & Format button to start the process. If you have chosen a DVD or DLT drive as the output device, you are prompted to insert a blank disc or tape. See “Configuring the Output Type” on page 583 for information on setting the destination, and “Preformat Disc Properties” on page 572 for more information on these settings.
The VIDEO_TS folder contains all of the DVD-Video files for your project, and is placed in the video zone. The naming and structure contents of the VIDEO_TS folder are tightly regulated. All SD DVD titles use the same filenames and structure their contents in the same way.
Video object files (VOB) contain the actual video, audio, and subtitle content for the menus and tracks. The maximum size of each VOB file is 1 GB. Within each track content group there are at least two VOB files—one that is dedicated to menu content and another (up to eight more) with the track’s contents. • VTS_01_0.IFO: Contains the major information for the first track, such as the number and types of streams and menus. • VTS_01_0.BUP: This is the backup for the .IFO file. • VTS_01_0.
The Build Files for HD Projects Once the build for your HD project starts, DVD Studio Pro creates an HVDVD_TS folder at the location you specified. A second folder, JACKET_P, is created if you have assigned a jacket picture graphic. The JACKET_P folder contains three resolutions of the graphic assigned as the jacket picture. See “About Jacket Pictures” on page 562 for more information. The HVDVD_TS folder contains all of the DVD-Video files for your project, and is placed in the video zone.
Note: While stories do not get placed in their own VTS block, they still count against the 99 VTS limit. Enhanced video object (EVO) files contain the actual video, audio, and subtitle content for the menus and tracks. Within each track content group there are at least two EVO files—one that is dedicated to menu content and another (up to 99 more) with the track’s contents. • HV001I01.IFO: Contains the major information for the first track, such as the number and types of streams and menus. • HV001I01.
Emulating Your Project Once you have successfully built your project and have a VIDEO_TS or HVDVD_TS folder, you can test it using the Apple DVD Player. This process allows you to verify your project using the actual compiled files. An advantage of using the Apple DVD Player is that it can play directly from a VIDEO_TS or HVDVD_TS folder. It also allows you to select which VIDEO_TS or HVDVD_TS folder to play, if there are multiple folders on your system. Important: You must use DVD Player v4.6.
Emulating DVD@CCESS Links DVD Player can process your DVD@CCESS links. You must first enable its DVD@CCESS capability. To emulate DVD@CCESS links with DVD Player: 1 Choose DVD Player > Preferences. 2 Click the Disc tab. 3 Select the Enable DVD@CCESS Web Links checkbox. 4 Click OK. There are two types of DVD@CCESS links: those that use network access (such as connecting to a URL or sending an email) and those that open a file.
Setting Disc Format Properties Before formatting and writing your DVD disc, DLT, or hard disk files, you must configure your disc’s format properties. Most of these settings can be made at any time in the authoring process. Additionally, you are given the opportunity to set these after you start the format process. Preformat Disc Properties The preformat disc properties include the following items from the Disc Inspector. See “Setting Disc Properties” on page 552 for details on these settings.
DVD-ROM discs, also known as hybrid discs, play on standalone DVD players the same way DVD-Video discs do. When played on a computer, however, the additional files on the disc can be accessed, either directly or as part of a DVD@CCESS link. See “DVD@CCESS” on page 594 for more information on DVD@CCESS. Note: The type of DVD project you are creating, SD or HD, determines the type of volumes that are created. SD projects create a UDF 1.02 volume and HD projects create a UDF 2.
UDF 1.02 Volume All SD DVDs using red laser media have a UDF 1.02 volume. The UDF volume always supports long (up to 255 characters) Unicode filenames. Unicode is a double-byte system allowing far more characters than the standard ASCII (single-byte) system. This is very useful when you want to use Japanese characters, for example. It also supports folders with extensions. Note that some operating systems prohibit the use of certain characters ( \ / ? : “ < > | ) in filenames.
Filenaming Issues With Blue Laser Media Blue laser media contains only one volume—a UDF 2.5 volume. For the purposes of filenaming, a UDF 2.5 volume has the same rules as the UDF 1.02 volume found on red laser DVDs. See “UDF 1.02 Volume” on page 574 for more information. Important: Older computer operating systems, including Mac OS X v10.3 “Panther” and earlier, and DVD players do not support UDF 2.5 volumes whether on red or blue laser discs.
7 Configure the DVD-ROM Data section. 8 Configure the Destination section in the General tab in the format configuration window. This is where you select and configure the output type. See “Configuring the Output Type” on page 583 for more information. 9 Click Burn to start formatting the project if you are writing to DVD or DLT, or Format if you are writing to a hard disk.
Choosing Seamless or Non-Seamless Layer Changes DVD Studio Pro includes a setting that allows you to choose between a seamless layer change or a non-seamless layer change. With the seamless layer change, the switch between the first and second layer is less detectable. With the non-seamless layer change, there is a short pause when the DVD player switches between the layers.
Choosing a Dual-Layer Break Point There are several factors that need to be taken into account when you choose where to place the dual-layer break point: • Break points must be on track markers. When you choose the break point, you get a list of track markers to choose from. In some circumstances, you may need to place a marker on a track just for this purpose. Note: In some special cases, you can set your dual-layer break point in the DVD-ROM area.
Setting the Dual-Layer Break Point There are several methods you can use to set a dual-layer break point: • The automatic method: By default, once you configure the disc as dual-layer, Automatic is selected as the break point in the Disc/Volume tab in the Disc Inspector. With this setting, DVD Studio Pro chooses the last marker that fits in the first layer. In cases where there is a large amount of ROM data, the automatic method can also place the break point in the ROM data.
