Macromedia Encore - CS5 User Guide
Using
ADOBE® ENCORE® CS5
Legal notices
Legal notices
For legal notices, see http://help.adobe.com/en_US/legalnotices/index.html.
Last updated 4/29/2011
Contents
Chapter 1: What’s new
Auto-fix subtitle frame gaps for blu-ray discs (Encore CS5.1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Option to change the media cache location (Encore CS5.1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Multi-page menus for Blu-ray discs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Flash DVD enhancements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Export DDP image to hard disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Synchronize timelines with the asset’s frame rate and dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Open and edit projects across platforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Set 24p frame rate for Blu-ray projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Out-of-process transcoding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Red 4K import . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
AVCHD passthrough . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Chapter 2: Workflow and workspace
Workflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Workspace basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Managing workspaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
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Chapter 3: Planning the project
Planning the content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Balancing file size and quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Bit budgeting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Chapter 4: Creating projects and importing assets
Working with projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Aspect ratios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Importing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Adobe Dynamic Link . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Working in the Project panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Manage the Project panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Viewing and editing XMP metadata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Transcript metadata in Flash output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Transcoding in Encore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Transcoding presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Chapter 5: Menus
Menu basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Creating menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Multi-page menus for blu-ray discs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Using Photoshop to create menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Edit menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Styling and transforming menu objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Apply styles and transformations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Adding text to menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
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USING ENCORE
Contents
Add and format text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Button subpictures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Menu color sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Button routing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Creating styles for menu elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Video and audio in menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Menu timing and looping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Menu templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Chapter indexes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Using After Effects to enhance menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Chapter 6: Timelines and slide shows
Timeline basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Create and manage timelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Editing assets in timelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Slide show basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Editing slide shows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Chapter points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
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Chapter 7: Audio and subtitles
Audio clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Subtitle basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Subtitle scripts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Subtitle colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Navigation for audio and subtitle tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Closed captions basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Chapter 8: Creating and managing links
Navigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Setting navigation and properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Playlists and chapter playlists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Working in the Flowchart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
User operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Chapter 9: Testing and building the final product
Testing Encore projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Security and additional content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Building the finished project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Exporting projects to Flash format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Chapter 10: Keyboard shortcuts
Using keyboard shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
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Chapter 1: What’s new
Auto-fix subtitle frame gaps for blu-ray discs (Encore CS5.1)
Automatically resize one or both the flanking subtitle clips such that the gap separating them is five frames. The
automatic adjustment eliminates chances of errors due to insufficient gaps between subtitle clips, which prevent a bluray disc from burning.
Use Auto Fix Subtitle Frame Gaps for all timelines on blu-ray discs, except for timelines with frame dimensions
720x480. For more information, see
Option to change the media cache location (Encore CS5.1)
“Automatically fix subtitle frame gaps for Blu-ray discs” on page 138.
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When importing media files (in certain formats), change the media cache location from within Adobe® Encore® CS5.1
to improve the performance of previews. The flexibility provided by the feature lets you configure the media cache
location in a separate machine to offset memory overheads on the production machine.
A media cache database retains links to the cached media files. The database shares the links with Adobe Media
Encoder, After Effects, Adobe Premiere Pro, and Soundbooth to let each application use the same media files. Sharing
the same cache files ensures database consistency across applications. For more information, see
preferences” on page 11
“Set Media
Multi-page menus for Blu-ray discs
A multi-page menu is a single PSD file containing multiple pages that are linked to each other. A page is a layer group
in the PSD file containing buttons. The buttons link to parts of the menu, or to a chapter point in the timeline. Multipage menus can be created in Encore, or imported from Photoshop. For more information, see
blu-ray discs” on page 65.
“Multi-page menus for
Flash DVD enhancements
Search text subtitles in Flash DVD. The new Flash DVD player has customizable playback controls that help you
readily navigate and search content in the movie. Performance enhancements ensure smoother playback at low
bandwidths, and reduced glitch at chapter markers during streaming. For more information, see
output files” on page 181.
“Play Flash DVD
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USING ENCORE
What’s new
Export DDP image to hard disk
Directly export DDP images to your computer’s hard disk, and deliver it to the replication facility using FTP. Delivery
through electronic media is faster, and does not involve the extra hardware associated with DLT. For more
information, see
“Build a DVD or Blu-ray disc” on page 175.
Synchronize timelines with the asset’s frame rate and dimensions
Encore also allows you to use the same asset in multiple timelines that can have different frame rates or dimensions.
In such cases, Encore transcodes these assets for each timeline with the frame rate and dimensions of the timeline in
which it is placed.
For assets with different frame rates and dimensions, Encore creates timelines that are synchronized with the asset’s
properties. The synchronization helps provide real-time playback, and better accuracy in subtitle positioning.
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Open and edit projects across platforms
Open an Encore project created in Mac on a Windows machine, and the other way round. Also, you can open and edit
projects created in Encore CS4 and earlier versions. For more information, see
platforms” on page 24.
“Open and edit projects across
Set 24p frame rate for Blu-ray projects
Encore automatically chooses the relevant 24 fps transcoding preset when you use the Transcode Now option to
transcode the asset. For Blu-ray assets that are not legal, the default values for transcoding are used.
Out-of-process transcoding
Out-of-process transcoding enables you to transcode assets in the Adobe Media Encoder application in the Transcode
Now workflow. When you enable out-of-process transcoding, the Adobe Media Encoder (AME) is launched as a
separate process. For more information, see
“Out-of-process transcoding” on page 48.
Red 4K import
Movie frames shot using Red cameras can be imported into Encore from Premiere Pro at their full resolution (4K)
using Dynamic Link. Encore provides an improved quality of playback for these high resolution files.
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USING ENCORE
What’s new
AVCHD passthrough
Encore does not transcode Blu ray legal (as per BD spec) AVCHD files (MTS,M2TS) when building a blu ray. For more
information, see
“AVCHD passthrough” on page 177.
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Chapter 2: Workflow and workspace
Adobe® Encore® provides a flexible workspace that you can quickly optimize for your working style.
Workflow
Workflow and workspace basics
Encore lets you create many different kinds of projects for DVDs, Blu-ray discs, or interactive Adobe Flash® files.
Whether the content is a feature film, a wedding, a training course, or an art collection, the basic steps for creating a
project are the same.
Note: For a video tutorial about creating projects in Encore, see www.adobe.com/go/vid0239. For an overview of Encore,
see www.adobe.com/go/lrvid4226_enc.
