Are Workshop made DVDs region free?

[GeorgeW]

I'd like to take a step back for a moment...

First, I don't work for Ulead, so this is just my personal view...

I totally agree that this a great feature to have (ability to hit a button and create a PAL and NTSC version of my disc).

I'm only saying that over 18 months ago, not many Authoring packages in the price range of DVD Workshop 2.0 could compete. Yes, the package is more than 18 months old (I don't know for sure how old, I can't remember).

As you know, alot can happen in 18 months -- and as more folks get into disc authoring, more requests for new and improved features come along.

I think this is one of those requested features that just happen to make it into a product that was in its upgrade cycle (MovieFactory). And that is why it's not yet in DVD WS -- it's just about the timing of the different upgrade cycles...

A similar situation exists in Ulead's VideoStudio 9.0 vs. MediaStudio Pro 7.0. There are features currently in VideoStudio 9.0 that are not in Ulead's professional editing package MediaStudio Pro 7.0 -- again, just different timing of the product update cycles. And this happens alot with any company -- you might at times see features in a lower level application that haven't yet made it to the higher level application due to differences in the timing of their upgrade cycles.

Yes, I'm in total agreement that this is one of those features that would be great to have. And that's what is great about user feedback -- it helps provide a list of improvements and new features for the next upgrade of a product...

I'm just asking that you keep an open mind and consider what DVD WS 2.x can do (in terms of features and user-friendly interface), and 18 months ago it was at the top of the food chain (imho). And it still competes with current packages -- mostly because of the advanced features that it does include, and the user-friendly interface makes it possible for just about anyone to create a professional quality dvd in a relatively short amount of time

I've seen the Disc Authoring industry grow over the past 4-5 years, and let me say that the current version of MovieFactory 4.0 DC (at it's price of under $100) could run circles around products that cost over $1,000 (for the same features) just a few short years ago...

[Devil]

For Goodness sake! Be reasonable! WS2 is not the most modern of authoring packages and most of the more recent ones certainly do not do what you want. In fact, I'm not even sure that MF4 has that feature; I certainly scanned the manual and found nothing.

I have done a number of "bilingual" projects. I did the AVI file conversions in MSP7. As I had already done the menu in PAL, it did not take me long to duplicate them in NTSC, even though some were quite complex. The sub-title txt files need one small modif in NotePad to allow them to be imported into the NTSC version. I doubt whether it took me more than 1½ hours altogether before I was ready to encode/burn.

Is this so unreasonable, when the encoding/burning took 4 hours? And do remember that the menus are encoded in mpg, not in AVI, so that if you converted them, the quality would be degraded, compared with doing it the way I described. I suspect that the MF4 procedure is to capture the VIDEO_TS file and convert, in which case the quality of the whole video would be seriously degraded. No authoring proggy I know will convert AVIs, nor should they need to, you have editors for that.

I believe a rant like that is more a display of ignorance than reasoned thought.

[Maukka]

Wow.... Thanks for the replys.
Having read the above explanations it does seem somewhat more reasonable that DVDWorkshop would not have that feature.

I had not realized that the current version goes back nearly two years. Is there an upgrade in sight?

I guess I was just expecting to covert to NTSC with similar ease as I do with the AVI files in MSP7, not thinking about how much more complex the conversion issue gets when there are several files, menus, backgrounds, subtitles etc. which should be converted all in one go, and which furthermore are mpeg files and not AVI.

But I do wonder if I'll be able to redo the menus and links from scratch in less than two hours... and if they will be exactly like the ones in PAL version. Anyway, it is already a great relief to hear that I don't need to retype the subtitles! ...My intention is also to add extra content with Sonic eDVD, so I still have work to do

Let's be clear: I originally chose DWS because of the ease of use and reasonable price. I also have a copy of Adobe Encore 1.5 (I don't know if it has such a conversion feature...), but decided to use DWS in my current project because it seemed soooo much more intuitive to use. So I want to emphasize that I like the product! I was just a bit disappointed to see that I need to redo stuff that I have already done. That is never pleasant, particularly when it unexpected.

Thanks again for your replys,
Maukka