Takes DVD Creation to the Next Level with Ease
TMPGEnc DVD Author 2.0 brings advanced features and flexibility to DVD creation. Emphasizing ease-of-use that makes it work for casual and professional users alike. It is the first DVD creation program in its class to offer Fit-to-Disc Transcoding and DVD+R Dual Layer support, DVD Author 2.0 makes it easy to fit content on one disc while maintaining video quality. DVD Author 2.0 is also the first to offer multichannel audio for multi-lingual DVDs, and audio filters so that users can ensure optimal audio quality before burning to DVD.

I have always been a fan of TMPGEnc DVD Author for its ease of use with a wide range of features and am pleased to be able to review this latest release.

With TMPGEnc DVD Author 2.0 you can change (author) your MPEG-1 / MPEG-2 files to DVD-Video structured files. Using high quality MPEG files made with TMPGEnc products, or with your MPEG capture device, it is possible to perform your own DVD authoring quick and easy.

TMPGEnc DVD Author 2.0 is an enhanced, yet still easy-to-use, software package for the creation of DVD-video discs on personal computers. It enables you to do everything from editing of video files (MPEG files), creating slideshows from still images and designing professional looking DVD menu, to storing the final results on writable DVD discs.

In terms of reliability and quality, TMPGEnc DVD Author 2.0 provides uncompromised high performance DVD authoring features. Its intuitive interface and video editing engine is a result of extensive experience within research and development of MPEG encoders and DVD authoring software.

The product is suitable for beginners and advanced users who are looking for more enhanced product features as well as anyone in between who are interested in creating their own DVD-Videos.

• New Interface, easy-to-use as always with new functions.
  
• Adapted to the settings in other TSUNAMI MPEG / TMPGEnc products. - Improved "Cut-edit" (smart rendering) and "Chapter point" ability
  
• Allows writing on DVD+R DL (Double Layer)
  
• Reduce quickly the DVD contents with the Transcoding function. - Plays in Most DVD Players! (Thanks to DVD Writing Tool, powered by Sonic Solutions)

• Improved DVD Menu Building Wizard
  
• Smart Rendering
  
• Transcoding capabilities with Intercom's® Transcoding Engine
  
• Improved Audio Capabilities
  
• Creating slideshows
  
• Simulation

Starting From Scratch
Opening the program brings up the project menu where you can select to start a new project or open an existing project.
As well as launching the DVD Writing tool and viewing the help file.
The initial Video system defaults to the previously selected and changing this will automatically require a new project to be started

As with all DVD Videos NTSC and PAL cannot be mixed on the on the same disc and Transcoding between formats requires additional software.

Start a new Project
This brings up the source section with the options to add files and create tracks. The Source Wizard brings up the three main options of file types that can be imported

Each imported file brings up the Clip Information Box containing all the file information and once accepted the basic info is displayed in the centre window with a thumbnail of the start frame.
These individual files can be selected and edited just by double clicking on the thumbnail which will bring up the Clip Information box from where you can select the Audio options and edit the Video file.
The cut edit screen displays the play window with a scrolling edit point window. the standard play & navigation buttons enable easy selectable in & out points for the various cuts in the particular video file.

The audio options have been improved from the previous TMPGEnc DVD Author with the ability to have 2 independent audio streams
Quote:-Improved Audio Capabilities
For consumer DVD authoring software within its price range, DVD Author 2.0 is the first software package that supports high quality 24bit/96KHz (2 ch)* linear PCM input and output, and it is now also possible to add two simultaneous audio streams per video track. DVD Author 2.0 also supports Input and output of Dolby Digital® audio streams. * The highest possible sound quality within the DVD-Video standard.

Smart Rendering
TMPGEnc DVD Author 2.0 supports frame level MPEG editing features. Frame level editing is the most precise method for MPEG editing because it operates with frame level precision. Until now, frame level editing has required complete re-encoding of output video which has resulted in degradation of output video quality as well as a slow DVD building process. TMPGEnc DVD Author 2.0 provides a smart rendering feature that eliminates this problem. It automatically analyzes video clips and makes sure that only the smallest possible number of frames is re-encoded. In other words, the smart rendering feature dramatically improves the DVD building process in terms of speed while preserving the highest possible video output quality.

Improved DVD Menu Building Wizard
TMPGEnc DVD Author 2.0 features a completely redesigned DVD menu wizard which takes DVD menu creation to a completely new level. Even though a wide range of new customizable features have been added to it, the DVD menu creation process has become more dynamic and simpler than before. TMPGEnc DVD Author 2.0 also features a large number of brand new pre-designed templates, and in the near future they will provide a download service at the website which will allow you to download new template designs.
The menu features are impressive with countless templates with the ability to create a motion menu from any suitable mpeg source the background image can be a mpeg video or just an image with thumbnails for the chapter points selectable as images or mpeg previews of the menu points or any mpeg video clip. The mpeg previews can be selected to run for a specific time from the selected start point and also loop continuously.

There are 3 menu options

• Create a Menu from a Template
  
• Create a Custom Made menu
  
• No Menu

• Automatic
  
• Top Menu Only
  
• Track Menu Only
  
• Top & Track Menu

• Display the Top Menu
  
• Play All Tracks
  
• Play the Header Track only

• Display the Top Menu
  
• Display the Track Menu
  
• Play the Next Track
  
• Play the Next Track (Disc Loop Playback)

Transcoding capabilities with Intercom's® Transcoding Engine
You may often experience that DVD-Videos projects become too large to fit onto writable DVD discs when you add more and more contents to them. DVD Author 2.0 contains a transcoding engine from Intercom that helps you solve this problem. Rather than completely re-encoding video contents, the transcoding engine dynamically and rapidly recompresses video data streams with a minimal reduction in quality so that they will fit exactly to the size of the writable DVD media (4.5GB/8.5GB).

Output
This gives you the DVD Video build options of Transcoding to single or Dual Layer DVD and the post build option to burn the DVD afterwards with the final option to Shut Down, Hibernate, or Standby

• Add a "first play" track, which automatically start playback when the disc is inserted into the DVD player
  
• Add background music to menus
  
• Design your own DVD menus and save them as templates
  
• Add audio configuration pages to your DVD menus
  
• Customize layout of menu items such as background images, thumbnails, buttons and text by applying various special effects (colour shading, shadows, transparency, lighting, etc.)
  
• Apply audio correction filters (noise reduction, fade in/fade-out, audio gap correction, etc.)
  
• Supports timecode corrected MPEG files