Although the order of the tasks can vary somewhat from project to project, authoring with Encore involves the
following basic tasks:
4
Plan the project
Regardless of the project's complexity, it is helpful to plan the content and flow of your project. Whether you sketch
each of the elements, create a flowchart, or use a spreadsheet to map the path through the content, drafting a navigation
scenario can help you clarify your ideas and anticipate problems before you start. For information, see
“About
planning” on page 14.
1
2
3
Simple sketch of intended navigation scheme
1a
2a
2b
2c
3a
3b
Import assets
Prepare your source material (assets) for the project, and import them into Encore. The assets include any video, still
images, audio, and subtitles for your project. You can import Adobe Premiere® Pro sequences without rendering them
through the Adobe Dynamic Link. For information, see
“Import assets and menus” on page 31.
Create project elements and add assets
An Encore project includes element types such as timelines and slide shows. You add assets to these elements to
include the assets in the project. Depending upon an asset’s type, you can add it to timelines, slide shows, menus,
playlists, and chapter playlists. For information, see
“About timelines” on page 113, “About slide shows” on page 125,
“Playlists” on page 158, and “Chapter playlists” on page 159.
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Create menus
The menus give the viewer access to the content. You can create menus directly in Encore, customize predesigned
menus included with the software, or create and edit menus in Adobe Photoshop®. For information, see
menus” on page 53.
Specify navigation
Menus provide the main way for viewers to navigate through the content. In addition to menus, you also use other
types of navigation settings, such as end actions and overrides, to guide the viewer. Encore gives you several methods
for setting the navigation—you can drag between the elements and buttons in Menu Viewer, use the Properties panel,
or work with navigation in Flowchart. For a typical project, you’ll set navigation with all of these methods, choosing
whichever is most convenient at the time. For information, see
Make video and audio compatible (transcoding)
If you imported video and audio files that aren’t DVD or Blu-ray Disc-compatible, Encore transcodes the files before
you burn the disc. You can let Encore determine the best settings for transcoding or select the options you feel are best
for your project. For information, see
Preview the project
You should preview and check a project throughout the authoring process, especially before you burn the disc.
Previewing lets you experience the project as a viewer would, using the remote control to move through it. The Check
Project feature verifies technical details and informs you of any problems, such as broken links or invalid end actions.
For information, see
“Preview a project” on page 169, and “Check a project” on page 172.
“About transcoding” on page 46.
“Project navigation and links” on page 151.
“About
5
Burn the disc
You can build and burn the DVD or Blu-ray disc directly from Encore. Or, if you plan to use a replication facility, you
can write to a DLT drive, prepare a folder, or create a DVD or Blu-ray image to give to the replicator. For information,
“Build a DVD or Blu-ray disc” on page 175.
see
Export to Flash format
You can export your final projects to a Flash format for interactive viewing on the web. For information, see
“Exporting projects to Flash format” on page 178.
More Help topics
Create Encore projects video
Workspace basics
About workspaces
Adobe video and audio applications provide a consistent, customizable workspace. Although each application has its
own set of panels (such as Project, Metadata, and Timeline), you move and group panels in the same way across
products.
The main window of a program is the application window. Panels are organized in this window in an arrangement
called a workspace. The default workspace contains groups of panels as well as panels that stand alone.
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You customize a workspace by arranging panels in the layout that best suits your working style. As you rearrange
panels, the other panels resize automatically to fit the window. You can create and save several custom workspaces for
different tasks—for example, one for editing and one for previewing.
You can use floating windows to create a workspace more like workspaces in previous versions of Adobe applications,
or to place panels on multiple monitors.
BC
A
6
Example workspace
A. Application window B. Grouped panels C. Individual panel
Dock, group, or float panels
You can dock panels together, move them into or out of groups, and undock them so they float above the application
window. As you drag a panel, drop zones—areas onto which you can move the panel—become highlighted. The drop
zone you choose determines where the panel is inserted, and whether it docks or groups with other panels.
Docking zones
Docking zones exist along the edges of a panel, group, or window. Docking a panel places it adjacent to the existing
group, resizing all groups to accommodate the new panel.
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Workflow and workspace
A
B
C
Dragging panel (A) onto docking zone (B) to dock it (C)
Grouping zones
Grouping zones exist in the middle of a panel or group, and along the tab area of panels. Dropping a panel on a
grouping zone stacks it with other panels.
7
A
B
C
Dragging panel (A) onto grouping zone (B) to group it with existing panels (C)
Dock or group panels
1 If the panel you want to dock or group is not visible, choose it from the Window menu.
2 Do one of the following:
•
To move an individual panel, drag the gripper area in the upper-left corner of a panel’s tab onto the desired drop zone.
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Drag panel gripper to move one panel
• To move an entire group, drag the group gripper in the upper-right corner onto the desired drop zone.
8
Drag group gripper to move entire group
The application docks or groups the panel, according to the type of drop zone.
Undock a panel in a floating window
When you undock a panel in a floating window, you can add panels to the window and modify it similarly to the
application window. You can use floating windows to use a secondary monitor, or to create workspaces like the
workspaces in earlier versions of Adobe applications.
❖ Select the panel you want to undock (if it’s not visible, choose it from the Window menu), and then do one of the
following:
• Choose Undock Panel or Undock Frame from the panel menu. Undock Frame undocks the panel group.
• Hold down Ctrl (Windows®) or Command (Mac OS®), and drag the panel or group from its current location.
When you release the mouse button, the panel or group appears in a new floating window.
• Drag the panel or group outside the application window. (If the application window is maximized, drag the
panel to the Windows taskbar.)
Resize panel groups
When you position the pointer over dividers between panel groups, resize icons appear. When you drag these icons,
all groups that share the divider are resized. For example, suppose your workspace contains three panel groups stacked
vertically. If you drag the divider between the bottom two groups, they are resized, but the topmost group doesn’t
change.
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To quickly maximize a panel beneath the pointer, press the accent key. (Do not press Shift.) Press the accent key again
to return the panel to its original size.
1 Do either of the following:
• To resize either horizontally or vertically, position the pointer between two panel groups. The pointer becomes a
double-arrow
.
• To resize in both directions at once, position the pointer at the intersection between three or more panel groups.
The pointer becomes a four-way arrow
2 Hold down the mouse button, and drag to resize the panel groups.
A
.
9
B
Dragging divider between panel groups to resize them horizontally
A. Original group with resize icon B. Resized groups
Open, close, and scroll to panels
When you close a panel group in the application window, the other groups resize to use the newly available space.
When you close a floating window, the panels within it close, too.
• To open or close a panel, choose it from the Window menu.
• To close a panel or window, click its Close button .
