Sony DVD Architect Studio Quick Start Guide

Revised March 3, 2010

This quick start manual provides you with a brief introduction to DVD Architect™ Studio software. For more details on using the software, see the online help. To access the online help, choose Contents and Index from the Help menu, or press F1.

After DVD Architect Studio software is installed and you start it for the first time, the registration wizard appears. This wizard offers easy steps that allow you to register the software online with Sony Creative Software Inc. Alternatively, you can register online at

https://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/reg/software at any time.

Registering your product will provide you with access to a variety of technical support options, notification of product updates, and special promotions exclusive to registered DVD Architect Studio users.

Registration assistance

Registration assistance is available online at http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/chat, or by fax at (608) 250-1745.

Customer service/sales

For a detailed list of customer service options, we encourage you to visit http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/support/custserv.asp. Use the following numbers for telephone support during normal weekday business hours:

Telephone/Fax Country

(800) 577-6642 (toll-free) US, Canada, and Virgin Islands

(608) 204-7703 for all other countries

(608) 250-1745 (Fax) All countries

Technical support

For a detailed list of technical support options, we encourage you to visit http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/support/default.asp. To listen to your support options by telephone, please call (608) 256-5555.

About your rights in DVD Architect Studio software

DVD Architect Studio software is licensed to you under the terms of the End User License Agreement you entered into with Sony Creative Software Inc.

About your privacy

Sony Creative Software Inc. respects your privacy and is committed to protecting personal information. Your use of the software is governed by the Software Privacy Policy. Please review its contents carefully as its terms and conditions affect your rights with respect to the information that is collected by the software. For your reference, a copy of the Software Privacy Policy is located at

http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/corporate/privacy.asp.

Proper use of software

DVD Architect Studio software is not intended and should not be used for illegal or infringing purposes, such as the illegal copying or sharing of copyrighted materials. Using DVD Architect Studio software for such purposes is, among other things, against United States and international copyright laws and contrary to the terms and conditions of the End User License Agreement. Such activity may be punishable by law and may also subject you to the breach remedies set forth in the End User License Agreement.

Legal notices

ACID, ACIDized, ACIDplanet.com, ACIDplanet, the ACIDplanet logo, ACID XMC, Artist Integrated, the Artist Integrated logo, Beatmapper, Cinescore, CD Architect, DVD Architect, Jam Trax, Perfect Clarity Audio, Photo Go, Sound Forge, Super Duper Music Looper, Transparent Technology, Vegas, Vision Series, and Visual Creation Studio are the trademarks or registered trademarks of Sony Creative Software Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners in the United States and other countries.

Apple Macintosh Audio Interchange File Format (AIFF) file format

Apple® Macintosh® Audio Interchange™ File Format (AIFF) is a trademark of Apple, Inc. in the United States and other countries.

Apple QuickTime

Apple® QuickTime® application is a trademark of Apple, Inc. in the United States and other countries.

Dolby, Dolby Digital AC-3, and AAC encoding

This product contains one or more programs protected under international and U.S. copyright laws as unpublished works. They are confidential and proprietary to Dolby Laboratories. Their reproduction or disclosure, in whole or in part, or the production of derivative works therefrom without the express permission of Dolby Laboratories is prohibited. Copyright 1992 - 2008 Dolby Laboratories. All rights reserved.

Dolby Digital 5.1 Creator technology is not intended for use in content creation for commercial or broadcast distribution, or content that displays Dolby trademarks and logos. Only Approved Dolby Digital Professional Encoders may be used for content that is commercially distributed or carries the Dolby Digital trademark and logo.

Dolby®, the double-D symbol, AC-3®, and Dolby Digital® are registered trademarks of Dolby Laboratories. AAC™ is a trademark of Dolby Laboratories.

Macromedia Flash

Macromedia and Flash are trademarks or registered trademarks of Macromedia, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries.

Microsoft DirectX programming interface

Microsoft Windows Media

PNG file format

Copyright © 2004. World Wide Web Consortium (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, European Research Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics, Keio University). All rights reserved. This work is distributed under the W3C Software License in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTIBILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

http://www.w3.org/Consortium/Legal/2002/copyright-software-20021231

Targa file format

The Targa™ file format is a trademark of Pinnacle Systems, Inc.

Tagged Image File Format (TIFF)

Thomson Fraunhofer MP3

MPEG Layer-3 audio coding technology licensed from Fraunhofer IIS and Thomson.