Manually Determining the Break Point Position You can usually determine which track will be playing at the point where the break point is set by looking at the contents of the VIDEO_TS or HVDVD_TS folder. DVD Studio Pro writes the tracks to disc in their order in the Outline tab’s By VTS display. For SD projects, the first track listed becomes VTS_01_1.VOB, VTS_01_2.VOB, VTS_01_3.VOB, and so on (depending on the size of the track’s assets, with each VOB file being a maximum of 1 GB).
Formatting Your Project Once you have built your project and set the preformat properties, you are ready to format it. The format process creates an output formatted for your output type: • A DVD burning drive • A DLT drive • A hard disk Each output type has its own settings that need to be configured before the actual format process begins.
2 The format configuration window appears. By default, DVD Studio Pro assumes you want to format the project that was built last. The settings in the format configuration window are set to match the last build. It is a good idea to verify that the settings in the General, Disc/Volume, and Region/Copyright tabs are correct. 3 Configure the Destination section in the General tab in the format configuration window. This is where you select and configure the output type.
Configuring the Output Type Once you start the format process, you can configure the output type you want to format to. The Destination section in the General tab in the format configuration window contains the output type settings. • Output Device: Use this pop-up menu to choose the actual device to format to. It displays a list of your system’s suitable output devices, including DVD-R drives, DLT drives, and the system’s hard disk drive.
Output Devices There are three output device types that you can format your project for: DVD-R drives, DLT drives, and your system’s hard disk. DVD-R Drives With respect to formatting, DVD-R drives can be one of two types: • Authoring: These drives use authoring media and are capable of writing Cutting Master Format (CMF) discs, which provide advanced features when working with a replicator. The most common authoring drive used is the Pioneer S201.
Important: The format files will require the same amount of space as the build’s VIDEO_TS or HVDVD_TS folder plus any DVD-ROM content you have included. Be sure you have enough free hard disk space before clicking Format. If you are formatting a dual-layer project and use either DDP or CMF as the output format, two folders are created—one for each layer. Each folder contains all the information required by a replicator. If you use .img as the output format, one file is created.
To read a DLT drive: 1 Make sure the DLT drive is connected and the tape is inserted. 2 Click Read DLT in the toolbar. 3 Select the location for the tape’s contents to be written to in the dialog that appears. 4 Click Open to start the process. If the tapes are from a dual-layer project, you are prompted to insert the second tape once the first has been read. The contents of the second tape are appended to the first tape’s contents. Important: When you read from a DLT drive, the “.
17 Using Advanced Features 17 DVD Studio Pro contains a number of advanced features that are used mostly in specialized projects: VTS Editor, DVD@CCESS, user operations, display conditions, remote control settings, and Line 21 settings. In most cases, these features are available in several elements, such as menus and tracks. • VTS Editor: Used to verify and control the VTS (Video Title Set) structure of your project.
VTS Editor The VTS Editor allows you to verify and control the VTS (Video Title Set) structure of your project. Using the VTS Editor, you are able to manually assign elements to VTS blocks. This makes it possible for you to optimize the final DVD’s layout so that when it’s played there are minimum pauses due to the player having to move between elements in different parts of the disc. For most projects, the VTS assignments automatically made by DVD Studio Pro while you build your project will work fine.
DVD Playback and VTS Blocks When you play a DVD and a jump must occur, such as when a menu button is selected that jumps to a track’s chapter marker, there is a slight pause while the DVD player’s laser locates where to jump to on the disc. • If the track is in a different VTS block than the menu, the laser must first jump to the video manager files, and from there on to the track’s VTS. • If the track is in the same VTS block as the menu, the laser is able to go directly to the track.
m To show the VTS Editor, do one of the following: Click the Alternate View button. The Outline tab changes from the current display, either By Type or By VTS, to the alternate display. If the display is in a split-view mode (showing both By Type and By VTS), clicking the Alternate View button swaps sides between the two views. m Drag the partition toward the tab’s center. The partition edge can be on the left or right—it is the side that has the handle indication.
The primary difference is in how they are organized. • By VTS lists the elements based on the VTS they belong to. A VTS can have only one track (which can also have stories) or one slideshow, but it can have multiple menus and scripts. • By Type lists the elements based on their type (menus, tracks, slideshows, and scripts). See “Using the Outline Tab” on page 165 for more information on using the By Type display.
About Pinning Elements in the By VTS Display As you create elements for your DVD project, DVD Studio Pro automatically places them in appropriate VTS blocks. For example, if you create a menu that uses a different audio format than the others, it is automatically placed in a separate VTS. If you manually move an element from one VTS to another, the VTS Editor indicates it with a pin on the element’s icon. The pin indicates that the element was either manually placed in this VTS or has been “pinned” to it.
Adding Additional VTS Blocks You can add additional VTS blocks to your project as needed. To add a VTS to your project: 1 Ensure the By VTS display is visible by doing one of the following: • Click the Alternate View button. • Drag the partition toward the center of the Outline tab. 2 Do one of the following: • Control-click in the By VTS display, then choose Add Video Title Set from the shortcut menu. • Click the Add VTS button along the top of the Outline tab.
DVD@CCESS The DVD@CCESS feature allows you to add additional interactivity to your DVD title when it is played on a computer. For example, you can set a marker so that when it is reached, the computer’s web browser opens and is directed to the specified URL, which can be a website on the Internet or an HTML file on the DVD. DVD@CCESS is compatible with both Macintosh computers and most Windows-based computers.
