SONIC DVDit Pro 6 User Manual

USER GUIDE

SONIC

®

DVDit Pro

POWERFUL DVD AUTHORING FOR

VIDEO PROFESSIONALS

™

6

FROM SONIC

THE HOLLYWOOD STANDARD IN DVD CREATION

© Copyright 2005 Sonic Solutions. All rights reserved.

DVDit Pro User Guide — Sonic Part Number 800206 Rev A (07/05)

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, INC. (“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, RELIABILITY, CURRENTNESS, OR OTHERWISE. THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE
RESULTS AND PERFORMANCE OF 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 BY 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 USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE SOFTWARE EVEN IF SONIC HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE
POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. BECAUSE SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION
OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY
TO YOU.

AutoCadence, AutoDVD, cDVD, ConstantQ, DVD Presenter, DVD Producer, DVD Ready, DVD Studio, Edit-on-DVD,
First in DVD, hDVD, OpenDVD, PlantDirect, PrePlay, ROM Formatter, SonicCare, Sonic Cinema, sonic.com, The
Business of DVD, The Easiest Way to Publish on DVD, The Easiest Way to Record on DVD, The Smartest Way to
Publish on DVD, and Where DVD Meets the Internet are trademarks of Sonic Solutions.

AuthorScript, CinePlayer, eDVD, DVD Creator, DVDit!, MyDVD, OneClick DVD, ReelDVD, Scenarist, Sonic, Sonic
Solutions, and the Sonic logo are registered trademarks of Sonic Solutions.

Adobe and Photoshop are registered trademarks of Adobe Systems Inc.

Apple, the Apple logo, Finder, Macintosh, Power Macintosh and QuickTime are registered trademarks of Apple
Computer, Inc.

Dolby Digital is a trademark of Dolby Laboratories, Inc. Dolby Laboratories encourages use of the Dolby Digital
trademark to identify soundtracks that are encoded in Dolby Digital. This is an effective way to inform listeners of
the soundtrack format, and the use of a standard logo promotes easy recognition in the marketplace. However, like
any trademark, the Dolby Digital logo may not be used without permission. Dolby Laboratories therefore provides
a standard trademark license agreement for companies who wish to use Dolby trademarks. This agreement should
be signed by the company that owns the program material being produced. Recording studios or production
facilities which provide audio production or encoding services for outside clients generally do not require a
trademark license. If you would like more information on obtaining a Dolby trademark license, please contact Dolby
Laboratories Licensing Corporation. Information on trademark licensing plus instructions for using the Dolby Digital
trademark and marking audio formats can also be found online at http://www.dolby.com.

Microsoft, Microsoft Windows XP, ME, 2000, 98 and 95, Internet Explorer, Windows Media Encoder, Windows
Media Player, and the Microsoft logo are registered trademarks of the Microsoft Corporation, Inc.

TARGA is a trademark of Pinnacle Systems, Inc.

All other company or product names are either trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

Written and designed at Sonic Solutions, 101 Rowland Way, Novato, CA 94945, USA.

Contents

1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

About the documentation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Sonic on the Web . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

System requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

2 Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

DVD authoring workflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

Examples of DVD projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

DVDit Pro windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

3 Creating Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

Starting a new project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34

Setting the disc type and project size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36

The OpenDVD setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37

Changing the project settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38

Setting the DVD jacket picture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45

Editing MyDVD projects in DVDit Pro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46

2 Contents

4 Importing Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Importing files into DVDit Pro. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Importing DVD+VR content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Removing assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Changing a video asset’s field dominance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Supported video files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Supported audio files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Supported image files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Creating buttons and menus in Adobe Photoshop. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

DVD-compliant file requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Choosing bit-rates for video and audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

5 Creating and Editing Movie Titles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Creating movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

Adding subtitle tracks to movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Setting audio and subtitle languages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Locking and unlocking tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Previewing movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Trimming movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

Offsetting audio and subtitle tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

Creating and editing chapter points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

6 Creating and Editing Slideshow Titles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Creating slideshows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Removing slideshow images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Reordering slideshow images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Changing the slideshow duration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Rotating slideshow images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

Changing the transitions between slides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

Adding soundtracks to slideshows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Removing slideshow soundtracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Contents 3

Changing the slideshow aspect ratio and background color. . . . . . .113

Archiving slideshow images on the DVD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .114

7 Creating and Editing Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115

Tools to help create menus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .116

Using menu templates to create menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .118

Using individual elements to create menus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .119

Using layered Photoshop files to create menus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .136

Using audio in menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .140

Setting menu durations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .141

Editing menu subpictures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .143

Duplicating menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .146

8 Creating and Editing Links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .147

Creating and editing playlists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .148

Naming titles, playlists, and menus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .149

Setting the first play title, playlist, or menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .150

Linking content to menu buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .151

Reassigning menu button numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .154

Defining menu button routing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .155

Setting menu button images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .159

Animating button images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .160

Making buttons auto-activate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .161

Forcing selection of a menu button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .162

Setting title, playlist, and menu end actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .163

Changing Title and Menu button actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .165

9 Testing Playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .167

Simulating disc playback. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .168

Using the Simulation window controls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .170

Rendering motion menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .172

4 Contents

A

B

C

D

E

10 Finishing the Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

Removing unwanted material from the project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174

Burning discs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174

Writing DVD volumes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

Writing disc images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176

Editing an OpenDVD disc or DVD volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

Writing to DLT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178

11 DVDit Pro Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181

Changing DVDit Pro’s Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182

General tab preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183

File Control tab preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184

Edit tab preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

Author tab preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186

Simulation tab preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188

Quality tab preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

Disc Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

TV Standards and DVD Regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195

Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207

Preparing Sequences in an Avid Editing Application . . . . . . 215

Subtitle Script Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219

Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243

Introduction

1

Welcome to DVDit Pro, a professional DVD production system that integrates
authoring and disc creation into a single, easy-to-use application. DVDit Pro lets
you quickly build stunning, professional DVD-Video discs.

•

•

•

This section includes the following:

“About the documentation” on page 8

“Sonic on the Web” on page 8

“System requirements” on page 8

8 Chapter 1, Introduction

About the documentation

DVDit Pro includes the following documentation:

•

•

•

DVDit Pro User Guide

This includes project planning, asset preparation and importing, authoring
projects, testing, and writing to disc and digital linear tape (DLT).

DVDit Pro Tutorial

importing media assets, creating movies and titles, adding links between the
content, setting playback order, and writing to disc.

Takes you step-by-step through the authoring process of

Sonic on the Web

If you have specific questions about using the DVDit Pro that aren’t answered by
the documentation, a Support Knowledgebase is available at:

http://support.sonic.com/kb.htm

System requirements

Software

Documents how to use DVDit Pro to author DVD discs.

Microsoft Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or later.

Microsoft Windows Media Player 9.0 or later.

QuickTime Player 6.5 (http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/)is
required for some video, audio, and image formats.

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

System requirements 9

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.

Note: Use only “official” releases of the above software with DVDit Pro. “Beta”

versions are not supported.

Hardware

800 MHz Pentium III (2 GHz Pentium 4 or better recommended).

128 MB RAM (512 MB recommended).

DVD recorder or DLT drive.

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 (24/32­bit color and larger screen area recommended).

Windows-compatible sound card.

At least 10 GB free hard disk space (20 GB or more recommended). If your
PC’s C: drive does not have enough free space, you must change DVDit Pro’s
Temporary Storage location to a drive with enough space. To change the
location, go to the File Handling tab in DVDit Pro’s Preferences; see
Chapter 11, “DVDit Pro Preferences” for details.

We recommend using NTFS-formatted hard disks. Please see Windows’ help
for information about formatting disks.

10 Chapter 1, Introduction

Getting Started

2

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. It includes
the following topics:

•

•

•

“DVD authoring workflow” on page 12

“Examples of DVD projects” on page 13

“DVDit Pro windows” on page 19

12 Chapter 2, Getting Started

DVD authoring workflow

Authoring a DVD with DVDit Pro involves the following basic steps (although
you don’t have to perform the steps in this order):

Prepare the assets (video, audio, and images) that will go into the DVD
presentation, using common video and graphics applications.

Start DVDit Pro and create a new project.

Import your assets into the project.

Use the imported assets to create titles (movies and slideshows) and menus.

Link the titles and menus together, using button links and end actions.

Test how the project will play back to make sure that everything works as
desired.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Burn a DVD-Video disc or write a DLT from the project.

DVDit Pro 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.

Note: DVDit Pro 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.

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 following for examples
of basic DVD projects that you can create in DVDit Pro:

“Single movie title (with chapter points)” on page 14

“Multiple titles” on page 14

“Single menu and multiple titles” on page 15

•

•

•

•

•

•

Examples of DVD projects 13

“Multiple menus and titles” on page 16

““Play all” menu button” on page 17

““Easter eggs”” on page 18

You can create far more elaborate presentations quickly and easily from these
simple beginnings.

14 Chapter 2, Getting Started

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.

Note: The first item that you create in a DVDit Pro 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 150.

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.

Examples of DVD projects 15

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 17 for more information about using playlists.

Single menu and multiple titles

Menu 1 (FP)

Movie 1

Movie 2

Movie 3

Movie 4

In this project, Menu 1 is designated the first play. This 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 be displayed when the linked movie finishes.

Note: The DVD-Video format allows up to 36 linked buttons per menu. DVDit
Pro prevents you from creating more than 36 linked buttons on any menu.

16 Chapter 2, Getting Started

Multiple menus and titles

Movie 1 (FP)

Menu 1

Play movie Movie 2

Chapters

Menu 2

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Menu 1

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 be
displayed 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.

“Play all” menu button

Examples of DVD projects 17

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 15. In addition to
the buttons that link to individual movie titles, there is a “play all” button that
causes all the 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 be displayed when the
last movie in the playlist finishes.

18 Chapter 2, Getting Started

“Easter eggs”

Menu 1 (FP)

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 that the viewer must watch the main feature to its end 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), which 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.

DVDit Pro windows

DVDit Pro 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. D VDit Pro also
provides several predefined window layouts.

Note: In all the procedures in this document, we assume that all the floating
windows are displayed.

For more details, see:

• “Using window layouts” on page 19

• “Toolbar” on page 20

• “Palette window” on page 21

• “Project window” on page 22

DVDit Pro windows 19

• “Timeline window” on page 24

• “Preview window” on page 25

• “Attributes window” on page 31

Using window layouts

To arrange the windows in a predefined window layout:

• Choose from the Window > Layout menu.

