First Look: Adobe Encore DVD
DVD creation is fast becoming one of the killer apps in the new millennium. Like that of desktop publishing in the late 80s, web design and digital video editing in the late 90s, DVD authoring and creation is poised to become the next killer app for digital content creators and designers. Adobe Systems, arguably the biggest purveyor of digital design tools, has entered the DVD tool market with an application that could best be described as the missing link in Adobe's arsenal.
Well that link has been incorporated into the Adobe toolset and holds a lot of promise as an application that will help users of its other tools to create compelling content and navigational controls for DVD creation. The $549 Encore DVD, in version 1.0 and built around Sonic Solutions' AuthorScript engine and other DVD technology, is that tool. While it doesn't have a lot of prebuilt templates and menu buttons like other DVD authoring tools, its integration with Adobe's other applications will enable those who use these tools on a daily basis to create their own templates and menu buttons out of content that they are already working on.[an error occurred while processing this directive] The Encore interface uses a tab style metaphor, similar to that of Adobe's other design products. This enables you to dock related windows together or drag out a specific tab for more individual control or independence. Within this first look, we'll take a look at the interface and some features that Adobe has put into this version 1.0 release.
The Project Window
The project window is where you add all your media files that you want to include on your DVD. These often include video files, audio files, and still images. Encore refers to these files as assets. The project window can be expanded horizontally so you can view all the pertinent data available to the clip, such as the type of file, date file was modified, the duration of the file, transcode setting, and the size of the file. This information can also be found in the Properties tab.
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| The Project Window |
One very nice feature of the project window is the capability to preview your media before you actually commit it to your project. This feature was also borrowed from Premiere. So if you have been working on different iterations of a similar clip, you can preview them in Encore (without having to go back into the video editor), to determine which one you want to work with.
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| Encore's transcode window |
When you import video files that are in AVI format, Encore will transcode them for you in one of the various flavors that Encore supports. These include NTSC DV 16x9 High Quality 4Mb VBR 2 pass, NTSC DV 16x9 High Quality 7Mb VBR 2 pass, NTSC DV 16x9 High Quality 8Mb CBR 1 pass, NTSC DV 16x9 High Quality 4Mb CBR 1 pass, NTSC DV 4x3 High Quality 4Mb VBR 2 pass, NTSC DV 4x3 High Quality 7Mb VBR 2 pass, NTSC DV 4x3 High Quality 8Mb CBR 1 pass, NTSC DV 4x3 Low quality 4Mb CBR 1 pass, NTSC Progressive 16x9 High quality 7mb VBR 2 pass, and NTSC Progressive 4x3 High quality 7Mb VBR 2 pass. Encore can import AVI and native MPEG file formats and convert them to MPEG-2 and Dolby digital audio formats. QuickTime video files are not supported in this release, so if you have QuickTime files that you need to use in your DVD project, you'll have to convert them in the editing application or some other tool to get them into Encore.
Menu Design
When Adobe set out to build Encore, Photoshop integration was most likely at the head of the list in terms of integration. With Encore, you can use the pre-built templates that come on the install CD, or you can create your own using Adobe Photoshop. When you create a menu in Photoshop, all the layers and elements that you build your menu with are preserved when you bring the PSD file into Encore, and vice versa, and you don't have to flatten your layers or re-render your files before you bring them into Encore.
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| Encore's interface |
What you see in Photoshop is what you get in Encore. Once you make a change to the menu in Photoshop and save, it is automatically updated in Encore, so when you switch back to Encore, the change is already implemented in the menu. Encore ships with some menu designs pre-built for you. You can use these or build your menus in Photoshop and import them into Encore. Either way, you can always edit your menus directly in Encore, and for more sophistication, you can bring them into Photoshop.
