First time caller and new to Ulead Technologies....

[herojig]

First time caller and new to Ulead Technologies....hi all, I am an old video dog working in the field (based in kathmandu, nepal) and I now have a hut with a constant power supply and a new desktop for my video production business. I've been struggling along with some great cameras (canon xls2/1 and panaGs400) but with crap for an editing bay (sony laptop, premiere pro, Discreet Cleaner, and encore and nero for DVD production).

Now I have a screaming P4/DDR2/SATA/Gforce Machine and a Snazzi DV.AVIO Pro encoder card being delivered in the am. So I have lots of questions and will be spending mucho time here I'll bet. But first, some preliminary questions:

1) I'm here 'cause of all the ULEAD bundled softwares that came with Snazzi card. Is DVD Workshop 2.0 SE a full version? Is it just a capture tool and not like Adobe Encore for assembly? I am so sick of Adobe I am willing to make a switch even though I am right in the middle of several big projects. But I would like to know beforehand if I am doing something stupid and will be a waste of time. The SE label worries me.

2) I am confused about the Ulead product line. I keep seeing mention of MovieFactory, and the more I read (as I mentioned, the box won't be delivered till the am, all I have are the manuals and the web) is that does the Ulead workflow go something like this?

A. DVD Factory works with the Snazzi card for capturing clips (how does this differ from the supplied DV Stuio AVIO from Snazzi?)

B. Media Studio Pro 7 is the NLE just as Premiere Pro is in the Adobe Universe. Although Snazzi comes with a PPRO plugin that is making me drool tonight, although the Snazzi website has a broken link for that page, so that worries me.

C. MovieFactory is the equal to Adobe Encore for assembly of VCD, SVCD, DVDs?

Annex: PhotoImpact is the equal to PhotoShop? But why would there be a plug in to MediaStudio (mentioned as a free download but requires PhotoImpact) and used to create menus? huh.

Unfortunalty, only Media Studio and DVD Factory was included with the Snazzi (did they expect us to assemble the DVD by hand?), and as I am very old premiere dog I don't know if I want to switch to something like MediaStudio right in the middle of a job. I have been considering AVID as that's available here... I am just so sick of trying to get things into premiere and then back out...I love using PPRO when I am editing but as for the rest....arg....looking for a better way to make DVDs from multiple inputs, including all the M's, D's WMV's and even SWF, and also going back OUT in multiple formats from the multiple inputs. I think getting the desktop and snazzi (and perhaps Ulead software) was a step in the right direction. What do you all think?

Thanks,
Jiggy in KTM

[sjj1805]

Herojig,

Welcome to the world of ULEAD.
Briefly
PhotoImpact as as you thought the equivalant of PhotoShop.
The plug in you mention is to enable you to create your own custom DVD Menu's for use in the following products. If you have DVD Workshop 2, it is so flexible you would not need the plug in.

There are 4 Main ULEAD products
To put them into a simple picture you have 2 expensive products that do something and then 2 cheaper versions.

Apart from DVD Workshop 2 (expensive) which is purpose built to create DVD's with elaborate DVD Menu's, the other 3 are all capable of being a stand alone product able to capture raw video footage from perhaps a camcorder or TV card etc, provide some editing, and then produce a menu driven DVD.

As I've mentioned Workshop 2 already, the others are:-

Media Stuio Pro 8 (Expensive) and will provide extensive editing options - picture in picture effects, moving paths, overlays, picture correction/enhancement tools, sound editing.

Its less expensive brother is Video Studio 9 - aimed more at the Home User and provides much of what is contained in Media Studio 8 but obviously you get less as it is the cheaper product.

The fourth major product is Movie Factory 4. This has less editing options than the above two and is for those who prefer the simpler approach of capturing a video and quickly producing a menu driven DVD (With Chapters). If you are not into editing this would be your preferred product.

Hope this helps and I am sure others will add more meat to my quick outline.

[herojig]

wow, that was fast and clear! I get it now I think except for the confusion with capture software for the snazzi, i guess i'll just try theirs.

MS7 I'll play with later, think i have to stick to premiere for now.

DVD factory sounds like a dream come true. I've been struggling with Encore and gave up and used NeroVisonExpress3, which really ticked me off with Adobe. Both those products leave a lot to be desired.

I don't think any of the rest is of interest. Well, thanks and I am looking forward to using DVD factory in the morning on my new box. I am assuming it supports Liton's latest and greatest.

thanks,
jigs

[Devil]

WHOA! Here you talk about bundled software. In another forum you talk about advanced features like Smart Compositor. This is NOT available in MSP7, which has been superseded, being nearly 3 years old.

SE versions are cut down and you will not have all the features.

As has been mentioned, VS and DVD MF are entry level softwares, while MSP and DVD WS are pro level, each pair for a) capture, editing and simple authoring and b) capture and authoring respectively. MSP has a cut-down version of MF incorporated.

You are entitled to upgrade to the latest full versions of MSP8 (which does contain Smart Compositor) and DVD WS2, from your bundled versions, at reduced cost. WS2 comes in two flavours, you can get the ordinary version or the Express version, which allows only two subtitle and audio tracks and will not output to DLT with copy/region protection.