Roxio DVDIT PRO HD User Manual
DVDit Pro HD
User’s Guide
Copyright and Disclaimer
© Copyright 2006 Sonic Solutions. All rights reserved.
This manual, as well as the software described in it, is furnished under license and may only be used or copied in accordance
with the terms of such license. The information in this manual is furnished for informational use only, is subject to change
without notice, and should not be construed as a commitment by Sonic Solutions. Sonic Solutions assumes no responsibility
or liability for any errors or inaccuracies that may appear in this book. Except as permitted by such license, no part of this
publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Sonic Solutions.
SONIC SOLUTIONS ("SONIC") MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION
THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, REGARDING THE
SOFTWARE. SONIC DOES NOT WARRANT, GUARANTEE, OR MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS REGARDING THE USE
OR THE RESULTS OF THE USE OF THE SONIC SOFTWARE IN TERMS OF ITS CORRECTNESS, ACCURACY,
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THE SONIC SOFTWARE IS ASSUMED BY YOU. THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES IS NOT PERMITTED BY
SOME STATES. THE ABOVE EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
IN NO EVENT WILL SONIC, ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, OR AGENTS BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY
CONSEQUENTIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR INDIRECT DAMAGES (INCLUDING DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF BUSINESS
PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, LOSS OF BUSINESS INFORMATION, AND THE LIKE) ARISING OUT OF THE
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CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
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Contents
Chapter 1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
About the documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
System requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Chapter 2 Getting started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
DVD authoring workflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Blu-ray projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Examples of DVD projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
DVDit Pro HD windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Chapter 3 Creating projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Starting a new project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Setting the project’s Disc Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
The OpenDVD setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Changing the project settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Setting the DVD Jacket Picture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Editing MyDVD projects in DVDit Pro HD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Chapter 4 Importing assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Importing files into DVDit Pro HD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Importing DVD+VR content. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Removing assets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Changing a video asset’s Field Dominance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Supported video files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Supported audio files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Supported image files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Creating buttons and menus in Adobe Photoshop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Compliant video and audio requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Choosing bit rates for video and audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Chapter 5 Creating and editing movie titles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Creating movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Adding subtitle tracks to movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
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Setting audio and subtitle languages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Locking and unlocking tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Previewing movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Trimming movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Offsetting audio and subtitle tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Creating and editing chapter points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Chapter 6 Creating and editing slideshow titles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Creating slideshows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Removing slideshow images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Reordering slideshow images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Changing the slideshow duration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Rotating slideshow images. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Changing the transitions between slides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Adding soundtracks to slideshows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Removing slideshow soundtracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Changing the slideshow Aspect Ratio and background color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Archiving slideshow images on the DVD
(DVD only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Chapter 7 Creating and editing menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Tools to help create menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Using menu templates to create menus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Using individual elements to create menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Using layered Photoshop files to create menus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Using audio in menus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Setting menu durations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Editing menu subpictures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Duplicating menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Chapter 8 Creating and editing links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Creating and editing playlists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Naming titles, playlists, and menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Setting the First Play title, playlist, or menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Linking content to menu buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Reassigning menu button numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
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Defining menu Button Routing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Setting menu button images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Animating button images. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Setting buttons to Auto-activate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Forcing selection of a menu button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Setting title, playlist, and menu End Actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Changing the Title and Menu button actions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Chapter 9 Testing playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Simulating playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Using the Simulation window controls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Rendering motion menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Chapter 10 Finishing the project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Removing unwanted material from projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Burning discs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Writing Volumes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Writing disc images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Editing an OpenDVD disc or DVD Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Writing to a Master . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Chapter 11 Changing DVDit Pro HD’s preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
General tab preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
File Control tab preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Edit tab preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Author tab preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Simulation tab preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Quality tab preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Appendix A Disc specifications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Recordable discs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
DVD-ROM discs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Appendix B TV Standards and DVD regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
TV Standards and DVD regions by country/territory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Appendix C Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
File menu shortcuts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
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Edit menu shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
View menu shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Timeline menu shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
DVD Menus menu shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Simulate menu shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Burn menu shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Window menu shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Appendix D Subtitle script files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Supported file formats and text encoding. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Subtitle script structure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
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Chapter 1
Introduction
Welcome to DVDit Pro HD, a professional DVD production system that integrates
authoring and disc creation into a single, easy-to-use application. DVDit Pro HD lets you
quickly build stunning, professional DVD-Video and Blu-ray discs.
