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adobe goes dvd
A couple of months ago we gave high praises to Adobe's new
non-linear editing suite, Adobe Premiere Pro. Now that everyone in the
known universe owns a DVD burner, it is only logical that the next step
for all video editing enthusiasts is to take their projects and make them
into professional grade DVDs to share both personally and professionally.
Adobe has release "Encore 1.0" - a new software solution that
allows users to import and convert source files automatically to MPEG-2
video and Dolby Digital audio. Users of the program can also create and
edit menus in Adobe Photoshop format using a comprehensive set of menu
design tools. Encore allows you to output your project to all recordable
DVD formats, ensuring a wide degree of playback compatibility.
Summary of new features
Adobe has done a nice job building a quality DVD burning
suite that gives a ton of features for people to build professional grade
DVDs ....
-- Features / Benefits --
- Integrated transcoding
Let Adobe Encore DVD automatically convert source files to MPEG-2 video
and Dolby® Digital audio, or manually adjust settings to optimize
DVD compression.
- Sample rate conversion
Easily convert audio source files to 48kHz using the integrated sample
rate conversion capability in Adobe Encore.
- Project preview
Review all aspects of your DVD project, including play and navigation
actions, at any time during production.
- Comprehensive DVD output
Write to all recordable DVD formats, ensuring the widest playback possible.
- Direct recording
Write directly to your DVD or DLT drive without writing to your hard
drive.
- Photoshop text tools
Create and edit text using tools similar to those found in Adobe Photoshop
software.
- Motion menu creation
Combine powerful Photoshop editing tools with video compositing tools
to create unique motion menus.
- Menus with audio
Add background audio to menus by simply dragging and dropping.
- Familiar project assembly
Work with Timeline and Monitor windows that provide a familiar nonlinear
interface for assembling video and audio files and subtitle tracks.
- Native Photoshop menus
Seamlessly import PSD files or create menus in PSD format directly within
Adobe Encore. Buttons, text, and images are stored as layers and layer
sets so you can edit later in Photoshop.
- Photoshop integration
Edit menus in Photoshop and see your changes immediately in Adobe Encore
DVD, with no rendering of effects, adjustment layers, or other elements.
- Adobe Premiere Pro integration
Import AVI and MPEG-2 files from Adobe Premiere® Pro for use in
DVD projects. Adobe Encore converts markers to DVD chapter points. Use
Edit Original to make changes in Adobe Premiere Pro and import the changes
into Adobe Encore.
- Adobe After Effects integration
Design motion menus in Adobe After Effects® and import them to Adobe
Encore DVD as AVI files. Use Edit Original to make changes in After
Effects and import the changes into Adobe Encore.
- AVI workflow
Work with AVI source files to build your DVD navigation and encode them
to MPEG-2 video assets when you are ready to burn your disc.
using the program
Adobe has built Encore DVD so that if you want to make a simple
DVD in 30 seconds, it's possible. The first 18 pages of the user manual
is a very quick tutorial on how to quickly build and burn a DVD. The rest
of the pages go a little more in depth about what each section of the
program has to offer and how to manipulate objects and actions to your
liking.
Adobe has also included tutorial files on the Encore DVD,
ensuring a very nice training session before you start building your own
projects. It is highly recommended that you read through the manual and
go through the tutorials, as this first generation software package will
be something new to learn for most users. However, if you're a die-hard
Adobe fan and have used PhotoShop and Premiere Pro extensively, then you
should have no problem navigating around.
I found building menus in the program extremely easy, and
the fact that the program integrates itself so well with PhotoShop adds
to the levels of interactivity. There are only a handful of pre-made menus,
so you'll definitely want to be creating your own in Photoshop ... that
being said Encore makes it extremely easy to import and edit on the fly.
Building the DVD itself is extremely easy. Simply drag the
movie clip onto the menu button and you've done most of the programming
involved. The menus are completely configurable to your liking, and with
the help of After Effects (review coming soon), you can build full motion
video into the menus, just like the professional grade DVDs you buy at
your local store.
