Sonic Solutions SCENARIST User Manual

Download

USER GUIDE

™

SONIC

SCENARIST

Scenarist User Guide — Sonic Part Number 800177 Rev B (12/02)

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.

Sonic, the Sonic logo, sonic.com, AutoCadence, AutoDVD, cDVD, ConstantQ, DVD Presenter, DVD Producer, DVD Ready, DVD Studio, Edit-on-DVD, First in DVD, hDVD, OpenDVD, PlantDirect, PrePlay, SonicCare, Sonic Cinema, 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, and Sonic Solutions, are registered trademarks of Sonic Solutions.

Scenarist was developed using NeoAccess and NeoShare: © 1992-1996 NeoLogic Systems, Inc. The NeoAccess and NeoShare Software contained within this program are proprietary to NeoLogic Systems, Inc. and are licensed to Sonic Solutions, Inc. for distribution only for use in combination with the Sonic Solutions, Inc. software, Scenarist and ReelDVD. NeoLogic Systems, Inc. makes no warranties whatever, expressed or implied, regarding this product, including warranties with respect to its merchantability or its ﬁtness for any particular purpose.

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, and the Microsoft logo are registered trademarks of the Microsoft Corporation, Inc.

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

Photoshop is a registered trademark of Adobe Systems Inc.

TARGA is a trademark of Pinnacle Systems, Inc.

Key-Lok II is a trademark of Microcomputer Applications, 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

2 Installation

3 Workflow and Work Areas

About the Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Sonic on the Web. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Hard Drive Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Installing the CineMaster C3.0 Card. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Installing the Dongle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Installing the Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Authoring Workflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Scenarist Data Hierarchy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

The Scenarist Main Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

The Asset Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

The Information Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

The Property Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

iv Contents

Dockable Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

The Simulation Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

The Edit Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Simulation Window Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

4 Preparing Assets

Preparing Video Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Preparing Audio Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Preparing Still Image Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Preparing Subpicture Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Preparing Subtitle Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

The Bit Budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

5 Creating Scenarios

About Scenarios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

The Project Manager. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Creating Scenarios with the Project Wizard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Project Templates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Exporting Scenarios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

Importing Scenarios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

6 Registering Assets

Creating Asset Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

Registering Assets in the Data Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Registering Assets in the Track and Scenario Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Objects Created When Registering Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

Using Place Holders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

7 Creating Video and Still Tracks

Creating Track Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Creating Video Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

Adding Scenes to Video Tracks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

Adding Angles to Video Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Creating Slide and Still Show Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Showing and Hiding Track Streams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Using Track Stream Defaults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

8 Adding Subtitles and Closed Captioning

Subtitles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

Closed Captioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

9 Creating Menu Tracks

About Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

Creating Menu Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

16:9 Menu Tracks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

Button Highlights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

Button Links. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Auto Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

Forced Selected . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

Forced Activated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

Contents v

10 Subpicture Colors and Effects

Subpicture Color Mapping. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

Subpicture Color Palettes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

Subpicture Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154

Subpicture Stops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

11 Authoring in the Scenario Editor

Authoring in the Scenario Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162

VTS and Title Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167

Title PGCs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

Language Folders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176

Menu PGCs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

The First PGC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181

Organizing the Authoring Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183

vi Contents

12 PGC Links and Jump Commands

PGC Link Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190

Jump Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195

Showing and Hiding PGC and Command Links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202

13 Navigation Commands

About Navigation Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204

Command Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

Command Types. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

Building Type 1, Type 2, and Type 3 Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207

14 Navigation Parameters

About Navigation Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216

System Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217

General Parameters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219

Set Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221

15 Bitwise Compares

Overview of Bitwise Compares . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224

Creating a Bitwise Compare Routine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225

Testing the Bitwise Compare Routine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229

16 Copy Protection and Premastering

Copy Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234

Parental Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238

Regional Codes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239

File Systems and Filenames. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240

Jacket Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242

Text Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244

Dual-Layer Discs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245

Using the Layout Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248

The Template Wizard

About the Template Wizard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258

The Loop Wizard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260

The Branch Wizard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263

AC-3 Encoding

What is Dolby Digital Audio? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268

The AC-3 Encoder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .269

AC-3 Parameter Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274

Batch AC-3 Encoding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277

Karaoke Titles

About Karaoke. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280

Creating a Karaoke Title. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280

Karaoke Commands (SPRM11) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .282

Video Standards and DVD Regions

Contents vii

Television Video Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286

DVD Regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286

Video Standards and DVD Regions for Countries/Territories. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287

Digital Compression

Digital Video Components. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300

Factors Affecting Video Compression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303

MPEG Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305

Glossary

Index

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329

viii Contents

Introduction

Welcome to Sonic Scenarist, the standard for professional DVD production. Scenarist’s powerful interface gives you full access to the DVD speciﬁcation for high-end feature ﬁlm and commercial DVD production.

In addition to power, Scenarist provides speed and efﬁciency. Reusable project templates and ﬂexible architecture ensure maximum throughput for your facility. Scenarist’s ﬂexibility can save valuable time and money on every project.

2 Chapter 1, Introduction

About the Documentation

Sonic Scenarist includes the following documentation:

Scenarist User Guide

hardware, as well as how to use Scenarist to author DVD discs. The guide includes project planning, asset preparation and importing, building and authoring projects, prooﬁng, and writing to disc.

Release Notes

issues (which will be resolved in subsequent releases). Please read it carefully to ﬁnd out what’s new.

Sonic on the Web

Sonic’s Web site (www.sonic.com) contains a wealth of information about Sonic products and DVD authoring. technology, are available at:

http://www.sonic.com/support/whitepapers.htm

If you have speciﬁc questions about using Scenarist that aren’t answered by the documentation, a

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

Documents how to install and conﬁgure the Scenarist software and

Documents changes from previous versions of Scenarist as well as known

White Papers

Support Knowledgebase

, providing additional background on Sonic products and

is available at:

Sonic continually tests and qualiﬁes computer systems and peripherals for use Scenarist. For the latest at:

Conﬁguration Guide

http://www.sonic.com/products/scenarist

on supported systems and devices, visit the Sonic Web site

Installation

This chapter documents system requirements and installation for Scenarist. It includes the following topics:

•

“System Requirements” on page 4

“Hard Drive Requirements” on page 4

“Installing the CineMaster C3.0 Card” on page 5

“Installing the Dongle” on page 7

“Installing the Software” on page 7

4 Chapter 2, Installation

System Requirements

To use Scenarist, you must have a compatible computer with the appropriate peripherals. For the latest list of recommended CPUs and peripherals, refer to the

Conﬁguration Guide

http://www.sonic.com/products/scenarist/conﬁg.asp

Hard Drive Requirements

Storage requirements for a DVD project are a minimum of twice the size of the disc image plus an additional 4.7 GB for the temporary Root and Mux directories. This equals more than 14 GB for of a single-sided, single-layer disc, and almost 26 GB for a single-sided, dual-layer disc.

Scenarist

, available from the Sonic Web site at:

Table 1:

Disc Type Delete Root/Mux

Single-Sided Single Layer

Single-Sided Dual Layer

Required hard drive space when writing disc images

Directories

When Done?

Yes 4.7 GB 4.7 GB (temp) 4.7 GB 14 GB

No 4.7 GB 4.7 GB 4.7 GB 4.7 GB 18 GB

Yes 8.5 GB 8.5 GB (temp) 8.5 GB 26 GB

No 8.5 GB 8.5 GB 8.5 GB 8.5 GB 34 GB

Asset

Files

Mux

File System Considerations

Because the FAT 16 and FAT 32 ﬁle systems do not support ﬁles larger than 2 GB, you must use NTFS to format any hard drives that will hold media assets and disc images.

Installing the CineMaster C3.0 Card

Before installing the Scenarist software, ﬁrst install the CineMaster C3.0 Decoder card, along with the CineMaster software included on the Scenarist Installation disc.

To Install the CineMaster C3.0 card:

Shut down and power off your computer. Disconnect the power cord.

Open the computer (following the manufacturer’s instructions) and locate any available PCI expansion slot.

Remove the slot cover screw and slot cover if necessary.

6 Chapter 2, Installation

The ﬁrst time you restart after installing the CineMaster card, the Windows Hardware Installation wizard launches to install the native drivers.

To install the required CineMaster C3.0 software:

Install the CineMaster card (handle the card by its edges; don’t touch the gold connectors or on-board components). Align the card’s connector ﬁngers with the PCI slot and press down until the card is seated properly.

Secure the card with the slot cover screw.

Close the computer and attach the power cord.

Power up the computer.

From the Windows Start menu, choose Settings > Control Panel.

In the Control Panel window, double-click the System icon.

In the System control panel, click the Hardware tab and then click Device Manager.

In the Device Manager List, Right-click the CineMaster 3.0 Main driver and choose Properties from the pop-up menu.

Click the Driver tab, then click Update Driver.

Insert the Scenarist Installation disc and follow the on-screen instructions to install the CineMaster C3.0 driver from the disc.

Install the CineMaster DVD Player software by running the Setup program on the Scenarist Installation disc (in the CineMaster Player folder). Follow the on-screen instructions.

Installing the Dongle

Installing the Dongle 7

The included Scenarist must receive these algorithms from the dongle or it will not run.

To install the dongle:

Power down your computer.

Remove the printer cable (if applicable) from the parallel port.

Attach the dongle to the parallel port and attach the printer cable (if applicable) to the dongle.

Turn on your computer.

Note:

with Scenarist. It is not possible to connect two Sonic dongles to your computer’s parallel port. To get a Scenarist Activator Code that will work with your existing dongle, contact Sonic Support (http://support.sonic.com/).

dongle

supplies preset algorithms in response to requests from Scenarist.

If you have an existing Sonic dongle connected to your parallel port, you can use it

Installing the Software

This section documents how to install your Scenarist software. It includes the following topics:

•

“Logging On in Administrator Mode” on page 8

•

“Uninstalling an Earlier Version of Scenarist” on page 8

•

“Installing and Activating Scenarist” on page 9

8 Chapter 2, Installation

Logging On in Administrator Mode

The ﬁrst step is to log on to your Windows computer with a User name that is a member of your computer’s local Administrators group.