This section includes the following:
• “About the documentation” on page 8
• “System requirements” on page 8
Chapter 1 Introduction
About the documentation
DVDit Pro HD includes the following documentation:
• DVDit Pro HD User Guide: Documents how to use DVDit Pro HD to author DVD
discs. This includes project planning, asset preparation and importing, authoring
projects, testing, and writing to disc and digital linear tape (DLT).
• DVDit Pro HD Tutorial: Takes you step-by-step through the authoring process of
importing media assets, creating movies and titles, adding links between the content,
setting playback order, and writing to disc.
System requirements
Software
• Microsoft Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or later.
• Microsoft Windows Media Player 10.0 or later.
• QuickTime Player 6.5 (http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/) is required for
some video, audio, and image formats.
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Use Windows Update to ensure you have the latest Service Packs and fixes for your
operating system. To use Windows Update, click the Windows Start button and choose
Windows Update or All Programs > Windows Update.
Use only “official” releases of the above software with DVDit Pro HD. “Beta” versions are
not supported.
Hardware
• 800 MHz Pentium III (2 GHz Pentium 4 or better recommended; 3 GHz Pentium 4
required for Blu-ray projects).
• 128 MB RAM (512 MB recommended; 512 MB required for Blu-ray discs).
• DVD recorder or DLT drive (BD recorder required for writing BD discs).
• AGP video graphics adapter with at least 16 MB VRAM (64 MB recommended).
• Monitor supporting 16-bit color at 1024 x 768 minimum screen area (24/32-bit color
and larger screen area recommended).
• Windows-compatible sound card.
• At least 10 GB free hard drive space (20 GB or more recommended; 75 GB required for
authoring Blu-ray projects). If your C: drive does not have enough free space, you must
change DVDit Pro HD’s Temporary Storage location to a drive with enough space (see
“Changing DVDit Pro HD’s preferences” on page 159).
System requirements
Sonic recommends using NTFS-formatted hard drives. See Windows help for
information about formatting hard drives.
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Chapter 1 Introduction
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Chapter 2
Getting started
This section provides a basic workflow for creating DVDs, some examples of what you can
do, and an overview of the main windows in DVDit Pro HD. It includes the following
topics:
• “DVD authoring workflow” on page 12
• “Blu-ray projects” on page 12
• “Examples of DVD projects” on page 13
• “DVDit Pro HD windows” on page 18
Chapter 2 Getting started
DVD authoring workflow
Authoring a DVD with DVDit Pro HD involves the following basic steps (although you
don’t have to perform the steps in this order):
1. Prepare the assets (video, audio, and images) that will go into the DVD presentation,
using common video and graphics applications.
2. Start DVDit Pro HD and create a new project.
3. Import your assets into the project.
4. Use the imported assets to create titles (movies and slideshows) and menus.
5. Link the titles and menus together using button links and End Actions.
6. Test how the project will play back to make sure that everything works as desired.
7. Burn a disc or write a DLT from the project.
DVDit Pro HD makes it easy to create professional DVDs with complex menu navigation,
chapter points, subtitles, and other special features such as playlists and DVD-ROM content.
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DVDit Pro HD often provides many different ways to perform a particular task. For
example, you can add a chapter point to a movie by pressing the Insert key, choosing an
option from the Timeline menu, using a Right-click menu, or clicking a button. Generally,
this User Guide shows only one or two ways to perform these tasks.
Blu-ray projects
Blu-ray Disc (BD) is a 25 GB optical disc format (50 Gb for dual layers) that offers highdefinition video resolutions (up to 1920 x 1080), high-definition surround audio, and
expanded interactivity, beyond standard-definition DVD titles.
DVDit Pro HD lets you create and burn Blu-ray projects with high-definition video and
audio assets that are compliant with the format. However, in authoring the interactivity of
the project in DVDit Pro HD, the same constraints of the DVD-Video format (number of
titles, number of menu buttons, available link destinations, etc.) apply.
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Examples of DVD projects
DVDs can have many different designs, from a single movie title that plays automatically
when the disc is inserted in a DVD player, to complex menu hierarchies with multiple titles,
special features (“making of” videos, cast biographies, and so on), and even hidden material,
sometimes called “Easter eggs.”