• To see all the panel tabs in a narrow panel group, drag the horizontal scroll bar.
• To bring a panel to the front of a group of panels, do one of the following:
• Click the tab of the panel you want in front.
• Hover the cursor above the tab area, and turn the mouse scroll wheel. Scrolling brings each panel to the front, one
after another.
• Drag tabs horizontally to change their order.
• To reveal panels hidden in a narrow panel group, drag the scroll bar above the panel group.
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Drag horizontal scroll bar to see all panels in narrow group
Working with multiple monitors
To increase the available screen space, use multiple monitors. When you work with multiple monitors, the application
window appears on one monitor, and you place floating windows on the second monitor. Monitor configurations are
stored in the workspace.
More Help topics
“Dock, group, or float panels” on page 6
Use context, panel, and viewer menus
In addition to the menus at the top of your screen, Encore also provides context, panel, and viewer menus. Context
menus contain commands relative to the active tool or selection. Panel menus contain commands relevant to the active
panel. You use the viewer menus to choose which item to display in the viewer, or to close items.
10
Use a context or panel menu
❖ Do one of the following:
• To use a context menu, position the pointer over the active window or selection and right-click (Windows) or
Control-click (Mac® OS). Choose a menu item, or click outside the menu to close it.
• To use a panel menu, click the triangle in the upper-right corner of a panel, and then choose a menu item or
click outside the menu to close it.
Use a viewer menu
Encore provides viewers for its timelines, slide shows, menus, and chapter playlists. Viewers are panels in which you
edit a type of DVD or Blu-ray element. Slideshow Viewer, for example, lets you edit slide shows. You can set the Encore
preferences to specify whether items of the same type open in a single viewer or in multiple viewers. For viewers with
multiple items open, use the viewer menu to select the item you want to work with.
❖ Click the triangle in the Viewer tab, and choose the element you want to work with. You can also close the current
item or all the items.
Tools panel overview
You use the Tools panel when working in the Menu Viewer and the Flowchart. It contains tools to select layers or
objects in a menu, enter text, zoom in and out, and move objects in the Flowchart. It also contains shortcuts for editing
a menu in Photoshop and previewing a project. (See
projects” on page 135, and “About creating menus in Photoshop” on page 66.)
“About text in menus” on page 78, “About subtitles in DVD
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A B C D E F G H I
Tools panel
A. Selection tool B. Direct Select tool C. Move tool D. Rotate tool E. Text tool F. Vertical Text tool G. Zoom tool H. Edit Menu in Photoshop
I. Preview
Set preferences for workspace
You can set numerous preferences for your workspace. These include adjusting the brightness of the user interface and
controlling the default television standard used for creating projects.
Set workspace appearance preferences
Appearance preferences include software-wide settings that affect your workspace.
1 Choose Edit > Preferences > Appearance (Windows) or Encore > Preferences > Appearance (Mac OS).
2 Set any of the following options:
Brightness Use the slider to set the brightness of the interface. Click Default to return the brightness to the factory
default.
Separate Viewers For Specifies how new timelines, menus, slide shows, and chapter playlists are opened. In Encore,
you edit each element type in its own viewer. Timelines, for example, are edited in the Timeline viewer. Select an
option to open that element type in a new viewer; deselect an option to open all elements of that type in a single
viewer. For example, to open all menus in a single Menu Viewer, deselect Menus. When a single viewer contains
more than one item, use its viewer menu to access the desired element. For more information, see
menu” on page 10.
“Use a viewer
11
Show Tool Tips Specifies whether tool tips (brief labels or explanations) appear as the pointer moves over tools and
other interface elements. This setting is enabled by default.
Beep On Render Completion Specifies whether Encore beeps when it finishes building a project or transcoding a
file. Select the option to enable the beep.
Set Media preferences
Media preferences include settings for clearing the Adobe media cache database file and specifying the location for the
Encore Library file.
1 Choose Edit > Preferences > Media (Windows) or Encore > Preferences > Media (Mac OS).
2 Set any of the following options:
Library Content Specifies the location of the Library folder for functional content, such as predesigned menus and
buttons. Files in this Library folder appear in the Library panel.
Resource Central Content Lets you change the location of the media database from within Encore. When Encore
imports audio and video in certain formats, it processes and caches versions of these items for easy access when
generating previews.
The media cache improves the performance of previews, because the system does not reprocess audio and video
items for each preview. A media cache database retains links to each cached media file. This database is shared with
Adobe Media Encoder, After Effects, Adobe Premiere Pro, and Soundbooth.
Each application can read from and write to the same set of cached media files. If you change the location of the
database from within any application, the location is updated for the other applications simultaneously. Each
application can use its own cache folder. However, the same database tracks all the applications.
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Do one of the following:
• To move the media cache or the media cache database, click the corresponding Browse button.
• To remove conformed and indexed files from the cache and their entries from the database, click Clean.
Clean Database Frees up additional disc space by removing old files in the media cache database shared by Adobe
audio and video applications. The database tracks media accelerator files that improve performance and speed. For
example, if Adobe Premiere Pro creates a conformed audio file, and you import media with that audio into Encore,
Encore uses the file from Adobe Premiere Pro instead of creating a new conformed file. The media cache database
informs Encore of the conformed file’s location.
Write XMP IDs to Files On Import Automatically inserts a unique document ID into each imported file. These IDs
ensure that all Adobe Production Premium applications access the same cached previews and conformed audio
files, preventing additional rendering and conforming. This is a global setting—a change in one Production
Premium application affects all the others. This setting also results in new file modification dates when IDs are
initially inserted.
To save rendering time when transferring a project to another machine, move both cached and original files.
Set General preferences
General preferences include default settings for the software regardless of the project you’re working on.
12
1 Choose Edit > Preferences > General (Windows) or Encore > Preferences > General (Mac OS).
2 Set any of the following options:
Default Television Standard Specifies the default TV standard (either NTSC or PAL) for new projects. Encore
determines the default setting according to the operating system’s language.
Playback Quality Specifies the playback quality for the Preview and Monitor panels, as well as thumbnails. Select
the desired setting from the menu: High to display video at full resolution; Draft to display video at one-half
resolution; and Automatic to use draft quality for playback, which changes to high quality when the playback is
paused or stopped.
Desktop Display Mode (Windows only) Sets one of three options for playback through a graphics display card:
• Compatible Displays video on the desktop in a nonaccelerated manner. This mode is appropriate for use on a
graphics card that does not support Direct3D 9.0 acceleration. This option is the lowest-performance display mode.
• Standard Uses hardware capabilities on Direct3D 9.0-capable graphics cards to accelerate video playback on the
desktop.