To log on to your computer in Administrator mode:

If you are upgrading from a previous version of Scenarist, proceed to “Uninstalling an Earlier Version of Scenarist” on page 8. Otherwise, skip directly to “Installing and Activating Scenarist” on page 9.

Uninstalling an Earlier Version of Scenarist

Open the Windows Logon Information window and enter “Administrator” for the User name.

Enter your Password and select your Domain name (the name of your local computer).

Click OK to log on to your computer.

Before you install Scenarist, ﬁrst uninstall any existing versions of the software.

To uninstall an earlier version of Scenarist:

From the Windows Start menu, choose Settings > Control Panel. The Control Panel window opens.

Double-click the Add/Remove Programs icon.

Select Scenarist and click Change/Remove.

Follow the on-screen instructions.

When the removal process is complete, proceed to “Installing and Activating Scenarist” on page 9.

Installing the Software 9

Installing and Activating Scenarist

If upgrading from an earlier version of Scenarist, make sure to complete the steps in “Uninstalling an Earlier Version of Scenarist” on page 8, then proceed to the following steps.

To install and activate Scenarist:

Insert the Scenarist Installation disc and run the Setup program.

Follow the on-screen instructions.

When prompted, restart your computer.

From the Windows Start menu, choose Programs > Sonic > Scenarist > Scenarist.

When prompted, enter the Activator Code. Your Activator Code is sent to you by Sonic Solutions (or your Sonic reseller) after your Scenarist registration information is received. The Activator Code is case sensitive and must be entered as such.

If you receive an error message stating that the Activator Code is invalid or the dongle is missing, please check that you have entered the code correctly and that the parallel port on your computer is enabled and working. To check this, connect a parallel printer or other device to the port and make sure the device can actually receive output from your computer through the parallel port.

10 Chapter 2, Installation

Workﬂow and Work Areas

This chapter documents the basic workﬂow for authoring DVD-Video discs in Scenarist and provides an overview of the different work areas in Scenarist. It includes the following topics:

•

“Authoring Workﬂow” on page 12

•

“Scenarist Data Hierarchy” on page 13

•

“The Scenarist Main Window” on page 14

•

“The Asset Manager” on page 25

•

“The Information Window” on page 26

•

“The Property Browser” on page 27

•

“Dockable Windows” on page 29

•

“The Simulation Window” on page 31

•

“The Edit Window” on page 33

•

“Simulation Window Tools” on page 34

12 Chapter 3, Workﬂow and Work Areas

Authoring Workﬂow

The workﬂow for authoring a DVD-Video disc in Scenarist mirrors the layout of work areas in Scenarist (Data Editor, Track Editor, Scenario Editor, and Layout Editor). This workﬂow involves registering prepared assets, assembling the assets into tracks, constructing a scenario with PGCs and navigation commands, and laying out the project for output to disc.

Data

Editor

• Video

• Audio

• Sill images

• Subpictures

• Subtitles

Track Editor

Simulation Window

Assemble Tracks

• Title tracks

• Menu tracks

• Subtitles

• Button highlights

Tracks Scenario DLT/DiscAssets

Scenario Editor

Build Scenario

• First Play

• VMG menus

• VTS menus

• Title tracks

• Navigation

commands

Layout

Editor

Output Project

• Proof/test project

• Copy protection

• PVD/Disc settings

• Layer Break

• Output disc

image

Workﬂow for authoring in Scenarist

Authoring a DVD title in Scenarist includes the following basic steps:

Prepare any assets required for the project, including video, audio, still images, subpictures, and subtitles.

In Scenarist, register assets by dragging them from Windows Explorer to the Data Editor. Organize the assets with asset folders as desired.

Create tracks by dragging video and still image assets from the Asset Manager to the Track Editor. Add audio and subpicture streams by dragging assets to the Track Editor timeline.

Add subtitles to video tracks in the Simulation window, or import them with a subtitle script.

Add button highlights to menu tracks in the Simulation window.

Create PGCs by dragging tracks from the Asset Manager to language and title folders in the Scenario Editor.

7 Add navigation commands to set playback order, loop menus, and link menu buttons.

8 Proof the project in the Simulation window. Check the playback order for the project’s

content, test remote control interaction, navigate each of the button highlights, and verify link destinations.

9 Add copy protection and parental and region management; enter the PVD and Disc

Settings; and, if creating a dual-layer disc, set the Layer Break.

10 Output the disc image to DVD-R or DLT tape.

Scenarist Data Hierarchy

Data objects in Scenarist serve as building blocks for other objects. Disc images are built from an arrangement of PGCs, which are created from tracks, which are created from assets, which point to media ﬁles on a local hard drive.

Disc Image

Scenarist Data Hierarchy 13

PGCs

Tracks

Assets

Media Files

Scenarist data hierarchy

14 Chapter 3, Workﬂow and Work Areas

The data hierarchy in Scenarist requires that objects referenced by other objects remain intact. For example, Scenarist will not let you delete an asset that is being used by a track.

Note: If you rename, move, or delete media ﬁles referenced by assets, you will not be able to simulate or build the project. However, as long as the ﬁle still exists, you can redeﬁne the asset’s assigned ﬁle in the Property Browser (in the File ﬁeld).

The Scenarist Main Window

The Scenarist main window has four tabs that access the main work areas: Data Editor, Track Editor, Scenario Editor, and Layout Editor. Depending on which tab is selected, the available items in the menus and Tools Bar change. In addition to these four work areas, there are three additional windows (Asset Manager, Information window, and Property Browser) that can be displayed either at the bottom of the Scenarist main window or as separate windows when undocked.

This section includes the following topics:

• “The Data Editor” on page 15

• “The Track Editor” on page 18

• “The Scenario Editor” on page 21

• “The Layout Editor” on page 24

The Scenarist Main Window 15

The Data Editor

The Data Editor displays the scenario’s assets and place holders. The Data Editor is comprised of two sections: the directory area on the left (which can be sorted by type or name), and the work area on the right. To manage large scenarios with many assets, you can use asset folders (which can be collapsed and expanded) to organize the assets. When selecting an asset folder in the directory area, its contents are displayed in the work area, as either large icons or a list. Assets dragged from Windows Explorer to the Data Editor are automatically registered and added to the scenario.

Tools Bar

Directory area

Data Editor

Work area

16 Chapter 3, Workﬂow and Work Areas

To sort the Data Editor directory area:

• To sort the contents of an asset folder by ﬁle type, Right-click the folder in the directory

area and choose Sort By Type from the pop-up menu.

• To sort the contents of an asset folder by ﬁle name, Right-click the folder in the directory

area and choose Sort By Name from the pop-up menu.

To view the Data Editor work area as a list with details:

1 Select View > Details. The assets are displayed in a list with columns for Name, Type, and

File Path.

2 To return to displaying assets as icons, select View > Large Icons.

Data Editor Tools

The following tools are active when the Data Editor is selected:

The Scenarist Main Window 17

Property

Browser

Asset

Manager

Simulation

Window

Information

Window

Default

Settings

Erase

Settings

Project

New

Folder

Multi-File

Data

New

Data

Encode

Replace

Place Holder

Encode

List

New Place

Holder

Tools Bar, Data Editor

Erase Erases the selected asset folder, asset, or place holder.

Default Settings Opens the Default Settings dialog.

Project Settings Displays Project Settings in the Property Browser, which include Jacket,

Text Data, Layout, Disc, and Encryption Information.

New Folder Adds a new asset folder.

New Data Opens a dialog where you can select an asset for registration.

Multi-File Data Opens a dialog where you can register a single asset from multiple ﬁles. For

more information, see “Registering Assets with the New Multi-File Data Command” on page 91.

New Place Holder Adds a new place holder that can be used while authoring and later

replaced by an asset. For more information, see “Adding New Place Holders” on page 95.

Encode List Generates an encode list that describes the encoding parameters for the

project’s place holders. For more information, see “Creating an Encode List” on page 98.

Replace Place Holder Replaces place holders with assets. For more information, see

“Replacing Place Holders with Assets” on page 99.

18 Chapter 3, Workﬂow and Work Areas

The Track Editor

The Track Editor is where you create and edit title tracks and menu tracks. The Track Editor is comprised of two sections: the directory area on the left (which can be sorted by type or name), and the work area on the right. To manage large scenarios with many tracks, you can use track folders (which can be collapsed and expanded) to organize the tracks. When selecting a track folder in the directory area, its contents are displayed in the work area; when selecting a track in the directory area, its streams are displayed in a timeline (which can be zoomed) in the work area.

Tools Bar

Directory area

Track Editor

Timeline area

Tracks are created by dragging assets from the Asset Manager to a track folder in Track Editor directory area. Streams are added to tracks by dragging assets from the Asset Manager to the track’s timeline. Streams can also be copied and pasted between tracks.

The Scenarist Main Window 19

To sort the Track Editor directory area:

• To sort the contents of a track folder by ﬁle type, Right-click the folder in the directory

area and choose Sort By Type from the pop-up menu.

• To sort the contents of a track folder by ﬁle name, Right-click the folder in the directory

area and choose Sort By Name from the pop-up menu.

To zoom the Track Editor timeline to any of 10 zoom levels:

• To zoom in, choose View > Zoom In, or click the Zoom In button in the Tools Bar.

• To zoom out, choose View > Zoom Out, or click the Zoom Out button in the Tools Bar.

Track Editor Tools

The following tools are active when the Track Editor is selected:

Zoom

Out

Zoom

Import

Subtitle

Multiplex

Track

New

Scene

New

Angle

New Audio

Erase

Subpicture

Stream

New

Time

Code

Show

Main

Stream

Show

Stories

Show Audio

Streams

Subpicture

Streams

Show

Highlight

Streams

Show

Tools Bar, Track Editor

Erase Erases the selected track folder, track, stream, scene, or slide image.

