DVD Complete on sale

JumboTech wrote on 9/30/2002, 9:47 AM
Hi Dazzle DVD Complete users.

What do you think about $49.99 after rebate for your favorite DVD authoring application? It has a $50 rebate this week at CompUSA stores. I was wondering if it has moving menus and can you edit the templates and add decent amounts of text? Also does it accept Vegas DVD encodes without re-encoding?

Thanks very much...

Al

Comments

vonhosen wrote on 9/30/2002, 11:44 AM
It's good for $99 let alone $49.99.

It has motion menu buttons (not background). These are 30 second loops from your chapter point, though you can adjust them to play from somewhere else in your video file. You have to let the program auto generate menus & whilst not having full control you can alter text, background images,hghlight & opacity of covered & selected buttons etc. It has Ligos motion built in encoder that actually does a very good job itself with the encodes. If you try the built in encoder I think you'll be pretty impressed ! Just load your .avi file & it will do the encodes pretty quick & fantastic quality. (It also does slideshows etc)

I've encountered no problems with the program & it's very easy to use setting chapter points etc. The only problems I've heard rumours of are for using it to capture footage direct but I've never used it for that.
JumboTech wrote on 9/30/2002, 12:10 PM
Thanks very much!

Anybody else?

Al
yirm wrote on 9/30/2002, 12:13 PM
I A/B'd the default DVD Complete encoding with the Sonic Foundry default encoding and found the latter to be significantly better. If you bring a SF-generated MPG (for DVD) into DVD Complete, the video stream will not be re-encoded, however it seems the audio stream will. The answer seems to render twice from SF -- once as an MPG2 (video only), and once as a WAV. Then, when you import it, the video will not be re-encoded, and you will have a choice between bringing the audio in uncompressed, or as Mpeg 1 layer 2.

-Jeremy
Paul_Holmes wrote on 9/30/2002, 12:31 PM
Just a note on rendering twice to get a separate video and audio file in Vegas with Main Concept. This is already built in and you only have to render once. Choose one of the Main Concept MPEG 2 templates, or your own, then click on custom, then on the "system" tab at the bottom of the dialog. Near the top choose "Save as separate elementary streams." PS -- I've tested a lot of encoders and didn't find Ligos very satisfactory at anything but a high fixed rate. I love Main Concept. Excellant state of the art all-in-one encoder!
stepfour wrote on 9/30/2002, 12:43 PM
That price is great. Wish I had some way of getting that rebate. All the DVD's I have done since April of this year have been made with Dazzle DVD Complete. Excellent package for the money I paid and a legal steal for the money you are about to pay.
JumboTech wrote on 9/30/2002, 6:40 PM
Guys

Thanks a bunch for the info. Based on the positive feedback, I just got my copy and will let you know the results. First impressions are good.

Al
wcoxe1 wrote on 9/30/2002, 7:48 PM
Is this the Deluxe, or the Standard version? In the case of Deluxe, it is wonderful, on several counts.

I hope to get the department to buy it (zero cost to me), and if I just wait a little, this sale signals a new version coming out soon. FANTASTIC. That way I can save my own pennies for SF products ;)
willphil wrote on 9/30/2002, 8:14 PM
If this is the deluxe version, a recent update added motion menu backgrounds, also.
stepfour wrote on 9/30/2002, 9:27 PM
Judging from the pre-rebate price, it must be the deluxe version.

Willphil, thanks for posting the info about the motion backgrounds. I had no idea. I have been so busy that I had not checked in at Dazzle site lately. That means this much-overlooked DVD package now has motion menu buttons and backgrounds, all for under $100.

I wish I had known about that new feature. I just delivered a wedding DVD this past weekend that motion backgrounds would have gone great with. It was an outdoor ceremony and I had plenty of beautiful scenery footage from that day which could have been the background. Anyway, I'm about to do my Dazzle update. I see they have a user forum now, too!
fathamike wrote on 10/1/2002, 6:12 AM
Can any compare DVD Complete to Ulead's DVD Movie Factory? That's worked fairly well for me, except it's not so easy to set chapter points within a file.
craftech wrote on 10/1/2002, 8:49 AM
User reviews on this product seem to be pretty poor:

http://www.cnet.com/software/0-3227896-1218-20206222.html?pn=1&lb=0&ob=0&tag=st.sw.3227896.top.20206222-1

The complaints about non-existent tech support and product failures using Windows XP seem particularly disturbing.
JumboTech wrote on 10/1/2002, 10:27 AM
It is the Deluxe version 2.02, I believe. I didn't see the motion backgrounds but there is an update to version 2.04 on the web so perhaps that is the version that provides that feature. I read several positive reviews but I'm sure that there are folk who have problems just as we do with Vegas even though we love it. For the person who asked about the comparison to DVD MF, I have been using that up to now and DVD Complete is much better in the chapter setting department. Also, it is easier to put your own text wherever you want it and you can resize the chapter windows and buttons. Plus you have the motion menus etc. I still like DVD MF but so far, this prog looks like a winner.