To enter a DVD@CCESS link: 1 Select the item to add the link to. Its Inspector appears. 2 Select the DVD@CCESS checkbox to enable the link for the item. 3 In the Name field, enter text to help you remember what the DVD@CCESS link is for. This text is not seen by the viewer and is only for your use while authoring the title. It can be helpful since the link text is often difficult to interpret directly. 4 Enter the link text in the URL field. This is the text that gets processed during playback.
Rules for Entering DVD@CCESS Links Enter your links in the following format: Note: The entry cannot contain any spaces. • Internet links: Enter the entire link. For example: http://www.apple.com • File links: To view a file you have placed in a folder on the DVD, enter: file:///DVDName/FolderName/FileName where DVDName is the name of the disc entered in the Disc Inspector, FolderName is the folder the file will be in on the DVD, and FileName is the file (the name may include an extension such as .pdf or .
Testing DVD@CCESS Links to Files With the Apple DVD Player Since the files you intend to include on the DVD for access by DVD@CCESS links are not in their actual locations until you create the DVD, you cannot test these links as easily as the others with the Apple DVD Player. To test DVD@CCESS links that rely on opening files located on the DVD, you can either: • Build and format the title and burn it to a disc. You can then test the disc on a variety of computers to verify that the links work as expected.
Important: Be very careful when working within the DVD Studio Pro package. You can easily corrupt the data, lose custom settings, and be forced to reinstall DVD Studio Pro. This procedure should only be followed if you understand the concept of opening an application’s package and working within it. To copy the DVD@CCESS Installer manually: 1 Locate the DVD Studio Pro application icon in your computer’s Applications folder.
3 Select each item you want to disable. See “User Operations Properties,” next, for a description of all the items. Indicates some items in the group are selected. Select to disable all items in a group. Click the triangles to show or hide each group’s items. You can also click Disable All to disable all items. You can then deselect any items to enable them. The Enable All button enables all items. When working with markers, you can also select Same as Track.
Playback Control • Title Play: Available only in tracks, menus, and stories. Prevents jumping to a different title by entering a title number using a DVD player remote control. • PPT Search/PTT Play: Available only in tracks. Prevents jumping to or playing from a new chapter marker by using a remote control’s numeric keypad. PTT stands for part of title and corresponds to track sections defined by markers. • Time Search/Time Play: Available only in tracks.
Stream Selection All items available in tracks, menus, stories, and markers. • Audio Stream Change: Prevents changing to an alternate audio track during movie playback until the next track, marker, or story is reached. • Subpicture Stream Change: Prevents viewing an alternate subpicture stream (another name for the subtitle stream). • Angle Change: Prevents viewing different camera angles of the same material.
Getting Consistent Previous and Next Button Behavior The action that happens when a viewer uses the Previous or Next button to skip through chapter markers on a track and reaches the first or last marker can vary, depending on the DVD player. For example, if the viewer is at the last marker in a track and presses the Next button one more time, different DVD players will do different things.
Display Condition The menus, tracks, and stories within DVD Studio Pro can have a display condition applied to them that determines whether they appear, and if not, what should appear instead. For example, based on the DVD player’s parental control setting, the condition can determine whether to play the current story or a story that is better suited to the parental setting. Or, you can choose to show or not show a menu based on the language setting.
Display Condition Parameters There are four parameters you need to configure when setting up a display condition: Choose the conditional relationship. Select to enable display conditions for this element. Choose the conditional state. Choose the alternative element. Choose the conditional element. • The conditional element: You choose what is to be evaluated to determine whether the menu, track, or story should be displayed.
5 Choose the conditional relationship (the second parameter—determines how the conditional element is to be compared with the conditional state, set in the next step). For a list of conditional relationships, see “Conditional Relationships” on page 607. 6 Choose the conditional element’s state (the third parameter—defines the state that the conditional element is to be compared to). See “Conditional Elements and States” on page 606 for the states you can choose for each element.
Conditional Elements and States The conditional elements are based on settings read from the System Parameter Register Memories (SPRMs) or the General Purpose Register Memories (GPRMs). The conditional states are determined by the element. For example, the menu language element has all supported languages as the possible states. If the state is a numeric entry, you need to enter a decimal-based number (binary and hex numbers are not supported).
See “Scripting Overview” on page 469 for details on scripts, GPRMs, and SPRMs. Conditional Relationships There are seven conditional relationships for you to choose from when setting up your display condition. • = (equal): The element and state are exactly equal. For example, if you choose the • • • • • • Player Region Code element, a state of 1-USA, and the “equal” relationship, you can only play the track if the DVD player is set for region 1-USA.
Issues With Display Conditions There are several issues with using display conditions that you should be aware of: • The Last Chapter Played setting is reliable only when assigned to menus. When using the Last Chapter Played setting for display conditions assigned to a track or story, you get unreliable playback on some DVD players. The Last Chapter Played setting can be used reliably with display conditions assigned to menus.
Remote Control Buttons The disc’s remote control settings support seven buttons. Remote control settings for tracks, stories, markers, slideshows, and menus support only certain ones: • Title: Supported by the disc settings only. This button is typically linked to the primary menu so that, no matter where the viewers are in the title, when they press the Title button they will always go to the same place.
Configuring the Remote Control Buttons You can configure the remote control buttons either in the Inspector or in the Connections tab. To set the remote control buttons using the Inspector: 1 Select the element whose remote control buttons you want to set. You can select the element in the Outline tab, the Graphical tab, or use the pop-up menu in the appropriate editor. 2 In the Inspector, open the pop-up menu for the button to be set, then choose the function to link to.