New

Folder

Verify Track

Color

Palette

20 Chapter 3, Workﬂow and Work Areas

Time Code Displays the current location of the Timeline indicator. You can change the

location of the Timeline indicator by entering a new location in the Time Code ﬁeld or by clicking its Up/Down arrows.

Zoom In Zooms the timeline display to any of 10 zoom levels.

Zoom Out Zooms out the timeline display to any of 10 zoom levels.

New Folder Adds a new track folder.

New Scene Adds a new scene to the selected track at the Timeline indicator location.

New Angle Adds a new angle stream to the selected track.

New Audio Stream Adds a new audio stream to the selected track.

New Subpicture Stream Adds a new subpicture stream to the selected track.

Show Main Stream Shows and hides the main video or still stream.

Show Angles Shows and hides angle streams.

Show Audio Streams Shows and hides audio streams.

Show Subpicture Streams Shows and hides subpicture streams.

Show Highlight Streams Shows and hides button highlight streams.

Multiplex Track Multiplexes the selected track (required when simulating tracks in Hardware

Simulation mode).

Import Subtitle Opens the Subtitle Import dialog, where you can import subtitles to the

selected track. For more information, see “Importing Subtitles” on page 119.

Color Palette Opens the Color Palette Editor, where you can create and edit subpicture color

palettes. For more information, see “Subpicture Color Palettes” on page 151.

Verify Track Veriﬁes whether the track and its assets are DVD compliant. Veriﬁcation results

appear in the Information window in the General tab.

The Scenarist Main Window 21

The Scenario Editor

The Scenario Editor is where you assemble the disc’s structure and navigational elements, determining how the content will be presented and how the viewer will interact with it. The Scenario Editor is comprised of two sections: the directory area on the left and the authoring area on the right (which can be zoomed). Tracks are dragged from the Asset Manager to language and title folders in the authoring area to create PGCs, which can be arranged and linked to affect navigation.

Tools Bar

Directory area

Scenario Editor

Authoring area

Selecting an item in the directory area automatically selects and scrolls to the item in the authoring area. Folders and icons in the authoring area can be collapsed, aligned, and arranged. For more information, see “Organizing the Authoring Area” on page 183.

22 Chapter 3, Workﬂow and Work Areas

To zoom the Scenario Editor authoring area to one of two zoom levels:

• To zoom in, choose View > Zoom In, or click the Zoom In button in the Tools Bar.

• To zoom out, choose View > Zoom Out, or click the Zoom Out button in the Tools Bar.

Scenario Editor Tools

The following tools are active when the Scenario Editor is selected:

Show

Next PGC

Links

Show Go Up

Show

PGC Links

Show

Command

Links

PGC Links

Parental

Editor

Sort

Tracks

Erase

Zoom

Out

Select

PGC Link

Next PGC

Link

Command

Go Up

PGC Link

Tools Bar, Scenario Editor

Erase Erases the selected item.

Zoom In Zooms the authoring area, so the ﬂags for PGC icons are visible.

Zoom Out Zooms out the authoring area, so more folders and PGCs are visible.

Select Selects and moves domain folders and PGC icons.

Previous PGC Link Creates a link that returns play to a PGC that played immediately before

the source PGC. The Previous PGC link is executed when the viewer presses PREV on the remote control.

The Scenarist Main Window 23

Next PGC Link Creates a link that advances play to a PGC that plays immediately after the

source PGC. The Next PGC link is executed when the viewer presses NEXT on the remote control.

Go Up PGC Link Creates a link that returns play to an earlier PGC, usually at the beginning of

the sequence or at the top of the current major branch. The Go Up PGC link is executed when the viewer presses RETURN on the remote control

Link Command Creates Pre, Post, Cell, and button links by dragging between PGC icons.

Show Previous PGC Links Shows and hides the red Previous PGC links.

Show Next PGC Links Shows and hides the blue Next PGC links.

Show Go Up PGC Links Shows and hides the green Go Up PGC links.

Show Command Links Shows and hides the pink Command links.

Sort Tracks Opens the Sort Tracks dialog, where you can set the Layer Break and Track Path

for dual-layer discs. For more information, see “Dual-Layer Discs” on page 245.

Parental Editor Opens the Parental Editor dialog, where you can set the Parental Level for

the disc’s content. For more information, see “Parental Levels” on page 238.

24 Chapter 3, Workﬂow and Work Areas

The Layout Editor

The Layout Editor is where you lay out a disc image and premaster it to a DVD-R disc, DLT tape, or Exabyte tape. The Layout Editor is comprised of two sections: a directory area on the left that contains Project Information folders, and a work area on the right that contains three sections, where you choose the disc format, set the Target directories, and specify the output options. For more information, see “Using the Layout Editor” on page 248.

Layout Editor

The Asset Manager

The Asset Manager, which can be docked in the main window or displayed as a separate window, displays the project’s data assets and tracks. It has two tabs for displaying either the data assets from the Data Editor or the tracks from the Track Editor. Folders and tracks in the Asset Manager can be collapsed or expanded by clicking their Plus (+) or Minus (–) symbols.

Assets can be dragged from the Asset Manager to the Track Editor to create tracks or add streams. Tracks can be dragged from the Asset Manager to the Scenario Editor authoring area to create PGCs.

The Asset Manager 25

Asset Manager displaying tracks

To view the Asset Manager, do one of the following:

• Select View > Asset Manager.

• Click the Asset Manager button in the Tools Bar (so it becomes selected).

To hide the Asset Manager, do one of the following:

• Deselect View > Asset Manager.

• Click the Asset Manager button in the Tools Bar (so it becomes deselected).

• Right-click in the Asset Manager and choose Hide from the pop-up menu.

26 Chapter 3, Workﬂow and Work Areas

The Information Window

The Information window, which can be docked in the main window or displayed as a separate window, displays status and error messages for a wide range of Scenarist operations. There are ﬁve tabs in the Information window for displaying the following message types:

General Displays messages about startup, asset registration, and authoring.

Build Displays messages about multiplexing and layout operations.

Simulation Displays messages during Simulation mode about PGCs that are playing and

navigation commands that are executed.

Import Displays messages when importing scenario scripts.

Export Displays messages when exporting scenario scripts.

Information window displaying General messages

To view the Information window, do one of the following:

• Select View > Information Window.

• Click the Information Window button in the Tools Bar (so it becomes selected).

To hide the Information window, do one of the following:

• Deselect View > Information Window.

• Click the Information Window button in the Tools Bar (so it becomes deselected).

• Right-click in the Information window and choose Hide from the pop-up menu.

The Property Browser

The Property Browser, which can be docked in the main window or displayed as a separate window, displays information and editable properties for the currently selected asset, track, stream, PGC, language or title folder. You can navigate within the Property Browser to the available properties by double-clicking ﬁelds that have a folder icon, or by clicking the Parent folder icon in the upper right. You can also lock the Property Browser so its display does not change when you select a different item.

The Property Browser 27

Property Browser displaying movie scene properties

To view the Property Browser, do one of the following:

• Select View > Property Browser.

• Click the Property Browser button in the Tools Bar (so it becomes selected).

28 Chapter 3, Workﬂow and Work Areas

To hide the Property Browser, do one of the following:

• Deselect View > Property Browser.

• Click the Property Browser button in the Tools Bar (so it becomes deselected).

• Right-click in the Property Browser and choose Hide from the pop-up menu.

To lock the Property Browser:

1 Click the Pushpin button in the upper left of the window, so it becomes selected. The

window becomes locked and will not change its display when a new object is selected.

2 To unlock the window, click the Pushpin button again, so it becomes deselected.

Dockable Windows

The Asset Manager, Property Browser, Information window, and Tools Bar can be docked in the main Scenarist window, or they can be undocked and placed anywhere on-screen as a separate window. The Simulation window’s dockable windows include the Edit window and all of the tools.

Dockable Windows 29

Grab

handle

Scenario Editor with docked and undocked windows

Asset Manager,

docked

Property Browser,

undocked

Docked windows can be resized and placed as desired to conﬁgure a customized work area. When docked, dockable windows have grab handles on the left side that can be dragged to move the window, or double-clicked to temporarily undock the window.

This section includes the following topics:

• “Undocking a Window” on page 30

• “Docking a Window” on page 30

• “Adjusting the Placement of Docked Windows” on page 30

30 Chapter 3, Workﬂow and Work Areas

Undocking a Window

To undock a window, do one of the following:

• Right-click in the window you want to undock and deselect Allow Docking from the

pop-up menu. The window becomes undocked and can be placed anywhere on-screen.

Note: You can also undock a window by double-clicking its titlebar or by dragging the window, by its grab handle, from the parent window. However, in doing so the Allow Docking option remains enabled for the window and moving it near its parent window will cause the window to become docked.

Docking a Window

To dock a window:

1 Right-click in the window you want to dock and select Allow Docking from the pop-up

menu.

2 Do one of the following:

• Double-click the titlebar for the window you want to dock.

• Drag the window you want to dock to its parent window, so its outline appears at the

desired location, and release the mouse button.

Adjusting the Placement of Docked Windows

To adjust the placement of a docked window:

• Drag the grab handle for the window you want to move so its outline appears at the

desired location, then release the mouse button.

The Simulation Window

The Simulation window is where you can play individual tracks to audition audio and video assets and tracks, or play the entire project to check navigation and project ﬂow. Simulation mode can use either software or hardware emulation to play projects. Software simulation performance depends on the CPU speed of your computer. Real-time hardware simulation requires a supported decoder card.

The Simulation Window 31

Tools

Preview area

Simulation window

Edit window

32 Chapter 3, Workﬂow and Work Areas

In Simulation mode, tracks play back in the Simulation window’s preview area, which can be set displayed at Half Size or normal size. In Design mode, the preview area serves as a workspace for adding and editing button highlights, button links, subpicture effects, subtitle text, and navigation commands.