Supply of this product does not convey a license nor imply any right to distribute content created with this product in revenue generating broadcast systems (terrestrial, satellite, cable and/or other distribution channels), streaming applications (via internet, intranets and/or other networks), other content distribution systems (pay-audio or audio on demand applications and the like) or on physical media (compact discs, digital versatile discs, semiconductor chips, hard drives, memory cards and the like).

An independent license for such use is required. For details, please visit: http://mp3licensing.com.

Sony Creative Software Inc.

1617 Sherman Avenue Madison, WI 53704 USA

The information contained in this manual is subject to change without notice and does not represent a guarantee or commitment on behalf of Sony Creative Software Inc. in any way. All updates or additional information relating to the contents of this manual will be posted on the Sony Creative Software Inc. web site, located at http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com. The software is provided to you under the terms of the End User License Agreement and Software Privacy Policy, and must be used and/or copied in accordance therewith. Copying or distributing the software except as expressly described in the End User License Agreement is strictly prohibited. No part of this manual may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or for any purpose without the express written consent of Sony Creative Software Inc.

Table of

Contents

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Welcome to DVD Architect Studio software!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

System requirements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Installing DVD Architect Studio software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Using online help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Online help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Show Me How tutorials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Help on the Web . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Learning the DVD Architect Studio Workspace. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Main window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Main window components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Project Overview window (Ctrl+Alt+1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Workspace (Alt+0). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Editing toolbar (Alt+1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Text bar (Alt+2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Window Docking Area (F11) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

Explorer window (Alt+3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Themes window (Alt+4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Buttons window (Alt+5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Backgrounds window (Alt+6) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Compilation window (Alt+7) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Properties window (Alt+8) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Timeline window (Alt+9) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Playlists window (Ctrl+Alt+2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

How it works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Preparing files for DVD Architect Studio software. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Starting a new project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Opening an existing project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

Choosing your media files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

Previewing media files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Adding files to your project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Setting the disc start item . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Setting the introduction media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

Setting your project properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

Optimizing your project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Saving your project. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

Creating a Menu-Based Project. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

Building menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

Adding submenus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

TABLE OF CONTENTS | 1

Inserting pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Adding pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Deleting pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Changing page order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Editing menu page properties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Adding titles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Inserting a picture compilation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Inserting a music/video compilation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Inserting a single-movie title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Working with graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Inserting a graphic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Editing graphics properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Inserting and editing text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Inserting text on a menu or page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Setting a menu’s title text object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Formatting text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Editing text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Moving text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Inserting buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Using color sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Editing a color set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Applying color sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Editing objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Resizing an object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Making selected objects same height or width . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Viewing and editing media properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Moving and arranging objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Changing the position of an object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Aligning objects in a menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Centering objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Adjusting object spacing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Deleting objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Enabling snapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Snapping to the grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Snapping to other objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Snapping to safe areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Button properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Copying and pasting attributes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Navigation tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Working with themes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Applying themes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Choosing a theme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Deleting a theme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

2 | TABLE OF CONTENTS

Creating a Music/Video Compilation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

Adding a music/video compilation to a menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Adding audio and/or video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28

Replacing an audio file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28

Adding and editing images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Inserting images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Replacing an image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Setting image stretching or scaling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Rotating an image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Adding and editing text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29

Adding text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29

Formatting text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Editing text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Moving text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Deleting text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Music/video compilation properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Creating a Picture Compilation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

Adding a picture compilation to a menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Adding and editing images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Inserting images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Replacing an image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Setting image stretching or scaling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Rotating an image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Setting display duration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Adding and editing text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

Adding text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

Formatting text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Editing text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Moving text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Deleting text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Picture compilation properties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

Creating Playlists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35

Adding a playlist to a menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35

Adding a playlist without a link . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Adding titles to a playlist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35

Deleting titles from a playlist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36

Rearranging titles in a playlist. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Renaming a playlist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36

Playlist properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36

Creating a Single-Movie Disc or Title. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37

Adding a movie title to a menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37

Setting in and out points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37

TABLE OF CONTENTS | 3

Working with scene/chapter markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Inserting scene/chapter markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Renaming scene/chapter markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Repositioning scene/chapter markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Deleting scene/chapter markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Loading scene/chapter markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Saving scene/chapter markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Changing the video or audio file. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Previewing Projects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

Preview window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Previewing your project. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Preparing and Burning Your Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41

Preparing and burning DVD projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Preparing a DVD project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Burning a DVD project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Preparing and burning Blu-ray Disc projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Preparing a Blu-ray Disc project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Burning a Blu-ray Disc project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .i

4 | TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter

Introduction

Welcome to DVD Architect Studio software!

