|
|
 |
|
DVDit!
Support Frequently Asked Questions
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| File Format Questions: |
 What file types does DVDit! support? |
This chart shows the types of files that DVDit! supports. Make sure that
your file has the correct extension before importing it into DVDit! - otherwise,
it may not be recognized by the software.
|
File Type |
Parameters |
Extension(s) |
| Audio |
| WAVE Audio for Windows |
48 kHz, 8-, 16-, or 20-bit stereo |
.wav |
| MPEG-1 Layer 2 Audio |
44.1/48 kHz, 8-, 16-, or 20-bit stereo |
.mpa, .abs |
| Dolby Digital (DVDit! PE only) |
48 kHz, 8-, 16-, or 20-bit stereo Bit-rate:
96 448 kbps |
.ac3 |
| Video |
| MPEG-2 elementary stream |
See detailed
specifications |
.mpg, .mpeg, .m2v, .mp2, .mpv |
| MPEG-2 program stream |
One MPEG-2 video stream and one MPEG-1
Layer 2 audio stream |
.m2p, .mpg, .mpeg |
| MPEG-1 elementary stream |
See detailed
specifications |
.mpg, .mpeg, .m1v, .mp1, .mpv |
| MPEG-1 program stream |
One MPEG-1 video stream and one MPEG-1
Layer 2 audio stream |
.m1p, .mpg, .mpeg |
| Audio Visual Interleave (Not DVDit! LE)
|
One video stream and one optional WAVE
audio stream |
.avi |
| QuickTime (DVDit! 2.0 and above, not
DVDit! LE) |
One video layer (containing one or more
consecutive video tracks) and one optional WAVE audio layer |
.mov, .qt |
| Graphics |
| Windows/OS2 Bitmap |
1, 4, 8, 16, 24, or 32 bits/pixel |
.bmp, .rle |
|
JPEG |
8,
24, or 32 bits/pixel |
.jpg,
.jpeg |
| Macintosh
PICT |
1,
4, 8, 16, 24, or 32 bits/pixel |
.pct,
.pic, .pict |
| Photoshop
(DVDit! 2.0 and above) |
24
bits/pixel Can have multiple layers (each layer is imported as a separate
item). DVDit! also supports transparency, so you can create non-rectangular
menu buttons. |
.psd |
| Portable
Network Graphic (PNG) |
1,
4, 8, 16, 24, or 32 bits/pixel |
.png |
|
TIFF |
1,
2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 16, 24, or 32 bits/pixel Must not use LZW compression |
.tif |
| Targa
|
8,
16, 24, or 32 bits/pixel |
.tga,
.vda, .icb, .vst |
|
| |
|
| What are the differences between elementary streams and system streams? |
Elementary streams contain either audio or video alone. This is the type
of stream that is most commonly used in DVDit!.
System streams contain multiplexed audio and video in a single file and
come in two formats:
• Program streams. These are optimized for multimedia. DVDit!
supports program streams where there is only one elementary, DVD-compliant,
MPEG-2 video stream and one elementary MPEG-1 audio stream (44.1 or 48
kHz, 16-bit stereo).
• Transport streams. These carry many program streams at the
same time and are mainly used for digital television transmission. DVDit!
does not support transport streams.
|
| |
|
| What are the restrictions on the types of MPEG-2 video files that will work with DVDit? |
This chart shows a detailed specification of the types of files that DVDit!
supports.
| Parameters |
NTSC
(525 lines @ 60 Hz) |
PAL
(625 lines @ 50 Hz) |
| Source
picture resolution: |
720
x 480 |
720
x 576 |
| 704
x 480 |
704
x 576 |
| 352
x 480 |
352
x 576 |
| 352
x 240 |
352
x 288 |
| Number
of pictures in a GOP: |
36
fields (18 frames) maximum |
30
fields (15 frames) maximum |
| Frame
rate: |
29.97
Hz |
25
Hz |
| Aspect
ratio: |
4:3
(and 16:9 anamorphic in DVDit! PE) |
| MPEG-2
bit-rate Constant bit-rate (CBR) or variable bit-rate (VBR) 2.0
8.3/9.4 Mbps |
If
you use PCM audio in a project, the maximum video bit-rate is 8.3
Mbps. If you use Dolby Digital (DVDit! PE only), the maximum is 9.4
Mbps. The combined video and audio bit-rate must not exceed 9.8 Mbps.
|
| MPEG-1
bit-rate |
1.15
1.856 Mbps |
The DVD specification also requires a sequence header before each GOP (the
sequence header contains information about the MPEG stream, such as aspect
ratio, GOP size and bit-rate). DVDit! does not support MPEG streams without
sequence headers. Check your encoder’s settings to ensure that it creates
sequence headers before you encode MPEG files for DVDit! |
| |
|
| Can I import a third-party Dolby Digital (AC-3) file into DVDit? |
| DVDit! PE includes Dolby Digital stereo audio support. |
| |
|
| Known Issues: |
| My set top DVD player claims that it can read CD-R but it doesn't seem to read the DVD data on the CD-R. Why? |
Most DVD Set top players will recognize CD-RW media BUT it will only
play the CD if it is a Red Book (audio) or VCD (Video CD).
If you insert a CD-ROM with a DVDVolume on it, the set top player will either
do nothing or eject the disc. Most PC DVD players can be coerced to play
the DVDVolume from any drive: hard drive, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW,
and DVD+RW. |
| |
|
| Why is the Audio_ts folder empty?? |
This folder is reserved for the upcoming DVD-Audio specification and is
not used currently. This folder should always be empty but is required to
be there for a valid DVDVolume.