The Simulation window has a number of tools that can be docked above the preview area, as well as an Edit window (which displays properties for buttons, subpictures, PGC and navigation commands) that can be docked below the preview area.

To view the Simulation window, do one of the following:

• In the Scenarist main window, select View > Simulation Window.

• Click the Simulation Window button in the Tools Bar (so it becomes selected).

To hide the Simulation window, do one of the following:

• In the Scenarist main window, deselect View > Simulation Window.

• Click the Asset Information Window in the Tools Bar (so it becomes deselected).

• In the Simulation window, choose File > Close.

To set the preview area to Half Size:

1 Select Mode > Half Size, or click the Half Size button in Mode palette (so it becomes

selected).

2 To return the Preview area to normal display, deselect Mode > Half Size, or click the Half

Size button (so it becomes deselected).

The Edit Window

The Edit window, which can be docked in the Simulation window or displayed as a separate window, displays information and editable properties for the currently selected asset, track, stream, PGC, language or title folder.

The available properties, which vary depending on the selected item, can be navigated by clicking the appropriate tab at the top of the Edit window. Some of the more common uses for the Edit window include adding and editing navigation commands, mapping subpicture colors, and inserting subpicture effects.

The Edit Window 33

Edit window displaying button commands

To view the Edit window:

• In the Simulation window, select View > Edit.

To hide the Edit window,:

• In the Simulation window, deselect View > Edit.

34 Chapter 3, Workﬂow and Work Areas

Edit

Simulation Window Tools

The Simulation window tools are documented in the following sections:

• “Mode Tools” on page 34

• “Player Settings” on page 36

• “Design Tools in Design Mode (Display Color)” on page 37

• “Design Tools in Design Mode (Edit Subtitle Text)” on page 38

• “Design Tools in Simulation Mode” on page 38

• “Clock Tools” on page 39

• “Alignment Tools” on page 40

Mode Tools

The Mode tools set various display options and modes for the Simulation window, including whether it is in Simulation mode or Design mode.

Always

on Top

Erase

Mode Bar

Half

Size

Design

Mode

Software

Simulation

Hardware

Simulation

Preview

Mode

Normal

Letterbox

Panscan

Wide

Subtitle

Text

Original

Subpicture

Output

Display

Color

Output

Encode

Simulation Window Tools 35

Erase Erases the selected item.

Always On Top Keeps the Simulation window on top and visible, even when working in

other applications.

Half Size Sets the Simulation window preview area to Half Size.

Design Mode Mode for creating and editing button highlights, button links, subpicture

effects, subtitle text, and navigation commands.

Software Simulation Provides playback of assets, tracks, or the entire project, with software

emulation, using your computer’s CPU.

Hardware Simulation Provides playback of assets, tracks, or the entire project, with

hardware emulation, using the CineMaster Decoder card. Tracks must be multiplexed before they can be played with Hardware Simulation.

Preview Mode Provides hardware emulation with real-time multiplexing for assets, tracks, or

the entire project.

Normal Sets the Simulation window preview area to the 4:3 aspect ratio.

Letterbox Sets the Simulation window preview area to the 4:3 letterbox aspect ratio.

Pan Scan Sets the Simulation window preview area to the 4:3 pan and scan aspect ratio.

Wide Sets the Simulation window preview area to the 16:9 anamorphic widescreen aspect

ratio.

Edit Subtitle Text Mode for entering subtitle text. For more information, see “Creating

Subtitles in Scenarist” on page 116.

Original Subpicture Displays the subpicture layer while hiding the background layer. Use

this option when identifying and mapping subpicture colors. For more information, see “Subpicture Color Mapping” on page 146.

Display Color Displays the background and subpicture layers. Use this option when creating

and editing button highlights and button links.

Encode Encodes the subpicture for the current track. After making changes to a subpicture,

make sure to encode it so the changes are visible when simulating playback.

36 Chapter 3, Workﬂow and Work Areas

Player Settings

The Player Settings control the display and adjustment of angle, audio, and subpicture streams.

Mute

Audio

Increase

Volume

Subpicture

On/Off

Angle

Audio

Decrease

Volume

Subpicture

Player Settings

Next Angle Switches to the next video angle if the track contains multiple video angles.

Mute Audio Mutes and unmutes the current audio stream.

Next Audio Switches to the next audio stream if the track contains multiple audio streams.

Increase Volume Increases the volume of the current audio stream.

Decrease Volume Decreases the volume of the current audio stream.

Subpicture On/Off Shows and hides the current subpicture stream.

Next Subpicture Displays the next subpicture if the track contains multiple subpicture

streams.

Simulation Window Tools 37

Design Tools

The Design Tools change depending on the current mode for the Simulation window.

Design Tools in Design Mode (Display Color)

In Design mode, with the Display Color option selected, the Design Tools let you create and edit button highlights and button links, and identify subpicture colors.

Pick

Color

New

Button

Select

Add Button

Links

Design Tools, Design mode

Show Button

Links

Pick Color (Eyedropper) Identiﬁes subpicture Original colors so they can be mapped to the

colors for the three button states. For more information, see “Identifying Subpicture Original Colors” on page 147.

Select The default tool in Design mode. Selects, moves, and resizes button highlights and

subpictures.

New Button Draws rectangular button highlights around subpicture shapes and text. For

more information, see “Button Highlights” on page 132.

Add Button Links Adds links between buttons that determine how buttons are navigated

with the remote control. For more information, see “Button Links” on page 137.

Show Button Links Shows and hides button links. For more information, see “Showing and

Hiding Button Links” on page 140.

38 Chapter 3, Workﬂow and Work Areas

Design Tools in Design Mode (Edit Subtitle Text)

In Design mode, with the Edit Subtitle Text option selected, the Design Tools let you enter and edit subtitle text. For more information, see “Creating Subtitles in Scenarist” on page 116.

Add

Subtitle

Text

Subtitle

Font

Subtitle

Font Size

Italic

Underline

Bold

Left

Justiﬁed

Right

Justiﬁed

Center

Justiﬁed

Design Tools, subtitle text entry

Design Tools in Simulation Mode

In Simulation mode, the Design Tools provide playback controls that mirror those found on most DVD remote controls. These controls include buttons for transport control, button navigation, and menu access.

Back

Stop

Skip

Fast

Forward

Go Left

Go Up

Enter

Play

Pause

Rewind

Forward

Skip

Go Right

Design Tools, Simulation mode

Go Down

Title

Return

Simulation Window Tools 39

Clock Tools

The Clock tools are used when inserting and editing subtitles, or when scrolling to subpictures.

Data Time

Code

rack Time

Code

Time Code Next

Subpicture

Clock Bar

Track Time Code When selected, time code locations are displayed so that the beginning of

the track corresponds to 00:00:00:00.

Data Time Code When selected, time code locations are displayed based on the track’s

embedded time code.

Time Code Displays the current time code location for the selected track. You can go to a

different track location by entering the location in the Time Code ﬁeld or by clicking its Up/Down arrows.

Previous Subpicture Goes back to the previous subpicture or subtitle.

Next Subpicture Advances to the next subpicture or subtitle.

40 Chapter 3, Workﬂow and Work Areas

Alignment Tools

The Alignment tools are used to align and resize button highlights. For more information, see “Button Highlights” on page 132.

Right

Alignment

Bottom

Alignment

Vertical

Alignment

Left

Alignment

Top

Alignment

Alignment palette

Horizontal Alignment

4 Preparing Assets

Before they can be used in Scenarist, video and audio assets must be encoded using DVDcompliant parameters, and still image assets must be saved in the proper ﬁle formats.

This chapter documents the encoding and ﬁle requirements for video, audio, and still image assets. It includes the following topics:

• “Preparing Video Assets” on page 42

• “Preparing Audio Assets” on page 44

• “Preparing Still Image Assets” on page 46

• “Preparing Subpicture Assets” on page 48

• “Preparing Subtitle Assets” on page 49

• “The Bit Budget” on page 53

42 Chapter 4, Preparing Assets

Preparing Video Assets

After the number and format of audio tracks is known, it is possible to determine how much bandwidth is left for video (see “The Bit Budget” on page 53). Depending on the length of the video material and the capacity of the disc (for example, 4.7 GB for a single-side singlelayer disc), the video bit rate is generally set as high as possible without exceeding the remaining available bandwidth.

The DVD-Video format uses a subset of the MPEG standards, requiring speciﬁc image resolutions, frame rates, aspect ratios, and other parameters. Scenarist only lets you import DVD-compliant MPEG ﬁles, so when you encode video, you must make sure that you set the parameters correctly. Table 2 lists the encoding requirements for the supported video formats.

Table 2: Scenarist video stream requirements

Format Frame

Rate

MPEG-1 NTSC

(525/6)

PAL

(625/50)

MPEG-2 NTSC

(525/60)

PAL

(625/50)

29.97 fps 352 x 240 4:3 1.856 Mbps max. 18 frames max.

25 fps 352 x 288 4:3 1.856 Mbps max. 15 frames max.

29.97 fps 720 x 480 4:3,16:9 9.80 Mbps max. 36 ﬁelds/

25 fps 720 x 576 4:3,16:9 9.80 Mbps max. 30 ﬁelds/

Frame

Size

Aspect

Ratio

Encoding Bit Rate GOP Size

18 frames max.

15 frames max.

The DVD Speciﬁcation requires that video content within a single volume be set to the same parameters for the following options:

• Format (MPEG-1 or MPEG-2)

• TV system (NTSC or PAL)

• Aspect ratio (4:3 Standard or 16:9 Widescreen)

• Frame size (352 x 240 or 720 x 480 for NTSC; 352 x 288 or 720 x 576 for PAL)

Preparing Video Assets 43

Preparing Assets for Multi-Angle Play

When preparing video assets that will be used for multi-angle play, the following requirements must be observed:

• Each video angle must have the same duration.

• Each video angle must contain the same GOP structure (same number of ﬁelds, frames,

and pattern of I, B and P-frames).

• Each video angle must contain the same number of GOPs.