The Basic layout is useful for creating menus and titles quickly. The Advanced
layout displays all the windows.

To create a custom layout:

1 Arrange the floating windows and resize them as desired.

20 Chapter 2, Getting Started

2 Choose Window > Save Layout.

3 Enter a suitable name for your layout and click the Save button.

The new layout is listed in the Window > Layout menu.

To return the windows to their default locations:

• Choose Window > Reset Window Locations.

To delete an unwanted layout:

1 Choose Window > Delete Layout. The Delete Layout window appears.

2 Choose the layout you no longer want from the Name list, then click the

Delete button.

Note: You cannot delete the predefined layouts.

Toolbar

The toolbar is hidden by default. To display it, choose
Window > Show Main Toolbar.

Edit Movie button Click to display the Movie Creation window layout.

Author button Click to display the Menu Creation window layout.

Navigation button Click to display the Navigation & Linking window layout.

Simulate button Click to open the Simulation window so that you can test the

project. See Chapter 9, “Testing Playback.”

Burn button Click to open the Burn to DVD dialog. See “Burning discs” on

page 174.

DVDit Pro windows 21

Palette window

The Palette window is where you import video, audio, and image assets for use
in a project:

Images

tab

Templates

tab

View

Details

View

Thumbnails

Media

tab

Buttons

tab

Frames

tab

Import
Media

Show
filter

Assets

Templates tab Contains predefined menu templates. See “Using menu templates

to create menus” on page 118.

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 button Click to import files onto the current tab.

22 Chapter 2, Getting Started

Show... filter Choose from this list to see only a certain kind of asset.

Assets Drag assets from the Templates, Images, and Media tabs to the Project

window to create menus and titles. Drag assets from the Buttons and Frames tabs
to the menu displayed in the Preview window to create menu buttons.

View Thumbnails button Click to show thumbnail images of the assets.

View Details button 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:

View Thumbnails

View Details

First play

Menu

button

Chapter

point

View Project
Settings

Menus group

Titles group

Playlists group

DVDit Pro windows 23

View Details button Click to show the project contents in a hierarchical list, as

seen in this image.

View Thumbnails button Click to show thumbnail images of menus, titles, and

playlists.

View Project Settings button Click to edit the project settings (see “Changing

the project settings” on page 38).

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. Double­click a slideshow title to display it in the Edit Slideshow window.

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 in a movie Double-click to display the movie in the Preview

window at the chapter point location.

Menu button that links to a movie or another menu 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 player (see “Setting the first play title, playlist, or menu”
on page 150).

24 Chapter 2, Getting Started

Timeline window

The Timeline window is where you add audio tracks, subtitles, and chapter
points to movie titles:

Zoom

In/Out

Solo

Track language

indicator

Add/Delete

Chapter

Timecode

indicator

Individual

subtitle

Lock

Playhead

Subtitle

track

Zoom controls Click to zoom the timeline in/out.

Chapter

point

Audio

track

Timecode

ruler

Timeline

Options

Video

track

Add Chapter button Click to add a new chapter point at the playhead location.

Delete Chapter button Click to delete the selected chapter point (except

Chapter 1).

Timecode indicator This shows the timecode at the playhead location. Enter a

timecode to move the playhead.

Playhead Drag to scroll through the movie. The Preview window (Title tab)

shows the frame at the playhead location.

DVDit Pro windows 25

Chapter point Drag the yellow diamond or label to move the chapter point along

the timecode ruler. Double-click to edit the label or move the chapter point to a
specific timecode. Chapter 1 cannot be moved or deleted, but you can edit its
label.

Change Timeline Options button Click to choose whether to display drop-frame

or non-drop-frame timecode on the timecode ruler (NTSC projects only). See
“Changing the timecode format” on page 82.

Timecode ruler Click on the ruler to move the playhead to the location where

you clicked.

Video track Drag video assets onto the track to replace the existing video.

Audio tracks Drag audio assets onto a track to add/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 84.

Individual subtitle in the subtitle track

Lock button

Tr ack language indicator Click to set the track language. See “Setting audio and

Click to lock/unlock the track for editing.

subtitle languages” on page 90.

Solo button Click a track’s Solo button to hear/see it when previewing the

movie.

Preview window

The Preview window has two tabs:

• “Menu tab” on page 26

• “Title tab” on page 29

26 Chapter 2, Getting Started

Menu tab

The Menu tab is where you lay out menus and create button links:

Highlight

Selection

tool

tool

Text

tool

Add

Sub-

Menu

Add

Movie

Add

Slideshow

Background

Align

Objects

Color

View Safe

Area

Snap

Show

Grid

Subpicture

View

Background

Layer

View

Layer

View

Highlight

Layer

Menu
under

construction

Background Layer

drop zone

Subpicture Layer

drop zone

DVDit Pro windows 27

Selection Tool Use this tool to select, move, and resize button and text objects.

See “Using individual elements to create menus” on page 119.

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 136.

Text Tool Use this tool to create and edit text blocks. See “Adding text blocks to

menus” on page 125.

Add Sub-Menu button 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 button Click to import a video file and create a new movie.

Add Slideshow button Click to create a new slideshow.

Align Objects Use this drop-down list 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 119). Use the drop-down
list to choose the background color.

View Safe Area button 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 116 for details.

Show Grid button Click to show/hide gridlines to help you place menu objects.

Snap button Click to turn on/off “snap to grid and guides.”

Subpicture Layer drop zone Drag image assets here to add/replace the menu’s

subpictures. See “Replacing the menu background and subpicture layers” on
page 138.

28 Chapter 2, Getting Started

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 138.

Menu under construction With background, subpicture, and buttons.

View Highlight Layer button Click to show/hide the button highlight rectangles,

which define the buttons to the DVD player.

View Subpicture Layer button Click to show/hide the button subpictures (the

images that appear over menu buttons when the viewer selects them).

View Background Layer button Click to show/hide the full-color menu artwork

(background, button images, and text).

Title tab

The Title tab is where you preview and trim movies:

Timecode

counter

Playhead

DVDit Pro windows 29

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.

30 Chapter 2, Getting Started

End Trim Point marker Drag left to trim the end of the movie.

Out Point box Shows the timecode at the end of the movie, relative to the start

of the source video file. Enter a timecode to trim the end of the movie.

Grab Frame button Click to save the current frame as an image file.

Next Chapter button Click to skip to the next chapter.

Next Frame button Click to move forward one frame.

Previous Frame button Click to move back one frame.

Previous Chapter button Click to skip to the previous chapter point.

Stop button Click to stop playback.

Play/Pause button Click to play/pause playback.

In Point box Shows the timecode at the start of the movie, relative to the start of

the source video file. Enter a timecode to trim the beginning of the movie.

Start Trim Point marker Drag right to trim the beginning of the movie.

DVDit Pro windows 31

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:

32 Chapter 2, Getting Started

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 DVD-compliant formats. You can have only one
project open at a time.

This section includes:

• “Starting a new project” on page 34

• “Setting the disc type and project size” on page 36

• “The OpenDVD setting” on page 37

• “Changing the project settings” on page 38

• “Setting the DVD jacket picture” on page 45

• “Editing MyDVD projects in DVDit Pro” on page 46

34 Chapter 3, Creating Projects

Starting a new project

When you launch DVDit Pro, it creates a new, untitled project automatically,
using the default project settings. You can immediately begin importing assets
and creating movies and menus. See Chapter 11, “DVDit Pro Preferences” 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.

To create a project using other settings:

1 Choose File > New. The New dialog box appears.

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/region where the DVD will be played.

See Appendix B, “TV Standards and DVD Regions” for more information. Once
you have set the project’s TV standard, it cannot be changed.

Location Either accept the default location or click the Browse button and

choose a new location to save the project file.

Starting a new project 35

We recommend that you store project and asset files in folders at the root
level of the hard drive. For example:

C:\DVD Projects (for project files)
C:\DVD Video (for video and audio assets)
C:\DVD Images (for image assets)
C:\DVD Builds (for writing DVD volumes and disc images)

This makes it easier for you to manage your projects and asset files.

3 Click the OK button.

Preventing the sample files from loading

DVDit Pro comes with sample backgrounds, buttons, and menu templates for you
to experiment with. By default, these sample files are loaded into every new
project you create.

To prevent DVDit Pro from loading the sample files:

1 Choose File > Preferences. The Preferences dialog box appears.

2 On the General tab, deselect the Load sample media... checkbox.

3 Click the OK button.

The change takes effect the next time you launch DVDit Pro or create a new
project.

36 Chapter 3, Creating Projects

Setting the disc type and project size

As you add, edit, and delete menus and titles, the indicator in the main window’s
status bar shows how much disc space the project will require:

Note: The indicator shows an estimated value.

To set the disc type and project size:

• Select the disc size that you plan to use from the drop-down list next to the

disc space indicator:

See Appendix A, “Disc Specifications” for more information about the different
disc sizes. The DVD-9 (8.5 GB) option is for dual-layer discs.

If the project is too large to fit on the selected disc, you can:

• Choose a larger disc size if possible.

• Delete titles and menus from the project.

• Change DVDit Pro’s transcoder settings (for example, lower the video bit-

rate). See “Changing the transcoder settings” on page 38 for details.

Note: If you choose the DVD-9 option and you plan to send a DLT to a
replicator, you can choose how each layer is formatted. See “Setting the track
path in dual-layer projects” on page 42 for details.

The OpenDVD setting

An OpenDVD disc contains the DVD-Video content plus extra information that
lets OpenDVD-compliant applications edit the disc just like a normal project. This
feature allows multiple authors to collaborate on a single disc.

You can also create OpenDVD-compliant DVD volumes on a hard disc. See
“Writing DVD volumes” on page 175 for more information about DVD volumes.

You can edit OpenDVD discs and volumes created by DVDit Pro and other Sonic
applications; see “Editing an OpenDVD disc or DVD volume” on page 177 for
instructions and limitations. Other Sonic applications may be able to edit
OpenDVD discs created by DVDit Pro.

The OpenDVD setting is turned off by default. To create an editable disc or
volume, you must turn this setting on.

To turn the OpenDVD setting on:

• Select the OpenDVD checkbox in the status bar at the bottom of the main

window:

The OpenDVD setting 37

The OpenDVD checkbox remains selected until you deselect it, or quit and
relaunch DVDit Pro, or open another project that does not have this setting
selected.