• Accelerated GPU Effects Uses advanced hardware features present in the newest generation of Direct3D 9.0-
capable graphics cards to accelerate video playback as well as several effects on the desktop.
Reset Warning Dialogs Enables all dialog boxes that you previously disabled by selecting Don’t Show Again.
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Managing workspaces
Choose a workspace
Each Adobe video and audio application includes several predefined workspaces that optimize the layout of panels for
specific tasks. When you choose one of these workspaces, or any custom workspaces you’ve saved, the current
workspace is redrawn accordingly.
❖ Open the project you want to work on, choose Window > Workspace, and select the desired workspace.
Save, reset, or delete workspaces
Save a custom workspace
As you customize a workspace, the application tracks your changes, storing the most recent layout. To store a specific
layout more permanently, save a custom workspace. Saved custom workspaces appear in the Workspace menu, where
you can return to and reset them.
❖ Arrange the frames and panels as desired, and then choose Window > Workspace > New Workspace. Type a name
for the workspace, and click
Note: (After Effects, Premiere Pro, Encore) If a project saved with a custom workspace is opened on another system, the
application looks for a workspace with a matching name. If it can’t find a match (or the monitor configuration doesn’t
match), it uses the current local workspace.
OK.
13
Reset a workspace
Reset the current workspace to return to its original, saved layout of panels.
❖ Choose Window > Workspace > Reset workspace name.
Delete a workspace
1 Choose Window > Workspace > Delete Workspace.
2 Choose the workspace you want to delete, and then click OK.
Note: You cannot delete the currently active workspace.
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Chapter 3: Planning the project
You can design, author, and build media projects in Adobe® Encore® for high-definition Blu-ray Disc and standarddefinition DVD. Encore gives you options to burn directly to a disc or other types of output for disc replication. As an
added bonus, you can export Blu-ray and DVD projects to Flash format for interactive viewing on the web.
Planning the content
About planning
The first task of authoring the project is planning. This planning can be as minimal as deciding to use a template to
organize your family’s vacation photos and video, or as robust as using project-management software to coordinate a
production team creating an interactive kiosk.
Whatever the scope of planning, you should understand what the project will contain and how you want to present it.
By the end of the planning stage, you should have a good understanding of the following parameters.
14
The navigation scheme
A well-produced project employs a hierarchy of navigation that gives the viewer clear and easy access to the content.
Think through your project. After you decide which clips you want to include, you need to determine how the viewer
will access those clips. Whether you use a spreadsheet or a pencil sketch, it is worth the time to draft your navigation
scheme before you start.
The intended playback environment
Is the project intended for television viewing? Will it play unattended in a kiosk? Is it for use in an educational setting
on computers? The playback environment affects your approach to navigation and the design of the menus as well as
the content. If the project will be used only on a computer (on the desktop or in a web browser), you can include ROM
content that a television DVD or Blu-ray player cannot access. For instance, you can include PDFs of exercises in an
educational DVD to be used on the computer. If you’re planning to export your project to Flash format, you can embed
web links that connect your project to other areas in your website.
Types and amount of content to be included
To make certain decisions—for instance, about disc size and video data rate—you need to know how much content
you must fit on the disc and what type it is (such as standard-definition or high-definition video). Small projects that
include mostly audio might fit on a single-layer DVD, whereas projects containing feature-length movies and many
supplemental materials might require a dual-layer or dual-sided DVD or a Blu-ray disc.
More Help topics
“Embed web links in your Flash project” on page 181
“Tips for creating Flash projects” on page 180
“About bit budgeting” on page 18
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Planning the project
Planning with the Flowchart
The Flowchart feature provides a visual interface that helps you to plan and manage the creation of the project. Use
the Flowchart from the initial stages of the project, when you determine navigation and begin organizing assets.
Note: If you’re new to authoring these types of projects, plan your navigation scheme on paper and start using the
Flowchart after you are familiar with the different element types and their properties.
The Flowchart displays the content of the project graphically, in a tree structure, detailing the navigation between the
different elements. This visual representation can help you to see areas where the navigation is cluttered and you want
to refine. Beyond providing a visual representation of the project, the Flowchart also lets you perform many authoring
tasks, such as setting project navigation.
If your project contains multiple hierarchical objects, use the zoom controls on the flowchart panel to view the relevant
parts of the flowchart. In addition, the tool tips show asset names when you hover the mouse over them.
For a video tutorial about using the Flowchart to plan your projects, see www.adobe.com/go/vid0240.
More Help topics
“Flowchart overview” on page 160
Flowchart planning video
15
Balancing file size and quality
File size and quality
Authoring a DVD or Blu-ray project involves striking a balance between two competing properties: file size and video
quality. As quality increases, so does file size. You want to achieve the highest possible quality for your content while
keeping the file sizes small enough so that all of the content will fit on the disc. This balance is achieved by manipulating
the video content’s data rate—either automatically (by letting Encore set the data rate) or directly (by setting the
transcoding settings or using a third-party application).
You determine the optimal data rate through the process of bit budgeting. To understand bit budgeting, you first need
to understand the variables involved: disc size, types and amounts of assets (audio, video, and motion menus), and data
rates and transcoding. Once familiar with the variables involved, you’ll be able to produce a bit budget to guide you in
producing high-quality projects that fit within the allotted disc space.
More Help topics
“About transcoding” on page 46
Determining disc size
Before you can prepare a bit budget, you must determine the size of disc on which to distribute your project. Encore
can create projects for 25-GB Blu-ray discs and for a variety of DVD disc sizes. The size you choose is based on the
amount of video and the replication method.
Typically, a Blu-ray disc can hold 135 minutes of high-definition video using MPEG-2 plus 2 hours of standarddefinition bonus material, or it can hold a total of 10 hours of standard-definition content. Encore also supports H.264
encoding for Blu-ray projects, which provides better quality at lower bit rates than MPEG-2 and therefore more video
time. Desktop DVD burners use a recordable DVD-5 disc (DVD+/-R), which has a 4.7-GB capacity and can hold
approximately 2
hours of high-quality, standard-definition video.
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Planning the project
Encore also supports DLT (digital linear tape), which requires a DLT drive connected to your computer, as well as
dual-layer DVDs and dual-sided DVDs. Check your DVD recorder’s documentation to see if it can create dual-sided
or dual-layer discs. If your disc recorder cannot produce these discs, Encore can still create the project files for them,
but you’ll need to replicate the disc at a replication facility.