DVD Architect™ Studio software has everything you need to create and burn professional DVDs and Blu-ray Discs™ on your computer. You’ll be creating picture slideshows, single-movie discs, music/video compilations, and menubased discs on your computer in no time!

System requirements

• Microsoft® Windows® XP (Service Pack 3 or later), Windows Vista® (Service Pack 2 or later), or Windows 7

• 1 GHz processor

• 250 MB hard-disk space for program installation

• 1 GB RAM

• Windows-compatible sound card

• Supported DVD-R/-RW/+R/+RW or BD-R/-RE drive

• Microsoft DirectX® 9.0c or later

• Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0 (included on application disc)

• Apple® QuickTime® 7.1.6 or later

Note:

You must provide your registration information to Sony Creative Software Inc. to activate the software.

Installing DVD Architect Studio software

Insert the DVD Architect Studio application disc in the drive. The setup screen appears (if AutoPlay is enabled for

your DVD-ROM drive).

If DVD-ROM AutoPlay is not enabled, click the Start button and choose Run. In the Run window that appears, type the DVD-ROM drive’s letter and add :\setup.exe. Click OK to start the installation.

Click Install. The installation process begins.

Follow the screen prompts and enter the necessary information when required.

At the last screen prompt, click Finish to conclude the installation.

INTRODUCTION | 5

Using online help

Toolbar Tab s

Information pane

For the most extensive information about DVD Architect Studio software, please refer to the help. You can access two types of help within the application:

• Online help

• Show Me How tutorials

Online help

To access online help, choose Contents and Index from the Help menu or by press F1.

The following table describes the four tabs of the Online Help window.

Tab D esc ri pt ion

Contents

Index Provides a complete listing of the help topics available. Scroll through the list of

Search Allows you to enter a keyword and display all of the topics in the online help that

Favorites Allows you to keep topics that you revisit often in a separate folder. To add a topic to

Provides a list of available help topics. Click a closed book (

then click on a topic page (

available topics or type a word in the Type in the keyword to find box to quickly locate topics related to that word. Select the topic and click the Display button.

contain the keyword you have entered. Type a keyword in the Type in the word(s) to search for box and click the List Topics button. Select the topic from the list and click the Display button.

your favorites, click the Add button on the Favorites tab.

) to open the pages, and

Show Me How tutorials

You can learn more about many of the features in DVD Architect Studio software by using the interactive Show Me How tutorials installed with the software.

By default, Show Me How tutorials display upon startup of the application. However, you can access them at any time from the Help menu by choosing Show Me How.

Tip:

To turn off automatic display of the Show Me How tutorials, clear the Show at Startup check box at the bottom of the tutorial

window.

Help on the Web

Additional help and information is available on the Sony Creative Software Inc. Web site. From the Help menu, choose Sony on the Web, and choose the desired location from the submenu. Your Web browser starts and attempts to connect to the appropriate

page on the Sony Web site.

| CHAPTER 1

Chapter

Menu bar

Toolbar

Editing toolbar Workspace Properties

Project Overview

Window docking area

Learning the DVD Architect Studio Workspace

DVD Architect™ Studio software is designed to make it easy to create a professional-looking DVD or Blu-ray Disc™. Many of the editing operations, commands and shortcut keys are common to other popular software applications, as well as other Sony Creative Software Inc. applications.

Main window

When you start the application, the main window appears.

Main window components

The work area is divided into four primary areas and described in the following table:

Component Description

Project Overview window Where you assemble your project and can see the big picture.

Workspace Where you edit menus and pages.

Properties window Where you edit properties for media and objects in your

Window docking area Where you find media, themes, buttons and backgrounds, and

project.

perform timeline editing on the titles in your project.

LEARNING THE DVD ARCHITECT STUDIO WORKSPACE |

Toolbar

The Main toolbar allows you to quickly access the most commonly used functions and features. To specify which buttons are displayed, choose Customize Toolbar from the Options menu. To toggle display of the Main toolbar, choose Too l ba r from the View menu.

New Project Creates a new project. Undo Reverses the last command

Open Project Opens an existing project. Redo Reverses an Undo command.

Save Project Saves the current project. Enable Snapping Enables snapping to

Properties Opens project properties. Preview Shows or hides the Preview

Cut Cuts selected events or time range. Make DVD Opens the Make DVD Wizard.