38 Chapter 3, Creating Projects

Changing the project settings

DVDit Pro’s Project Settings dialog box displays basic information about the
project, such as the project file’s location, project size, and TV standard. This
dialog box lets you change project-wide settings, including the bit-rates used
when transcoding “non-compliant” video and audio, copy protection levels, and
so on. It also lets you add data files (ROM content) to the DVD.

See the following sections for details:

• “Changing the transcoder settings” on page 38

• “Adding ROM content to the DVD” on page 40

• “Adding mastering information” on page 41

• “Setting DVD region codes” on page 43

• “Adding copy protection” on page 44

Changing the transcoder settings

DVDit Pro’s built-in transcoder lets you use “non-compliant” video and audio in
your projects. When you burn a disc or write to DVD volume, disc image or DLT,
DVDit Pro transcodes all non-compliant files using the values specified in the
Project Settings dialog box.

You can also force DVDit Pro to re-encode DVD-compliant files. You might want
to do this if the project contains DVD-compliant files and is too large to fit on a
disc; this option lets you re-encode the files at lower bit-rates so that they will fit.
However, we do not recommend doing this, as re-encoding degrades the video
quality.

Changing the project settings 39

To view or change the current transcoder settings:

1 Choose File > Project Settings. The Project Settings dialog box appears.

2 Click the Transcode tab.

3 Change the settings as desired. See “Choosing bit-rates for video and audio”

on page 73 for help:

Encode Set DVDit Pro comes with several sets of predefined transcoder

settings. You can choose a predefined set or change the Video and Audio
settings yourself.

Encode Style To fit a lot of video on the disc without losing too much quality,

choose VBR (variable bit-rate). CBR (constant bit-rate) is suitable only for
shorter durations.

Min, Target, and Max Bit-rate These set the quality level for all non-compliant

video (including motion menus).

Type Generally you should choose Dolby Digital, especially if your movies

have multiple audio tracks. DVDit Pro’s transcoder creates stereo Dolby audio
only.

Select PCM if audio quality is more important than video quality.

Bit-rate The normal Dolby stereo bit-rate is 192 kbps; you can choose higher

or lower rates depending on the desired sound quality. The PCM audio bit-rate
cannot be changed.

4 Select the Convert all compliant video and audio files checkbox only if you

need to re-encode DVD-compliant files as well as non-compliant files.

Note: DVDit Pro does not re-encode multi-channel Dolby Digital audio even
if you select the Convert all compliant video and audio files checkbox.

5 Click the OK button.

40 Chapter 3, Creating Projects

Adding ROM content to the DVD

The Project Settings dialog box lets you add a ROM (read-only-memory) section
to your DVDs. The ROM section exists outside the DVD-Video section of the disc,
and can contain any kind of data files, including images, documents, video clips,
and applications. These files can be opened and used when the disc is inserted in
a computer, but are not available to set-top players.

To add a ROM section to a project:

1 On your PC, create a folder. The folder name does not matter.

2 Within this folder, create the file and folder hierarchy as you want it to appear

on the DVD. Don’t create any shortcuts unless they point to files within the
main folder.

3 In DVDit Pro, choose File > Project Settings. The Project Settings dialog box

appears.

4 On the General tab, select the Include ROM data files on the disc checkbox.

5 Click the Browse button, then select the folder that you created in step 1.

6 Select the Joliet support checkbox only if you want long file names to be

displayed correctly on Windows 95 PCs. If you don’t need to support
Windows 95, leave this checkbox deselected.

7 Click the OK button.

Note: You can link the DVD-Video content to the ROM data files using Sonic’s

eDVD (http://www.sonic.com/products/edvd/).

Changing the project settings 41

Adding mastering information

The Project Settings dialog box’s Volume tab lets you add mastering information
to a project prior to writing a DLT. This information is used by the disc replicator.
You don’t need to add this information if you will only burn a disc.

To edit the volume information:

1 Choose File > Project Settings. The Project Settings dialog appears.

2 Click the Volume tab.

3 Enter the mastering information:

Volume If the project is part of a multi-disc set, enter the disc’s position in

the set. For example, the project will go on the second disc of an eight-disc
set, enter 2 of 8.

Side and Total Sides If this project will be mastered on a double-sided disc,

choose 2 from the Total Sides list, and choose the Side that this project will go
on (a project fits on one side of a disc).

Disc Size Change this if the project will be mastered on an eight-centimeter

disc.

Note: The project size indicator in the main window’s status bar does not
update if you change the Disc Size to 8 cm. If you change this setting, make
sure to set the project size in the status bar to DVD-RAM (1.4 GB). See
“Setting the disc type and project size” on page 36.

Tr ack Path If the project will be mastered on a dual-layer disc (DVD-9, DVD-

14, or DVD-18), you can choose how the two layers are formatted. See
“Setting the track path in dual-layer projects” on page 42 for details.

4 In the following fields, only uppercase letters A–Z, numbers 0–9, and the

underscore (“_”) character are allowed. If you do not know what to enter in a
field, leave it blank:

42 Chapter 3, Creating Projects

Volume Name Enter a name for the disc (up to 32 characters). The default

name is “SONIC_DVD.”

Provider ID Enter the unique identifier for the content provider.

POS Code Enter the disc’s Point of Sale code.

Mastering ID Enter the unique identifier for the disc’s masterer.

Publisher ID Enter the unique identifier for the disc’s publisher.

5 Click the OK button.

Setting the track path in dual-layer projects

Note: Dual-layer recordable discs do not support changing the track path. The
following applies only when writing to DLT.

The track path setting controls how the replicator formats each layer of a dual­layer disc. The two track path options are:

Opposite track path (OTP) The data track for the first layer (Layer 0) is written

from the disc center towards the outer edge, then the second layer (Layer 1) is
written back towards the disc center.

Parallel track path (PTP) The data tracks for both layers are written from the disc

center towards the outer edge.

The point where the DVD player stops reading Layer 0 and starts reading Layer 1
is called the layer break. There is always a short pause in the material at this
point.

Opposite track path is best for projects containing a large movie title that spans
both layers, where the layer break must fall within the movie. This option
provides the shortest interruption in playback. This is the default setting.

Parallel track path is better for projects containing several smaller titles, since the
layer break does not fall within a title and therefore the viewer will not notice it.

Changing the project settings 43

To c hange the track path setting:

1 Set the project’s disc size to DVD-9 as described in “Setting the disc type and

project size” on page 36.

2 Choose File > Project Settings. The Project Settings dialog box appears.

3 Click the Volume tab.

4 Choose the desired setting from the Track Path list.

5 Click the OK button.

Setting DVD region codes

The DVD Forum Committee divides the world into six DVD regions (1–6), and
specifies one transnational region (8) for such applications as in-flight
entertainment. Region 7 is currently undefined. Most commercially released
movie DVDs contain one or more region codes. Every DVD player should play a
region-coded DVD only if one of its codes matches a code embedded in the
player.

By default, projects created in DVDit Pro are coded to allow playback in all
regions. You can set a project’s region codes to allow playback in one or a few
regions. See “TV standards and DVD regions by country/territory” on page 196
for the region code for a particular country or territory.

To set the project’s region codes:

1 Choose File > Project Settings. The Project Settings dialog box appears.

2 Click the Protection tab.

3 Deselect the checkboxes for the regions where you do not want the disc to

be playable. At least one region must be selected. To re-select all the
checkboxes, click the Enable All button.

4 Click the OK button.

44 Chapter 3, Creating Projects

Adding copy protection

If your project contains copyrighted material, you can use copy protection to
protect the intellectual property rights of the material’s owner, as well as the
rights of the disc’s publisher. The following copy protection schemes are
available in DVDit Pro:

• Copy Guard Management System (CGMS) limits the number of digital and

analog copies that can be made.

• Copy Scrambling System (CSS) encrypts the data to prevent digital copying.

• Macrovision prevents analog copying.

CGMS is simply a “flag” that is added to the video stream when you burn a disc or
write to DLT. However, many DVD players do not respect the CGMS flag. CSS and
Macrovision are applied by the disc replicator. For that reason, you can only use
CSS and Macrovision when writing to DLT.

You must obtain licensing rights to use Macrovision. For more information,
contact your disc replicator or Macrovision (http://www.macrovision.com).

To add copy protection to the project:

1 Choose File > Project Settings. The Project Settings dialog box appears.

2 Click the Protection tab.

3 Select the Enable Copy Protection checkbox.

4 To use CGMS, choose an option from the CGMS list:

Unlimited copies Provides no copy protection.

One copy allowed Permits any number of copies to be made from the original

disc. The copies, however, cannot be copied again to create second-generation
discs.

No copies allowed Permits no copying.

Setting the DVD jacket picture 45

5 To use CSS, choose No copies allowed from the CGMS list, then select the

Format for CSS checkbox.

6 To use Macrovision, choose No copies allowed from the CGMS list, then

choose an option from the Macrovision list:

Off Provides no copy protection.

Type 1 Prevents copying to analog videotape by using Automatic Gain Control

(AGC). AGC confuses the video recorder by sending it a video signal that is
stronger than it actually is, thereby creating a copy with very low levels and
degraded quality. This option is compatible with both PAL and NTSC projects.

Type 2 Imposes two-line color stripes on the recorded video signal in addition

to using AGC. This option is only compatible with NTSC projects.

Type 3 Imposes four-line color stripes on the recorded video signal in

addition to using AGC. This option is only compatible with NTSC projects.

7 Click the OK button.

Note: If you use copy protection, you cannot burn discs or write to disc images,

and you cannot select the OpenDVD checkbox.

Setting the DVD jacket picture

A DVD jacket picture is an image that is stored in a special location on the disc.
Some DVD players will display this image when disc playback is stopped.

To set the jacket picture, you simply select the image you want to be displayed.
You can use any image you have imported into the Palette window’s Images tab
(see Chapter 4, “Importing Assets”).

46 Chapter 3, Creating Projects

To set the jacket picture:

1 Click the Images tab in the Palette window.

2 Locate the image you want to use.

3 Right-click on the image and choose Set as Jacket Picture from the shortcut

menu.

The image’s name in the Palette window turns blue and a special icon appears
over the image (seen only in the Thumbnails view).

When previewing the project, the jacket picture is displayed if you stop
playback. See Chapter 9, “Testing Playback.”

To r emove the jacket picture:

1 Locate the image on the Palette window’s Images tab.

2 Right-click on the image and choose Remove Jacket Picture from the shortcut

menu.

Editing MyDVD projects in DVDit Pro

DVDit Pro can open most projects created by Sonic MyDVD 4.x through 6.x. If
you edit and save a MyDVD project in DVDit Pro, you cannot open it again in
MyDVD due to the greater complexity of DVDit Pro projects.

