DVD Authoring In Linux 58
leming writes "This article in Linux Journal explains low-cost DVD authoring available in Linux. Traditionally, DVD authoring has been an expensive affair. Full-featured professional applications can cost thousands of dollars, while cheaper products, such as Apple's iDVD, have arbitrary restrictions that significantly reduce their usefulness. A new open-source effort, dvdauthor, is bringing the possibility of low-cost, professional-grade DVD authoring to Linux. Although it doesn't yet support all the features of the DVD specification, development is proceeding at a fast pace, and new features are being added with each release."
Great News (Score:2, Funny)
Hm..i think this is a wonderfull step for linux (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Hm..i think this is a wonderfull step for linux (Score:1)
linux oh so needs that title
Re:Hm..i think this is a wonderfull step for linux (Score:3, Insightful)
I disagree. I think that's one of the quickest ways of destroying open source.
Open source is not about giving things away for free that otherwise would cost a lot of money. That's a recipe for a dead business and a lot of unemployed programmers. Open source is about empowering the user, empowering the third party developer
Re:Hm..i think this is a lethal step for linux (Score:2)
It feels disorienting to agree with nathanh, but nevertheless... "Hear, hear!" (-:
Re:Hm..i think this is a lethal step for linux (Score:2)
Take it outside, god boy.
I did. (-: (Score:2)
Posted from my lappie, sitting under a nice shady tree... is that good enough?
Summer over here now. 26degC in the kitchen at 08:56 and rising. I love a sunburnt country. (-:
Re:I did. (-: (Score:2)
Summer over here, too. Hint: Canberra.
Good point! (Score:2)
Article text (only two posts!) (Score:5, Informative)
Traditionally, DVD authoring has been an expensive affair. Full-featured professional applications can cost thousands of dollars, while cheaper products, such as Apple's iDVD, have arbitrary restrictions that significantly reduce their usefulness. A new open-source effort, dvdauthor, is bringing the possibility of low-cost, professional-grade DVD authoring to Linux. Although it doesn't yet support all the features of the DVD specification, development is proceeding at a fast pace, and new features are being added with each release. Together with a more established open-source toolkit, mjpegtools, this article explains how to construct a relatively complex DVD application, a photo album, with dvdauthor. We also illustrate the various features that dvdauthor currently supports and how to use open-source tools to construct a DVD-R that can play on almost every DVD player.
How a DVD Works (Quick Version)
A DVD is comprised of one or more video title sets (VTSes), which contain video information in the form of MPEG-2 video streams. Each disc can have up to 99 VTSes, and each title set can be subdivided further into as many as 99 chapters, allowing DVD players to jump to a certain point within the video stream. Within each VTS, a DVD can have up to eight different audio tracks and 32 subtitle tracks that the viewer can switch between at will. A menu system can be included within a title set, allowing the viewer to select between the different subtitle and audio tracks. An optional top-level menu, known as the video manager menu (VMGM), is used to navigate between the different title sets. One VTS may contain a feature film and another may contain a documentary on the film, and the VMGM allows viewers to select which one they want to watch.
The DVD format doesn't eliminate the differences between the two competing broadcasting formats, NTSC (primarily used in America) and PAL (the standard in Europe and Japan). I live in Britain, so the frame information and resolution details used in this article are for a PAL system, but I point out the differences you need to be aware of when they appear and offer appropriate settings for an NTSC disc.
The DVD specification includes advanced features, such as the concept of region coding, the possibility of viewing different angles of a video stream and simple computations using built-in registers provided by a DVD player. I don't know much about these features, and they aren't discussed in this article. The dvdauthor mailing list is a good source for further information.
Planning
Before we rush headlong into creating menus, subtitling and multiplexing, it's a good idea to sketch out the structure of the DVD with paper and pencil. Proprietary DVD tools offer GUI systems for creating this type of structure, but no such tools are available yet for DVD production on Linux. As you'll soon see, the command-line tools have a lot of different options, so having your ideas on paper is preferable to trying to keep everything in your head.