• Each video angle must be encoded at the same bit rate.

• Each video angle must be encoded with the same type of bit rate (constant or variable).

• Each video angle must be encoded with closed GOPs.

• If video has been encoded at a constant bit rate, each video angle must have the same

vbv_delay initial value.

• The combined bit rate of video, audio, and subpicture data must not exceed 8.0 Mbps

per angle stream. This bit-rate ceiling can decrease by as much as 1.2 Mbps as the number of video angles increases.

Preparing Assets for Seamless Play

When preparing video assets that play seamlessly, the following requirements must be observed:

• Each video asset must be encoded at the same bit rate.

• Each video asset must be encoded with the same type of bit rate (constant or variable).

Note: The physical order of video tracks on the disc must be identical to their playback

order. To change the physical placement of video tracks on the disc, see “Dual-Layer Discs” on page 245.

44 Chapter 4, Preparing Assets

Preparing Audio Assets

Supported audio formats in Scenarist include PCM (WAV and AIFF), MPEG-1 Layer 2 (PAL titles only), Dolby Digital (AC-3), and DTS (Digital Theater System). When preparing audio for DVD-Video titles, you must balance the disc space and audio bandwidth against the video quality and play time. Table 3 lists the encoding requirements for the supported audio formats.

Table 3: Scenarist audio stream requirements

Audio Format NTSC PAL Channels Rate Bits Encoding Bit Rate

PCM yes yes Mono 48 kHz 16 .768 Mbps

Mono 48 kHz 20 .960 Mbps

Mono 48 kHz 24 1.152 Mbps

Mono 96 kHz 16 1.536 Mbps

Mono 96 kHz 20 1.920 Mbps

Mono 96 kHz 24 2.304 Mbps

Stereo 48 kHz 16 1.536 Mbps

Stereo 48 kHz 20 1.920 Mbps

Stereo 48 kHz 24 2.304 Mbps

Stereo 96 kHz 16 3.072 Mbps

Stereo 96 kHz 20 3.840 Mbps

Stereo 96 kHz 24 4.608 Mbps

MPEG-1 Layer 2 no yes Stereo 48 kHz – 64–384 kbps

Dolby Digital (AC-3) yes yes Stereo 48 kHz – 192 kbps (228 kbps for

extended frequ. response)

5.1 48 kHz – 384 kbps or higher (448 kbps recommended)

DTS (Digital Theater System)

yes yes 5.1 48 kHz – 768–1536 kbps

6.1 48 kHz – 768–1536 kbps

Preparing Audio Assets 45

A brief description of the supported audio formats is include below:

PCM Audio Uncompressed audio format, from one to eight channels, recorded with Pulse

Code Modulation. The DVD Speciﬁcation supports PCM sample rates of 48 kHz and 96 kHz with resolutions of 16, 20, or 24 bits. While PCM audio yields higher ﬁdelity than other formats, its higher bit rates (see Table 3 on page 44) leave less available bandwidth for video.

Note: To use PCM audio at a sample rate of 96 kHz, you must have Scenarist Professional.

Note: Although the DVD Speciﬁcation supports up to 8 channels of PCM audio, currently,

there are no DVD players that support multi-channel PCM.

MPEG-1 Layer 2 Audio Perceptual coding system by the Moving Picture Experts Group that

delivers compressed two-channel audio. MPEG-1 (along with Dolby Digital) is one of the mandatory audio compression systems for PAL titles.

Dolby Digital (AC-3) Perceptual coding system by Dolby Laboratories that delivers

compressed multi-channel audio, in a range of formats, at reduced bit rates with acceptable ﬁdelity. Dolby Digital is perhaps the most common audio format used for DVD-Video, and is the mandatory audio compression system for NTSC titles. It is also (along with MPEG-1) one of the mandatory audio compression systems for PAL titles.

DTS Perceptual coding system by Digital Theater Systems that delivers compressed multi-

channel audio in 5.1 and 6.1 formats. DTS was initially developed for theater surround sound but has also been used in consumer systems.

46 Chapter 4, Preparing Assets

Preparing Still Image Assets

Scenarist supports the following still image ﬁle formats and sizes, which can be used for still menus, still and slide shows, subpictures, and subtitles.

File Formats

NTSC Image Sizes

PAL Image Sizes

BMP, GIF, JPEG, PICT, PCD (Photo CD), PSD (Photoshop), SGI, TGA (Targa), TIFF, and YUV

720 x 480, 704 x 480, 352 x 240

720 x 576, 704 x 576, 352 x 288

Note: Multi-layer Photoshop ﬁles are imported as a single, ﬂattened image. Scenarist does not support LZW-compressed TIFF ﬁles.

Note: Still images that are not of the required size are automatically scaled when imported in Scenarist, which can lead to unwanted stretching, shrinking, or artifacts.

Adjusting for Television Overscan

Television monitors are designed to overscan the screen area, meaning that the outer 5–10% of the picture on all sides (top, bottom, left and right) is not actually visible to the viewer. The degree of overscan varies depending on the individual televisions. Overscanning is not a concern for projects intended for viewing only on computer monitors.

To avoid losing important visual information due to overscan, key graphical elements should remain within the Action Safe and Title Safe boundaries.

Action Safe Area within which action should be conﬁned to ensure it is visible on most

televisions (typically a 5% margin from each edge).

Title Safe Area within which to place a title or graphical element so that none of it falls

outside the visible region on most television sets (typically a 10% margin from each edge).

Preparing Still Image Assets 47

Still Images for 16:9 Widescreen

When creating still images for a 16:9 Widescreen project, special steps are required to ensure that the images are displayed correctly. You should create the images initially at a resolution of 960 x 480 for NTSC and 960 x 576 for PAL. Then, just before importing the image into Scenarist, resize the image to 720 x 480 for NTSC and 720 x 576 for PAL, therefore recreating the anamorphic squeezing effect that is performed on widescreen video. When the content is played back, it will be stretched back to its original widescreen aspect ratio.

Preparing a YUV File

YUV image ﬁles (images created using the YUV color space, which is used by the NTSC and PAL color video standards) lack the information headers and ﬁle extensions that exist in JPEG, TIFF, BMP, and other graphics ﬁle formats. Without an information header, Scenarist cannot read a YUV ﬁle. However, Scenarist can handle a YUV ﬁle if you perform the following steps:

• Add a .yuv extension to the ﬁle name.

• Adjust the image size to 720 x 480 for NTSC and 720 x 576 for PAL.

Scenarist supports the YUV color space in the ratio 4:2:0 in the sequence, Y data (luma) followed by U data (color) followed by V data (color). If the original ratio is 4:2:2, it must be converted to 4:2:0 before Scenarist can use it.

48 Chapter 4, Preparing Assets

Preparing Subpicture Assets

A menu consists of a motion or still video background image with a subpicture and highlight layer. When creating a menu subpicture, the following guidelines must be observed:

• Create subtitle images in a graphics program such as Photoshop.

• Use a maximum of four colors.

• Disable anti-aliasing.

• Create subpicture lettering in pure black, red, or blue, where the RGB values are set 255.

The background color should be white.

• Save the subpicture in BMP, GIF, JPEG, PCD (Photo CD), PICT, PSD (Photoshop), SGI,

TIFF, TGA (Targa), or YUV format.

• A subpicture can be any size (horizontal and vertical resolution) as long as it is smaller

than the video or still image it will overlay.

Note: JPEG compression is a lossy algorithm and is, therefore, not recommended for subpicture assets.

Preparing Subtitle Assets

A subtitle stream is a sequence of subpicture overlays that play over a background video or still image. Subtitles can utilize several digital effects such as fade in, fade out, scroll, and wipe.

There are two ways to handle subtitles in Scenarist, either by creating them with Scenarist’s built-in Subtitle Editor, or by preparing them in an another application and then importing them to a scenario. This section provides information on how to prepare subtitle assets outside Scenarist. For detailed information on the subtitle import procedure and how to create subtitles with the Subtitle Editor, refer to “Creating Subtitles in Scenarist” on page 116.

Use the following guidelines when preparing subtitle assets:

• Create subtitle images in a graphics program such as Photoshop.

• Save subtitle images in BMP, GIF, JPEG, PCD (Photo CD), PICT, PSD (Photoshop), SGI,

TIFF, TGA (Targa), or YUV format.

• Use a maximum of four colors.

Preparing Subtitle Assets 49

• Image size should not exceed 720 × 480 (NTSC) or 720 × 576 (PAL) pixels.

• Save the image ﬁles for a stream of subtitles in the same format and in the same

directory.

• Keep a record of subtitle names, stream numbers, and corresponding start and end time

codes.

Once you have settled on the parameters for your subtitle images, you must name the images, then identify the colors used in them. Refer to “Subpicture Color Mapping” on page 146 for a description of this procedure.

50 Chapter 4, Preparing Assets

Naming Subtitle Images

Subtitle names identify the image, its location within the subtitle sequence, and the type of image it is.

Use the following convention for naming subtitle images:

ImageName.subpicture#.ImageFormat

For example, if a motion video clip with the ﬁlename Twilight has one subpicture stream, a series of 150 subtitles, and the images have been saved in the TIFF image format, the subtitles would be named:

Twilight.1.tif

Twilight.2.tif

Twilight.3.tif

…and so forth.

The 150th image would be named Twilight.150.tif.

Preparing Subtitle Assets 51

Creating a Subtitle Script File

To determine which subtitle settings to use for a particular sequence of subtitle images, Scenarist looks at a subtitle script ﬁle (.sst). You can create the script in any text editor. A typical subtitle script ﬁle is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Subtitle script ﬁle format

Below are the deﬁnitions for the script ﬁle settings:

st_format The Identifying number of the subtitle data stream. Scenarist supports subtitle

format 2 only, which allows you to adjust a subtitle’s location in time to action in the video.

SubTitle Name of the subtitle data folder as it appears in Data Editor.