All audio, video, subpicture and navigational data are stored in the Video_ts
folder per the DVD Video specification. |
| |
|
| Requirements and Recommendations: |
| What DVD recorders and media are recommended at this time? |
The DVD 100i +RW drive (+RW discs) has been added to version 2.5's compatibility
list. These discs also have a 4.7 G maximum storage capacity. Here is
a lisit of tested DVD Recorders:
Ram Media
- Matshita/Panasonic
LF-D101/D102/D103
- Samsung/Panasonic
LF-D311 (Ram/-R/-RW)
-R only
Media
- Pioneer
S-201
- Panasonic
SW-9501 TXX
-R/RW
Media
- Pioneer
A-03/A-04
- Panasonic
LF-D311
+RW Media
- HP 100i
(+R discs to be released soon)
|
| |
|
| What CD recorders are recommended? |
These drives are known to work well with DVDit!, although many more may
be compatible:
-
Acer 6432A-004
- Hewlett Packard CD-Writer+ 7100, CD-Writer+ 9200
- JVC XR-W2020 (R2626), XR-W2080, XR-W4080, XRW-4080S
- LG CED-8042B
- Matsushita CW-7501-B, CW-7502-B, CW-7503-BXX, CW-7585
- Memorex CRW-1622, CRW620 (Ricoh MP6200S)
- Phillips CDD2000/00 (IMS CDD2000/00), CDD2600/52, CDD3600/51, CDD3610/01,
CDD4201/31
- Plextor PX-R24CSi, PX-R412Ci, PX-R820Ti, PX-W4220Ti
- Ricoh MP6200A, MP6200S, RO-1420C, RW7040A (ARW4420), RW7040S
- Sanyo CDR-R800SN (generic CRD-R800S)
- Sony CDU-920S, CDU-926S (SAF CD-R20006), CDU-948S, CRX-140E
- Teac CD-R50S-000, CD-R55S, CD-R58S
- Traxdata CDRW2224 PLUS, CRW2260 PRO
- Yamaha CDR400c-NB, CDR400t-NB, CRW4001t-NB, CRW4260t-NB, CRW4416S-NB,
CRW8424S
Note:
Earlier versions of DVDit! (2.0 and below) do not support writing to any
CD-R or DVD-R devices on the Compaq AP200 running Windows NT and the Compaq
Presario running Windows 98. |
| |
|
| My CD recorder is not on the DVDit! compatibility list. Can I still make a CD with DVD data? |
Yes. Start by building a DVD Volume from the project onto your hard drive.
Take the “Video_TS” and “Audio_TS” folders out of the DVD Volume folder
and burn them onto the CD, along with your other ROM data, using any third-party
CD writing utility.
To add the cDVD player to your CD (DVDit! 1.1.3 and above), you must also
copy the folder called “intervideo” and the file called “Autorun.inf” (both
are in the “...\Sonic Solutions\DVDit! xx\Player” folder) to the root level
of your CD along with the “Audio_TS” and “Video_TS” folders. |
| |
|
| What SCSI cards are recommended? |
You can use these SCSI cards to connect CD-R and DVD-R drives:
- Adaptec
2940UW, 2940U2W, 3940UW
- Advansys ABP-3980
- ATTO UL3S
- Compaq DDRS34560W (Symbios Logic chipset SYM53C825)
- Initio INI-9400U/UW
- Symbios Logic SYM53C875, SYM8951U
|
| |
|
| Are dual-processor systems supported? |
| At the present time, DVDit! does not support dual-processor configurations. |
| |
|
| Tip and Tricks: |
| Can I create a CD-R with DVD content on it? |
With all versions of DVDit!, you can put DVD content on a CD-R. In version
1.1.3 and above, you can create a cDVD title, which actually puts a DVD
player on the disc itself so anyone with a CD-ROM drive can play back your
title.
If you’re using an earlier version of DVDit!, you can still write DVD content
to a CD. However, these versions will not put a player on the disc for you.
In general, when writing to CD-R you should bear in mind that:
- CD-R contains far less data than DVD-R (650 MB instead of 4.7 GB), so
your titles must be smaller. (A CD-R holds 15 20 minutes of high-quality
video — or more, if you do not need the same level of quality as a commercial
DVD.)
- Some consumer (set-top) DVD players can recognize CD-R discs,
but will only play the CD if it is an Audio-CD (Red Book) or Video-CD
(White Book). However, all but the very earliest DVD-ROM and CD-ROM drives
in computers can read CD-R discs, so your title is playable on any computer
that has a software DVD player installed.
Note:
Only some set-top DVD players are able to read Video-CD discs. Check your
player’s manual for compatibility with Video-CD.
In DVDit!, writing to CD-R is the same as writing to DVD-R. You just author
your DVD project and tell DVDit! to write the project to your DVD-R or CD-R
recorder. DVDit! adjusts itself to write to the correct media automatically;
and if your project is too large to fit on the disc, DVDit! warns you, preventing
you from wasting discs. |
| |
|
| How can I make a video sequence of more than one clip without a menu? Can I divide a clip into chapters? |
You can use any video editing software to create sequenced video. Then simply
drag the file into DVDit! and make this the first play.
DVDit! SE and PE 2.0 and above let you add chapter points to your video
streams. You can then link these chapter points to buttons in a menu using
a simple drag-and-drop action. |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
