Can I have the best of both worlds?

[uhill]

Can I have the best of both worlds?
I have VS9 and like it very much. I do not like DVD manus limitations in it. Out of frustration, I think I am ready to be another victim of terrible for me but great for Ulead marketing strategy and buy also Movie Factory 4. before I do that I have some questions:
Will I be able to edit and create video file in VS9 but build DVD menu in Movie Factory 4?
Is it possible to save DVD menus in Movie Factory 4?
Do those two programs use the same burning engine?

[gordon_fan_24]

I don't know about the burning engine, but I regulary use VS9 to edit, create an MPEG-2, and import into Movie Factory 3.0 to create menus, you can save all of your projects in MF3,(i assume you can do this in MF4) including the menus. I have created many DVD's using VS9, and DVD MF (up until now, when I can't burn a quicktime movie, MPEG's are fine...but thats another topic)

[rwindeyer]

Can I have the best of both worlds?

I think you can. I have VS9 now [have upgraded from 7 and 8] and think it is a great product. I use it for all my video editing.
I happen to have MyDVD - an earlier version came bundled with the DVD burner I bought, and I have upgraded it too. I think it is essentially the same kind of product as MF4 - more specialised in burning, and less in editing. I regularly edit in VS9, and import the finished product into MyDVD to do the burning. What you get is more flexibility in menus, better slideshow handling etc. You could do the same with MF4 - I think it is a plus to have the two programs.

[DVDDoug]

I have a worse (more expensive) suggestion -

If you own Video Studio, you can get the Special Upgrade version of DVD Workshop Express for $150. Check-out the trial version before you buy Movie Factory. (The trial version can't do Dolby AC3 audio.)

With Workshop, you can make very professional DVDs with nice multi-level menus. (Most of my menus are text-only). You can even have multiple soundtracks and subtitles if you wish. I've made a couple of DVDs with an original soundtrack and a censored soundtrack.

These programs make a good pair. (Although I actually use Womble MPEG Video Wizard more than Video Studio for editing.)

I've copied several VHS movies to DVD. Since they (usually) don't have to be edited I (usually) use only Workshop. Sometimes I'll use audio & video editing software just to create the audio & video for the menu background, or to create an '"intro" clip to play before the menu is displayed.