Adobe Community : Discussion List - Encore FAQ

I Built My Project, And Now Changes To My Premiere Pro Sequence Don't Show Up In Encore

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 12:19:16 GMT

Once you build a project or transcode a dynamically-linked Premiere Pro sequence, Encore looks at the transcoded version of the sequence instead of the linked sequence. To get Encore to once again look at the linked sequence, select the sequence and go to File | Revert to Original.

-Jeff

Strange Errors in En? Project Changes Not Showing Up? Try This!

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 15:49:38 GMT

Remove the files from the AuthorScriptHDMVSessions folder that's inside of your Encore project folder and try again.

-Jeff

I'm Using Windows 7. Why Does Encore Crash?

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Sat, 01 May 2010 14:08:05 GMT

Microsoft changed how programs interact with the pxengine component in Windows 7. Encore needs an updated pxengine to function properly under Windows 7. Roxio "owns" the pxengine component, so they have the fix here:

Roxio pxengine fix

-Jeff

"Edit Menu in Photoshop" not working?

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 08:44:27 GMT

If you have installed a new version of Photoshop, you may find that the command to "Edit Menu in Photoshop" no longer works.

The fix for this is simple. Just re-associate the .PSD extension with the new version of Photoshop.

You can do this in a couple of ways (all versions of Windows).

1 - Find a folder with a .PSD file in it.

Right-click the file, and choose the "Open With" dialogue.

Select the new installation of PhotoShop, and make sure that the check-box for "Always use this programme" is ticked.

Click on Open, and from now on all PSD files should be associated with the new installation. Some systems might require a restart to lock the association in.

2 - Go to Start/Settings/Control Panel/Folder Options.

Click on the tab marked "File Types".

Scroll down to the PSD type, and set the "open" command to the new installation of Photoshop.

That will do it.

Getting Ripped DVD Video and Audio Into Encore

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 23:03:16 GMT

Do you have previously authored DVDs that need rework? Do you want to add menus with greater impact and functionality? Do you want to add some additional program or supplemental material? Does a client want their product demo DVD to be updated to reflect the capabilities of the new and improved version, but the source files no longer exist? Using Adobe Encore DVD and a freeware utility called DVD Decrypter (DVDD), you can accomplish this quickly and easily.

Disclaimer: I do not support the illegal copying and/or distribution of copyrighted works. The authors and distributors of the software I use have made it clear that they do not support illegal copying. This guide is intended solely to assist you in ripping and copying DVD video to which you have the legal rights. Any use of this guide to infringe the copyright of someone else’s intellectual property is prohibited.

This guide is based on Adobe Encore DVD 1.5.1 and DVD Decrypter version 3.5.4.0. Let’s Begin!

Place the DVD to be ripped in your DVD drive and launch DVDD. If you have more than one drive (e.g., a DVD-ROM and a DVD burner) make sure the one with the disc is selected in the Source dropdown list in the main program window. Now we need to set up DVDD to extract video in a way that is “Encore friendly”. This is the toughest part of the whole exercise. Click on the Tools menu item and choose “Settings…”.

Settings

General Tab: You can leave these set at their defaults if you like. Personally, I specify a custom Default Destination. I put my ripped video assets all in one place anyway, and having a default destination means I have one less thing to do when I rip a DVD.

IFO Mode Tab: Make sure that “Select Main Movie PGC” and “Enable Stream Processing” are checked. “Uncheck Suspect Cells” is probably a good default safety check. If your hard disks are formatted as NTFS, set File Splitting to “None”. I leave “Copy IFO File” checked with the default sub-items checked. Make sure that “Patch M2V Timecode” is unchecked. The items in the Create Additional Files section are purely optional. The author of DVDD has been kind enough to list which programs need which files; notice that Encore DVD isn’t listed as needing any of these extra files. I do keep the “Stream Information” box checked. DVDD generates very informative file names, but I like to keep “Include PGC Number” under File Names checked. Be advised you will get some lengthy file names after DVDD is finished ripping.

Stream Processing Tab: Since we enabled stream processing in the IFO Mode tab, we need to tell DVDD how to process those streams. To save yourself time and confusion later, check the “Convert PCM to WAV” box. Earlier versions of Encore required a Demuxed audio stream and a Raw video stream. Encore 1.5.1 can accept either type of video stream (Raw or Demuxed) but it does still require a Demuxed audio stream. However, I still recommend using Raw video and Demuxed audio, if only because it seems to be somewhat faster to process in DVDD. This workflow is also backward-compatible with earlier versions of Encore.

So let’s set up the Stream Processing tab now. In the Demux box, enter “0x8? 0xA? 0xC?”. This ensures that all audio streams in the selected PGC, whether AC3, PCM or MPEG will be set to Demux. In the Raw box, enter “0xE0”. This ensures that the video from the selected PGC will be set to Raw.

Additional Notes about the Stream Processing Tab:

1. For those of you asking the question, “What the heck is a PGC?” it’s just DVD-speak for the titles in a DVD project. And I’m not talking about the opening or end credits, either; I’m talking about the titles that result, for example, from the timelines you create in an Encore DVD project. There is a subtle difference between a PGC and a VTS (title set), but that's not important right now.