Line 21 Settings for Closed Captions To add text to a video on a DVD, most users use the subtitle feature. To meet accessibility requirements, however, you may also need to consider closed captions. Note: The Line 21 settings apply only to NTSC SD DVD projects. About Subtitles and Closed Captions Subtitles have several advantages: You can create them within DVD Studio Pro or using a third-party subtitle authoring application, you can set their font and color, and they can be displayed by any DVD player.
About the Field 1 and Field 2 Settings The closed caption standard provides for encoding up to four caption streams in Line 21. The two most commonly used streams (C1 and C2) use field 1, and the other two streams (C3 and C4) use field 2. A closed caption file assigned to a track in DVD Studio Pro can have captions only in field 1 (C1 and C2) or in both fields (support for all four streams). It is important for you to configure the track’s Line 21 settings to match the file’s configuration.
Keyboard Shortcuts A Appendix A Using keyboard shortcuts can make working with DVD Studio Pro even easier. The following tables group the keyboard shortcuts by function. Note: Some keyboard shortcuts are always active, whether or not you are working in the group that they are listed in. Other keyboard shortcuts are only active under special circumstances. General Interface and Application Controls Key command F1 Function Opens the first 15 interface configurations.
Key command x Function Accesses the Track tab.1 +9 + shift Toggles the currently selected tab between full window and normal. Additionally, holding the Shift and Space bar keys down toggles the tab only until you release them. space or option + x + (left quote, on the same key as the tilde) option + x +P option + x +I x x x +C Opens or closes the Colors window. Opens Preferences. +, + shift Shows or hides the Inspector. Opens or closes the Font panel.
General Project Controls Key command x Function Undoes the last change. +Z + shift x +Z Redoes a change you just undid. x +N Creates a new project. x +O Opens an existing project. x +W Closes the project. x +S Saves the project. + shift x +S Saves a project as a new project. x +C Copies the selected text, menu item, script command line, or subtitle button to the Clipboard.
Adding Project Elements Key command control + x + shift x Function +T x +T + x +K x +' x +/ Adds a story. Adds a standard menu. +Y shift Adds a track. x +Y Adds a layered menu. Adds a slideshow. Adds a script. Adds a menu language. Scrolling Through Lists Key command Drag scroller option Function Scrolls through the list. Scrolls slowly through the list (useful for large lists). + drag scroller Selects the previous line in the list. Selects the next line in the list.
Key command Function Scrolls up one page in the list. page up or option + click scroller’s up arrow Scrolls down one page in the list. page down or option + click scroller’s down arrow Note: Lists in DVD Studio Pro are found in the Assets, Log, Outline, Connections, Slideshow, Script, and Story tabs. Assets Tab Key command Function Double-click empty area, or Imports an asset. + shift x +I Double-click asset name, or Previews the selected asset. space x Selects all assets and folders.
Connections Tab Key command control Function Scrolls through items in the list not currently selected. + or control + Double-click, or Connects or disconnects the currently selected items. return Disconnects the selected source’s connection. delete Connects the selected source to the selected target and moves down to the next source or target (whichever was last selected). enter Drag control Copies a source’s target setting to another source. Switches between horizontal and vertical views.
Key command Function Toggles a tile’s flag on and off. F Click tile Selects the tile. Deselects any currently selected tiles first. Selects the tile. Retains any currently selected tiles. + shift click tile or x + click tile x Selects all tiles. +A + shift , , x , +A or Drag tile, then press Deselects all tiles. Moves the selected tiles. Temporarily zooms out to show more of the tile area. Z Toggles the tile position lock on and off. L x +P Prints the Graphical tab.
Menu Tab (Menu Editor) Key command option Function Creates a duplicate of the selected item. + drag or x +D Click and drag option Creates a button. Creates a drop zone. + click and drag x Selects multiple items. Deselects any currently selected items first. + click and drag + shift x Selects multiple items. Retains any currently selected items. + click and drag x Selects all menu items. +A + shift x +A Creates a text object. Double-click, or option + x Deselects all menu items.
Key command Function Deletes the selected item. delete Repositions an asset in a drop zone or button (if possible). + option + shift drag Forces a button or drop zone to match its asset’s aspect ratio, and maintains that aspect ratio while being resized. + shift click and drag , , , Moves the selected item 10 pixels. + shift , Moves the selected item 1 pixel. or , , or + option + shift , Moves the selected item 20 pixels.
Key command Function + option + shift drag x Duplicates the selected item and constrains its movement to the vertical or horizontal direction only. You must wait to press Shift until you have started dragging the item. Moves the selected item without snapping or showing the dynamic guides. + drag item option Changes the item size based on its center. (You must wait to press the Option key until after you start dragging.) + drag button’s edge to resize x +R Shows or hides rulers.
Palette Key command Function Removes the selected folder from the list. delete in a media tab Deletes the selected item from your system’s hard disk. delete in a Template, Style, or Shape tab x Selects all items in the current view. +A + shift x +A Deselects all items in the current view. Applies the selected item to the menu (templates, styles, and shapes, if applicable).
Key command + option + I shift x +W Function Shows or hides the information drawer on the top/bottom edges. Closes the Simulator. Slideshow Tab (Slideshow Editor) Key command Function x + Shows large thumbnails. x + Shows small thumbnails. x +A Selects all slides. Plays slideshow in Viewer tab or, if playing, stops and returns to the slide it started from. space or K Plays slideshow in Viewer tab, or if playing, pauses playback.
Subtitle Editor Key command Function Creates a new line. return while typing text while typing text While typing text into the Subtitle Editor, exits subtitle text entry mode. While typing text in the Subtitle Inspector, creates a new line. Click and drag Creates a button. enter option Duplicates the selected button. + click and drag or x +D x + Selects multiple buttons. click and drag x + x + option Selects the next subtitle. Selects the previous subtitle.
