Ok, so I am fairly new to Encore and my years of experience with DVD Studio Pro gibve me some insight into DVD design and Menu construction. However, trying to follow the logic in the Encore workflow is very frustrating. For example, I run the Check Project Panel to see where problems in my DVD authoring and construction have hit a snag. The problem is the Check Project Panel, although it opens a Properties Panel that Panel does not show a specific location of the issue. For Example:
Check Project shows:
Button Menu Item 1 (Problem) Link Not Set
In The PROPERTIES Panel it lists
NAME: Menu Item 1
Number: 12
Type: Normal
Link: Not Set
How, from this information, can I locate the button in question. I If in the CHECK PROJECT panel it indicated the location of the button, which menu, then OK I can locate it. Or, if in the Properties Panel the Button Location as to which menu is in question then OK I can locate it. But there is no Menu description. Instead you have to go through each Menu to locate the item. When working on a production deadline, such issues waste time. In DVD Studio Pro these issues did not occur. Although Encore allows alot of creativity, DVD Studio Pro, even the last version, is superior to Encore in my opinion. It is no wonder that over 70% of production houses preferred FCP to Adobe. Here's an idea for the Encore engineers, create an automated section where alot of traditional authoring issues are automated (BTW your Library of Menus are pretty bad in my opinion) so that it is easy to import a 35 chapter project and have it automatically set up a 4 or 5 menu page DVD and link all the chapters and Previous and Next buttons as well as the navigation of the buttons. Your current version wastes too much time and the Adobe Help is like being handed the text book and having to read the entire set up theory rather then link to specific issues. All of this for Standard DVDs not Blue Ray.
I have already received an apology from Video2brain.com regarding an incorrectly placed reference in Adobe Help i.e. "We'll be working w/ Adobe Help to get that description changed for that particular video, since it doesn't cover color correction in nesting sequences." In this particular case Adobe Help sent me to a Premiere Pro reference where the video explained the basics of Nested sequences but did not cover the specific issues I had and was seeking a reference for. Such poorly designed reference points added to the lengthy explantions one has to read through for Help, makes Adobe Help almost worthless. By comparison Apple references were very clear and to the point, in most cases. It seems that although Adobe Encore and Premiere have some very nice features, but they don't make up for some very big holes in this product.
Again this is my intial impression of Encore and Adobe Help from a former FCP/DVD Studio Pro user.
