|
Jimco Software Reviews - Sonic DVDit 5.2 (continued)
Edit
To begin a DVD authoring project, you need to
import your video and audio and make sure it's all ready to burn
to the DVD. In DVDit, you do that in the Edit screen
shown in figure 1. From here, you can trim your
video, set your video and audio properties, add chapter points,
and more.
Figure 1 - The Edit Screen
By right-clicking on a video or audio file, you
can access extended properties on that file. For video
files you can ensure that the aspect ratio is correct by
selecting either 4:3 or 16:9 from the properties window shown in
figure 2. In our experience, DVDit always
correctly recognized anamorphic widescreen video, but it's nice
to know that we can set the property manually if we need to. (We'll go into detail on widescreen support and an explanation of widescreen technology in DVDs a bit later in this review.)
Audio files offer the same level of properties, but they're all
read-only as one would expect.
Figure 2 - Video File
Properties
If your video in and out points are not
satisfactory, you can trim your video from within the Edit
screen. Trimming is non-destructive and does not affect
the original media. You can trim in numerous ways, but
trimming is most easily accomplished by using the green in point
trimming handle and red out point handle, both of which are
visible at the bottom of the preview window shown in figure 1.
After your video is ready to go, you will likely
want to create some chapter points for your menus. This
was one of our favorite features in DVDit. We're used to
working in products (like Ulead's DVD Workshop) that only allow
you to insert chapter points at I-frames. The problem with
that approach is that I-frames only appear every so often in a
video file and invariably somewhere other than where you want
your chapter point. DVDit will let you place a chapter
point anywhere. The timeline at the bottom of the Edit
screen is also extremely convenient for inserting chapters.
DVDit has such fine control over placement of chapters that you
can literally place them at the frame level without any
difficulty.
Author
Once your chapter points have been created,
you're ready to create your menus. (DVDit doesn't require
that you have a menu for your DVD.) Now you're about to
see the true power of this software. As a matter of fact,
you may want to go ahead and grab another cup of coffee.
It will take us a while to run you through the plethora of
features available.
|