It’s a good idea to sketch a rough design of your project, showing the links among titles and
menus, before you begin authoring. See the following for examples of basic DVD projects
that you can create in DVDit Pro HD:
• “Single movie title (with chapter points)” on page 13
• “Multiple titles” on page 14
• “Single menu and multiple titles” on page 14
• “Multiple menus and titles” on page 15
• ““Play all” menu button” on page 16
• ““Easter eggs”” on page 17
You can create far more elaborate presentations quickly and easily from these simple
beginnings.
Examples of DVD projects
Single movie title (with chapter points)
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4
This is a very basic project with no menus and just a single movie title containing four
chapter points.
The movie is designated the First Play. The First Play is an instruction that tells the DVD
player to start playing this movie when the disc is inserted in the player. The viewer can
jump from one chapter to another by pressing the Next and Previous buttons on the remote
control. When the movie finishes, the movie’s End Action tells the DVD player to stop.
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The first item that you create in a project is automatically designated the First Play, but you
can make any menu or movie the First Play — see “Setting the First Play title, playlist, or
menu” on page 129.
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Chapter 2 Getting started
Multiple titles
Movie 2 Movie 3 Movie 4Movie 1 (FP)
Here are four movie titles that are linked together using End Actions so that they play in
succession. Movie 1 is designated the First Play and starts playing when the viewer inserts
the disc into the player. When Movie 4 finishes, its End Action tells the DVD player to stop.
Each movie can also contain chapter points. Due to limitations of the DVD-Video format,
the viewer can only jump from one chapter to another within each movie; the viewer cannot
jump from one movie to another. One way around this limitation is to place a chapter point
close to the end of each movie. This works well when the end of each movie fades to black
for a few seconds.
Another way to link titles together is by putting them in a playlist. See ““Play all” menu
button” on page 16 for more information about using playlists.
Single menu and multiple titles
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14
Menu 1 (FP)
Movie 1
Movie 2
Movie 3
Movie 4
In this project, Menu 1 is designated the First Play. The menu has buttons that link to four
movie titles. When a viewer inserts the disc into the player, Menu 1 is displayed until the
viewer activates a menu button; then the movie linked to that button starts playing. Each
button link has a Link End Action that causes Menu 1 to appear when the linked movie
finishes.
The DVD-Video format allows up to 36 linked buttons per full screen menu, and 18 linked
buttons per wide screen menu. DVDit Pro HD prevents you from exceeding these limits on
any menu.
Multiple menus and titles
Movie 1 (FP)
Menu 1
Examples of DVD projects
Play movie
Chapters
Menu 2
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Menu 1
Movie 2
This shows the beginnings of a more complex project:
• Movie 1 is designated the First Play, and contains a short introduction (for example, the
FBI warning displayed at the start of Hollywood DVDs). Movie 1’s End Action links to
Menu 1.
• Menu 1 has button links to the start of Movie 2 (the main feature) and to Menu 2. The
“Play movie” button’s Link End Action causes Menu 1 to appear when Movie 2
finishes.
• Menu 2 is a chapter selection menu, with button links to different chapter points in
Movie 2. The last button in Menu 2 links back to Menu 1.
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Chapter 2 Getting started
“Play all” menu button
Movie 1
Movie 1
Movie 2
Movie 3
Movie 2 Movie 3
Menu 1 (FP)
Play 1
Play 2
Play 3
Play all
Playlist 1
This is a variation on “Single menu and multiple titles” on page 14. In addition to the
buttons that link to individual movie titles, there is a “play all” button that causes all movies
to be played in succession. This is a common design for DVDs containing multiple episodes
of a TV series.
To achieve this, all the movies are linked together in a playlist, which simply instructs the
DVD player to play a selection of titles in a particular order, overriding the titles’ End
Actions. Buttons that link to playlists cannot have a Link End Action, so the playlist’s End
Action causes Menu 1 to appear when the last movie in the playlist finishes.
16
“Easter eggs”
Menu 1 (FP)
Examples of DVD projects
Play 1
Play 2
Movie 1
Movie 2
This example shows how to hide material from viewers. Menu 1 contains a button that is
invisible to the viewer unless the viewer accidentally selects it — for example, by playing
the DVD on a computer and moving the mouse over the button. This is done by setting the
button’s Opacity to 0%. The button links to Movie 2, and is the only way that a viewer could
get to see this movie.