To open a MyDVD project:

1 Choose File > Open.

2 In the Open dialog box, choose Sonic DVD Project (*.dvd) from the

Files of type list.

3 Locate and select the MyDVD project file, which has a .dvd extension.

4 Click the Open button.

Editing MyDVD projects in DVDit Pro 47

DVDit Pro handles MyDVD projects as follows:

• Each movie and slideshow in the MyDVD project is a title in DVDit Pro.

Movies include any edits or transitions that were added in MyDVD’s video
editor (but you cannot change them).

• Chapter points in movies are preserved, and you can edit them or add more.

• Buttons and text appear in their original locations on menus as separate,

editable objects. For example, if you move or resize a movie button, its text
label does not move or change size.

• The project’s video, audio, and images (slides, menu backgrounds, and

buttons) appear in the appropriate asset lists in DVDit Pro’s Palette window.
For example, video files are listed on the Media tab.

48 Chapter 3, Creating Projects

4 Importing Assets

Assets are the video, audio, and image files you use to create a DVD. DVDit Pro
supports a wide range of asset file types, and can also import movies from
DVD+VR discs.

This section includes:

• “Importing files into DVDit Pro” on page 50

• “Importing DVD+VR content” on page 52

• “Removing assets” on page 52

• “Changing a video asset’s field dominance” on page 53

• “Supported video files” on page 54

• “Supported audio files” on page 56

• “Supported image files” on page 57

• “Creating buttons and menus in Adobe Photoshop” on page 60

• “DVD-compliant file requirements” on page 69

• “Choosing bit-rates for video and audio” on page 73

50 Chapter 4, Importing Assets

You can export chapter timecode and reference frame data from qualified Avid
editing applications and import into DVDit Pro. See Appendix D, “Preparing
Sequences in an Avid Editing Application” for instructions on exporting from an
Avid application and “Importing chapter point metadata from an Avid
application” on page 101 for instructions on importing the data into DVDit Pro.

DVDit Pro also supports import of subtitle script files. See Appendix E, “Subtitle
Script Files” for details on creating script files and “Importing subtitle script files”
on page 85 for instructions on importing subtitles.

Importing files into DVDit Pro

To import files into a project:

1 Click one of the tabs at the top of the Palette window, based on the kind of

assets you are importing:

Images For large images and files created as described in “Creating menus”

on page 66.

Media For video and audio.

Buttons For button images. Choose a button category from the drop-down

list, depending on the kind of files you are importing:

– Button Images: For single-layer images. Files you import onto the Images

tab also appear here automatically.

– Button Objects: For general buttons, including two-layer files created as

described in “Creating buttons and menus in Adobe Photoshop” on
page 60.

Importing files into DVDit Pro 51

– Button Video: You don’t need to import files into this category. Video files

you import onto the Media tab appear here automatically.

– Navigation Buttons: For buttons used to link menus, including two-layer

Photoshop files.

Frames For three-layer files that have been created as described in “Creating

buttons and menus in Adobe Photoshop” on page 60.

2 Choose File > Import > Media, then locate and select the files. You can also

drag files from Windows Explorer onto the Palette window.

Notes on importing files

• For performance reasons, all files must be stored on a local drive. DVDit Pro

does not support files located on network drives or streamed over a network.

• You can mix NTSC and PAL/SECAM video files in the same project. However,

you will get better results if the video is the same format as the project.

• If you attempt to import video or audio files that are not DVD-compliant (for

example, AVI video, or MPEG video that does not meet the DVD-Video
requirements), DVDit Pro gives you the choice of either importing the files
and transcoding when you burn a disc, or not importing the files. You can set
DVDit Pro to always import or always reject such files in the General
preferences — see Chapter 11, “DVDit Pro Preferences.”

• Importing a video file does not automatically create a movie. This is done by

dragging the imported video from the Palette window to the Titles group in
the Project window — see “Creating movies” on page 78. To import a video
file and create a movie in a single step, choose File > Add Movie.

• You can get information about any imported asset by right-clicking on the

asset in the Palette window and choosing Properties from the shortcut menu.

52 Chapter 4, Importing Assets

Importing DVD+VR content

To import movies from a DVD+VR disc:

1 Insert the disc in your PC.

2 In the Palette window, click the Media tab.

3 Choose File > Import > DVD+VR Content. The Import DVD+VR Content

dialog box appears.

4 Select the movies you wish to import, then click the OK button.

The selected movies are copied to your “My Videos” folder and appear on the
Palette window’s Media tab. You can then eject the DVD+VR disc.

See also “Using SAP audio in movies” on page 80.

Removing assets

You can remove any asset from a project, including the sample assets provided
with DVDit Pro, as long as the asset is not being used in a title or menu. This does
not delete the source file from your PC.

To r emove an asset:

• Right-click on the asset in the Palette window and choose Delete from the

shortcut menu.

Changing a video asset’s field dominance 53

Changing a video asset’s field dominance

Each video frame comprises two sets of scan lines, called fields. One field
contains all the odd-numbered scan lines (the top field or field A); the other
contains all the even-numbered scan lines (the bottom field or field B). Standard
TVs display interlaced video, where one field is displayed followed by the other.
Computer monitors and high-definition TVs display non-interlaced (progressive)
video, where both fields are displayed at the same time.

A video asset’s field dominance (also known as field order) determines which
field is displayed first. If the field dominance setting is incorrect, the video
appears fine when viewed on a computer monitor, but displays badly on a
standard TV.

Different video formats use different field dominance settings, and some video
editors can create files with unusual or incorrect settings. The only way to detect
an incorrect field dominance setting is to burn a disc and watch the video
carefully on a TV. If you see motion artifacts that are not apparent when you play
the same disc on a PC, you can change the problem asset’s field dominance
setting in DVDit Pro and burn the disc again.

To c hange a video asset’s field dominance:

1 Locate the asset on the Palette window’s Media tab.

2 Right-click on the asset and choose Properties from the shortcut menu. The

Properties dialog box appears.

3 Select the Field Dominance property.

4 Choose a different setting from the Value list. For example, if the asset’s

current setting is Top Field, try changing it to Bottom Field.

5 Click the OK button.

After changing the field dominance, burn a new disc and play it on a TV to see if
the problem has been corrected.

54 Chapter 4, Importing Assets

Supported video files

DVDit Pro supports the following video file formats:

File format Filename extension Notes

MPEG-1 m1p, .m1v, .mp1, .mpe,

.mpeg, .mpg, .mpv, .mv1

MPEG-2 .m2p, .m2v, .mp2, .mp2v,

.mpe, .mpeg, .mpg, .mpv,
.mpv2, .mv2

AVI.aviType 1 and Type 2 DV-AVI files and DivX

QuickTime .mov, .qt Requires QuickTime 6

MPEG-4 .mp4 Requires QuickTime 6. Some files may

files are supported, as are most files that
use DirectShow-compliant codes.

(http://www.apple.com/quicktime/downlo

ad/).

cause a QuickTime Warning message to
appear stating that the file uses an
unsupported MPEG-4 profile; this
message appears when you import the
file, preview, and burn a disc. However,
you should be able to create discs using
these files.

Media
Center TV
Show

Windows
Media Video

.dvr-ms

.wmv Only WMV files that are not copy-

protected are supported.
Generally, it is better to use AVI or other
file types. WMV is intended for creating
relatively small files for downloading. The
video displays well on a computer
monitor, but does not look so good when
converted to MPEG format.

Supported video files 55

Note: Always try to use the highest-quality source material. The MPEG
compression used in DVD-Video relies on similarities between frames to reduce
the file size. If the video source contains a lot of noise, there will be fewer
similarities between frames, and so lots of disc space will be wasted just to
reproduce this noise.

DVDit Pro “passes through” DVD-compliant MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 video without
transcoding when you burn a disc, which greatly reduces the burn time. See
“DVD-compliant file requirements” on page 69 for help with creating MPEG files.
Media Center TV Show files contain DVD-compliant MPEG video.

Other file types (and MPEG files that are not compliant) are transcoded using the
transcoder settings in the Project Settings dialog. You can also force DVDit Pro to
re-encode compliant video. See “Changing the transcoder settings” on page 38
for details.

56 Chapter 4, Importing Assets

Supported audio files

DVDit Pro supports the following audio file formats:

File format Filename

extension

AIFF .aif, .aiff Requires QuickTime 6

Dolby Digital .ac3 Multi-channel audio files are supported.

MPEG-1 Layer 2 .mp1, .mp2, .abs,

.mpa

MPEG-1 Layer 3 .mp3

WAVE audio .wav

Windows Media
Audio

.wma Only WMA files that are not copy-protected

Notes

(http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/).
Uncompressed files only.

are supported.

Note: For best results, use 48 kHz, 16-bit audio.

Files can contain a single stream of mono or stereo audio (except Dolby Digital
audio, which must be stereo or multi-channel). When you burn a disc, DVDit Pro
transcodes non-compliant audio to PCM or Dolby Digital, depending on the
transcoder settings.

DVDit Pro does not need to transcode DVD-compliant audio, which reduces the
time it takes to burn discs. See “DVD-compliant file requirements” on page 69 for
details.

Supported image files

DVDit Pro supports the following image file formats:

Supported image files 57

File format Filename

Notes

extension

Adobe
Photoshop

Windows
bitmap

GIF .gif Files with transparency are supported for button

JPEG .jpg, .jpeg

PICT .pct, .pict Requires QuickTime 6.

Portable
network
graphic

.psd Transparent layers are supported. Files with one

alpha-channel mask are supported for button
images.
Multi-layered Photoshop files can be used to create
individual buttons and complete menus. See
“Creating buttons and menus in Adobe Photoshop”
on page 60 for details.
Flattened, single-layer Photoshop files require
QuickTime 6
(http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/).

.bmp

images.
Animations are not supported. You can import
animated GIFs, but DVDit Pro uses only the first
frame of the animation.

.png Files with transparency are supported for button

images.

TIFF .tif, .tiff Files with one alpha-channel mask are supported

for button images.

TARGA .tga Requires QuickTime 6.

Note: Images should not be too sharp. Sharp, high-contrast edges and fine
horizontal lines may flicker when viewed on a TV. Apply a blur filter in your
image-editing application to remove hard edges.