The ease of use of the program is very high - as I said
earlier if you're an experienced Adobe user you should have no problem
running around this program. For you novices out there, the program won't
kill you, just be smart and spend an entire day with the program running
through the given tutorials (both on the DVD and on-line at Adobe.com).
After that you should have a great knowledge of how to build a professional
grade DVD.
system requirements
- Intel® Pentium® III 800MHz or faster processor
(Pentium 4 and/or multiprocessor recommended)
- Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional or Windows
XP Home Edition
- 256MB of RAM (512MB or more recommended)
- 500MB of available hard-disk space required for installation
- 2GB of additional hard-disk space recommended for extra
content
- 10GB or larger hard disk or disk array recommended for
ongoing work
- 1,280x1,024 32-bit color video display adapter (dual
monitors recommended)
- DVD-ROM drive
- Supported DVD burner
- Stereo sound card
Setup, installation
Installation is as simple as installing any DVD software, so
pretty much anyone can do it. Installation on a P4 2.53GHz system took
approximately 2 minutes to complete. Help is available in the form of
the User Manual, and the in-software help feature.
Implementation, training, and
integration
As mentioned before, there is a helpful manual included with the software
that we wish was much longer (because it offered such great tips). On
the DVD itself there is plenty of reference information, sample files,
and tutorials to get anyone from novices to experts up and running. The
integration factor with Encore is extremely high with other Adobe products
as the people at Adobe specifically had the Photoshop and Premiere Pro
users in mind with this program.
User interface
The interface is very similar to that in Premiere Pro, but there
isn't 100s of buttons to get you confused. Adobe has kept things very
simple with Encore - which is definitely a good thing. There are plenty
of advanced things to do through the use of the information palettes that
appear when manipulating objects. Nevertheless, the work space is kept
clean and looks sharp too.
The costs
The MSRP through the corporate website is $549. For a first generation
product, I would have expected the software to be a little cheaper to
entice people to use this product as opposed to the competition. But you
are paying for Adobe quality, support, and features, so the quality of
the product is what sets it apart from the competition.
Our Impressions Using the Product
The only thing that I have to say that's negative about Encore DVD is
the amount of time it takes to encode a DVD when you want it burned. Simply
leave the computer and let it do its thing ... it's going to be a while.
Should I blame Encore DVD for that, or is it simply a bi-product of using
a 2.6GHz system? Either way you should definitely be using a RAM &
CPU intensive computer while using this product.
The user interface is a definite strength of the program,
and the ability to get running very quickly also impressed us. The level
of support for the product is pretty strong, fueled by the amount of the
integration the program has with other Adobe products.
Summary and general recommendations
With Encore DVD, Adobe has entered into the DVD authoring
market with a serious contender for the heavyweight title. This program
definitely tries to please all audiences - from the average consumer looking
to make some home-made DVDs , to the DVD authoring professional who demands
After-Effects / PhotoShop / Premiere Pro integration. There's no doubt
about one thing - anyone will be able to make professional looking DVDs
to impress their audiences.
I have to say for a first generation product, Encore DVD
is a definite winner. The performance of the product is extremely impressive
- from super-integration, to built in features, to ease of use. All those
things definitely surprised me in how well they worked, as experienced
Adobe users should have zero lag time figuring out how this program navigates
and works. The value of the software title is pretty high as everyone
who owns a camcorder is dying to make their own DVDs, and have them look
more professional than amateur. The price point of the product is a little
high, but given the level of features that go into this product you can
see why the price point is what it is. The usefulness and longevity of
the program are always up to the user, but we feel that people already
editing video (presumably in Premiere Pro) would buy Adobe Encore DVD
and use it to their heart's desire.
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10 / 10 |
OVERALL SCORE
94%
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10 / 10 |
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8 / 10 |
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10 / 10 |
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9 / 10 |
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9.4 /
10 |
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