Display_Start When set to Forced, the subtitles are always On. When set to Non_Forced,

subtitles can switched on and off by the viewer with the remote control.

52 Chapter 4, Preparing Assets

Pixel_Area The size of the background area for the subtitle image. For NTSC, set to (2 479).

For PAL, set to (2 574).

Display_Area The location of the subtitle image within the background area. For NTSC, set

to (0 2 719 479). For PAL, set to (0 2 719 574).

Color Color codes for the four colors available for subtitle images. The numbers range from

1–16 and reference the color number in the current color palette (SEE “Subpicture Color Palettes” on page 151).

Contrast Degree of transparency of the subtitle colors. The range is 0–15, where 0 is

transparent and 15 is opaque.

BG, PA, E1, E2 RGB Color values for Background, Pattern, Emphasis 1 and Emphasis 2 colors.

Directory The path to the subtitle image ﬁles. If the directory path is changed after the

subtitle script ﬁle is created (if the subtitle folder is moved to a new location), Scenarist will not be able to locate the subtitle folder. In that case, you will need to edit the directory path in the subtitle script ﬁle to set the correct path.

Separator The separator line separates the settings from the list of subtitles. You must use at

least two # signs in this line.

Subtitle List The actual list of subtitles that Scenarist imports into the subpicture stream.

START and END times should not overlap, and subtitles should not cross chapter breaks in a video track.

SP_NUMBER The number of the subtitle in the subtitle stream.

START The start time of the subtitle.

00:01:05:00 = hour:minute:second:frame

END The end time of the subtitle.

00:01:07:05 = hour:minute:second:frame

FILE_NAME The name of the subtitle image.

The Bit Budget

To determine the bit rates you will use when encoding video and audio, you can calculate the Bit Budget.

There are two factors that constrain your choice of bit rates. One factor is the type of disc you will use and, therefore, how many bits are available for each second of the content. The other factor is the maximum bit rate allowed by the DVD-Video format. This is 9.8 MBps (millions of bits per second), which must be divided between the video and audio streams.

This section includes the following topics:

• “Calculating the Bit Budget” on page 53

• “Media Capacities” on page 55

• “Sample Bit Budget Calculation” on page 57

Calculating the Bit Budget

The Bit Budget 53

The bit budget calculation produces two values that you must use when encoding video:

• Maximum video bit rate

• Average video bit rate

Since video usually requires the largest bandwidth, the best way to calculate a bit budget is to subtract the audio requirements from the available bandwidth to get the maximum and average video bit rates. The bit rate for audio depends on the number of audio channels and the type of audio.

54 Chapter 4, Preparing Assets

To calculate the bit budget:

1 Calculate the combined average bit rate for video and audio (see “Media Capacities” on

page 55 for DVD disc sizes):

Disc size: __________ Mbits ÷ Total length of presentation: _________ seconds

Average bit rate = __________ Mbps

Note: If you are creating a hybrid DVD, you must reduce the Disc size by the size of the ROM content.

2 Calculate the average video bit rate by subtracting the audio requirements (see Table 3

on page 44 for the bit-rate requirements for different types of audio):

Average bit rate: ________ Mbps – Audio bit rate: ________ Mbps

Average video bit rate = __________ Mbps

3 Calculate the maximum video bit rate (for variable bit-rate (VBR) encodes only):

9.8 MBps – Audio bit rate: ________ Mbps

Maximum video bit rate = __________ Mbps

See “Sample Bit Budget Calculation” on page 57 for an example of this calculation.

The Bit Budget 55

Media Capacities

Scenarist can output projects to a wide variety of media. The choice of media is driven by the project’s purpose, length, and budget. Table 4 on page 56 lists the available media and explains how to best use each type.

Refer to the Disc Size in Mbps column when calculating encoding bit rates. When calculating how much data will ﬁt on a DVD-ROM, refer to the Computer Disc Size column.

For hybrid DVDs, subtract the size of the ROM content (in bits) from the Disc Size, then use the resulting value as the disc size in the bit-rate calculation.

Note: The Actual Disc Sizes are somewhat misleading in that they do not follow the conventions used for other digital media. For DVDs, 1 GB is 1,000,000,000 (109) bytes, whereas for computers, 1 GB is 1,073,741,824 (230) bytes. Therefore a 4.7 GB computer hard drive contains about 330 MB more data than a 4.7 GB DVD.

56 Chapter 4, Preparing Assets

Table 4: Media capacities

Media Actual

Disc Size

Computer Disc Size

Disc Size in

Mbps

(less 4% for

headroom)

DVD-R 3.95 GB

DVD-RW 4.7 GB 4.38 GB 36,096

DVD+RW 4.7 GB 4.38 GB 36,096

DVD-5 4.7 GB 4.38 GB 36,096

DVD-10 9.4 GB

DVDRAM

4.7 GB

(4.7 × 2)

4.7 GB

5.2 GB

(2.6 × 2)

3.68 GB

4.38 GB

8.75 GB

(4.38 × 2)

4.38 GB

4.84 GB

(2.42 × 2)

30,336

Mbits

36,096

Mbits

2 × 36,096

Mbits

36,096

Mbits

2 × 19,968

Mbits

Typical

Program

Length

100 min. 120 min.

120 min.

2 × 120

min.

120 min.

2 × 70

min.

Usage Notes

Good for small production runs, test and demo discs. The discs work with most settop players and DVD-ROM drives. Some replication plants can accept DVD masters on

DVD-R discs.

3.95 GB discs seem to be more compatible with older players, but are becoming rare.

Same as DVD-R, but discs are rewritable, like CD-RW.

Same as DVD-RW, but you can overwrite part or all of the existing content, rather like recording on videotape.

Mass-produced from a DVD master sent to a replication plant. The discs work with all set-top players and DVD-ROM drives.

Double-sided disc mass-produced from two DVD masters sent to a replication plant. This requires two projects, one for each side. The viewer must turn the disc over to play the other side.

Can be used only in computers with DVDRAM drives, although set-top players may become available in the future.

5.2 GB discs are double-sided (2.6 GB per side). A project must ﬁt on one side; to use both sides you need two projects.

CD-R/RW 682 MB

734 MB

650 MB 700 MB

5,238 Mbits 5,637 Mbits

15 min. 18 min.

Suitable for very short projects. Playable on almost all computers with a DVD-ROM or CD-ROM drive.

The Bit Budget 57

Sample Bit Budget Calculation

If you have a 100-minute (6000-second) presentation with Dolby Digital stereo audio, and you want to write it to a DVD-5 disc, here’s how you determine the bit budget:

1 Calculate the average bit rate for both video and audio:

Disc size: 36096 Mbits ÷ Total length of presentation: 6000 seconds

Average bit rate = 6.0 Mbps

2 Calculate the average video bit rate by subtracting the audio requirements:

Average bit rate: 6.0 Mbps – Audio bit rate: 0.192 Mbps

Average video bit rate = 5.808 Mbps

3 Calculate the maximum video bit rate:

9.8 MBps – Audio bit rate: 0.192 Mbps

Maximum video bit rate = 9.608 Mbps

Note: Although in this case you could set the maximum video bit rate to 9.608 Mbps, it is recommended that you always set the maximum to less than or equal to 9.0 MBps.

58 Chapter 4, Preparing Assets

5 Creating Scenarios

This chapter documents how to create, manage, import and export scenarios. It includes the following topics:

• “About Scenarios” on page 60

• “The Project Manager” on page 61

• “Creating Scenarios with the Project Wizard” on page 63

• “Project Templates” on page 77

• “Exporting Scenarios” on page 78

• “Importing Scenarios” on page 80

60 Chapter 5, Creating Scenarios

About Scenarios

Scenarist projects are saved in documents called scenarios (.scn). Scenarios contain information about the project’s assets (video, still images, audio, and subtitles), menu and track properties, project layout (PGCs, links, and navigation commands), and disc information and disc layout.

The default directory for saving scenarios is the My Scenarios folder, which is created on the system hard drive when installing the Scenarist software.

My Scenarios folder

Also saved with scenarios is a cache folder (<Project Name> Cache) that contains encoded still images (.mps), encoded subpictures (.sp), and subtitle images (.bmp) created in Scenarist. A scenario’s registered assets remain in their original hard drive locations.

Saving Scenarios

Unlike most software applications, Scenarist dynamically saves scenarios. Each time you make a change to a project, it is saved to the scenario ﬁle. While this ensures that the changes you make to a scenario are always retained, it requires that you use the Save As command when revising scenarios that you don’t want to permanently overwrite.

For example, if you have a scenario in a satisfactory state and want to continue working with it, while being able to return to that state, use the Save As command to save a new version of the scenario under a different name.

The Project Manager

The Project Manager lets you conveniently open recent scenarios, create new scenarios, and import scenarios from a script. You can specify whether the Project Manager opens by default when Scenarist is launched.

To specify whether the Project Manager opens when launching Scenarist:

1 Choose Settings > Preference. The Preference dialog opens.

The Project Manager 61

2 Select one of the following options for Starting Up:

• Open the Most Recent Project

• Open Project Manager

3 Click OK to close the Preference dialog.

62 Chapter 5, Creating Scenarios

To open a scenario with the Project Manager:

1 Choose File > Project Manager. The Project Manager opens displaying a list of the 16

most recent scenarios.

2 To open a recent scenario, select it and click Open.

3 To open a scenario not listed in the Project Manager, click the Browse button and locate

the scenario, then click Open.

4 To create a new scenario with the Project Wizard, click New.

5 To import a scenario from a script ﬁle or DLT tape, click New From Script.

6 To close the Project Manager without opening a scenario, click Cancel.

Creating Scenarios with the Project Wizard 63

Creating Scenarios with the Project Wizard

The Project Wizard guides you through a series screens when creating a new scenario. Each screen asks for setup information for the new scenario and also provides a brief explanation of the various options.

If you change your mind about any setup options while using the Project Wizard, click Back to scroll to the screen where you want to make the changes, then click Next to continue forward. After conﬁguring a Project Wizard screen, you can click Save As Default to automatically use the same settings for subsequent scenarios; to reset a screen’s settings, click Reset.