Track Tab (Track Editor) Key command Function Plays track in Viewer tab or, if playing, stops or pauses playback (depending on the “Space bar toggles between play/pause” setting in DVD Studio Pro Preferences). If you hold down the Space bar, playing automatically stops or pauses when you release it. space Plays track in Viewer tab or, if playing, pauses playback. L Stops playback and moves the playhead to where it started. K Moves the playhead to the beginning of the timeline.
Key command option + option + x Function Moves the playhead to the previous GOP. Moves the playhead to the next GOP. Selects all clips in a stream. +A Click and drag option Moves the clip in the stream or to another stream. Creates a duplicate of the clip that can be placed in this or another stream. + click and drag + option + shift click and drag Creates a duplicate of the clip that can only be placed in another stream at exactly the same time or in any suitable place on the current stream.
Viewer Tab The Viewer tab keyboard shortcuts apply to those tabs in which an asset can play. These include the Assets, Track, Story, and Slideshow tabs. Key command Function Plays the video asset or, if playing, stops or pauses playback (depending on the “Space bar toggles between play/pause” setting in DVD Studio Pro Preferences). If you hold down the Space bar, playing automatically stops or pauses when you release it. space Plays the video asset or, if playing, pauses playback. L Stop.
Importing Other Projects B Appendix B Using DVD Studio Pro 4, you can import projects created with iDVD and earlier versions of DVD Studio Pro. Importing iDVD Projects and Themes DVD Studio Pro 4 can import projects from iDVD 3 and iDVD 4. You can import an iDVD theme by using the theme in a project within iDVD and importing the project into DVD Studio Pro. When creating the project within iDVD, you do not need to use the final assets or make a complete project.
The standard locations that DVD Studio Pro uses are (in this order): iDVD project bundle: This is the file created when you save the project. [user]/Library/iDVD/Favorites: This folder is located in your home folder. [root]/Library/iDVD/Favorites: This folder is located at the root of your disk. /Network/Library/iDVD/Favorites: This folder is on a network system specifically configured by your system administrator for this purpose. (This is not the same as having a server networked into your computer.
• When you import an iDVD project, you may find that the button that is highlighted by default on some menus changes. During the project import, DVD Studio Pro numbers the buttons on each menu and highlights button 1 by default. You can assign any button on a menu to be the default button in the Menu tab in the Menu Inspector.
• In earlier versions of DVD Studio Pro, there was an issue when using the “Get Current Subtitle Stream” function in scripts—it was always off by 1. To work around this problem, many users would add a step into their scripts that would subtract 1 from the value returned with this function. If you import a project created with an earlier version of DVD Studio Pro that has been modified to avoid this problem, it will not work properly in DVD Studio Pro 4.
Calculating Disc Space Requirements C Appendix C A major concern when authoring your DVD project is knowing whether it will fit on the disc size you intend to use. The following describes in detail how to determine the amount of disc space your project requires, and provides a way to determine a safe bit rate to encode your video assets with. Note: The following example is specific to an SD project on a red laser disc. The same process applies to HD projects on blue laser discs.
Step 1: Calculate the total video play time You first need to determine the total play time of all video assets and motion menus in your project. To make calculations easier, you need to convert the time from hours, minutes, and seconds to the total number of seconds. For frames, round up to the next second when there are frames left over.
Step 3: Calculate the bit rates for each disc size Once you know the play time in seconds and the bit capacity of the different disc sizes, you can calculate a basic bit rate for each disc size. To do this, divide the disc size by the play time (7926 seconds in this example). DVD name Bit capacity Bit rate DVD-1 11.68 gigabits (Gbit) 1.47 megabits per second (Mbps) DVD-2 21.28 Gbit 2.68 Mbps DVD-3 23.36 Gbit 2.95 Mbps DVD-4 42.56 Gbit 5.37 Mbps DVD-5 37.6 Gbit 4.74 Mbps DVD-9 68.
Step 4: Calculate the audio allowances Depending on your project, the audio may have a relatively minor effect on disc space. It can also be challenging to determine the audio allowances since each video asset can have up to eight audio streams, and each stream can be a different type and length. The following table lists the typical bit rates for the common audio formats. Audio format Bit rate AC-3 stereo 192 kilobits per second (kbps) to 224 kbps AC-3 5.1 surround 384 to 448 kbps DTS 5.
Step 5: Calculate the effect of audio on the video bit rate Now that you know how much disc space is required for the audio, you can more accurately determine the video bit rate you can use. Since the DVD-5 and DVD-9 discs were the only practical ones based on the previous calculations, you will continue experimenting with them in this example. For the DVD-5 disc, you need to subtract the total audio amount from the total disc size: 37.6 gigabits – 7.684 gigabits = 29.916 gigabits for the video.
Step 7: Calculate other allowances There are several other factors that should be taken into account when determining available disc space. • Slideshows: Each still in a slideshow requires approximately 200 kilobytes (KB) of disc space. A full slideshow with 99 stills requires about 20 MB of disc space. If the slideshow contains audio, you will find that the audio can require as much or more disc space than the stills. If your disc contains many stills, you will need to take them into account.
Transition Parameters D Appendix D Most of the parameters of the standard transitions supplied with DVD Studio Pro are self-explanatory. However, some parameters are not as obvious. This appendix explains the parameters for each of the transitions.
