Product Reviews

DVD authoring is a relatively new task for the PC and its software designers, but already the packages that are within reach of enthusiasts and corporate users are giving the top-end products such as Sonic DVD Producer a run for their money. Ulead DVD Workshop undercuts even mid-priced products such as Adobe Encore and Sony DVD Architect and this latest version offers advanced functions such as Dolby Digital encoding and Macrovision and CSS encryption on top of flexible menu and navigation tools.

DVD Workshop's greatest strength is its ability to combine any number of static and moving elements on a menu page. Its competitors require an image editor or video compositing tool such as Adobe After Effects to achieve the same results. You can import all sorts of files, from Photoshop PSDs to animated GIFs, and turn any of them into a button by dragging a menu or video into the Playlist box. Creating video playlists and end actions (such as return to the main menu) is done in the same way, which makes complex menu structures easier to compile than ever before.

It's now possible to add up to eight soundtracks to each video. This is ideal for multiple languages but, although Dolby Digital encoding is built in, you'll have to create surround Dolby Digital soundtracks elsewhere and then import them. Volume control

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and fade ins and outs for each audio element are simple and tremendously useful additions that would be even better with decent level metering. Up to 32 subtitle languages can be added, and text entry and layout is thorough and reasonably easy to accomplish.

There are plenty of advanced menu tools, too. You can designate a video to be played at the beginning of your disc that can't be fast-forwarded, which is useful for copyright information. Auto Activate causes a link to be selected simply by navigating to it rather than navigating and pressing Enter, which lets you perform all kinds of clever tricks with your menu design. The menu backgrounds, buttons and frames are generally stylish, and menu templates are included for those who want to kick-start their projects.

The program can write DVD-9 (dual-layer) discs but it can output them only to DLT tape drives, which seems a missed opportunity now that dual-layer writers are available (see page 46). The competition suffers the same limitation, though. More frustrating is that movement between buttons on a page (as performed with a DVD player's navigation controls) is automatically assigned; because you cannot specify exactly what button you'll move to depending on what direction you press, navigation can get a little confusing in more complex menus. Sony DVD Architect's option of automatic or manually assigned button navigation is much better in this respect.

DVD Workshop's superb menu compositing and playlist tools make it the most user-friendly DVD authoring package outside basic template-based software. However, the difficulty of its button navigation means Sony DVD Architect is the better product, even though its lack of encryption rules out professional use and it's available only when bought with the (excellent) Vegas editing software. For those on a tighter budget, DVD Workshop is capable of slick, highly customised results.