58 Chapter 4, Importing Assets

For more information about images, see:

• “Recommended image sizes” on page 58

• “Image colors in NTSC projects” on page 59

Recommended image sizes

Menu backgrounds

Recommended image sizes for menu backgrounds are:

For NTSC projects For PAL projects

720 pixels wide x 540 high 768 pixels wide x 576 high

Images at these sizes fill the menu area without distortion or scaling artifacts. You
can use other sizes; DVDit Pro has several options for scaling menu background
images. See “Scaling of non-4:3 images and video” on page 121.

For the very best results, you can create images at the above sizes, then resize
them in your graphics application to the NTSC or PAL screen resolution
(720 x 480 for NTSC, 720 x 576 for PAL). Although the image appears distorted in
the graphics application, it displays correctly in DVDit Pro and on the finished
DVD.

Note: Most TVs do not display the entire image. The edges are cropped to hide
distortion, and only about 90% of the image is visible. See ““Safe area” guides” on
page 116 for details.

Supported image files 59

Buttons

Button images should be created at the size that you want them to be on the
finished menu. You can resize buttons in DVDit Pro, but you get better results
(and menu creation is quicker) if you make your buttons the right size.

Slideshow images

DVDit Pro supports images larger than 50 x 50 pixels. The image size and aspect
ratio do not matter. However, if you create an OpenDVD disc containing
slideshows, the original image files are archived on the disc; you can also choose
to archive these images even if you don’t create an OpenDVD disc. These files
can consume large amounts of disc space if you use many high-resolution or
uncompressed images. We recommend using images no larger than 800 x 600
pixels, and using compressed file formats such as JPEG or PNG.

Image colors in NTSC projects

NTSC TVs cannot display certain colors, such as bright reds. Most image-editing
applications can make your artwork “NTSC-safe” by adjusting the colors
automatically; see your application’s user guide for instructions. This problem
does not occur on PC monitors or PAL TVs.

60 Chapter 4, Importing Assets

Creating buttons and menus in Adobe Photoshop

The following describes how to create button images and complete menus using
layers in Photoshop (or Photoshop Elements). This method may also work with
other graphics programs that support layers and can create Photoshop (.psd)
files. See the following for details:

• “Creating buttons” on page 60

• “Creating menus” on page 66

Creating buttons

The easiest way to understand how layered buttons are created is to look at the
buttons included with DVDit Pro. These buttons are in DVDit Pro’s “Content”
folder; in a typical installation, you can find them in

Pro\Content\

:

C:\Program Files\Sonic\DVDit

The “Button Objects” and “Navigation Buttons” folders contain basic layered
buttons, whereas the “Frames” folder contains button frames, which display a
thumbnail of the linked material when used in a project.

Creating buttons and menus in Adobe Photoshop 61

You can use these buttons as a basis for creating your own. Simply replace the
contents of each layer with your own designs, then save the file under a new
name in a new location. The following provide more detail about the buttons and
their layers:

• “Basic layered buttons” on page 61

• “Button frames” on page 65

Basic layered buttons

If you open one of the basic layered button files in Photoshop, you can see the
layers, named “Image” and “Overlay”:

DVDit Pro can only use the button if it contains layers with these exact names.
Files with different layer names can be imported, but no button is created if the
file is dragged onto a menu.

The Overlay layer must be on top of the Image layer. If the Image layer is on top,
the button does not display correctly in DVDit Pro.

62 Chapter 4, Importing Assets

Image layer

The Image layer contains the full-color button, which you see while working on
a project in DVDit Pro. The button’s Image is created on a transparent layer; this
lets you create non-rectangular buttons, buttons with holes in them, and even
buttons with areas of varying opacity, so that the menu background shows
through parts of the button.

Note that there are no layer effects. If you create a button design using layer
effects, you must merge them together before you import the button into DVDit
Pro. In the Photoshop file, the Image layer should be under the Overlay layer.

To merge layer effects:

1 Right-click on the Effects layer and choose Create Layer from the shortcut

menu. Photoshop creates a new layer that is linked to the Image layer, like
this:

2 Select the Image layer if necessary, then choose Layer > Merge Group.

Creating buttons and menus in Adobe Photoshop 63

Overlay layer

The Overlay layer contains the button’s subpicture image. The subpicture is
displayed on top of the button, and its color and opacity changes when the
button is unselected, selected, and activated:

Unselected button Selected button Activated button

In the normal, unselected state, the subpicture is usually made invisible by
setting its opacity to zero. See “Editing menu subpictures” on page 143 for
information on setting the subpicture colors for the different button states.

In this example, the Overlay image is simply a black shape. There is no anti­aliasing or feathering around the edges, which appear jagged:

DVD subpicture colors are extremely limited, so each pixel in a subpicture is
either a solid color or transparent. If your Overlay images have anti-aliased edges,
those pixels will become either transparent or solid when the button is used in
DVDit Pro. The jagged edges are less noticeable on a TV screen than a computer
monitor, due to the TV’s lower picture quality.

64 Chapter 4, Importing Assets

Images in the Overlay layer can use up to four colors:

Black Red 0, Green 0, Blue 0

White Red 255, Green 255, Blue 255

Red Red 255, Green 0, Blue 0

Blue Red 0, Green 0, Blue 255

Transparent areas of the layer are treated as white.

In DVDit Pro, you map each color in the Overlay layer to a different set of
selection state colors:

• Black maps to the Pattern colors. In the example above, black images in the

Overlay layer are invisible when the button is not selected. They turn 50%
yellow when the button is selected and 50% cyan when it is activated.

• White/transparent maps to the Background colors. Normally you do not want

white/transparent areas of the Overlay to become visible, so the Opacity is set
to zero for all selection states in the above dialog.

• Red maps to the Emphasis 1 colors.

• Blue maps to the Emphasis 2 colors.

See “Editing menu subpictures” on page 143 for more information.

Creating buttons and menus in Adobe Photoshop 65

Button frames

If you open one of the frame files in Photoshop, you can see it has three layers:
Thumb, Image, and Overlay:

The Image and Overlay layers are exactly the same in both basic buttons and
button frames. The Thumb layer contains a single-color shape. In this example it
is a reddish rectangle with rounded corners, but it can be any shape and any
color except white.

When this button is used in DVDit Pro and linked to a title or menu, the Thumb
shape is filled with a frame of the linked material:

In the Photoshop file, the Thumb layer can be above or below the Image layer.
When you use the button in DVDit Pro, the button frame always appears over the
thumbnail of the linked material.

66 Chapter 4, Importing Assets

DVDit Pro will distort the frame if necessary to fit the Thumb shape. For
example, if you create a button with a circular Thumb, DVDit Pro will distort the
frame (by squashing it horizontally), then crop the parts that are not within the
Thumb:

Creating menus

Creating a menu in Photoshop is similar to creating buttons as described in
“Basic layered buttons” on page 61. A Photoshop menu has two layers, which
must be named “Background” and “Overlay”. DVDit Pro rejects files with other
layer names. For details, see:

• “Background layer” on page 67

• “Overlay layer” on page 68

See also “Recommended image sizes” on page 58. To create menus using these
files, see “Using layered Photoshop files to create menus” on page 136.

Creating buttons and menus in Adobe Photoshop 67

Background layer

The Background layer contains the full-color menu background, including all
button graphics and text:

If you create artwork using multiple layers, remember to merge those layers into
the Background layer.

The “Background” layer name must not be italicized in the Photoshop Layers
window.

If the Background layer name is italicized:

1 Double-click the layer name in the Layers window. The New Layer window

appears.

2 Change the Name to Background.

3 Click the OK button.

68 Chapter 4, Importing Assets

Overlay layer

The Overlay layer contains the subpicture images that change color when a
button is selected and activated This layer must be above the Background layer in
Photoshop’s Layers window:

In this example, the overlay images are all black heart shapes, but you can use up
to four colors; see “Basic layered buttons” on page 61 for more information about
overlay colors.

When you create a menu in DVDit Pro using a layered Photoshop file, you must
define each button by drawing a highlight rectangle around the button’s
subpicture image. See “Adding the button highlight areas” on page 137 for
instructions.

DVD-compliant file requirements

When burning a disc, or writing to DVD volume, disc image, or DLT, DVDit Pro
transcodes video and audio files to DVD-compliant formats if necessary. This
section can help you to create DVD-compliant files in third-party applications.
DVDit Pro does not re-encode DVD-compliant files (unless you force it to), which
saves time when burning discs.

DVD-Video is based on the MPEG compression standards. The MPEG standards
permit a wide range of image sizes, aspect ratios, bit-rates, video frame rates, and
so on. DVD-Video uses a strictly limited subset of the MPEG standards, permitting
only some image resolutions, frame rates, aspect ratios, and certain other
parameters. The following sections describe the mandatory settings:

• “MPEG-2 video” on page 70

• “MPEG-1 video” on page 71

• “PCM (uncompressed AIFF/WAVE) audio” on page 72

• “Dolby Digital (AC-3) audio” on page 72

DVD-compliant file requirements 69

To fit a specific length of video onto a DVD, see “Choosing bit-rates for video and
audio” on page 73.

Other settings depend on the kind of video that you are encoding. Check your
encoder’s documentation for advice. The effect of some settings (such as field
order) may not be noticeable until you view the finished disc on a TV.

70 Chapter 4, Importing Assets

MPEG-2 video

DVD-compliant MPEG-2 video must have these settings:

Parameter NTSC (525 lines at 59.94 Hz) PAL (625 lines at 50 Hz)

Frame size (width x
height)

Display frame rate 29.97 fps 25 fps

Group of pictures
(GOP) size
(see Note below)

GOP structure Closed. IBP or IBBP

Output aspect ratio 4:3 (standard TV) or 16:9 anamorphic (widescreen TV)

Bit-rate
(CBR or VBR)

Profile and level Main profile and main level (MP@ML)

VBV buffer size 224 KB (1,835,008 bits)

GOP sequence
header interval

Filename extension .m2p, .m2v, .mp2, .mp2v, .mpe, .mpeg, .mpg, .mpv, .mpv2, .mv2

720 x 480 pixels
352 x 480 (recommended for
bit-rates lower than 4 Mbps)

36 fields/18 frames maximum
30 fields/15 frames
recommended

Minimum 2.0 Mbps
Maximum 9.4 Mbps with one Dolby Digital audio track, 8.0 Mbps
with one PCM audio track.
See “Choosing bit-rates for video and audio” on page 73 for
more information.

1 per GOP (one sequence header before every GOP)

720 x 576 pixels
352 x 576 (recommended for
bit-rates lower than 4 Mbps)

30 fields/15 frames maximum
24 fields/12 frames
recommended

Note: Some encoders can create MPEG-2 streams with variable GOP sizes.
DVDit Pro supports these streams, providing the GOP size does not exceed the
maximum size allowed.