Standard Transitions The following transitions are available in menus, tracks, and slideshows. Blur Blurs the current picture while it fades, revealing the new picture underneath. Parameter name Range Notes Duration 1 to 10 seconds You can enter a duration or drag the slider to set the duration. Blur Soft or Intense Defines the amount of blur shown before the transition finishes.
Droplet The current picture ripples from its center and fades away, revealing the new picture. Parameter name Range Notes Duration 1 to 10 seconds You can enter a duration or drag the slider to set the duration. Amplitude 0-10 Defines the severity of the ripple before the transition finishes; 0 is subtle while 10 is extreme. Fade Through Color Dissolves from the current picture to a color, then to the new picture.
Mosaic Divides the picture into panels that each flip independently to reveal the new picture on their back. Parameter name Range Notes Duration 1 to 10 seconds You can enter a duration or drag the slider to set the duration. Direction Right, left, up, and down Defines the direction the current image panels rotate toward. Rows 1-16 Defines the number of rows the picture is broken into. Columns 1-16 Defines the number of columns the picture is broken into.
Page Flip Creates a page turn effect to remove the current picture, revealing the new picture underneath. Parameter name Range Notes Duration 1 to 10 seconds You can enter a duration or drag the slider to set the duration. Direction Right, left, up, and down Defines the direction the page is turned to. Angle 0-359 degrees Defines the amount the page flip’s fold rotates during the transition. Field of View 0-10 Defines the tightness of the fold, with 0 being minimum and 10 being maximum.
Rotate Spins the current picture about its Z-axis while zooming out and fading to reveal the new picture underneath. Parameter name Range Notes Duration 1 to 10 seconds You can enter a duration or drag the slider to set the duration. Depth 0-10 Defines the amount of rotation and zoom before the transition finishes, with 0 being minimum and 10 being maximum. Rotation Blur Spins the current picture about its Z-axis while blurring, zooming out, and fading to reveal the new picture underneath.
Glossary Glossary 4:3 The most common video aspect ratio, used for NTSC and PAL video standards. Also known as the 1.33 aspect ratio. See also aspect ratio. 16:9 The widescreen aspect ratio supported by the DVD-Video specification. Also known as the 1.78 aspect ratio. See also anamorphic; aspect ratio. AC-3 audio A compressed audio format developed by Dolby Laboratories. Also known as Dolby Digital audio. Supports single-channel through 5.1 surround sound configurations.
authoring media The DVD-R format that supports the Cutting Master Format (CMF) for adding advanced features to master discs supplied to a replication facility. Requires using a special authoring DVD-R drive. See also Cutting Master Format (CMF); general media. AVC (Advanced Video Codec) See H.264. background image All menus have a background image, over which the menu’s buttons are placed. The background can be a still image or a motion video (creating a motion menu). See also motion menu.
button navigation The actions that occur when a viewer presses a remote control’s arrow buttons. You can manually configure each button’s navigation settings or use the DVD Studio Pro Auto Assign feature to automatically set the navigation of all buttons on a menu at once. It is important to set the navigation so that viewers can logically get from the current button to the desired one. buttons over video Interactive buttons that appear over a video stream by way of a subtitle stream.
data description protocol (DDP) The file type most often used when formatting a project onto a DLT drive. See also Digital Linear Tape (DLT) drive. Digital Linear Tape (DLT) drive The tape drive most often used to supply a project to a replication facility. A separate tape is written for each project layer during the format process. See also data description protocol (DDP); format. Digital Theatre Systems (DTS) audio A compressed audio format for single channel through 5.1 surround sound configurations.
DVD@CCESS A feature in DVD Studio Pro that allows you to add additional interactivity to your title when it is played on a computer. With DVD@CCESS, you can add links to menus, tracks, and markers that can be used to open an application on the computer to display extra content. For example, you can open the system’s web browser and direct it to a specific URL. DVD-R The DVD format supported by the Apple SuperDrive, using write-once discs. See also authoring media; Cutting Master Format (CMF); general media.
H.264 Based on the MPEG-4 part 10 format, the H.264 format, the H.264 video format, also known as Advanced Video Codec (AVC), provides for encoding with about twice the efficiency as with the MPEG-2 format. This results in better quality at the same bit rate, or you can choose to use a lower bit rate to achieve the same quality (with a smaller file size). In DVD Studio Pro, the H.264 format can only be used with HD projects.
marker An element you can add to a track to identify specific parts of the track’s content. There are several marker types, including chapter markers used to link chapter buttons and button highlight markers used to control buttons over video. You can have up to 99 chapter markers in a track, and up to 255 total markers in a track. Markers can only be placed at GOP boundaries. See also Group of Pictures (GOP).
overlay A still graphic that provides the highlight information for buttons when creating menus or buttons over video. Overlays can be simple, using a single color on a white background, or advanced, using up to four predefined colors. You use color mapping to assign highlight colors to those used in the overlay, setting different colors for each button state (normal, selected, and activated). See also color mapping. PAL Acronym for Phase Alternating Line.
replication facility You can use a replication facility when you need to reproduce a significant number of copies of your DVD (generally more than 100). You must use a replication facility if you require dual-layer discs, or if you intend to include high-end features such as copy protection or region codes. Replication facilities use a glass mastering process to create DVDs that are compatible with all DVD players, as opposed to the DVD-R process used by duplication facilities.
System Parameter Register Memories (SPRMs) DVD players contain memory registers that contain configuration information, such as languages, video configuration, and region codes, for use by DVDs while they play. Scripts in the DVD can use the SPRMs to determine which version of a track to play or whether the DVD player has the proper region code. Compare with General Purpose Register Memories (GPRMs).