Another way to hide such a button is by having no subpicture on the button (the subpicture
is an image that changes color and opacity when the button is selected and activated). If the
button has no subpicture, viewers cannot tell that it is a button; all they will know is that the
button selection has disappeared.
Menu 1 (FP) Menu 2
Movie 1Movie 1
Menu 1
Some DVD authors don’t hide material with invisible buttons, but design their projects so
the viewer must watch the main feature in its entirety before they can see the extra material.
In this example, the button that links to Movie 1 does not have a Link End Action.
Movie 1’s own End Action links to a special menu (Menu 2) that can only be seen if the
viewer watches Movie 1 to the end. If the viewer gives up and presses the remote control’s
Menu button or stops playback before Movie 1 finishes, they will never see Menu 2.
17
Chapter 2 Getting started
DVDit Pro HD windows
DVDit Pro HD main workspace comprises several floating windows where you import
content, create menus and titles, and develop the DVD presentation.
Use the Window menu to display or hide windows. You can arrange the windows to suit the
way you work, and save arrangements as layouts. DVDit Pro HD also provides several
predefined window layouts.
n
In the procedures in this document, it is assumed that all floating windows are displayed.
For more details, see:
• “Using window layouts” on page 19
• “Main Toolbar” on page 19
• “Palette window” on page 20
• “Project window” on page 21
• “Timeline window” on page 22
• “Preview window” on page 24
• “Attributes window” on page 27
18
Using window layouts
To arrange the windows in a predefined window layout:
t Choose from the Window > Layout submenu.
The Basic layout is useful for creating menus and titles quickly. The Advanced layout
displays all windows.
To create a custom layout:
1. Arrange the floating windows and resize them as desired.
2. Choose Window > Save Layout.
3. Enter a suitable name for the layout and click Save. The new layout is listed in the
Window > Layout submenu.
To return the windows to their default locations:
t Choose Window > Reset Window Locations.
To delete an unwanted layout:
1. Choose Window > Delete Layout. The Delete Layout dialog box opens.
2. Select the layout you want to delete from the Names pop-up menu and click Delete.
DVDit Pro HD windows
n
You cannot delete the predefined layouts.
Main Toolbar
The Main Toolbar is hidden by default. To display it, choose Window > Show Main
Toolbar.
• Edit Movie: Click to display the Movie Creation window layout.
• Author: Click to display the Menu Creation window layout.
• Navigation: Click to display the Navigation & Linking window layout.
• Simulate: Click to open the Simulation window so that you can test the project. See
“Testing playback” on page 143.
• Burn: Click to open the Burn to Disc dialog. See “Burning discs” on page 150.
19
Chapter 2 Getting started
Palette window
The Palette window is where you import video, audio, and image assets for use in a project.
Media
tab
Buttons
tab
Frames
tab
Import
Media
Show
filter
Assets
Images
tab
Te mp l a te s
tab
View
Details
View
Thumbnails
• Templates tab: Contains predefined menu templates. See “Using menu templates to
create menus” on page 105.
20
• Images tab: Contains images for menu backgrounds and slideshows.
• Media tab: Contains video and audio.
• Buttons tab: Contains images that can be used to create menu buttons.
• Frames tab: Contains images that can be used to create menu buttons that display an
image of the linked title or menu
• Import Media: Click to import files onto the current tab.
• Show: Choose from this pop-up menu to see only a certain kind of asset.
• Assets: Drag assets from the Templates, Images, and Media tabs into the Project
window to create menus and titles. Drag assets from the Buttons and Frames tabs onto
the menu displayed in the Preview window to create menu buttons.
• View Thumbnails: Click to show thumbnail images of the assets.
• View Details: Click to show asset file details.
Project window
The Project window provides an overview of the project contents. It is where you create
menus, titles (movies and slideshows), and playlists.
DVDit Pro HD windows
View Thumbnails
View Details
First Play
Menu
button
Chapter
point
View Project
Settings
Menus group
Titles group
Playlists group
• View Details: Click to show the project contents in a hierarchical list, as seen in this
image.
• View Thumbnails: Click to show thumbnail images of menus, titles, and playlists.