When preparing a project for dual-layer or dual-sided DVDs, keep the following information in mind:
Dual-layer disc Encore supports DVD-R DL and DVD+R DL discs; check your recorder’s documentation to see what
type of DVDs (+R or -R) it requires. To replicate dual-layer DVDs at a replication facility, you first must write your
project to two separate DLTs, one tape for each layer of the disc, using the DVD Master output option. (See
“Build a
DVD or Blu-ray disc” on page 175 and “Specify a layer break for dual-layer DVDs” on page 178.)
Note: Be aware that +R discs may be incompatible with some DVD players. Before duplicating a large quantity of discs,
it’s worthwhile to create a sample disc and test it on several different DVD players. Replication facilities, whose
paramount purpose is duplicating discs, create discs with the widest possible compatibility.
Dual-sided disc For dual-sided DVDs, you must create two separate projects. If you will replicate the DVDs at an
outside facility, use the DVD Master output option to write each project to its own DLT. (See
“Build a DVD or Blu-ray
disc” on page 175 and “Replicating discs” on page 178.)
Dual-sided, dual-layer disc In this case, you need to build two projects, each producing two tapes. The first two tapes
represent the two layers of the first project (Side 1). The other two tapes represent the two layers of the second project
(Side 2).
16
Set the disc size for DVD projects
By setting the disc size for your DVD project at the beginning of the authoring process, Encore can calculate how much
space is used for each asset you add to the project and how much space remains free.
1 Choose Window > Build.
2 In the Build panel, choose DVD from the Format menu, and scroll down to the Disc Info section.
3 Choose a size from the Size menu. To enter a custom disc size, choose Custom and then type a size in the text box.
4 If you want to create a dual-sided disc, specify which side this project is for.
5 Close the Build panel and save the project.
More Help topics
“Check the space remaining on your disc” on page 16
Check the space remaining on your disc
The Build panel displays the available space and the used space for the specified disc size during the authoring process.
The display conveys size information only and has no bearing on quality. Encore calculates the free space using the
transcoding data rate (whether it was set automatically or manually). It then combines this estimated bit rate with the
actual bit rate of any transcoded clips and, based on the disc size, calculates the space remaining on your disc.
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Planning the project
When transcoding assets, Encore attempts to maintain the highest quality (highest data rate) for the amount of video
in the project. If you continue to add video to a project, the program lowers the video data rate to squeeze in the
additional content. Encore will warn you if quality dips below a certain level once you build the project or run Check
Project. For more information, see
❖ Choose Window > Build to display the Build panel, and scroll down to the Disc Info section. Encore displays the
amounts of used video space, free space, and space used for ROM content. Respectively, the “thermometer” graphic
uses blue, white, and green colors to show the amounts.
“About transcoding” on page 46.
Asset types and amounts
Of all the content types, the video portion occupies the most disc space. Depending on the data rate, 1 minute of
standard-definition video for DVD projects can occupy up to 73.5 MB, at a rate of 9.8 megabits per second (Mbps).
One minute of high-definition video for a Blu-ray project can occupy from 270 to 405 MB (using rates of 36 Mbps and
54 Mbps). One minute of compressed audio, on the other hand, occupies only 11.5 MB. Still menus are negligible in
terms of size. (See
The amount of video in a project directly affects the optimal data rate. You need an accurate tally of the amount of
video in a project to develop a bit budget and to choose a disc size. If the project contains 1 hour of video, for example,
it can be transcoded at twice the data rate as a project with 2 hours of video content. Although the video content in
each project occupies the same amount of disc space, the quality of the hour-long video will be superior (though not
necessarily by a factor of 2).
“Average asset size” on page 19.)
17
More Help topics
“About transcoding” on page 46
Data rates
Data rates, usually expressed in Mbps (megabits per second, or 1,000,000 bits per second), specify the amount of data
contained in an asset stream and directly affect the quality of video. The data rate is used during transcoding to
compress the asset. For video assets, the Encore transcode presets use data rates ranging from 15 to 40 Mbps for
Blu-ray projects and from 4 to 9
40 Mbps for Blu-ray projects or 9.0
Mbps. Typical data rates for video range between 4 and 6 Mbps. If bit budgeting targets a data rate less than 6 Mbps,
2.0
consider using variable bit rate (VBR) encoding. For more information about VBR, see
page 18. For more information about transcoding, see “About transcoding” on page 46.
Although data rates are a general indicator of quality, there are no hard-and-fast rules to equate data rate to quality.
That is, a data rate of 4
of compression used as well as data rate. For example, video of a seated person shot against a solid background can
probably be compressed to a lower data rate than a fast-paced car chase with constantly changing visuals, with no
noticeable differences in quality.
Mbps may or may not produce a high-quality asset; quality depends on the image data and type
Mbps for DVD projects. You can edit the presets’ data rates, but you cannot exceed
Mbps for DVD projects, nor can you go below the Encore minimum data rate of
“Calculate a bit budget” on
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Planning the project
Bit budgeting
About bit budgeting
Bit budgeting, or estimating the amount of space your project will occupy, is an important part of planning. Bit
budgeting helps you strike a balance between the quantity and quality of content and determine the optimal video data
rate. If your project includes minimal amounts of content, you can encode that content at a higher data rate (which
translates to higher quality) to take advantage of all available space. Conversely, if your project contains a large amount
of content, you need to use a lower data rate (which translates to lower quality) to squeeze it all onto the disc.
Encore automatically tracks bit budgeting during the authoring process. For small projects with limited content,
simply checking the amount of available space on the Build panel during the authoring process is usually sufficient to
track your space usage. For large, complex projects, though, bit budgeting becomes much more important to the
authoring process, providing a check against the actual data rates achieved.
Generally, for projects with less than 2 hours of video, you can skip bit budgeting and let Encore set the data rate
automatically.
Calculate a bit budget
Bit budgeting provides a target video data rate for the project. You can either use a pencil and paper to quickly develop
one, or you can create a spreadsheet to do the calculations for you.
18
When bit budgeting for projects to be distributed on 4.7-GB DVDs that contain a single stream of compressed audio,
you can use the simplified formula of 560 / x = bit rate in Mbps, where “x” represents minutes of video.
1 Calculate the total disc space available for the entire project.
2 Calculate the disc space available for video. You achieve this by calculating the space required for audio, slide shows,
subtitles, and motion menus (other types of content are negligible in terms of bit budgeting), and subtracting that
amount from the total disc space. For more information, see
Note: If you include ROM content, make sure to include it in the space calculation. (See “Add ROM content to the
disc” on page 174.)
3 Calculate the target data rate of the video. You determine this by dividing the amount of space available for video
by the amount of video in the project.