The Library is where Encore stores all the buttons, menus, and images that are available to use in your DVD project. These include the prebuilt assets that ship with the program, and any assets that you add as you work with different DVD projects. Clicking on an asset in the Library brings up a preview of what that asset looks like. The preview window is located to the left of the asset list in the Library window. Dragging an asset to the project window adds it to your project. Also, once you build buttons in Photoshop and wish to use them in other projects, Encore let's you add buttons to the button menu simply by clicking the add new Library item next to the trash can in the Library window, or right clicking anywhere in the Library asset list. When you drag a PSD file onto the menu, right clicking it will let you convert it to a button. You can also add a drop shadow to buttons from within Encore as well.
When you drag a video to the menu window, Encore grabs the button that you specify in the Library and uses it to create a link from the button to the video, enabling it to play when clicked on. Encore also builds an editable text box around the button, where you name the video. You can then manipulate the position of each video by using the black selection arrow tool in the tools window. The direct select arrow enables you to adjust the properties within the button; the third tool is a text tool that enables you to type in text anywhere on the menu and choose from a variety of fonts. The character tab is where you adjust your text's properties. This is where you choose which font you wish to use, if you want bold or regular, what font size, as well as the capability to adjust the text's leading, kerning, and tracking. Tools are also available to underline, strike through, italicize, align left, align center, align right, and justify last left, all caps, small caps, superscript, and subscript. Encore features full on text tweaking capabilities. Designers will feel right at home with the built in text handling features.
Timelines
Timelines in Encore look like that which you'd find in Adobe Premiere. The timeline is where all the assets of your project are assembled. Each media file on the Timeline shows its duration, or how long the media file will play, in the project. You can add chapter points on the Timeline as well as subtitles. If using subtitles, the Subtitle window enables you to tweak various aspects of the subtitle's font, such as set the font size, stroke weight, leading and tracking, as well as change the font type. The subtitle settings enable you to specify which target language you wish for the subtitles to display.
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| Encore's Timeline |
Encore builds a new Timeline for each video that you use in your project. So, if your project has three videos, Encore creates three Timelines, all of which can have chapter points or subtitles added. Each Timeline supports multiple chapter points and enables you to add up to 8 streams of audio and 32 subtitle streams.
Building the DVD
I did experience a possible conflict between Encore and the NEC ND-1100a DVD+RW-equipped Dell Precision 360 system where I first tried Encore. But I successfully burned the same project and two others in Encore on my 2GHz Compaq EVO4000 home system using the Sony DRU 510a 4X DVD burner without any problems.
With the Dell system, Encore had failed twice during the writing process. On one burn, with the "test before writing" box checked, Encore churned through the test and began to write the file to disc, failing a short time later and wasting the disc. On another, Encore churned through the transcoding and finished about 85 percent of the burn before it failed. I was unable to determine if this was an issue with the system or the software, but I was able to use the same files to successfully burn a DVD on the Dell using Sonic Solutions'MyDVD Deluxe v5.
Encore gives you four different scenarios to build a DVD. These include Make DVD Disc, which builds the DVD project directly to a DVD for playback on a set-top DVD player, a game console that supports playback of DVD discs, or a PC-based DVD-ROM drive; Make DVD Folder, which burns the project to a folder on the hard drive. This enables you to play the project as if it were playing from a DVD player; Make DVD image, which builds the DVD image on your hard drive for transfer to a replication facility or third part mastering tool; and Make DVD master, which writes the project to DLT tape which can then be used for mass replication of the project.
Encore has a built in copy protection scheme that enables you to copy protect your project provided you replicate the project via DLT tape, as copy protection only works with discs that are replicated. Encore uses three types of copy protection, Content Scrambling System, Macrovision, and CGMS.
First Impressions:
Despite its Windows XP only leanings, Encore is a decent version 1.0 product, and it is a good start for Adobe's entry into the DVD authoring space. It would be nice to see support for QuickTime videos. The capability to check for broken links or orphaned links/assets before you burn a DVD is a nice feature, as is the integration with Photoshop. The capability to tweak your menu in Photoshop and have the changes display automatically in Encore is a huge timesaver in itself. If you are already working with Adobe's other creative applications, you should consider Encore because you will see better integration with Adobe's other apps as it matures.
For more information, visit
www.adobe.com
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