• View Project Settings: Click to edit project settings (see “Changing the project
settings” on page 33).
• Menus group: Drag image or video assets into this group to create new menus or
replace existing menu backgrounds. Double-click a menu to display it in the Preview
window.
• Titles group: Drag video assets into this group to create new movies. Double-click a
movie title to display it in the Preview and Timeline windows. Double-click a slideshow
title to display it in the Edit Slideshow window.
21
Chapter 2 Getting started
• Playlists group: Drag titles into this group to create new playlists. Double-click a
playlist to display it in the Edit Playlist window.
• Chapter point: Double-click to display the movie in the Preview window at the chapter
point location.
• Menu button: Double-click to select this menu button in the Preview window.
• First Play indicator: The green triangle indicates that this menu will appear when the
disc is inserted in a DVD player (see “Setting the First Play title, playlist, or menu” on
page 129).
Timeline window
The Timeline window is where you add audio tracks, subtitles, and chapter points to movie
titles.
controls
Solo
Track language
indicator
Zoom
Add/Delete
Chapter
Lock
Timecode
indicator
Playhead
Subtitle
track
Chapter
point
Audio
track
Timeline
ruler
Timeline
Options
Video
track
22
DVDit Pro HD windows
• Zoom controls: Click to zoom the Timeline in and out.
• Add Chapter: Click to add a new chapter point at the Playhead location.
• Delete Chapter: Click to delete the selected chapter point (except Chapter 1).
• Timecode indicator: Shows the timecode location for the Playhead. Enter a timecode
location to move the Playhead.
• Playhead: Drag to scroll through the movie. The Preview window (Title tab) shows the
frame at the Playhead location.
• Chapter point: Drag the yellow diamond or label to move the chapter point along the
Timeline ruler. Double-click to edit the label or move the chapter point to a specific
location. Chapter 1 cannot be moved or deleted, but you can edit its label.
• Change Timeline Options: Click to choose whether to display drop-frame or nondrop-frame timecode in the Timeline ruler (NTSC projects only). See “Changing the
Time Display format” on page 75.
• Timeline ruler: Click in the Timeline ruler to move the Playhead to that location.
• Video track: Drag video assets onto the track to replace the existing video.
• Audio track: Drag audio assets onto a track to add or replace the audio in the track.
Movies can have up to eight audio tracks.
• Subtitle track: Movies can have up to 32 subtitle tracks. You can import subtitle script
files or add subtitles manually. See “Adding subtitle tracks to movies” on page 77.
• Lock: Click to lock or unlock the track for editing.
• Language Code: Click to set the language code for the track. See “Setting audio and
subtitle languages” on page 81.
• Solo: Click a track’s Solo button to hear/see it when previewing the movie.
23
Chapter 2 Getting started
Preview window
The Preview window has two tabs:
• “Menu tab” on page 24
• “Title tab” on page 26
Menu tab
The Menu tab is where you lay out menus and create button links.
Highlight
tool
Add
Sub-
Menu
Add
Slideshow
Background
Color
View Safe
Area
Snap
Selection
tool
Subpicture
View
Background
Layer
View
Layer
Te xt
tool
Highlight
View
Layer
Add
Movie
Align
Objects
Menu
under
construction
Show
Grid
Background Layer
drop zone
Subpicture Layer
drop zone
24
DVDit Pro HD windows
• Selection tool: Use this tool to select, move, and resize button and text objects. See
“Using individual elements to create menus” on page 106.
• Highlight tool: Use this tool to draw and edit button highlight rectangles on menus
created from layered Photoshop files (the highlight rectangles define each button to the
DVD player). See “Creating a layered menu” on page 119.
• Text tool: Use this tool to create and edit text blocks. See “Adding text blocks to
menus” on page 111.
• Add Sub-Menu: Click to create a new button on the current menu. The new button is
linked to a new sub-menu that has the same background as the current menu.
• Add Movie: Click to import a video file and create a new movie.
• Add Slideshow: Click to create a new slideshow.
• Align Objects: Use this pop-up menu to align selected menu objects.
• Background Color: Select to replace the menu background with a solid block of color
(see “Choosing the menu background” on page 106). Use the pop-up menu to choose
the background color.
• View Safe Area: Click to show/hide the menu Safe Area guides, which show where
buttons and text can be placed without being cropped when viewed on a TV. See “Safe
Area guides” on page 104 for details.