The DVD application I'm creating is a photo album, using pictures that I took while studying abroad at UNC-Chapel Hill this past year. For simplicity's sake, I have only six photos in each category. On paper, I decide that the main menu (the VMGM unit) should have five buttons, four of which are simple text buttons (one for each different photo category), plus a secret link unlocking extra pictures (secret extra features are a common occurrence in commercial DVDs) and a music track playing in the background. The four regular buttons link to one of four menus, one for each different section. The menu system for each section consists of two menus and an audio track, with selectable preview images of the slideshow, a button to move onto the next set of preview images and two buttons that allow the viewer to watch the complete slideshow or go back to the main menu. To keep things simple, the photo slideshow s
Blame it on grammar school (Score:3, Funny)
I wince every time I hear that.
OK everyone, the parts comprise the whole, the whole is composed of the parts. Got it?
and while we're at it... [angryflower.com]
Re:Blame it on grammar school (Score:1)
(I didn't make any apostrophe errors, though, did I? Because I'd kick myself if they managed to get through several read-throughs)
It's nice but... (Score:5, Insightful)
I've seen and heard, over and over, ad nauseum, programmers and OSS advocates continually ask me why I need more or say they don't see why people need all the extra UI features, since something like this can do it all. I'm glad to see this on Linux, the problem is that it still needs a good GUI before it'll get used by many people for DVD authoring (it might be used for the actual production process, but not as much for authoring).
And, as I go into this, we reach one of the primary problems with OSS. If you're a computer person, a program like this is easy to use, since you're used to command line switches and piecing everything together by adding in images from Gimp and pulling in fragments from a number of programs. On the other hand, if you're a video producer, your focus is on CREATING THE VIDEO and PUTTING YOUR VISION on DVD. It is NOT on using the tools, figuring out the command line arguments, or other activites. While I've spent several years working as a programmer, my primary function is writing screenplays. Until OpenOffice came out, there was no word processor on Linux where I could run the program and focus ONLY on writing my screenplays (part of that is the need for macros to handle margin changes). Programmers and other computer people would say, "But you can do this with all the OSS word processors," and I'd say, "I can, but that means I have to spend my time thinking about HOW I'm doing my work, instead of focusing on the work itself."
I love OSS, I love Linux. I know GUIs are a pain (I don't exactly love writing them myself), but for OSS to be used by professionals, like writers or DVD producers, the software has to be so easy to use that the end user can focus on their work instead of focusing on figuring out the software.
Don't get me wrong -- it's great we're this far along. If I had time, I'd love to write a GUI wrapper, but I don't, and it'll be a long time before there is a GUI that makes this software accessible to DVD producers who just want to run the program and use it as a tool to help them realize their vision.
Re:It's nice but... (Score:1)
when creating its sooo important to keep focused on the task, not be distracted contstantly by your tools.
Re:It's nice but... (Score:1)
Re:It's nice but... (Score:2)
I ended up going with Arkeia Light, because of the interface. Once I realized how to use the software (a little daunting because of the "enterprise" feel for something that I only needed "user" feel for) I realized that I could replace the box.
A lot of what I read about other projects is eithe
Amanda (Score:2)
I thought the same thing until I started using Amanda. We were this close (||) to buying a whole Arkeia setup to backup about a dozen workstations to a VXA-1 tape drive when I decided to give Amanda a try, just to see if it could save us ~$1200. I read about the tape spanning thing and said, "Wow, that sucks. This will never work." But then I tried it, and all I have to say is, "Damn, amanda is smart."