DVD-compliant file requirements 71

MPEG-1 video

DVD-compliant MPEG-1 video must have these settings:

Parameter NTSC (525 lines at 59.94 Hz) PAL (625 lines at 50 Hz)

Frame size (width x height) 352 x 240 pixels 352 x 288 pixels

Display frame rate 29.97 fps 25 fps

Group of pictures (GOP) size 18 frames maximum

15 frames recommended

GOP structure Closed. IBP or IBBP

Output aspect ratio 4:3

Bit-rate
(CBR or VBR)

VBV buffer size 224 KB (1,835,008 bits)

GOP Sequence header
interval

Filename extension .m1p, .m1v, .mp1, .mpe, .mpeg, .mpg, .mpv, .mv1

1. 15 Mbps minimum

1.856 Mbps maximum

1 per GOP

15 frames maximum
12 frames recommended

72 Chapter 4, Importing Assets

PCM (uncompressed AIFF/WAVE) audio

Sample rate

Sample size

Number of audio streams

Number of audio channels

Bit-rate

Filename extension

48 kHz

16 bits/sample

1

1 (mono) or 2 (stereo)

Mono: 0.8 Mbps
Stereo: 1.6 Mbps

.aif, .aiff, .wav

Dolby Digital (AC-3) audio

Sample rate

Sample size

Number of audio channels

48 kHz

16 bits/sample

2/0 (stereo)
2/1 (2 front channels, 1 rear channel)
2/2 (2 front channels, 2 rear channels)
3/0 (3 front channels)
3/1 (3 front channels, 1 rear channel)
3/2 (3 front channels, 2 rear channels)

5.1 (3 front channels, 2 rear channels, 1 low-frequency
effect (LFE) channel)

Bit-rate

Filename extension

0.064 – 0.448 Mbps
Dolby Corporation suggests using the following bit-rates:
2/0: 0.192 Mbps
2/2 or 3/1: 0.384 Mbps
3/2 or 5.1: 0.448 Mbps
For more information, go to http://www.dolby.com.

.ac3

Choosing bit-rates for video and audio 73

Choosing bit-rates for video and audio

The video bit-rate affects both the video quality and the amount of video you can
fit on a disc. High bit-rate video produces a higher-quality image and requires
more disc space than lower bit-rate video.

There are several factors to consider when choosing a bit-rate:

Disc size Larger disc capacities let you fit more video onto the disc or use higher

bit-rates.

Type of video If your video has fast action sequences, or scenes with random

motion such as ripples on water, a low bit-rate may result in poor-quality video
during those scenes.

Source video quality MPEG compression works best with a high-quality source.

If the original video is low quality — if it has video noise, scratches, and so on —
you should either clean it up in a video editing application or choose a high bit­rate to prevent the quality from getting worse.

Slideshow and ROM data requirements Slideshow source files and ROM data

leave less space available for video.

Finally, the maximum bit-rate allowed by the DVD-Video format is 9.8 Mbps,
which must be divided among the video, audio, and subtitle streams. Although
DVD players play only one audio stream and one subtitle stream at a time, they
read all the streams off the disc simultaneously, so you must take the bit-rates of
all streams into account when calculating the bit-rate.

The following can help you to select the best bit-rate for a given video duration:

• “CBR or VBR?” on page 74

• “Bit-rate calculation” on page 74

74 Chapter 4, Importing Assets

CBR or VBR?

CBR (constant bit-rate) and VBR (variable bit-rate) are two ways of encoding
video.

CBR encoding uses the same bit-rate for every second of video regardless of the
video’s complexity, so quality worsens as the video becomes more complex, and
bits are wasted when there is not much action.

In a VBR encode, the encoder uses higher bit-rates for complex sections and
lower rates for “easy” sections, constantly adjusting to keep the overall bit-rate to
a target value. VBR encoding can provide the same quality as a CBR encode but at
a lower overall bit-rate (so you can fit more video on the disc), or better quality
than a CBR encode at the same overall bit-rate.

VBR encoding is best for long video durations (100 minutes or more on a 4.7-GB
disc). For shorter durations the difference in quality between CBR and VBR is
usually not detectable.

Bit-rate calculation

The following calculation helps you to pick an MPEG-2 video bit-rate based on
total video duration. Enter the values produced by this calculation into the
Transcode tab fields in the Project Settings dialog box (see “Changing the
transcoder settings” on page 38).

Note: DVDit Pro’s transcoder bit-rates are displayed in kilobits per second
(kbps). To make the numbers manageable, the calculation below uses megabits
per second (Mbps). When entering the results of this calculation in the
transcoder settings, multiply by 1,000 to get the value in kbps.

Choosing bit-rates for video and audio 75

1 Calculate the average bit-rate for all streams by dividing the disc size (in

megabits) by the total video duration (in seconds). See Appendix A, “Disc
Specifications” for disc sizes:

Disc size: _____ Mbits ÷ Duration: ______ seconds = ______ Mbps

For example, to fit 100 minutes (6,000 seconds) of video onto a 4.7-GB DVD
(which actually holds 36,096 Mbits of usable disc space):

36,096 Mbits ÷ 6,000 seconds = 6.0 Mbps

If the project includes motion menus (menus with a video background or
animated button images), add the durations of all the motion menus to the
total video duration.

2 Calculate the target video bit-rate by subtracting the audio and subtitle bit-

rate requirements from the result of step 1. Enter this value in the
Target Bit-rate field in the Project Settings:

Avg. bit-rate: ____ Mbps – (Audio + Sub): _____ Mbps = _____ Mbps

The bit-rate for each subtitle track is 0.04 Mbps. See “DVD-compliant file
requirements” on page 69 for audio bit-rates.

In our example, using a single stereo PCM audio track (which has a bit-rate of

1.6 Mbps) and no subtitles:

6.0 Mbps – 1.6 Mbps = 4.4 Mbps

3 For VBR encodes only: Calculate the maximum video bit-rate by subtracting

the audio and subtitle bit-rate requirements from the maximum allowed by
the DVD-Video format (9.8 Mbps). Enter this value in the Max. Bit-rate field in
the Project Settings:

9.8 Mbps – (Audio + Sub): _____ Mbps = _____ Mbps

In our example, this would be:

9.8 Mbps – 1.6 Mbps = 8.2 Mbps

76 Chapter 4, Importing Assets

Note: Because spikes in the video bit-rate can occur even in CBR encodes, we
recommend using video bit-rates below 8.0 Mbps with PCM audio, and below 9.4
Mbps with Dolby Digital audio. This leaves some headroom so that a spike does
not push the total bit-rate over 9.8 Mbps.

Calculating the minimum bit-rate

The minimum bit-rate in a VBR encode should be about half the Target bit-rate
from step 2 or 2.0 Mbps, whichever is larger.

Effect of ROM data and slideshows on the bit-rate calculation

If you add ROM data to your DVD as described in “Adding ROM content to the
DVD” on page 40, you must reduce the disc size in step 1 of the bit-rate
calculation to account for the ROM content. For example, if your ROM content is
500 MB, the disc size available for DVD-Video is:

36,096 Mbits – 4,194 Mbits = 31,902 Mbits

(500 MB = 500 x 220 x 8 bits = 4,194 Mbits)

Slideshows generally use very little disc space. However, if you create an
OpenDVD disc or you choose to archive the slideshow images, the original image
files are archived in the same location as ROM data. If you use uncompressed
high-resolution images in your slideshows, the original files could require a
significant amount of space.

To account for slideshow image files, add up the sizes of all the files and subtract
from the disc space as shown above.

5 Creating and Editing Movie Titles

After importing the video, audio, and images into the project, you can begin by
creating movie titles. A movie comprises a video track, with up to eight audio
tracks and up to 32 subtitle tracks. You can also add chapter points to movies to
make it easier for viewers to navigate through your presentation.

A DVD can contain up to 99 titles (movies and slideshows), and each movie can
contain up 99 chapter points.

This section includes:

• “Creating movies” on page 78

• “Adding subtitle tracks to movies” on page 84

• “Setting audio and subtitle languages” on page 90

• “Locking and unlocking tracks” on page 92

• “Previewing movies” on page 92

• “Trimming movies” on page 94

• “Offsetting audio and subtitle tracks” on page 96

• “Creating and editing chapter points” on page 99

78 Chapter 5, Creating and Editing Movie Titles

Creating movies

To create a movie:

• Drag a video asset from the Palette window’s Media tab onto the “Drag media

here to create title” icon in the Project window’s Titles group.

This creates a new movie icon in the Titles group. The first frame of the movie
appears on the Preview window’s Title tab, and the video appears in the Timeline
window’s Video track.

When you create a movie using a program stream, the audio appears in the first
audio track (labeled A1) in the Timeline window automatically. If you use
elementary streams, you must add the audio assets separately.

Creating movies 79

To add audio tracks to the movie:

• Drag audio assets from the Palette window’s Media tab onto the empty audio

tracks (labeled A1 through A8) in the Timeline window:

Note: Video and audio tracks can each contain only one asset.

To r eplace a video or audio track’s content:

• Drag a different video or audio asset onto the track in the Timeline window.

DVDit Pro asks if you are sure you want to replace the track contents; click
the Yes button to continue.

If you drag a program stream onto the video track, DVDit Pro adds the audio to
the next empty audio track. If there are no empty audio tracks, you must clear
the contents of an audio track first.

To clear the contents of a video or audio track:

• Right-click in the track and choose Delete from the shortcut menu.

Note: The movie still exists even if you delete the content from every track.

See also:

• “Using SAP audio in movies” on page 80

• “Changing the video aspect ratio” on page 81

• “Changing the timecode format” on page 82

• “Adjusting audio volume levels” on page 83

• “Naming titles, playlists, and menus” on page 149

80 Chapter 5, Creating and Editing Movie Titles

Using SAP audio in movies

Some TV programs are broadcast with a main audio track plus a secondary audio
program (SAP) track. Some DVD+VR recorders let you record both tracks (the
main track is downmixed to mono and recorded on the left channel and the SAP
track is recorded on the right channel). When working with assets imported from
DVD+VR discs that have both main and SAP audio, you must choose which
channel you want. If you don’t choose one channel or the other, both channels
will be heard at the same time.

To select the desired audio channel:

1 After creating a movie using an asset that has SAP audio, choose

Timeline > Audio Options. The Audio Options dialog box appears.

2 Choose the channel you want in the Channel Options list for the audio track

that contains the SAP audio:

• Select Duplicate left channel to use the main audio.

