So, this shouldnt be in Audio, I think.....if it should please move it.

I created an entire DVD with motion menus, multiple tracks.....etc.....

So, now the audio on the menus is way too loud and when you go to a track its too low compared to the menu sound. I compared what I had to other pro dvd's i.e: Bourne Ultimatum, Godfather....etc. Without touching the sound on the tube, that audio on the menus is way too loud and the tracks are just perfect. (around -12db output)

So, what I have tried is to take the file into soundtrack and take it down about 20db and re-export the file and then input it back to DVDSP. But that doesnt do anything....still loud.

Any ideas? Should i get a different authoring program?

What is the audio source? Is it in the movie clip used in the menu, or a standalone audio file? What is its level?

You need to make it an AC3 file in compressor first.
-C

I took it as a caf from the soundtrack built in's. Will you be able to adjust the ac3 when you stick it into DVDSP? Or do you have to set levels before putting it through compressor?

Set levels in Soundtrack, then send to Compressor, then import into DVDSP.

I've just been importing the file into FCP, setting the appropriate level, and exporting as WAV, then into DVDSP. Any advantage of using Soundtrack and Compressor?

Any advantage of using Soundtrack and Compressor?

Other than having your audio in the correct format? ;-)

The non-smarty pants answer is that you should run both picture and sound through Compressor in order to transcode both into the appropriate formats. Audio for DVD should be Dolby Digital AC3 files, not WAVs or AIFFs (even though they can technically be used, IIRC they are not actually part of the DVD spec).

Compressor has good presets for transcoding your media. You can tweak them to suite your needs per project. I have a swath of custom presets for various workflows which I save as droplets as well.

Take some time to dive into Compressor and you will find it much more usefull than you may have first thought.

Other than having your audio in the correct format? ;-)

The non-smarty pants answer is that you should run both picture and sound through Compressor in order to transcode both into the appropriate formats. Audio for DVD should be Dolby Digital AC3 files, not WAVs or AIFFs (even though they can technically be used, IIRC they are not actually part of the DVD spec).

Compressor has good presets for transcoding your media. You can tweak them to suite your needs per project. I have a swath of custom presets for various workflows which I save as droplets as well.

Take some time to dive into Compressor and you will find it much more usefull than you may have first thought.

Oh, I was just talking about menu audio (and I thought the TC was too). I definitely use Compressor for my DVD video, but it didn't seem necessary for only menu audio (and it's worked fine for me).

I run all track audio through Compressor. DVDSP transcodes audio that does not fit the right format anyway. But will adjust levels even after i turn the volume down in FCP or ST.


Menu volume not track volume.