Basically, once you get your full backups done, Amanda d
Re:It's nice but... (Score:5, Informative)
Yes, you're absolutely right that video producers should be thinking about the video rather than wrestling with the tools. And yes, a GUI would make things a lot easier (there is an effort, Polidori [chapelperilous.net] under way to provide one). But on the other hand, commercial DVD authoring applications are not cheap, especially if you want one that takes advantage of the more esoteric features. dvdauthor on the other hand, doesn't have any of these restrictions, so if you're an amateur who wants to play around with making DVDs, but don't want to fork out the $1,000 or so for Scenarist, it's a good trade-off (also, the new release of dvdauthor has created a new way of specifying the layout, so it's not quite as hideous as my article makes out anymore
But, yes, I am looking forward to the day when I can can click on GnomeDVD and drag MPEG2 across the desktop
Re:It's nice but... (Score:3, Interesting)
On a similar track (and this gets back to my original post, the one I'm replying to, and my point above), I first installed Linux using Suse 6.4. It took me a day or two to get it up and running, including my Internet connection. I would not, at that point, have recommended it to any
Re:It's nice but... (Score:2)
Re:It's nice but... (Score:2)
GUI rant (Score:1)
Y'know, it is starting to get on my nerves, this endless churning agon regarding graphical interfaces and Linux, or any other software for that matter. I, and frankly many others of my acquaintance, find a text interface both more functional and more intuitive than menus and buttons. C'mon, we've had a thousand years to get comfortable with text-based interfaces. A graph is a graph is a character, eh! I think with words by habit; I remember text and its meaning much more readily that the location of th
Re:GUI rant (Score:5, Interesting)
The fact is when GUIs started coming out, they caught on quickly. Even the text based ones that let you point and click your way through a directory tree (or page through it with arrows and page up/down, etc).
I taught for a number of years with learning disabled students. That means I had to learn a lot about how people learned -- both when everything is working well and when there are disabilities. I found that there are a myriad of learning styles (and that doesn't apply to just learning, it applies to how we process and work with information). The kind of person who uses text as opposed to images or intuition is also the type of person who is likely to end up as a programmer and (and I'm not just saying this to be mean), they are most likely to see things in one way and not easily adapt to different points of view. It is a black and white way of thinking (ironic, since text based systems are almost black and white -- actually green and white, but you get the idea).
I know about using words. I am a writer (I said so in my original post). When I write, I worry about the words, and that is the point -- I have to be able to worry about the words I'm writing, not what menu key I have to press for this function. I have to keep my mind on what I am writing, not how I am writing it.
When I am shooting video, I work with cameras that are easy to use, not ones where I have to keep futzing with controls every few seconds (actually, few video cameras are that contra-intuitive). When I am editing that video, I have to be able to focus on the rythm and flow of the material, how the soundtrack matches the action, what camera angle I am using, etc. I've got too much to worry about, at that point, without having to add to that the worry of HOW does this program work. The same goes for authoring DVDs.
It may get on your nerves, the "endless churning," but it doesn't seem to have occured to you there is a reason for it. That reason is, quite simply, that most of us work better and faster with a GUI. You may not, but that doesn't mean others don't. What it does seem to mean is that you feel that what works for you works best for everyone and the popularity of GUIs bears out the need for intuitive interfaces. (If consoles were so wonderful for the average user, and were in demand, there would have been a huge demand to make the DOS Prompt easier to access and use on Windows.)
I can't remember all the details, but a while back there was a story here, on
Again, I'm not saying this to be mean, but your attitude is exactly the kind of attitude that I'm pointing out is a problem. And your response is a perfect, text book example of why it is a problem. I point out that most people need a GUI to make working with computers easier and that programmers don't like writing GUIs, but they are necessary for users if a program is going to be widely used. The problem is that programmers don't see this and would rather tell everyone that a command line util is as easy to use as a GUI.
Then, after saying that, you come along and say a command line util is as easy to use as a GUI. Okay, two points: 1) That is your opinion and you are certainly entitled to it and 2) It may be true for you, but that doesn't mean it is true
Thanks (Score:2)
I had intended merely a throw-away rant. I appreciate your detailed response and feel you deserve a more considered explanation of my views. That your reply has been moderated indicates someone besides us is enjoying this thread so I will take a moment to expand on my remarks and your rejoinder.
