Hi All
I'm entering a part of the DV world where I have very little practical experience: authoring and burning DVD's. I've done considerable shooting, editing, etc, but not much stuff with DVD's; I've mostly been going to tape up to this point.

Now that I'm interested in doing it, I have a few questions. I have Ulead's DVD Moviefactory 2 SE and Nero Burning ROM 5.5, too--they came with my burners. I know that I can make a DVD, with a menu, in Moviefactory, and I think Nero just burns a finished mpeg to a DVD. I could be wrong there.

I am wondering about 16X9 footage from my PDX-10. If I were to edit a piece of 16X9 footage into finished form and make a DVD in Moviefactory, would it display correctly? Nowhere does it actually say that it supports 16X9.

If I cannot use either one of the apps that I already own to author a DVD in 16X9, what are my low-cost options when it comes to authoring programs? I have Adobe's Premiere Pro, but am loathe to spend so much on their Encore DVD. Especially since a) I don't have the money, and 2)I have very little idea what I'm going to be doing with it. I just want a beginners app, I guess, that does 16X9.

Any suggestions? Thanks!

I think you can export from Premiere Pro to DVD in 16x9.

I've never done it, but I can't see why you couldn't.

Of course, you can't have any menus that way, just straight play.

Yes, you can do that, Bryan. But like you mention, no menus. Looking for a cheap way to do everything that might be a problem, eh? lol

Chris, I'm not sure what DVD Architect goes for as a stand alone (I got it with Vegas) but while it's a pretty basic DVD authoring program, it allows for a widescreen output, 24p, the whole nine yards. And you can have menus or not. A new version is due out soon (most think by around NAB), and the rumor is it will incorporate a LOT more features. I wanted to time the fade in of the objects/buttons with the fade in of the background video, but it wasn't an option.

The trouble I've found with even more basic programs, such as iDVD for ex., is the limitations of what they can do is maddening. Two frustrations I had with iDVD were, a) it doesn't allow for a "no menu" option (which has its place); and, more important, b) it can't do m-peg 2. The difference in the quality I see (and like you, I'm new to DVD... been at it less than a month) between Quicktime and mpeg 2 is nght and day. So sometimes cheap isn't worth it.

My .02 cents.

<<<-- Originally posted by Marcia Janine Galles : Chris, I'm not sure what DVD Architect goes for as a stand alone (I got it with Vegas) -->>>

It doesn't. You MUST purchase Vegas+DVD to get it or upgrade from Vegas to Vegas+DVD.