Thanks again for all the input, the rebate is good through Saturday, I believe.

Al
vonhosen wrote on 10/1/2002, 11:20 AM
DVD Complete update 2.04 gives you motion backgrounds (to add to motion buttons) but I would hold fire with it as it appears the update creates problems with your menus. (When you burn to disc the wrong menus are displayed but the appear OK in preview.) Their engineers have looked at it & are prmising a fix with update version 2.06

It was a brand new product & so perhaps support was not as well set up as it should have been. They do now have a user forum at Dazzle web site.

The program was bought by Dazzle from the guys at www.dvdcre8.com . I haven't contacted them myself but have seen reports on other forums from users who suggest the people there are still very helpful if you have problems with their baby.

I had tried Movie Factory & a lot of people sing it's praises but I preferred DVD Complete & have not had any problems with it on a Windows XP machine.
stepfour wrote on 10/2/2002, 8:24 AM
It looks like most of the people unhappy with DVD Complete got it bundled with some sort of Dazzle hardware. The trouble with bundled software is that once it is packaged and put in the distribution channel, it does not get software updates. Dazzle has updated the encoding engine for DVD Complete several times since that bundled software was written. Still, I agree with those users, that getting buggy software is very frustrating.

I don't understand why some companies don't seem to be able to adequately test their software prior to release. The latest bug with the motion menu background is an example. Dazzle should have detected and fixed that before posting the download. By the way, the only time a problem occurs with that is when you have more than one movie on the DVD. It works fine when there is only one movie involved. Dazzle promises a fix soon.
chewbonkay wrote on 10/3/2002, 6:12 AM
Quick question about audio with DVD complete. I'm looking to save space on my DVDs and read that with this package audio can be an uncompressed wave or mpeg1/2. Does going with mpeg yield a much smaller file? Any thoughts here would be great. I currently use My DVD and it only uses .wav files which for my purposes eats up over 1GB of the disc. Thanks
bcbarnes wrote on 10/3/2002, 7:17 AM
DVD Complete can use MPEGII for audio, and it does result in a much smaller image size. Be warned, however, that the NTSC DVD spec requires only PCM (uncompressed) and DOLBY as the audio spec, so there is a chance (all be it quite small) that a DVD that uses MPEGII audio will not be compatible with older set top players.
vicmilt wrote on 10/3/2002, 8:52 AM
Can anyone compare the Dazzle version in discussion with DVDit SE?
I've got the SE software, but really haven't had the time to play with it. Sometimes, waiting is dying when it comes to software, and a newer cheaper version can be infinitely better.
Does anyone know if this is the case here? ie, Dazzle vs DVDit SE
thanx in advance
vonhosen wrote on 10/3/2002, 3:35 PM
I have both DVDit & DVD Complete.

DVD Complete is infinitely more reliable & esier to use with far more functionality (for a fraction of the price).
It gives you motion menu buttons (& backgrounds with update) , DVDit doesn't.
It will allow you to use .wav or MPEG-1 layer II audio which gives you the compression of Dolby , DVDit SE only allows .wav audio. (Be aware that as previously mentioned some older NTSC players may not support MPEG audio)

The only positive thing to say with DVDit SE over DVD Complete is that it will give you a total blank sheet to work with for your menus so you can be as creative as you like (but of course no motion)
stepfour wrote on 10/4/2002, 1:37 AM
I agree, and the motion in the buttons/backgrounds makes a real difference in the how interactive the DVD feels. Still-shot menu buttons would be a turn-off for me.

I sold my first wedding DVD this past Spring. When I delivered it and the Mother saw herself walking into the chapel in one of the motion buttons, she was simply thrilled. I know a still button would not have gotten that reaction.

The "V" in "DVD" means "Versatile." Get the package that give you the most Versatility.
haydenj wrote on 10/4/2002, 11:03 AM
I find the templates used in DVD complete well done and you can order more templates from Dazzle if you like. The only thing missing that I would like to see is closed captions or subtiles but you usually have to pay big money for that feature.
JumboTech wrote on 10/6/2002, 8:54 AM
All right, if $49.99 isn't cheap enough, how about $39.99?

That's this week's deal for DVD Complete at Circuit City. It's a good program, they just need to get the scripting tutorial out so that you can fully customize the menus.

Al
wcoxe1 wrote on 10/6/2002, 10:58 AM
Like I said, it is obviously time to issue a new version. Two price drops in such a short period, no other conclusion.
shaunn wrote on 10/6/2002, 11:34 AM
I tried to look for the 39$ sale at circuitcity.com to no avail...could you post the link to that discount? thanks

Shaun
JumboTech wrote on 10/6/2002, 3:38 PM
Shaun

Try this:

http://www.circuitcity.com/frame1.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@1395656242.1033936160@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccdjadcggmdegfmcfngcfkmdffhdffh.0&upper=head.jsp&lower=frame2.jsp&left=leftspecials.jsp&right=store_specials.jsp&inleftcat=Specials

It's under Peripherals and Accessories.

Looks like it's "in store only".

Hope this helps...

Al