I should like to correct your prejudice as to my professional situation. I am a writer by training, a poet, and a film-maker by avocation. It is true that I am making my mortgage doing XML/XSLT
Re:Thanks (Score:2)
One note on the side -- as for using generalities for my comments on learning styles, that was intentional. I had to learn a lot about this in depth when I was teaching. I burned out after a long time teaching in tough situations. While I still have all my reference materials, I have gotten to the point where I don't like to dig too deeply in that area unless I specifically need it for my writing. While I remember concepts well, I don't remember words and
Jeepers (Score:1)
Is that what the internet used to be like?
Sure was son, but now the internet is full of short, poorly composed, shiney thing, ADHD friendly crap. Just like this POST we are part of right here son.
Re:Thanks (Score:1)
Re:Thanks (Score:2)
Re:Thanks (Score:1)
Re:Thanks (Score:2)
I work with cameras that are easy to use (Score:1)
Though not a videographer or even a professional photographer, I do love photography and am thinking of going into photojournalism, and just as those professional photographers I did know, I prefer to use manual controls rather than have it all automated. Not that I don't use the autmated settings, because I do use them, but for the most part using manual controls allows the most flexibility and creativity even if they aren't the fastest.
You taught learning disabled students? Though to my knowledge none
Re:GUI rant (Score:2)
It amuses me to visit the Uni (of Western Australia) and see stunning young ladies carrying elegantly themed laptops which are leaking trendy tunes into the environment (these represent the core GUI market, one would think) and when you look closer the display is covered in xterms, and some of the crew routinely use screen on those 'coz it's quicker to type ^A-whatever than
Re:It's nice but... (Score:2)
Myself included. I'm not afraid of the command line (it's still my preferred file manager) but I don't see myself using dvdauthor to whip up some photos. But that's not the point. Command line programs like dvdauthor are great for scripting. If you're generating 1000s of photos from an automated system and you need to spit out DVDs so the user can watch them in comfort the
Shouldn't the writer concentrate on writing? (Score:1)
A text editor is a text editor. If you are authoring long works, you want a document processing system - things like LaTEX - things that separate formatting and output from the creative input.
You claim you needed OO with a GUI and support for macros to change ma
Re:Shouldn't the writer concentrate on writing? (Score:2)
Are you a writer? Would you tell me what you do so I can tell you how to do your job. (Or you are probably an editor -- like the one Robert Heinlein describes working with when he was writing his juvies who felt she wasn't doing a good job unless she was always getting in his way -- Read "Grumblings From the Grav
Filling the Void (Score:3, Interesting)
maybe i was looking in the wrong places or for the wrong thing. but to find nothing helpful enough is odd, to say the least. i for one feel this area has been overlooked as far docs, howto's, guides, and tutorials go. i'm no newbie, but i no longer have the time or the money to fool around with it till i get it right.
of course, if anyone has links to other articles, faq's, tutorial's, howto's, etc.. please let me know!
Re:Filling the Void (Score:1)
Is this legal? (Score:1)
I thought MPEG-2 video compression and AC3 audio compression were patented in major portions of Regions 1 and 2.
Re:Is this legal? (Score:2, Interesting)
Cough. Actually patents grant a temporary MONOPOLY on a technology. That means if you did not get that tech from a sanctioned source, you have no right to it. What you describe is more akin to copyright and fair use (or what is left of it).
In addition, patents and open source do not mix at all. Indeed patents are a very real threat t
Your point? (Score:2)
Re:Your point? (Score:1)
*meh, its the end of the day, pointless comments are acceptable*
Meh, it's SlashDot... (Score:2)
Glorious! (Score:2)
Re:Glorious! (Score:1)
No CSS? (Score:3, Funny)
Nor does it mention... (Score:2)