• Select Duplicate right channel to use the SAP audio.

3 Click the OK button.

To allow the viewer to listen to either channel on the DVD, you must put each
channel into a different audio track.

To make both audio channels available to the viewer:

1 After creating the movie using an asset that has SAP audio, drag the same

asset onto an empty audio track in the Timeline window.

2 When DVDit Pro tells you that you will replace the movie’s video, click the

Yes button.

The audio appears in the track. The Timeline window should now have
content in the video track and in two audio tracks.

Creating movies 81

3 Choose Timeline > Audio Options. The Audio Options dialog box appears.

4 For each audio track, choose a different channel from the Channel Options

list. You should also set the language code for each track; see “Setting audio
and subtitle languages” on page 90.

5 Click the OK button.

Changing the video aspect ratio

After creating a movie, you may notice that the video image is distorted. This
indicates that the video has the wrong display aspect ratio setting.

To correct the video aspect ratio:

1 Click the movie’s icon in the Project window if necessary. The video show

appear on the Preview window’s Title tab. The Attributes window should
display the Movie attributes.

2 Click the Movie tab in the Attributes window.

3 In the Display section, change the Aspect Ratio:

• If the video appears to be stretched horizontally, click the 4:3 option. This is

the aspect ratio of standard TV.

• If the video appears to be squashed horizontally, click the 16:9 option. This is

the aspect ratio of widescreen TV.

Note: This setting affects every movie that uses the same video asset.

82 Chapter 5, Creating and Editing Movie Titles

Changing the timecode format

NTSC-format video uses either drop-frame (DF) or non-drop-frame (NDF)
timecode, and in DVDit Pro you can set each movie to display the correct
timecode format in the Timeline window. This is generally only useful when
importing subtitle scripts, or when making precise edits near the end of a long
movie (for example, if you need to add chapter points or subtitles at specific
timecodes).

DVDit Pro cannot tell which type of timecode was used when the video was
recorded. You must play the original videotape and observe the timecode counter
at the one-minute mark. If the timecode changes from 00:00:59:29 to
00:01:00:00, the tape contains NDF timecode; if it jumps to 00:01:00:02, the tape
contains DF timecode.

Professional decks display NDF timecode with colons as separators (for example,
00:01:23:14); they usually display DF timecode with semicolons (00;01;23;14).
This is also how DVDit Pro displays timecode values.

To c hange a movie’s timecode format:

1 Click the movie’s icon in the Project window.

2 Choose Timeline > Timeline Options. The Timeline Options dialog box

appears.

3 Choose the appropriate format from the Display timecode in list, then click

the OK button. The timecode marks displayed in the Timeline window change
to the new format.

You can change the default timecode format for new movies and new projects in
the Edit preferences.

Creating movies 83

To c hange the default timecode format:

1 Choose File > Preferences. The Preferences dialog box appears.

2 Click the Edit tab.

3 Choose the desired format from the Default timecode display list.

4 Click the OK button.

Adjusting audio volume levels

You can adjust or mute the volume of individual audio tracks. You can also fade a
track’s audio in at the beginning and out at the end of the movie.

Note: You cannot change the volume level if the track contains multi-channel
Dolby Digital audio.

To c hange an audio track’s volume level:

1 In the Timeline window, right-click on the audio track and choose Volume

from the shortcut menu. The Audio Volume dialog box appears.

2 Drag the slider to increase or decrease the volume, or enter a percentage in

the Level field. Be careful when increasing the volume; clipping may occur if
the level is too high.

3 Click the OK button.

To f ade an audio track in or out:

• In the Timeline window, right-click on the audio track and choose from the

shortcut menu:

Fade in Fades the audio in at the start of the video track.

Fade out Fades the audio out at the end of the video track. This is useful

when the audio track is longer than the video and would otherwise cut off
abruptly when the video ends.

84 Chapter 5, Creating and Editing Movie Titles

To mute an audio track:

• In the Timeline window, right-click on the audio track and choose Mute from

the shortcut menu.

No sound will be heard when previewing or on the finished disc.

Adding subtitle tracks to movies

Subtitles are text strings that the viewer can choose to display over the video.
They are most commonly used for foreign-language dialogue, but may also be
used for director’s commentary, subtitles for children, and so on.

A movie can have up to 32 subtitle tracks. DVD players read all available subtitle
tracks simultaneously; viewers choose which track they wish to see.

DVDit Pro provides two methods for adding subtitles to movies:

• Import subtitle script files created in a text editor. This method is best if you

have hundreds or thousands of subtitles to import.

• Create subtitles within DVDit Pro. This method is better if you only need to

create a few subtitles.

Both methods let you specify the start timecode, end timecode, position on
screen, typeface, and size for each subtitle string. In addition, you can specify the
colors of individual subtitles within DVDit Pro. You may prefer to combine both
methods by first importing script files, then editing individual subtitles in DVDit
Pro.

Adding subtitle tracks to movies 85

See the following for details:

• “Importing subtitle script files” on page 85

• “Editing subtitle tracks” on page 86

• “Editing subtitle color sets” on page 89

• “Deleting subtitles” on page 90

Importing subtitle script files

A subtitle script is a text file containing the subtitle strings along with
instructions controlling their formatting and placement. See Appendix E, “Subtitle
Script Files” for details on creating valid subtitle script files.

To import a script file into a movie:

1 Click the movie’s icon in the Project window.

2 NTSC projects only: Check that the correct timecode format is displayed on

the ruler in the Timecode window. If the timecode format is wrong, the
imported subtitles will appear at the wrong time. See “Changing the timecode
format” on page 82 for more information.

3 Right-click on a subtitle track in the Timeline window and choose

Import Subtitles from the shortcut menu. The Open File dialog box appears.

4 Select the script file and click the OK button.

DVDit Pro imports the file contents. If it finds errors in the strings, it lists
them in the Import Subtitles dialog box. When DVDit Pro finishes importing
the subtitles, you can save the error report by clicking the “save” icon at the
top right corner of the error list.

5 Click the Close button when import finishes. The new subtitles appear in the

subtitle track.

86 Chapter 5, Creating and Editing Movie Titles

Editing subtitle tracks

Editing a subtitle track can include:

• Adding new subtitle strings

• Changing existing strings

• Changing a subtitle’s start or end frame

• Changing a subtitle’s position on the screen

• Changing a subtitle’s typeface, size, color, and other text attributes

The following steps cover all these options.

To edit a subtitle track:

1 Click the movie’s icon in the Project window.

2 In the Timeline window, double-click in the subtitle track you want to edit.

The Edit Subtitles window appears. Existing subtitles are listed below the
window’s preview area.

3 Edit the subtitles as desired. See:

• “Adding subtitle strings” on page 87

• “Editing subtitle strings” on page 87

• “Changing subtitle start times and durations” on page 87

• “Changing subtitle screen locations” on page 88

• “Changing subtitle text properties” on page 88

• “Deleting subtitle strings” on page 89

4 When you’re finished, click the OK button.

Adding subtitle tracks to movies 87

Adding subtitle strings

To add a subtitle string to the track:

1 Use the preview controls to locate the frame where you want the new

subtitle to start. You cannot add a subtitle if an existing subtitle occupies the
frame.

2 Click the Add button. A new blank entry appears in the subtitle list, with the

cursor positioned in the Subtitle Text box.

3 Type the subtitle text. Press the Enter key to insert line breaks in the text.

4 Press the Ctrl+Enter keys to “confirm” the text.

The default duration for new subtitles is set in the Edit preferences. See “DVDit
Pro Preferences” on page 181 for details.

Editing subtitle strings

To edit an existing subtitle string:

1 In the subtitle list, double-click the string. The text becomes editable.

2 Type new text, then press the Ctrl+Enter keys to “confirm” the text.

Changing subtitle start times and durations

To c hange a subtitle’s start or end frame:

1 In the subtitle list, double-click the subtitle’s In or Out value.

2 Enter a new timecode and press the Enter key.

DVDit Pro validates the timecode so that the subtitle does not overlap other
subtitles.

88 Chapter 5, Creating and Editing Movie Titles

Changing subtitle screen locations

To c hange a subtitle’s location on the screen:

1 In the subtitle list, click the subtitle. The subtitle text appears in the preview

area.

2 Click the text in the preview area. A box with resizing handles appears

around the text block.

3 Drag the box to the desired location, or click the Position buttons to move

the block horizontally and vertically.

4 Drag the handles to resize the box. The text within the box does not change

size, but the text flows to fit the new shape.

DVDit Pro provides “safe area” guides to help you keep the text within the visible
portion of the image. To display the guides, click the button at the top-right
corner of the preview area. It’s best to keep the text within the inner guide. See
““Safe area” guides” on page 116 for more information.

Changing subtitle text properties

To c hange a subtitle’s text properties and color:

1 In the subtitle list, click the subtitle. The text appears in the preview area.

2 Use the Text controls to set the typeface, size, alignment, outline thickness,

and other properties. San-serif fonts such as Arial are usually easier to read
onscreen than serif fonts such as Times.

3 To change the text color, choose one of the color sets in the Color and

Opacity section. Each color set provides different colors for the text body,
outline, and background.

See “Editing subtitle color sets” on page 89 for more information.

Adding subtitle tracks to movies 89

Deleting subtitle strings

To delete a subtitle string:

1 In the subtitle list, click the subtitle.

2 Click the Remove button.

See also “Deleting subtitles” on page 90.

Editing subtitle color sets

Subtitles are constructed from three elements:

• Text body (fill)

• Text outline (stroke)

• Text background

Each element can have a different color and opacity, letting you create subtitles
that stand out against any video.

DVDit Pro provides three color sets for subtitles. A color set specifies a color and
opacity level for each of the three text elements. Every subtitle is assigned to one
of the three color sets either by default or by selecting a set in the Edit Subtitles
window. Any change you make to a color set affects every subtitle in the project
that is assigned to that set.

To edit subtitle color sets:

1 Double-click in any subtitle track in the Timeline window. The Edit Subtitles

window appears.

2 Click the Edit button in the Color and Opacity section. The Edit Subtitle

Colors dialog box appears.

3 Choose a color set, then choose new colors or opacities for the three text

elements.

90 Chapter 5, Creating and Editing Movie Titles

4 Click the OK button to close the Edit Subtitle Colors dialog box.

5 Click the OK button to close the Edit Subtitles window.

Deleting subtitles

To delete a subtitle:

1 Click the movie’s icon in the Project window.

2 In the Timeline window, right-click on the subtitle (you may need to zoom in

to see individual subtitles) and choose Delete from the shortcut menu.