Note: After exiting the Project Wizard, you can later change any of the setup options while authoring the project.

64 Chapter 5, Creating Scenarios

Project Wizard Introduction

To create a new scenario with the Project Wizard:

1 Do one of the following:

• From within the Project Manager, click New.

• With in an existing scenario open, choose File > New.

2 When prompted with the Project Wizard Introduction screen, click Next.

Creating Scenarios with the Project Wizard 65

Project Wizard Step 1 – Scenario Name

1 Click the Browse button and enter a scenario name and location, then click Open.

2 Click Next.

66 Chapter 5, Creating Scenarios

Project Wizard Step 2 – DVD Application Type

• Select one of the following DVD Application Types, then click Next.

DVD-Video Creates a disc containing DVD-Video data that can be played on a set-top

DVD player or a computer with a DVD-ROM drive and DVD player software.

DVD-ROM Creates a disc containing PC ﬁles that can be read by a computer DVD-ROM

drive.

Enhanced DVD (Video Files First) Creates a disc containing DVD-Video data and PC ﬁles

(with the video data preceding the PC data) that can be played on either a set-top DVD player or DVD-ROM drive.

Enhanced DVD (PC Files First) Creates a disc containing DVD-Video data and PC ﬁles

(with the PC data preceding the video data) that can be played on either a set-top DVD player or DVD-ROM drive.

Creating Scenarios with the Project Wizard 67

Project Wizard Step 3 – DVD Disc Information

1 Select whether the project will be written to a single- or dual-layer disc:

• For projects smaller than 4.7 GB, select Single Layer Disc.

• For projects larger than 4.6 GB (up to 8.5 GB), select Dual Layer Disc.

2 If using the Dual Layer Disc option, select whether the Track Path is Parallel or Opposite.

For more information about Track Path options, see “Dual-Layer Discs” on page 245.

3 Click Next.

68 Chapter 5, Creating Scenarios

Project Wizard Step 4 – Encoding Parameters

1 Conﬁgure the Encoding Parameters that will be used for the project’s still images:

• Set the Resolution to either NTSC or PAL. These broadcast standards determine the

number of vertical and horizontal pixels used for still images.

• Set the Aspect Ratio to 4:3, Pan-Scan, or 16:9. These options determine the aspect ratio

used for displaying still images.

2 Click Next.

Creating Scenarios with the Project Wizard 69

Project Wizard Step 5 – Subpicture Conversion Color

1 Specify the subpicture (original) colors that will be mapped to the button highlight

colors.

To change a color, click the color you want to change. In the Color dialog, select a basic color, or add a custom color and select it, then click OK.

These subpicture (original) colors will be the default for each subpicture in the project. For more information, see “Subpicture Color Mapping” on page 146.

2 Click Next.

70 Chapter 5, Creating Scenarios

Project Wizard Step 6 – Default Palette

1 Specify the 16 colors for the Default Palette that will be used for displaying subpictures

and button highlights.

To change a color, click the color you want to change. In the Color dialog, select a basic color, or add a custom color and select it, then click OK.

This will be the Default Palette for subpictures and subtitles. However, additional palettes can later be deﬁned; subpictures and subtitles can use any of the deﬁned color palettes. For more information, see “Subpicture Color Palettes” on page 151.

2 Click Next.

Creating Scenarios with the Project Wizard 71

Project Wizard Step 7 – Subpicture Color and Contrast

1 Select the color and contrast values to which the original subpicture colors will be

mapped. This will determine how button highlights will appear when displayed normally (not selected and not activated).

• To map a subpicture color, click the color you want to map (E2, E1, P, or Bg) and select

the new color from the menu of Default Palette colors.

• To set the contrast (its transparency) for a subpicture color, drag its horizontal slider to

the percentage of contrast you want.

These subpicture color mappings will be the default for each subpicture in the project. However, each subpicture can have its own color deﬁnitions. For more information, see “Subpicture Color Mapping” on page 146.

2 Click Next.

72 Chapter 5, Creating Scenarios

Project Wizard Step 8 – Button Color and Contrast

1 Select the color and contrast values that will be used to display button highlights when

they are selected and activated.

• To set a Selection or Action color, click the color you want to change (E2, E1, P, or Bg)

and select the new color from the menu of Default Palette colors.

• To set a Selection or Action contrast (its transparency), drag its horizontal slider to the

percentage of contrast you want.

These button highlight colors will be the default for each subpicture in the project. However, each subpicture can have its own color deﬁnitions. For more information, see “Subpicture Color Mapping” on page 146.

2 Click Next.

Creating Scenarios with the Project Wizard 73

Project Wizard Step 9 – Video Title Sets

1 Enter the number of VTS folders that the new scenario will contain.

Each scenario must contain at least one VTS and no more than 99 VTSs. You can later add (or delete) additional VTSs. For more information, see “Adding VTS Folders” on page 167.

2 Click Next.

74 Chapter 5, Creating Scenarios

Project Wizard Step 10 – Directories

• Specify the Target Directories that will be used when outputting the project. For each

directory, click the Browse button and select a folder, then click Next.

You can skip this step if you want and specify the Target directories later in the Layout Editor. For more information, see “Step 2 – Choosing the Target Directories” on page 251.

Target Destination for the disc image ﬁle (created from the ﬁles in the DVD Root

directory). Once this directory is speciﬁed, the DVD Root and Mux directories are automatically deﬁned. The folder chosen as the Target Directory must be created outside of Scenarist before it can be selected here.

DVD Root Destination for the VIDEO_TS folder, which contains the video object ﬁles and

information ﬁles, from which the ﬁnal disc image will be written. This directory is only written to when working with a DVD-Video or Enhanced DVD project.

Creating Scenarios with the Project Wizard 75

Multiplex Destination for the ﬁles created when multiplexing the project. This directory

is only written to when working with a DVD-Video or Enhanced DVD project.

PC Files Contains the project’s ROM ﬁles, when writing a DVD-ROM or Enhanced DVD

disc.

Note: For details on the required hard drive space for the Target directories, see “Hard Drive Requirements” on page 4.

Project Wizard Step 11 – Template Wizard

• Select the Template Type you will use for the scenario and click Next.

To create a blank scenario, select “I Don’t Want To Use Template Wizard.” For information on the two Template Wizard options (Loop Pattern and Branch Pattern), see Appendix A, “The Template Wizard.”

76 Chapter 5, Creating Scenarios

Project Wizard – Finished

1 In the last Project Wizard screen, review the setup information for the new scenario and

do the following:

• If after reviewing the setup information you need to make changes, click Back to scroll

to the screen where you want to make the changes, then click Next to continue forward.

• If you are happy with the setup information, click Finish to open the new scenario and

begin working with it.

Project Templates

If you have a scenario that you want to use as a starting point for other scenarios, you can save it as a project template. This eliminates the need to use the Project Manager when creating new scenarios. In addition to basic setup information such as DVD type, disc information, encoding parameters, and color palettes, project templates also recall assets, place holders, tracks, PGCs, and navigation data.

To save a project template:

1 Choose File > Save As Template.

2 When prompted, enter a template name and click OK. The project template is saved to

the Project Templates folder inside the Scenarist application folder.

To open a new scenario based on a previously saved project template:

1 Choose File > New From Template.

2 When prompted, select the template you want to open and click OK.

Project Templates 77

78 Chapter 5, Creating Scenarios

Exporting Scenarios

You can export scenarios to scripts and archives with the Export command. A script is a text ﬁle that contains the scenario database information, including playback, link, and sync data; asset and properties information; program playback control data; and project-speciﬁc preferences. An archive, whether saved to a local hard drive or to tape, is a TAR archive ﬁle that contains the scenario script and all assets used in the scenario. Archives are useful for exchanging projects between facilities, as well as for general backup to a single selfcontained ﬁle that is easily restored.

This section includes the following topics:

• “Exporting to a Script” on page 78

• “Exporting to an Archive” on page 79

• “Exporting to Tape” on page 80

Exporting to a Script

To export a scenario to a script ﬁle:

1 Choose File > Export. The Export Scenario to Script dialog opens.

2 Select the Export to Script option.

Exporting Scenarios 79

3 Click the Script File Browse button. In the Select File dialog, set the File Type to Scripts

(.scp), enter a ﬁlename and location for the script, and click Open.

4 Click OK. The scenario is exported and saved as a script ﬁle.

Exporting to an Archive

To export a scenario to an archive:

1 Choose File > Export. The Export Scenario to Script dialog opens.

2 Select the Export to Archive option.

3 Click the Tar File Browse button. In the Select File dialog, set the File Type to Script with

Assets (.tar), enter a ﬁlename and location for the TAR archive, and click Open.

4 Click OK. The scenario and all of its assets are exported to a TAR archive.

80 Chapter 5, Creating Scenarios

Exporting to Tape

To export a scenario to a DLT or Exabyte tape:

1 Choose File > Export. The Export Scenario to Script dialog opens.

2 Select the Export to Tape option.

3 Make sure the destination tape drive is selected in the Tape Drive menu.

4 Click OK. The scenario and all of its assets are exported to a TAR archive and saved to

tape.

Note: Only a single archive can be written to each tape.

Importing Scenarios

You can import scenarios from scripts and archives with the Import command. A script is a text ﬁle that contains the scenario database information, including playback, link, and sync data; asset and properties information; program playback control data; and project-speciﬁc preferences. An archive, whether saved to a local hard drive or to tape, is a TAR archive ﬁle that contains the scenario script and all assets used in the scenario.

Importing Scenarios 81

This section includes the following topics:

• “Importing from a Script” on page 81

• “Importing from an Archive” on page 82

• “Importing from Tape” on page 83

Importing from a Script

To import a scenario from a script:

1 Choose File > Import (or from within the Project Manager, click New from Script). The

Create New Scenario from Script dialog opens.

