Ever wish you could add links to the Internet from the
DVDs you author? Or how about a Powerpoint presentation, MP3 files, or
even just photos? Adding the content is easy enough with most programs,
but finding it is often left up to the viewer's ingenuity and
willingness to poke around on the DVD using their PC. What good is
including a PDF Christmas card with your DVD of your family vacation if
your friends and family have to have to use Windows Explorer to find
it?
Take 1
eDVD (from Sonic) is a third-party
application that enables you to link chapters to outside content or
other material already on the DVD. In addition to providing links to
previously-hidden DVD-ROM content, the program can provide links to any
website or web content, provided the DVD is viewed on a PC or television
with Internet access.
The app is amazingly simple to use. Once
you've authored a DVD in another program (say, Nero or Easy Media
Creator, or Sonic's own high-end DVDit Pro) you simply import the
VIDEO_TS folder of your already-built project into eDVD. Once there, you
navigate through a menu consisting of your DVD's chapters and add
whatever links you desire. Using the program, you can link to just about
any content on the Web as well as MP3s, text files, Word documents,
Excel spreadsheets, PDF files, and a whole lot more.
One caveat:
You will probably need to think ahead when authoring your DVDs and add
blank chapters unless you want to overwrite content or confuse the
viewer. For example, if you've burned your toddler's photos onto DVD but
want to add a link to his website, create a chapter that doesn't contain
anything. Then you can link that chapter to the website address, and
when your relatives across the country click the link, they'll be taken
to Junior's home on the Web.
eDVD retails for $199.
Take
2
If you're ready to move beyond the DVD authoring software
that came with your PC, you might consider switching to Sonic's DVDit
Pro 6. Billed as "The Hollywood standard in DVD creation," the suite
does have a steep learning curve; depending on what you do with it,
however, the time spent learning the ropes can be well worth it. The
program offers region coding, copy protection, professional subtitle
editing, multichannel Dolby digital support, multiple audio and subtitle
tracks, complete menu creation, and much more.
Unlike a lot of
other DVD authoring programs, DVDit Pro supports virtually any file
format--including AVI, MPEG, MPEG-2, Quicktime and Windows Media files.
Because of that, transcoding (writing) an image to the hard drive is
almost always quicker and easier than with just about any other program.
Moreover, because the system also supports a wide array of audio options
(including Dolby digital theatre-quality sound) synchronization between
audio and video usually comes off without a hitch. The DVD power user
can use this program to do just about anything from creating
multi-track/multi-language DVDs to ensuring your discs only work on
players in the USA and Canada. Moreover, you can write your projects out
to DLT (Digital Linear Tape) for professional mastering and
distribution.
If you need a powerful DVD authoring program for
Windows XP that offers you precision control over every aspect of disc
creation, this one should more than fit the bill. Though the price
($399, which also includes a copy of eDVD--the non-pro version is $100
cheaper and doesn't included eDVD) is a bit off-putting, what you gain
in terms of DVD creation power is near-priceless.
_________________
Burning it up
Nowhere in
ComputerUser will we suggest, condone, or even excuse copying commercial
DVDs for profit. However, we also know how frustrating it can be when
your favorite DVD (mine would be the 30th anniversary edition of
'Schoolhouse Rock') decides to spontaneously stop working.
Of
course, if you've made a backup (which is legally your right) you'll
still have access to Rocky, Bill, Interplanet Janet, and all of your
other animated friends. unfortunately, none of the
commercially-available DVD authoring programs (the afore-mentioned DVDit
Pro, Nero, Easy Media Creator, etc.) will allow you to copy most
commercially-available DVDs. So what do you do?
There are plenty
of DVD decryption programs out there, if you know where to look. My
favorite is DVD Decrypter, a handy little freeware program that will
allow you to copy just about any copy-protected disc. The software takes
advantage of both the VobDec and DeCSS Plus algorithms for decrypting
the CSS encryption. DVD Decrypter is also capable of removing the
Macrovision scrambling key, as well as the region code during the
ripping process, allowing you to watch region-exclusive discs from the
UK, Japan, or anywhere else.
Making copies of your favorite DVDs
to give away or--even worse--sell to your family, friends, and assorted
eBay users is just plain wrong. But making a backup to ensure continual
access to what you legally purchased is, by the same token, just plain
common sense. Be aware, however, that unless you're using double-layer
DVD the copies will only be half as sharp as the originals.
As it
no longer has its own Web site, (the program was banned in Britain) you
can find DVD Decrypter via searching Google for "DVD Decrypter."
Contributing Editor Joe DeRouen writes Windows Advisor monthly
for ComputerUser.