1.33 aspect ratio 645 1.
angle streams 550 animations, subtitles 453 Apple Compressor. See Compressor Apple DVD Player DVD@CCESS playback functionality 597 emulating DVD@CCESS links with 571 emulating projects with 570 external audio decoder support 79 testing DVD@CCESS links with 571, 596 testing scripts with 479 Apple Store 35 Apple websites 34–35 APS. See Macrovision APS artifacts 61 aspect ratios 1.33 645 1.78 645 16:9. See 16:9 aspect ratio 4:3.
V1 streams and 372 video 33, 183–184, 201, 202 viewing in Assets tab 187–190 viewing in folders 158, 159 Assets tab 187–192 columns in 188–190 deleting assets 199 described 147 importing assets 193–194 keyboard shortcuts 617 audio AC-3. See AC-3 audio adding to menus 229, 246, 272, 279–280 adding to slideshows 407, 411–414 adding to streams 372 adding to video 118 assets. See audio assets bit rates supported 105, 108 DTS 79–80, 648 DTS ES 17 encoding 25–26 formats.
basic configuration 110 B-frames compression markers and 71 described 59, 646 GOPs and 61 bi-directional frames. See B-frames bit rates audio 105, 108, 636 calculating 634 considerations 43–45 constant 56, 64, 647 described 646 for disc sizes 635 disc space and 42 Dolby Digital AC-3 105, 108 DTS audio 105, 108 DVD-5 discs and 42 DVD players and 55 encoders and 635 H.
invisible 209–210 keeping elements together 90 layer-based 331–333, 646 layout styles and 311 motion menus and 92 moving 224–225 names 311, 314 navigation 115, 268–271, 647 number assignments 264–265 number of 208, 253, 463 offsetting number 248, 329, 440 overlapping 272 overlay-based 253–255, 272, 331, 646 over video streams 647 over video subtitles 431, 460–466 over video tracks 53, 387 positioning images in 276 properties 259–263 remote control.
CMF (Cutting Master Format) 31, 584, 585, 647 CMF discs 584, 585 color background 116 buttons 263 markers 386 menu settings 251 methods for choosing 238 NTSC video 83 overlays 86–90, 234, 236–242 PAL video 83 preferences 121, 121 RGB values 16 slides 114 slideshows 98 STL format 457 subtitles 441–442, 450, 457 YUV values 16, 547 color commands, STL format 457 color mapping described 236, 647 menus 90, 236–242 overlays 233, 236–242, 652 settings 121 color mapping sets 121, 238 Color Palette 237–238 Colors pa
Copy Generation Management System 647 copying discs and 558 CSS 30, 558, 647 settings for 557–558 country codes 498 .cpt extension 17 CSS (Content Scrambling System) 30, 558, 647 Cube transition 640 Customize Toolbar item 161, 162 Cutting Master Format.
drives authoring media 30 DLT.
replication facilities and 28 DVD-R drives authoring media 30 buffer issues 583 described 30 formatting and 584 general media 30 lossless linking 583 output format options 584 simulation mode 583 types of 584 writing to 583 DVD-R format 649 DVD-ROM allowances 637 DVD-ROM content 637 DVD-ROM data 578 DVD-ROM discs disc property settings 554 filenaming issues 573–574 overview 572–574, 649 DVDs See also discs; projects adding closed captions to 611–612 aspect ratio 48 burning 30, 41, 544, 646 common sizes 41 c
duplicating 177 examples of 527 item descriptions 179 listing by type 165–166, 196, 590–591 listing by VTS 165–166, 196, 590–591 managing 177–180 moving 167, 591 pinning/unpinning 592 previewing 545 renaming 177 selecting 166 simulating 179 sources and 527 starting Simulator from 179 tile-based view of 148, 167–176 email addresses, links to 594, 596 embedded AIFF encoder 184 embedded MPEG encoder 62–68 bit rates 45 compression markers 71 configuring 62–65 converting unsupported audio 77 described 47 encoded
DVD@CCESS links to 594, 596 EVO 569 graphics. See graphics files HVDVD_TS 568–569 location of 123–124 missing 132, 182 MPEG. See MPEG files names 68, 182, 573–576 opening with DVD@CCESS links 594, 597 overlay 87, 246 parse 132, 186 Photoshop 83 PSD. See PSD files QuickTime 184, 188 renaming 182 RTF 456 style 314 subtitle.
supported by DVD Studio Pro 105, 107 frames audio trimming 376 B-frames 59, 61, 71, 646 I-frames 59, 61, 71, 650 P-frames 59, 61, 71 Frame Sync setting 76 function keys 141 G GarageBand 279 general media 649 general media drives 30 General pane 114 General Purpose Register Memories.
HD DVD (High Definition DVD) 38 HD DVD players 38 HD DVD standard blue laser discs.
described 138, 154 hiding 154 overview 154 setting remote control buttons 610 showing 154, 163 Inspector toolbar item 163 interactivity DVD@CCESS 594–598, 649 markers 431, 460–466, 647 subtitles 431, 460–466, 647 Internet links 594, 596 intra frames.
dual. See dual-layer discs flattening 83 non-seamless 577 options for 556 overlay 246 Photoshop 83, 91 seamless 577 standard overlay menus 83 .layout extension 567, 569 .layout file 567, 569 layout styles 302, 308 letterboxing 51, 53, 650 Letterbox mode 114, 123, 208, 209 limitations, DVD 45 Line 21 settings 611–612, 650 links.