2 Select the Import From Script option.

3 Click the Script File Browse button. In the Select File dialog, set the File Type to Scripts

(.scp) and select the script ﬁle you want to import, then click Open.

4 Click the Scenario File Browse button. In the Select File dialog, enter a ﬁlename and

location for the scenario, then click Open.

5 Click OK to import and open the new scenario.

If any of the scenario’s assets cannot be found, the import will fail with an error message. For details on why an import failed, read the import log in the Information window (select View > Information Window and click the Import tab).

82 Chapter 5, Creating Scenarios

Importing from an Archive

To import a scenario from an archive:

1 Choose File > Import (or from within the Project Manager, click New from Script). The

Create New Scenario from Script dialog opens.

2 Select the Import From Archive option.

3 If importing a Scenarist SGI archive, select the From Scenarist SGI option.

4 Click the Script File Browse button. In the Select File dialog, set the File Type to Script

with Assets (.tar) and select the script ﬁle you want to import, then click Open.

5 Click the Restore Folder Browse button. In the Browse for Folder dialog, select a location

for the imported assets and click OK.

6 Click the Scenario File Browse button. In the Select File dialog, enter a ﬁlename and

location for the scenario, then click Open.

7 Click OK.

8 When prompted with the required and available disk space for the scenario, click OK to

proceed.

Importing Scenarios 83

Importing from Tape

To import a scenario from a DLT or Exabyte tape:

1 Choose File > Import (or from within the Project Manager, click New from Script). The

Create New Scenario from Script dialog opens.

2 Select the Import From Tape option.

3 If importing a Scenarist SGI archive, select the From Scenarist SGI option.

4 If importing an archive from a Unix tape device, specify the Block Size for the device. If

using a Windows tape device, leave the Block Size set to its default of 64.

5 Make sure the source tape drive is selected in the Tape Drive menu.

6 Click the Restore Folder Browse button. In the Browse for Folder dialog, select a location

for the imported assets and click OK.

7 Click the Scenario File Browse button. In the Select File dialog, enter a ﬁlename and

location for the scenario, then click Open.

8 Click OK.

9 When prompted with the required and available disk space for the scenario, click OK to

proceed.

84 Chapter 5, Creating Scenarios

6 Registering Assets

After assets have been prepared, they are registered in Scenarist so you can begin building tracks from them. This chapter documents how to register assets and includes the following topics:

• “Creating Asset Folders” on page 86

• “Registering Assets in the Data Editor” on page 87

• “Registering Assets in the Track and Scenario Editors” on page 92

• “Objects Created When Registering Assets” on page 93

• “Using Place Holders” on page 95

86 Chapter 6, Registering Assets

Creating Asset Folders

Because projects can contain many assets, as well as a variety of different types of assets, it is usually a good idea to organize them with folders. Asset folders can be created based on asset type (Video, Audio, Menus, Slides, Subpictures, etc.), or they can be based on the tracks and PGCs that will reference the assets (VMG Menu, Title Menu, Main Movie, Slide Show, etc.).

To create an asset folder:

1 Click the Data Editor tab to display the Data Editor.

2 In the Data Editor directory area, select the folder to which you will add the new asset

folder.

3 Choose New > Folder or click the New Folder button in the Tools Bar.

4 When prompted, enter a name for the new asset folder and click OK.

The new asset folder is created and appears in the directory area and work area.

Registering Assets in the Data Editor

Assets can be registered in the Data Editor with the New Data command, the New Multi-File Data command, or by simply dragging from Windows Explorer to an asset folder. When registering assets, they are not moved from their original hard drive location, nor are they copied; assets in Scenarist are merely pointers to the original media.

This section contains the following topics:

• “Registering Assets by Dragging to the Data Editor” on page 87

• “Registering Assets with the New Data Command” on page 89

• “Registering Assets with the New Multi-File Data Command” on page 91

Registering Assets by Dragging to the Data Editor

You can register assets by dragging them from Windows Explorer to an asset folder in the Data Editor. Any asset type can be registered with this method. You can even drag multiple ﬁles to register them in a single operation. When dragging still image assets, you are prompted to specify the type of asset to register.

Registering Assets in the Data Editor 87

To register assets by dragging to the Data Editor:

1 Click the Data Editor tab to display the Data Editor.

88 Chapter 6, Registering Assets

2 Drag one or more assets from Windows Explorer to an asset folder in the Data Editor

directory area or work area.

3 If registering still images, select the type of object you want to create:

Registering Assets in the Data Editor 89

Still Image Registers a still image asset that can be used as a still menu or as an image in

a still show or slide show.

Subpicture with Forced Start Registers a subpicture asset that cannot be turned off by

the viewer. Select this option if you are registering menu subpictures.

Subpicture without Forced Start Registers a subpicture asset that can be turned off by

the viewer. Select this option if you are registering subtitles.

4 If registering multiple still images that will be the same type, select Apply To All.

5 Click OK.

If the assets are DVD compliant, they are registered and appear in the Data Editor directory area and work area. Messages regarding asset registration are displayed in the General tab of the Information window.

Registering Assets with the New Data Command

To register assets with the New Data command:

1 Click the Data Editor tab to display the Data Editor.

2 In the Data Editor directory area, select the asset folder to which you will add the asset.

3 Choose New > Data or click the New Data button in the Tools Bar. The Open dialog

opens.

90 Chapter 6, Registering Assets

4 To view only ﬁles of a certain type in the Open dialog, set the File Of Type menu to the

ﬁle type you want to display.

5 Select the asset you want to register and click OK.

6 If registering still images, select the type of object you want to create (for details, see

“Registering Assets by Dragging to the Data Editor” on page 87).

7 If registering multiple still images that will be the same type, select Apply To All.

8 Click OK.

If the asset is DVD compliant, it is registered and appears in the Data Editor directory area and work area. Messages regarding asset registration are displayed in the General tab of the Information window.

Registering Assets in the Data Editor 91

Registering Assets with the New Multi-File Data Command

The New Multi-File Data command can register multiple, separate video assets as a single, joined video stream.

To register video assets with the New Multi-File Data command:

1 Click the Data Editor tab to display the Data Editor.

2 In the Data Editor directory area, select the asset folder to which you will add the multi-

ﬁle video asset.

3 Choose New > Multi-File Data or click the Multi-File Data button in the Tools Bar.

4 In the Multi-File Data dialog, click Add and select the ﬁrst video asset you will include in

the new asset, then click Open. The ﬁle is added to this multi-ﬁle list.

5 Add additional video assets in the order in which you want them to play.

6 Click OK. A single video asset, representing the joined video assets, is registered and

appears in the Data Editor directory area and work area.

92 Chapter 6, Registering Assets

Registering Assets in the Track and Scenario Editors

It is possible to register some assets by dragging them from Windows Explorer directly to the Track Editor and Scenario Editor. When dragging to a track folder in the Track Editor, a track and scene are created with the asset automatically being registered. When dragging to a title or language folder in the Scenario Editor, a PGC, program, cell, track, and scene are created with the asset automatically being registered.

While this may seem to be a more expedient way of working, it not the most logical approach in the long run. For example, when you drag a video asset from Windows Explorer directly to the Scenario Editor, it only contains a single cell for the beginning of the track. If you later add additional scenes to the track in the Track Editor, the scenes must then be dragged to the Scenario Editor if you want to link to them. However, if a track is ﬁrst created in the Track Editor (with the necessary scenes and streams already added), you can then drag the completed track to the Scenario Editor and each of the required PGC objects (with a program and cell for each scene) will be created.

In general, it makes most sense to observe the workﬂow discussed in “Authoring Workﬂow” on page 12. First register and organize assets in the Data Editor; next build tracks by adding streams, scenes, and button highlights in the Track Editor; then create PGCs by dragging tracks to the Scenario Editor.

Also, not all assets can be registered by dragging to certain destinations in the Track Editor and Scenario Editor. For example, audio, subpicture, and angle assets cannot be dragged to the Scenario Editor; they can only be dragged to an asset folder in the Data Editor or a track timeline in the Track Editor.

Sonic Solutions SCENARIST User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Introduction

About the Documentation

Sonic on the Web

Installation

System Requirements

Hard Drive Requirements

File System Considerations

Installing the CineMaster C3.0 Card

Installing the Dongle

Installing the Software

Logging On in Administrator Mode

Uninstalling an Earlier Version of Scenarist

Installing and Activating Scenarist

Scenarist Data Hierarchy

The Scenarist Main Window

The Data Editor

Data Editor Tools

The Track Editor

Track Editor Tools

The Scenario Editor

Scenario Editor Tools

The Layout Editor

The Asset Manager

The Information Window

The Property Browser

Dockable Windows

Undocking a Window

Docking a Window

Adjusting the Placement of Docked Windows

The Simulation Window

The Edit Window

Simulation Window Tools

Mode Tools

Player Settings

Design Tools

Design Tools in Design Mode (Display Color)

Design Tools in Design Mode (Edit Subtitle Text)

Design Tools in Simulation Mode

Clock Tools

Alignment Tools

4 Preparing Assets

Preparing Video Assets

Preparing Assets for Multi-Angle Play

Preparing Assets for Seamless Play

Preparing Audio Assets

Preparing Still Image Assets

Adjusting for Television Overscan

Still Images for 16:9 Widescreen

Preparing a YUV File

Preparing Subpicture Assets

Preparing Subtitle Assets

Naming Subtitle Images

Creating a Subtitle Script File

The Bit Budget

Calculating the Bit Budget

Media Capacities

Sample Bit Budget Calculation

5 Creating Scenarios

About Scenarios

Saving Scenarios

The Project Manager

Creating Scenarios with the Project Wizard

Project Wizard Introduction

Project Wizard – Finished

Project Templates

Exporting Scenarios

Exporting to a Script

Exporting to an Archive

Exporting to Tape

Importing Scenarios

Importing from a Script

Importing from an Archive

Importing from Tape

6 Registering Assets

Creating Asset Folders

Registering Assets in the Data Editor