To clear a subtitle track:

1 Click the movie’s icon in the Project window.

2 In the Timeline window, right-click on any subtitle and choose

Delete All Subtitles from the shortcut menu.

Setting audio and subtitle languages

The DVD-Video format lets you indicate the language of each audio and subtitle
track in a movie with a two-letter code. DVD players use the codes to indicate
the track’s language to viewers. They also use the codes to select the viewer’s
preferred language track automatically, if that language is available.

In DVDit Pro, the language codes are displayed at the start of each track in the
Timeline window. By default, each track’s language code is set to “--”, meaning
the language is not set. You can set track’s language code even if there is no
content in the track.

Setting audio and subtitle languages 91

To set or change an audio or subtitle track’s language:

1 Click the movie’s icon in the Project window.

2 In the Timeline window, click the track’s existing code or “--” to display the

language list. The list is broken into alphabetical groups.

3 Choose the language.

Setting a track’s purpose (language code extension)

In addition to the language, the DVD-Video format lets you indicate a track’s
purpose using an optional language code extension. DVD players display the
language code extension to indicate the track’s content to viewers.

You can set a track’s language code extension even if there is no content in the
track. You must set the track’s language code before you can set the language
code extension.

To set or change a track’s language code extension:

1 Click the movie’s icon in the Project window.

2 For audio tracks, choose Timeline > Audio Options. For subtitle tracks, choose

Timeline > Subtitle Options. The Audio Options or Subtitle Options dialog box
appears.

These dialog boxes list the language codes and other options for every audio
or subtitle track. (You can set the track’s Language code here if you have not
done so already.)

3 Choose an option from the Language Code Extension list.

4 Click the OK button.

92 Chapter 5, Creating and Editing Movie Titles

Locking and unlocking tracks

You can “lock” audio and subtitle tracks to prevent accidental changes to them
while you are working on a movie.

To lock or unlock tracks:

1 Click the movie’s icon in the Project window.

2 In the Timeline window, click the padlock icon at the start of the tracks you

want to lock or unlock.

Note: You can trim a movie even if it has locked tracks.

Previewing movies

DVDit Pro provides two ways to check your work. You can simulate the entire
project, viewing it as it will appear on the finished disc; you can also preview
individual movies.

See Chapter 9, “Testing Playback” for more information about simulation.

To preview a movie in DVDit Pro:

1 Double-click the movie’s icon in the Project window. The movie appears in

the Preview window.

2 Use the Preview window controls to play the movie. See “Title tab” on

page 29 for a description of the controls.

See also:

• “Previewing movies with multiple audio and subtitle tracks” on page 93

• “Saving a video frame as an image file” on page 94

Previewing movies 93

Previewing movies with multiple audio and subtitle tracks

When playing a movie with multiple audio or subtitle tracks on a DVD, the
viewer hears only one audio track and can display one subtitle track, but can
switch tracks almost instantly. When previewing movies in DVDit Pro, you also
hear one audio track and can display one subtitle track. You switch tracks while
previewing by using the solo buttons.

The solo button is displayed at the start of the track in the Timeline window. It
indicates which track is currently playing:

To switch to a different track:

• Click a different Solo button in the Timeline window. DVDit Pro switches to

the selected track while the movie continues playing.

94 Chapter 5, Creating and Editing Movie Titles

Saving a video frame as an image file

While previewing a movie, you can export any frame from the video as an image
file that you can then edit in a graphics application or import into DVDit Pro.

To save the frame currently displayed in the Preview window:

1 Click the Grab Frame (camera) button at the end of the preview controls.

2 In the Save Picture As dialog box, enter a name for the image, choose a file

type, and click the Save button. By default, DVDit Pro saves images in your
“My Pictures” folder.

Note: DVDit Pro does not import saved image files automatically.

Trimming movies

Unwanted material can be trimmed easily from the beginning and end of a movie
with no effect on the imported source files. You trim movies in the Preview
window, and you can also see the effect of trimming in the Timeline window.
Trimming affects all tracks simultaneously; tracks are trimmed even if they are
locked or empty.

To trim a movie:

1 Double-click the movie’s icon in the Project window. The movie appears in

the Preview window.

2 To trim the beginning of the movie, do one of the following:

• Drag the green Start Trim Point marker to the desired position on the Preview

window’s timeline.

• Enter a timecode in the In Point box. The In Point marker jumps to the frame

at that timecode.

Trimming movies 95

3 To trim the end of the movie, do one of the following:

• Drag the red End Trim Point marker to the desired position on the Preview

window’s timeline.

• Enter a timecode in the Out Point box. The Out Point marker jumps to the

frame at that timecode.

As you trim a movie, its video, audio, and subtitle tracks become shorter in the
Timeline window. You can change the trim points or restore trimmed material as
often as necessary.

See also:

• “Offsetting audio and subtitle tracks” on page 96

• “Effect of trimming on chapter points” on page 104.

To c hange a trim point, do one of the following:

• Drag the trim point marker you wish to edit to a new position on the Preview

window’s timeline.

• Enter a new timecode in the In Point or Out Point box.

To r estore material trimmed from the start of the movie:

• Drag the green Start Trim Point marker to the beginning of the Preview

window’s timeline, or enter 00:00:00:00 in the In Point box.

To r estore material trimmed from the end of the movie:

• Drag the red End Trim Point marker to the end of the Preview window’s

timeline.

To r estore all the material trimmed from the movie:

• Choose Timeline > Delete Trim Points. This resets the In Point and Out Point

to the beginning and end of the movie timeline.

96 Chapter 5, Creating and Editing Movie Titles

Offsetting audio and subtitle tracks

Normally the video, audio, and subtitle tracks in a movie all start at the same
time. Use an offset to change the starting point of audio or subtitle tracks relative
to the video. For example, you can offset audio tracks to correct video/audio
sync problems, providing the video and audio are out of sync by a constant
amount throughout the movie. Or you can offset a subtitle track containing
subtitles imported from a script file, if all the timecodes in the script are off by a
constant amount.

You can create an offset even if the track contains no content. When you add
content to the track, the audio or subtitles take on the offset automatically.

To offset individual audio or subtitle tracks:

1 Double-click the movie’s icon in the Project window. The movie appears in

the Preview window.

2 In the Timeline window, click the Solo button for the track you want to offset

so that you can hear the audio or see the subtitles. See “Previewing movies
with multiple audio and subtitle tracks” on page 93 for details.

3 Start playing the movie using the Preview window’s controls.

4 Choose Timeline > Audio Options or Timeline > Subtitle Options, depending

on the kind of track you want to offset.

The Audio Options or Subtitle Options dialog box appears. Both dialog boxes
contain the same offset controls.

5 Set the Offset for the track you want to change by either entering a timecode

value or clicking and holding on the spinbox controls:

• To move the track forward relative to the video (effectively trimming the

beginning of the audio or subtitle track) set the Offset to a negative value.

Offsetting audio and subtitle tracks 97

• To make the track begin later, set the Offset to a positive value.

• To remove an existing offset, set the Offset to 00:00:00:00.

6 Click the Apply button to make the change without closing the dialog box.

This lets you see or hear the effect of the change and make further
adjustments without having to reopen the dialog box.

7 When you’re satisfied, click the OK button.

To offset some or all audio or subtitle tracks by the same amount:

1 Double-click the movie’s icon in the Project window. The movie appears in

the Preview window.

2 If you want to offset only some tracks, lock the tracks you do not want to

change in the Timeline window. See “Locking and unlocking tracks” on
page 92 for details.

3 In the Timeline window, click the Solo button for one of the tracks that you

want to offset so that you can hear the audio or see the subtitles.

4 Start playing the movie using the Preview window’s controls.

5 Choose Timeline > Audio Options or Timeline > Subtitle Options, depending

on the kind of track you are offsetting. The Audio Options or Subtitle Options
dialog box appears.

6 Select the Link all tracks for editing checkbox.

7 Set the offset value for one of the tracks and click the Apply button. All

unlocked tracks take on the same offset.

8 When you’re satisfied, click the OK button.

98 Chapter 5, Creating and Editing Movie Titles

Offsets and trimming behavior

You can apply offsets before or after trimming a movie. The illustration below
shows the effects of trimming a movie and offsetting its audio track; the same
principle applies to subtitle tracks. The starting point of the movie is shown here
as a vertical line. The Timeline window does not display the portion of each track
that is to the left of the start point.

1
Video track

Audio track

2

3

4

1 No trim. No offset: The video and audio tracks start together and, in this

example, they finish together.

Creating and editing chapter points 99

2 Trimmed. No offset: The second set of bars shows the movie after the start

has been trimmed. The lighter area to the left of the start point represents the
trimmed audio and video.

3 Trimmed. Audio offset earlier: The audio track is given a negative offset. Even

more of the audio is trimmed, and the audio ends before the video.

4 Trimmed. Audio offset later: The audio track is given a positive offset. A

portion of the audio that had been trimmed is restored, and the audio track
now appears to be longer than the video track, when viewed in the Timeline
window. However, playback on the finished disc stops when the video ends,
so the end of the audio is effectively trimmed from the movie.

Creating and editing chapter points

Chapter points let viewers navigate to specific locations or scenes in a movie and
are one of the most important navigation tools available to DVD authors. You
create and edit chapter points in the Timeline window.

Each movie can contain up to 99 chapter points. This is the maximum allowed by
the DVD-Video format.

This section includes:

• “Adding chapter points manually” on page 100

• “Importing chapter point metadata from an Avid application” on page 101

• “Moving chapter points” on page 101

• “Naming chapter points” on page 102

• “Deleting chapter points” on page 104

• “Effect of trimming on chapter points” on page 104

100 Chapter 5, Creating and Editing Movie Titles

Adding chapter points manually

To add a chapter point to a movie:

1 Double-click the movie’s icon in the Project window.

2 In the Timeline window, do one of the following:

• Drag the playhead to the location where you want to create the chapter

point.

Playhead field

Playhead

• Enter the timecode where you want to add the chapter point in the box

above the timecode ruler. The playhead moves to this timecode.

3 Press the Insert key. A new chapter point is added at the playhead location.

Alternatively, right-click anywhere on the timecode ruler and choose Add Chapter
from the shortcut menu. A new chapter point is added at the point where you
clicked the timecode ruler.

Note: If the movie has an MPEG video track, DVDit Pro places chapter points at
the closest GOP boundary to the playhead location. This could be up to nine
frames from the playhead in an NTSC project or six frames in a PAL project,
depending on the GOP size.