4 Determine the maximum video bit rate by subtracting the combined audio and subtitle rate from the data rate limit.
(For example, if your combined audio and subtitle rate is 3.0
rate limit gives you a video rate of 6.8
within the disc data rate limit. If your target data rate is below 6
encoding. When you use VBR encoding, you specify the maximum video data rate. (The average data rate is the
target, but the maximum rate provides some flexibility when encoding.)
Note: Keep your calculations simple by working with megabits (Mbits) and not megabytes (MB) when bit budgeting.
Mbps denotes megabits per second. Also, hard-disk capacity is typically calculated as a power of 2 (1
= 1024 bytes), while optical disc (DVD) capacity is labeled as a power of 10 (1
power-of-10 scheme for bit budgeting. The following conversion factors will aid in the calculations: 1
= 1,000,000,000 bytes = 8,000,000,000
bits; 1,000,000 bits = 1 Mbit.
Mbps.) Your goal is to determine the highest possible target video data rate
“Average asset size” on page 19.
Mbps, subtracting that from the 9.8 Mbps DVD data
Mbps, consider using variable bit rate (VBR)
KB = 2^10 bytes
KB = 10^3 bytes = 1,000 bytes). Use the
GB = 10^9 bytes
Last updated 4/29/2011
USING ENCORE
Planning the project
Average asset size
Use the following averages for bit budgeting:
Audio If compressed using the Dolby® Digital Stereo standard, audio is generally 192,000 bits per second
Mbps). Use 0.192 Mbps or reference the settings for the audio encoder you plan to use.
(0.192
Subpictures Insignificant in terms of bit budgeting, unless you include subtitles. If you do include subtitles, use
Mbps per subpicture stream for calculations.
0.010
Motion menus Typically have a data rate of 8 Mbps for the transcoded standard-definition video or 40 Mbps for high
definition; add this to the audio data rate. (If the video is already DVD- or Blu-ray-compliant, then it won’t be
transcoded, and you should use the data rate of the video file.)
Still menus Typically insignificant in terms of bit budgeting and can usually be left out of the calculation. Still menus
KB in size.
average 230
Slide shows The asset size for a slide show depends on whether you include transitions or the Random Pan & Zoom
effect:
• If the slide show contains no transitions or effects, the slides are written to the disc as MPEG stills, which require
minimal space. Stills average 230
number of images, however, you should include them in your calculation.
• If the slide show includes transitions, then Encore writes both stills and transcoded MPEG video files for the
transitions. For example, if a given image appears for 10 seconds, with a 2-second transition at the beginning and
the end, then the still is written to the disc (displayed for 6 seconds) as well as two 2-second MPEG video files that
contain the transition frames.
• If the slide show includes pan and zoom, then Encore transcodes the stills into an MPEG video file. Slide shows with
pan and zoom, in essence, become video content and require the same space allotment as video files. For example,
a 5-minute slide show that uses pan and zoom throughout counts as 5 minutes of video content for bit-budgeting
purposes.
KB in size, which is typically negligible for bit budgeting. If you have a large
19
Sample budget #1
Bit budgeting for a simple DVD project containing 2 hours and 13 minutes of standard-definition video, without any
audio, to be distributed on a 4.7-GB disc proceeds as follows:
1 Calculate the total available disc space in bits. A 4.7 GB disc contains 4,700,000,000 bytes; each byte contains 8 bits.
bits.
4,700,000,000 x 8 = 37,600,000,000
2 Calculate the disc space available for video. Combine the size of the audio, subtitles, motion menus, and 4% of the
disc capacity (for overhead, just to be safe), and then subtract that sum from the total available space you calculated
in step 1. Since this example has no audio, subtitles, or motion menus, you subtract only the 4% for overhead
bits) to get a value of 36,096,000,000 bits.
(1,504,000,000
3 Calculate the data rate of the video. Divide the disc space available for video that you determined in step 2 by the
amount of video (in seconds) the project contains. 36,096,000,000
bps. Divide the bps amount by 1 million bits per Mbit to convert the video data rate to Mbps.
4,523,308.27
Mbps.
4,523,308.27 / 1,000,000 = 4.5
4 Determine the maximum video data rate. Subtract the combined audio, subtitles, and motion menu data rates, zero
in this instance, from the maximum DVD video data rate of 9.8
close to the maximum rate for DVD, you can lower it to 9.0
The video will fit on the disc using a data rate of 4.5 Mbps. This data rate (4.5 Mbps) is low enough (below 6 Mbps)
that you should use VBR encoding. The maximum video data rate for VBR encoding is 9.0
Last updated 4/29/2011
bits / (133 minutes x 60 seconds per minute) =
Mbps. 9.8 Mbps - 0 = 9.8 Mbps. Because this is very
Mbps to be safe.
Mbps.
USING ENCORE
Planning the project
Sample budget #2
Proceed as follows for bit budgeting of a 120-minute standard-definition video with three audio tracks, two subtitle
tracks, two motion menus, and a 1-minute movie preview to be burned to an 8.54-GB DVD:
1 Calculate the total available disc space in bits. An 8.54-GB disc contains 8,540,000,000 bytes; each byte contains
bits. 8,540,000,000 x 8 = 68,320,000,000 bits = 68,320 Mbits.
8
2 Calculate the disc space available for video. Combine the size of the audio, subtitles, motion menus, movie preview,
and 4% of the disc capacity (for overhead, just to be safe), and then subtract that sum from the total available space
you calculated in step
• Three 120-minute audio streams, two with a data rate of 0.192 Mbps, and one with a rate of 0.448 Mbps: 2 x
minutes x 60 seconds per minute x 0.192 Mbps) + (120 minutes x 60 seconds per minute x 0.448 Mbps) =
(120
Mbits.
5,990.4
• Two subtitles with a data rate of 0.010 Mbps: 2 x (120 minutes x 60 seconds per minute) x 0.010 Mbps =
Mbits.
144
• Two 24-second motion menus with an estimated data rate of 8 Mbps: 2 x (24 seconds x 8 Mbps) = 384 Mbits.
• One-minute movie preview with a data rate of 4.5 Mbps: 60 seconds x 4.5 Mbps = 270 Mbits.
• 4% overhead: 0.04 x 68,320,000,000 bits = 2,732,800,000 bits = 2,732.8 Mbits.
• Total audio, subtitles, motion menus, preview, and overhead sizes: 5,990.4 Mbits + 144 Mbits + 384 Mbits +
Mbits + 2,732.8 Mbits = 9,521.2 Mbits.
270
• Disc space available for video: 68,320 Mbits - 9,521 Mbits = 58,799 Mbits.
3 Calculate the data rate of the video. Divide the disc space available for video that you determined in step 2 by the
amount of video (in seconds) the project contains: 58,799
Mbps.