properties 326–331 menu creation, standard method 229–284 adding audio 229, 279–280 adding buttons 253–272 adding drop shadows 229, 248 adding drop zones 229, 273–276 adding new menu to project 218 adding text objects 229, 276–279 choosing background 229, 231–233 choosing overlay 229, 233–235 color mapping 236–242 configuring drop shadows 280–281 configuring motion menu settings 282–284 configuring motion settings 229 described 206 options for 229 properties 244–252 templates/styles feature and 229 using sh
resolution 328 sources 81–96, 535, 536, 538 square pixels 216 standard creation method 653 supported file types 82 text settings 121 timeouts 246, 327 tips for creating graphics for 83 user operations settings 601 using 16:9 assets in 53 viewing layers 215 Menu tab described 149 keyboard shortcuts 620–622 Menu Inspector, layered menus 328–329 Menu Inspector, standard menus 247–248 Method settings 66 Missing Files window 132 mixed-angle tracks alternate streams 396 bit rates 70 considerations 68, 395 creatin
resolution 57–58, 104 settings for 104, 106–107 multi-angle streams 494 multi-angle tracks 68–70 alternate streams 396 bit rates 44, 70 considerations 395 creating 396 overview 395 previewing 402 multi-angle video 69 multiplexing 651 N National Television Standards Committee.
Palette toolbar item 163 PAL format 112, 113, 125–127 PAL monitors 50 PAL-M video 126 PAL SD projects 433 PAL sources 48 PAL video about the term 48 aspect ratio 50, 84, 85 colors 83 described 652 frame rate 58 HD projects 58 interlaced scanning method 21 required audio formats 81 SD projects 57 specifying 553 square pixels and 84 Panavision aspect ratio 54 pan-scan method 52, 53, 652 Pan-Scan mode 114, 123, 208, 209 pan-scan vectors 52 Parallel Track Path (PTP) 556, 577, 652 Parental Management level 498 p
pre-scripts See also scripts compared to display conditions 479, 603 described 467 ending 490 Nop command and 483, 490 resume command and 489 slideshows 427 uses for 467 presentations.
Q quadrants, DVD Studio Pro 137, 141–153, 211 QuickTime assets changing length of 201 importing 49, 62, 66, 184, 371, 375 mixing video standards 134, 135 names 184 re-encoding 185 refreshing 200–201 QuickTime files 184, 188 QuickTime MPEG Decoder 15 QuickTime MPEG Encoder.
disc playback and 480 duplicating 477 in DVD Studio Pro 467 editing 470 exit points 480 for playing tracks 510–513 GPRMs and 469, 504–508 jump commands in 484–485, 488 jumping to loop point 509 limitations 46 loading 477 naming 474, 476 placeholders in 483 planning 476 resuming 489 saving 477 saving as files 477 source values 487 SPRMs and 469, 482, 491–504 stopping playback 490 stories 393 stream values 488 terminating 480 testing 478–479 tracks 361 uses for 467 Script tab 151, 471–473, 623 SCSI devices 29
log 551 messages generated by 149 monitor resolution 123 opening 163 playback controls 548 playback output options 122–123 preferences 122–123 refreshing assets and 200 region codes 122 simulating slideshows 430 simulating subtitles 444 starting/stopping 547 starting from the Outline tab 179 testing projects with 545–551 testing scripts in 478 toolbar item 163 verifying elements 179 video destination 122 window 548 Simulator pane 122–123 Simulator Window option 122 single-layer discs 130 skip buttons.
uses for 405 viewer-advanced 419–420 working with 415–430 Slideshow tab 151, 624 snap grid 171 Snap To options 117 SON format 431 Sony/Philips Digital Interface (S/PDIF) 653 sorting assets 192 sound.
enabling 378 information about 375 inserting subtitles into 445–446 locking 379 MPEG 26, 69 multi-angle 494 options 601 preventing changes to 379 previewing 400 properties 378–379 removing clips from 375 subtitle. See subtitle streams user operations settings 601 V1 video stream 372, 379 V2-V9 69 video.
T tabs See also specific tabs closing window 147 contained in quadrants 147–153 moving to different quadrants 145 rearranging within quadrants 144 reopening 147 restoring 146 tearing off 146 viewing contents of 144 viewing options 168–170 targets connections 525, 527 described 525 examples of 527 listed 541 for sources 541 types of 529 template files 314 templates adding to menus 300 applying 303, 309–311 creating 313–314 creating menus with 303–321 described 156, 654 dragging from Palette 195 importing 315
tracks 357–403 24 fps video in 49 adding closed caption files to 612 adding markers to 70–75 adding to layered menus 342 adding to menus 294–296 aspect ratio 52, 114, 361 assets 357 break points in 556, 580 clips 370–378 converting slideshows to 381, 405, 424–425 creating 359 creating stories for 390 described 654 disc space required for 360 displaying 361 DVD 72 ending 513–516 importing chapter markers into 384 jumps 529 limitations 46 locking streams 379 looping 131 markers in. See markers mixed-angle.
4:3 video 53 anamorphic 51, 645 bit rates 45, 637 compression 25 encoding 25–26, 68–70 H.264 76 movie sources 48 multi-angle tracks and 68–70 noisy video 61 NTSC. See NTSC video PAL. See PAL video preparing for DVDs 25 quality of 24, 61 resolutions 57–58 SECAM 126 settings supported, HD video 106–107 settings supported, SD video 104–105 specifying type of 553 standards.
VTS (video title set) adding to projects 593 described 654 elements listed by 165–166, 196, 590–591 moving elements between 591 pinning/unpinning elements 592 stories and 495 title number 495 VTS_01_0.BUP file 567 VTS_01_0.IFO file 567 VTS_01_0.VOB file 567 VTS_01_1.