Copy Copies selected events or time Make Blu-ray Disc Opens the Make

range.

Paste Pastes items from clipboard into Show Me How Activates Show Me How. project.

performed.

grid lines.

window.

Blu-ray Disc Wizard.

Project Overview window (Ctrl+Alt+1)

The Project Overview window provides a high-level view of the menus and titles in your project. You can use this window to arrange the menus and titles in your project and add or delete titles.

To toggle the display of the window, choose Project Overview from the View menu.

Toggle Display of End Actions Displays or Insert Object Shows or hides the Insert hides end actions. Object drop-down list.

Set Disc Start Sets the selected menu or Delete Object Deletes the selected title or title as the disc start item.

menu.

8 | CHAPTER 2

Workspace (Alt+0)

The workspace is the portion of the DVD Architect Studio window where you design your project. The workspace represents the currently selected menu or object.

To set input focus to the workspace, choose Focus to Workspace from the View menu.

Editing toolbar (Alt+1)

The Editing toolbar allows you to edit objects that you select in the workspace. To toggle display of this toolbar in the workspace, choose Editing Toolbar from the View menu.

Selection Tool: Selects and moves Align Bottom: Aligns all selected objects objects. to the bottom edge of the object that has

Sizing Tool: Selects and resizes objects. Make Same Width: Makes all selected

Navigation Tool: Verifies and edits which

buttons will be activated when you press objects the same height as the object that Up, Down, Left, or Right buttons on the has focus. DVD or Blu-ray Disc player remote control.

Align Left: Aligns all selected objects to Space Across: Adjusts the selected left edge of object that has focus. objects so an equal amount of horizontal

Align Top: Aligns all selected objects to Space Down: Adjusts the selected objects the top edge of the object that has focus. so an equal amount of vertical space

Align Horizontal Center: Aligns all selected objects to the horizontal center objects to the horizontal center of the of the object that has focus. screen.

Align Vertical Center: Aligns all selected objects to the vertical center of the object objects to the vertical center of the screen. that has focus.

Align Right: Aligns all selected objects to the right edge of the object that has focus.

focus.

objects the same width as the object that has focus.

Make Same Height: Makes all selected

space exists between objects.

exists between objects.

Horizontal Centering: Aligns selected

Vertical Centering: Aligns selected

Text ba r ( A l t + 2)

The text bar allows you to edit various properties for text that you select in the workspace. To toggle the display of the text bar, choose Text Bar from the View menu.

Font Allows you to choose the typeface Justify Right Aligns text to right edge of that will be used for text. text box.

Font Size Allows you to choose the size (in points) of the typeface that will be used box. for text.

Bold Sets text in bold typeface. Justify Vertical Center Aligns text to

Italic Sets text in italic typeface.

Shadow Allows you to select position,

color, and blurring of a shadow behind foreground color for text. text.

Justify Left Aligns text to left edge of text Edit Text Makes selected text box box. editable.

Justify Center Aligns text in center of text box.

Justify Top Aligns text to top edge of text

vertical center of text box.

Justify Bottom Aligns text to bottom edge of text box.

Font Foreground Color Allows you to set

LEARNING THE DVD ARCHITECT STUDIO WORKSPACE | 9

Window Docking Area (F11)

You can dock (anchor) windows around the edges of the DVD Architect Studio window to keep frequently used windows available, but out of the way, while you are working with a project.

You can dock several windows in the same area of the screen and the windows will be layered. Click a window’s tab to bring it to the top.

Explorer window (Alt+3)

The Explorer window is similar to the Windows® Explorer. Use the Explorer window to select media files to drag to the workspace or Project Overview window. From the View menu, choose Explorer to show or hide the Explorer window.

Use the Start Preview (

Preview button selected, any video or graphic file you click in the Explorer will automatically display in the workspace.

Themes window (Alt+4)

The Themes window is used to apply a theme to your menu-based project. From the View menu, choose Themes to show or hide the Themes window.

A theme is a style sheet for your menu page. Each theme can contain a background image, button type, layout style, button behaviors, text style, and embedded navigation behaviors.

You can apply themes to specific menu pages as you work. Each new page you add to that menu will default to using the same theme.

DVD Architect Studio software includes some themes for you to use, and you can also create your own themes and apply them to your projects. For more information, see Applying themes on page 26.

) and Auto Preview ( ) buttons to preview files before adding them to the project. If you have the Auto

Apply Theme Allows you to apply themes Delete Theme Allows you to delete your to specific menu pages as you work. own custom themes.