8.16
4 Determine the maximum video data rate. Subtract the combined audio and subtitles data rates from the maximum
DVD video data rate of 9.8
The video will fit on the disc using a data rate of 8.16 Mbps, which is below the maximum video data rate of 8.95.
Furthermore, because the target video data rate of 8.16
1.
Mbits / (120 minutes x 60 seconds per minute) =
Mbps: 9.8 Mbps - (0.192 + 0.192 + 0.448 + 0.010 + 0.010) = 8.95 Mbps.
Mbps is above 6 Mbps, you do not need to use VBR.
20
Sample budget #3
Here is an example of a bit budget for a Blu-ray Disc project that contains 2 hours and 7 minutes of high-definition (HD)
video and audio, one 30-second HD motion menu with 30 seconds of audio, and one HD pan-and-zoom slide show
containing 50 slides and 8 minutes of audio (total slide show duration is 8 minutes), to be distributed on a 25-GB disc:
1 Total available disc space is 24.5 GB (25-GB disc capacity minus a very conservative 2% overhead of 0.5 GB).
2 Space required for the audio, motion menu, and slide show:
• 127-minute audio stream with a data rate of 0.192 Mbps = 127 minutes x 60 seconds x 0.192 = 1,463.04 Mbits;
divided by 8 bits = 182.88 MB, rounded off to 183 MB.
• 30-second menu audio stream = 30 seconds x 0.192 Mbps = 5.76 Mbits; divided by 8 bits = 0.72 MB, rounded
off to 1 MB.
• 8-minute slide show audio stream = 8 minutes x 60 seconds x 0.192 Mbps = 92.16 Mbits; divided by 8 bits =
11.52 MB, rounded off to 12 MB.
• 30-second motion menu at 40 Mbps = 1,200 Mbits; divided by 8 bits = 150 MB.
Last updated 4/29/2011
USING ENCORE
Planning the project
• 8-minute slide show video (all pan and zoom) at 20 Mbps = 8 minutes x 60 seconds x 20 Mbps = 9,600 Mbits;
divided by 8 bits = 1,200 MB or 1.2 GB.
• Total disc space required = 183 MB + 1 MB + 12 MB + 150 MB + 1,200 MB = 1,546 MB or 1.546 GB.
3 Calculate amount of disc space available for video by subtracting the total disc space required in step 2 from the
total available disc space in step 1:
• 24.5 GB available space - 1.546 GB required = 22.954 GB available for video.
4 Calculate the data rate of the video by dividing the disc space available for video (in step 3) by the amount of video
(in seconds) the project contains.
• 183,632 Mbits available (22.954 GB x 1,000 MB/GB x 8 bits per byte) divided by 7,620 seconds of video (127
minutes x 60 seconds per minute) = 24.10 Mbps.
• 127 minutes of video at 24.10 Mbps = 22.96 GB.
(127 x 24.10 x 60 seconds = 183,642 Mbits, divided by 8 = 22,955.25 MB, divided by 1,000 = 22.96 GB).
5 Determine the maximum video data rate for this project by subtracting the combined audio data rates from the
disc’s maximum video data rate of 40
Mbps.
• 40 Mbps - 0.576 Mbps (0.192 + 0.192 + 0.192) = 39.424 Mbps
So the video will fit on the disc using the video data rate of 24.10 Mbps, which is below the maximum video data
rate of 39.424 Mbps.
21
Last updated 4/29/2011
Chapter 4: Creating projects and importing assets
After planning the navigation of your project and preparing the content, you’re ready to begin. First, you’ll create an
Adobe® Encore® project, and then import the assets.
Working with projects
About projects
Encore files are called projects. A project stores links to all the content you intend to include, as well as the menus and
timelines (which combine video or stills, audio, and subtitles). Encore creates a folder for your project in the same
location as the project file.
You can create projects for playing on standard-definition DVDs and for playing on high-definition Blu-ray discs. You
can author a project for Blu-ray and then output a standard-definition version of the same project to DVD, or vice
versa. The Project Settings dialog box lets you easily switch between authoring modes. Once authoring is complete,
you can build your projects for final output onto a disc, in a folder, or as an image. In addition, you can export any
project into a Flash format for interactive viewing on the web. For a video tutorial on authoring for Blu-ray discs, see
www.adobe.com/go/lrvid4079_enc.
22
A project must conform to one of two TV standards, either NTSC (National Television Standards Committee) or PAL
(Phase Alternating Line). TV standards are the specifications to which any video intended for broadcast in a certain
country or region must conform. These specifications include specific frame rate and frame size requirements of the
video. Your final output from Encore will comply with one of these standards.
TV standard Blu-ray Disc frame rate Blu-ray Disc frame size Aspect ratio Regions
NTSC 23.976p
24p
29.97i
59.94p
PAL 25i
50p
TV standard DVD frame rate DVD frame size Aspect ratio Regions
NTSC 29.97 fps 720 x 480 pixels 4:3 or 16:9 North America, Japan
PAL 25 fps 720 x 576 pixels 4:3 or 16:9 Europe
Note: The preceding table specifies output requirements. Requirements for imported assets vary. See “Supported file
formats for import” on page 29.
720 x 480 pixels
1280 x 720 pixels
1440 x 1080 pixels
1920 x 1080 pixels
720 x 576 pixels
1280 x 720 pixels
1440 x 1080 pixels
1920 x 1080 pixels
4:3 or 16:9 North America, Japan
4:3 or 16:9 Europe
Last updated 4/29/2011
USING ENCORE
Creating projects and importing assets
Set 24p frame rate for Blu-ray projects
Encore automatically chooses the relevant 24 fps transcoding preset when you use the Transcode Now option to
transcode the asset. For Blu-ray assets that are not legal, the default values for transcoding are used.
When you create a Blu-ray NTSC-compliant project, you can change the default transcoding settings to a frame rate
of 24. You can configure the frame rate for an entire project in the New Project dialog box when you create a project.
1 Do one of the following:
• Click New Project in the startup screen.
• Select File > New > Project.
23
2 In the New Project dialog box, select the following under Project Settings:
• Authoring Mode: Blu-ray
• Television Standard: NTSC
3 Click Default Transcode Settings.
4 In the Video Transcoding group, select 24 from the Frame Rate pop-up menu, and click OK.
In addition to specifying the default transcode settings for the entire project, you can also specify 24p frame rate for
each NTSC video asset.
❖ Do one of the following to set the frame rate as 24 for NTSC video assets:
• Select an NTSC video asset in the project, and select File > Transcode Settings.
• Right-click the video asset in the Project panel, and select Transcode Settings from the context menu.