• Show Grid: Click to show/hide gridlines to help you place menu objects.
• Snap: Click to turn on/off “snap to grid and guides.”
• Subpicture Layer Drop Zone: Drag image assets here to add or replace the menu’s
subpictures. See “Replacing the menu background and subpicture layers” on page 121.
• Background Layer Drop Zone: Drag video or image assets here to replace the menu
background (or the entire menu, when creating menus with layered Photoshop files).
See “Replacing the menu background and subpicture layers” on page 121.
• View Highlight Layer: Click to show/hide the button highlight rectangles, which
define the buttons to the DVD player.
• View Subpicture Layer: Click to show/hide the button subpictures (the images that
appear over menu buttons when the viewer selects them).
• View Background Layer: Click to show/hide the full-color menu artwork
(background, button images, and text).
25
Chapter 2 Getting started
Title tab
The Title tab is where you preview and trim movies.
Playhead
Timecode
counter
26
Start
Trim
Point
In
Point
Play/
Pause
Stop
Previous
Chapter
Previous
Frame
Next
Frame
Next
Chapter
Grab
Frame
Out
Point
End
Trim
Point
• Playhead: Drag to scroll through the movie. The preview area shows the frame at this
location.
• Timecode Counter: Shows the timecode at the Playhead location.
• End Trim Point: Drag left to trim the end of the movie.
• Out Point: Shows the timecode at the end of the movie, relative to the start of the
source video file. Enter a timecode value to trim the end of the movie.
• Grab Frame: Click to capture and save the current frame as an image file.
• Next Chapter: Click to skip to the next chapter.
• Next Frame: Click to move forward one frame.
• Previous Frame: Click to move back one frame.
• Previous Chapter: Click to skip to the previous chapter point.
• Stop: Click to stop playback.
• Play/Pause: Click to play/pause playback.
• In Point: Shows the timecode at the start of the movie, relative to the start of the source
video file. Enter a timecode value to trim the beginning of the movie.
• Start Trim Point: Drag right to trim the beginning of the movie.
Attributes window
You use the Attributes window to set the attributes for a selected item in the project, such as
a movie, menu, or button. Each item has its own Attributes window.
DVDit Pro HD windows
27
Chapter 2 Getting started
28
Chapter 3
Creating projects
A project links together all the items that will go onto a DVD. The project also includes
important settings such as the TV Standard and transcoder settings for converting video and
audio to compliant formats. You can have only one project open at a time.
This section includes:
• “Starting a new project” on page 30
• “Setting the project’s Disc Type” on page 32
• “The OpenDVD setting” on page 33
• “Changing the project settings” on page 33
• “Setting the DVD Jacket Picture” on page 44
• “Editing MyDVD projects in DVDit Pro HD” on page 45
Chapter 3 Creating projects
Starting a new project
When you launch DVDit Pro HD, it creates a new, untitled project automatically, using the
default project settings. When a new project is launched, the New Project dialog is placed on
top of it to allow you easy access to TV Standard and Menu Aspect Ratio project settings. If
you click cancel, you can immediately begin importing assets and creating movies and
menus. If you change the New Project settings and click OK, DVDit Pro HD will start a new
project with your custom project settings. See “Changing DVDit Pro HD’s preferences” on
page 159 to change the default settings.
If you want to use other settings temporarily — for example, to create a PAL format project
when your default TV Standard is NTSC — you must create a new project after launching
DVDit Pro HD.
To create a project using other settings:
1. Choose File > New. The New dialog box opens.
30
2. Select the appropriate options for your project:
- Project Name: Project names should be no more than 25 alphanumeric characters
(letters and numbers). This name will become the burned disc’s volume name (the
name displayed when you view the disc in Windows Explorer).
- TV Standard: Choose the appropriate TV broadcast standard for the country and
region where the DVD will be played. See “TV Standards and DVD regions” on
page 173 for more information. Once you have set the project’s TV Standard, it
cannot be changed.
- Menu Aspect: Choose either Fullscreen for 4:3 menus or Widescreen for 16:9
menus. This option determines the size of the Preview window for menu design.
When Fullscreen is selected, menus created in DVDit Pro HD are 720 x 480 for
NTSC and 720 x 576 for PAL; when Widescreen is selected, menus are 1280 x 720.
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