10 | CHAPTER 2

Buttons window (Alt+5)

Use the toolbar to add or replace buttons

Drag a button to the workspace to add it to the menu

Drag-click a background or drag it to the workspace to apply it to the current menu.

Drag items to rearrange, or rightclick to display a shortcut menu with additional options

The Buttons window displays buttons that are available from installed themes and from your DVD Architect Studio installation. From the View menu, choose Buttons to show or hide the Buttons window.

You can use the Buttons window to add new buttons to your menus, replace existing buttons, or remove frames from existing buttons.

Insert Button Adds the selected button Show Framed Buttons Shows only (with no link) to the current menu. buttons with frames in the Buttons

Replace Button Replaces the selected button in the workspace with the selected buttons without frames in the Buttons button in the Buttons window. window.

Remove Frame Removes the frame from Show All Buttons Shows buttons with or the selected button in the workspace. without frames in the Buttons window.

window.

Show Non-Framed Buttons Shows only

Backgrounds window (Alt+6)

The Backgrounds window displays menu backgrounds that are available from installed themes and from your DVD Architect Studio installation. From the View menu, choose Backgrounds to show or hide the Backgrounds window.

You can use the Backgrounds window to add a background to a menu page or change an existing background.

Compilation window (Alt+7)

The Compilation window displays a listing of the items in a music/video compilation or picture compilation. From the View menu, choose Compilation to show or hide the Compilation window.

LEARNING THE DVD ARCHITECT STUDIO WORKSPACE | 11

You can use this window to arrange the items in a compilation, set image stretching or scaling, rotate an image, or set a picture’s display duration.

Insert Item Adds images to a picture compilation or audio or video to a music/ image counter-clockwise. video compilation.

Delete Items Removes images from a picture compilation or audio from a music/video compilation.

Fit Compilation to Audio Automatically adjusts the duration of all slides to match the length of the audio file.

Properties window (Alt+8)

The Properties window includes controls that you can use to edit nearly every detail of your project. From the View menu, choose Properties to show or hide the Properties window.

Rotate Counterclockwise Rotates the

Rotate Clockwise Rotates the image

clockwise.

Thumbnail Size Displays small, medium, or large thumbnail images.

The contents of the Properties window change depending on the current selection. For example, if you have a menu open in the workspace, you can edit menu page properties and button properties. If you have a title open in the Timeline window, you can edit information about the media file.

Property Description

Graphics Edits the position, size, and appearance of graphical elements on a menu or

Button Edits the action and appearance of the selected menu button.

Menu Page Adjusts the length, background media, end actions, and remote control button

Media Adjusts the end actions and remote control button behavior for the selected

Picture Compilation Adjusts the end actions and remote control button behavior for the selected

Music/Video Adjusts the end actions and remote control button behavior for the selected Compilation music/video compilation.

Playlist Adjusts the settings for each item in a playlist or to set the end action for the

compilation.

behavior for the selected page.

media file.

picture compilation.

selected playlist.

12 | CHAPTER 2

Timeline window (Alt+9)

The Timeline window is a chronological representation of a video, picture compilation, music/video compilation, or the background media for a menu. From the View menu, choose Timeline to show or hide the Timeline window.

The timeline displays your main audio and video tracks, chapter markers, and transport controls you can use to preview your media within the DVD Architect Studio workspace.

Insert Scene/Chapter Marker Inserts Enable Timeline Snapping Enables timeline a scene/chapter marker. snapping.

Load Markers Loads markers from a Set In Point Sets the in point for the title to file. the cursor position.

Save Markers Saves markers to a file. Set Out Point Sets the out point for the title

Auto Ripple Toggles Auto Ripple Set Loop Point Sets the loop point to

mode. indicate the point where looped playback

Quantize to Frames Forces events and markers to frame boundaries.

to the cursor position.

begins.

Playlists window (Ctrl+Alt+2)

You can use playlists to play a sequence of movies, chapter markers, music/video compilations, or picture compilations. A playlist can contain only titles that are part of the project, which are played from start to finish, and an end action determines what happens at the end of the playlist. From the View menu, choose Playlists to show or hide the Playlists window.

Insert Playlist: Adds a new playlist to your project.

Delete Playlist: Removes the current Playlist Lists the titles in the playlist. playlist from your project item list

Insert Playlist Items: Displays the Select Title dialog where you can add titles to the current playlist.

Current playlist

From the drop-down list, choose the playlist that you want to display.

LEARNING THE DVD ARCHITECT STUDIO WORKSPACE | 13

+ 37 hidden pages