Last updated 4/29/2011
USING ENCORE
Creating projects and importing assets
Open and edit projects across platforms
Open an Encore project created in Mac on a Windows machine, and the other way round. Also, you can open and edit
projects created in Encore CS4 and earlier versions. When copying, ensure that you maintain the relative path between
the project file and the project folder.
You might have to retranscode assets for cross-platform projects in the following cases:
• Using a common server to transfer files across Windows and Mac machines.
• Opening projects created in CS4 and earlier versions that contain Blu-ray assets.
• When there are timestamp changes of the transcoded assets, such as when you transfer the assets using FTP.
Working with Resource Central
The Resource Central panel connects you to the latest, dynamically updated content on the Adobe website. With
Resource Central, you can access product-related news and tutorials using the Resource Central panel in Adobe
Encore®. You can browse through a vast library of templates and other assets that you can download right into your
project. Resource Central also helps you get updated information about events and product updates.
Search in Resource Central
1 Select Windows > Resource Central Viewer to display the Resource Central panel.
2 Type in your search text and press Enter.
3 Navigate through the search results and click to select the pages that you want to view.
24
Download assets from Resource Central
You can browse through different categories of assets that are dynamically updated in the Resource Central and
download the ones you require. You can download assets such as menus in high definition and standard definition.
1 Select Window > Resource Central Viewer to display the Resource Central panel.
2 To search for the assets, do one of the following:
• Type the asset type that you want to search in the search box and press Enter.
• Select the asset type from the Resource Central panel.
3 Browse through the assets to select the asset you want to download.
4 Click the down arrow button to download the asset into your project.
Create and open projects
Before you can import your assets, you need to create or open a project. You can have only one project open at a time.
For a video tutorial on creating a project in Encore, see
More Help topics
“About transcoding” on page 46
“Transcode settings” on page 47
“Preset options for audio” on page 50
www.adobe.com/go/lrvid4227_enc.
Last updated 4/29/2011
USING ENCORE
Creating projects and importing assets
Create a new project
When you create a project, Encore prompts you to select an authoring mode (DVD or Blu-ray) and a default TV
standard. You can also assign automatic transcoding settings for the maximum audio/video bit rate and audio
transcoding scheme. You can change these settings later by choosing File
1 Choose File > New > Project.
2 In the Basic tab of the New Project dialog box, type a project name (Encore assigns the extension “.ncor” to the end
of the filename) and specify a project location.
3 Select DVD or Blu-ray for the authoring mode, and select a television standard (NTSC or PAL).
4 For Blu-ray projects, select a frame rate, dimensions, and codec.
5 Optionally, in the Advanced tab, do the following:
• Select a Maximum Audio/Video Bitrate value (these data rate values are different for DVD and Blu-ray projects)
and an Audio Transcoding Scheme.
• If you have installed third-party cards for video capture and playback, select the player. You can change this
setting later. See
6 Click OK to create the project file and folder.
“Using third-party hardware and player” on page 168
> Project Settings.
25
Set a default TV standard preference
If you generally create projects using the same TV standard, you can set the default standard (the standard used for
new projects) in the Preferences dialog box. A project can conform to only one TV standard.
❖ To set the TV standard preference for new projects, choose Edit > Preferences > General (Windows) or Encore >
Preferences
> General (Mac OS). Specify your TV standard and click OK.
Open an existing project
• To open an existing project, choose File > Open Project. Navigate to the project you want to open, and click Open.
• To open a recently saved project, choose File > [filename] (Windows) or File > Open Recent Project > [filename]
OS). Encore lists the last five projects (four projects on Mac OS) you saved in the order in which you saved
(Mac
them.
Move or rename projects
Each project requires a project file (with the .ncor file-name extension) that contains links to—and instructions for
using—the various assets in the project. Projects also require a project folder (named to match the project and at the
same folder level as the project file), which stores previews, transcoded assets, and other files used in the project. You
can move a project file and its folder as long as you keep the relative positions the same. If you must rename a project,
make sure that you match the new project filename with the new project folder name.
Move a project
❖ To move the project, drag the folder and file to a new location, or copy and paste them in the new location. Make
sure that their relative positions remain the same; that is, they should both be in the same parent folder.
Note: When you open a project file you’ve moved, a dialog box may appear if the application can’t locate specific
assets. You can either relink them in the dialog box, select Offline to open the project without them, or select Skip or
Skip All to temporarily set the assets offline (so that the next time you open the project, Encore prompts you again to
locate the assets). When working with offline assets, use the Locate Asset command to relink them before you build or
preview the project.
Last updated 4/29/2011
USING ENCORE
Creating projects and importing assets
Rename a project
❖ To rename the project, select the file and folder in Microsoft® Windows® Explorer or the Mac OS Finder and enter
matching names (make sure to leave the .ncor extension in the project filename).
Aspect ratios
Pixel and screen aspect ratios
Digital video uses two types of aspect ratios: pixel aspect ratios and screen aspect ratios (also referred to as frame aspect
ratios). Although related, they describe distinct properties. The pixel aspect ratio describes the pixel dimensions within
the screen, while screen aspect ratio details the screen dimension relationship.
Pixel aspect ratios
Pixel aspect ratios describe the width-to-height ratio of the pixels that make up a video or still-image file. Pixels are
either square or nonsquare (rectangular). Square pixels have a ratio of 1:1. In the film and video industry, however, the
:1 is dropped and ratios are expressed as a single number. The following table lists the nonsquare pixel aspect ratios for
the two TV standards for standard-definition video.
26
TV Standard Fullscreen pixel aspect ratio Widescreen pixel aspect ratio
NTSC 0.9 1.22
PAL 1.066 1.422
A B C D
A 720 x 480 pixel image can have a screen aspect ratio of either
A. 4:3, or D. 16:9, depending on whether it has a pixel aspect ratio of B. 0.9, or C. 1.22.
The type of pixels in an image, combined with its dimensions, determine its screen aspect ratio. An NTSC 720 x 480
pixel video, for example, displays as widescreen if it contains nonsquare pixels with a ratio of 1.22. This video displays
as a regular 4:3 screen if it contains nonsquare pixels with a ratio of 0.9. Encore lets you specify the pixel aspect ratio
of imported assets.
High-definition video and still images have either square 1:1 pixel aspect ratios or a 1.333 anamorphic pixel aspect
ratio. They come in three sizes (1280 x 720 or 1920 x 1080 with square aspect ratios, and 1440 x 1080 pixels with
anamorphic aspect ratios), and fit in a 16:9 screen aspect ratio.
Last updated 4/29/2011
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