2. Happily, recent versions of DVDD create a WAV file after ripping that will import directly into Encore. Versions prior to 3.2.0.0 would create a WAV file that had to be imported to, and exported from, a sound editing program like Adobe Audition, Goldwave or SoundForge before Encore would recognize it.

Events Tab: For convenience sake, I recommend setting “Set Program Mode” in the Startup section to “IFO”. That way, whenever you launch DVDD, it will look familiar to you. You may safely ignore all of the other tabs in the Settings dialog.

Ripping

1.Under the Input Tab of the main program window, select the PGC you want to rip. You can only do one at a time.

2.Switch to the Stream Processing Tab. Verify that Enable Stream Processing is checked.

3.Check or uncheck any or all of the video and audio streams that are listed. Highlight each one to verify that all audio streams are set to Demux and the video stream is set to Raw.

4.If you didn’t select Default Destination in the General Settings Tab, then you need to tell DVDD where to put the ripped files now.

5.Click on the big DVD-to-Disk icon.

6.DVDD will announce, quite loudly, when it has finished. At that point you can rename the files or import them as is into Encore.

I hope you find this guide useful and that it helps you get the most out of your investment in Adobe Encore DVD.

Guide © Jeff Bellune 2005

Encore-supported Blu-ray Formats

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 18:49:14 GMT

Here are the Encore-supported Blu-ray formats:

Frame Size/Display Aspect Ratio/Frame Rate/Scanning Method

720 × 480     4x3   29.97   Interlaced
720 × 480     16x9 29.97   Interlaced
720 × 576     4x3   25,00   Interlaced
720 × 576     16x9 25.00   Interlaced
1280 × 720   16x9 23.976 Progressive
1280 × 720   16x9 50.00   Progressive
1280 × 720   16x9 59.94   Progressive
1440 × 1080 16x9 23.976 Progressive
1440 × 1080 16x9 25.00   Interlaced
1440 × 1080 16x9 29.97   Interlaced
1920 × 1080 16x9 29.97   Interlaced
1920 × 1080 16x9 25.00   Interlaced
1920 × 1080 16x9 23.976 Progressive

"Access Denied" Vista Error - Fix!

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 10:23:31 GMT

This was originally posted to the Encore forums by Siddiqullah Saleem.
Reposted here for all to use.

Hi Every One

I know that this Problem happens with lots of people out there

It is not fault of Adobe, well Adobe is a good company, the problem is with the Vista Which has a hidden User Called Administrator.

Even if you are Administrator you don't have all the permission to access the files, All Permissions are only assigned to Core Administrator which is hidden.

If you want to enable that user here is the command for that

Open Run Type Cmd

and then type this ----- net user administrator /active:yes

now your hidden administrator is active, you can work with the hidden administrator. simply log off your user and log in to the new account named Administrator and enjoy more benefits for example you can start the setups and all other programs and the UCI will not pop up and will not distrube You every time plus you have access to every thing but there is only one problem that is security you must secure your computer with good firewall and antivirus coz now you are using core Administrator which have access to every thing.

Well This is the whole detail

Now we should come to the real problem which is faced by lots of Users of Adobe Encore CS3, That is Access Deneid while writing DVD above from 4.7 GB.

To Avoid that Simply right click on Adobe Encore CS3 and select Open as Administrator or the second way is to use core Administrator user.

Now every thing will work fine

Hope this will help you

Many Thanks

Siddiqullah Saleem

Never-Ending transcoding/importing? Here's the fix.

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 09:05:28 GMT

Symptom:
Transcoding keeps getting to 99% or so, and reverting back to 75% and continuing Ad Infinitum in a seeming never-ending loop.

Problem:
The registry is corrupted.

Solution:
1. Close all programs.
2. Run Regedit.
3. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER -> Software -> Adobe -> Common.
4. Delete "Media Cache".
5. Restart computer.

Another possible culprit has proved to be an application called "FindSounds Palette" and it should be uninstalled completely using the following method:
Uninstall "Find Sounds Palette" (FS Palette).
Delete the two registry key folders for "Comparisonics".
Uninstall Encore CS3.
Delete Registry Keys for Encore.
Restart.
Re-Install Encore CS3.
Re-Install Encore 3.0.1 update.
Restart.

Things and Software to avoid when authoring for DVD-V

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Mon, 13 Feb 2006 14:43:33 GMT

This one is always in the earlier, 1.X FAQ, but is so important it should be repeated here too.

There have been so many posts along the line of "I cannot burn my DVD in Encore, but Nero works well" that I thought I should share this info with you all.

As we know, DVD Authoring is very dependant on timing, and on not having other apps getting in the way & locking up the burners, So here is a list of software that is known to interfere with GEAR drivers. It is a raging cert that this also applies here, as all authoring apps are the same sort of thing.

These 3rd party apps are junk software, to be quite blunt (I expect to get flamed over this, but I cannot help the truth), and should never be installed on an Authoring system.
Anyway, here is the current list of
i known problem software.

1. B's Clip: This package will load a packet-writing software that will constantly talk to your CD/DVD writer, and can cause a number of issues while trying to write a disc. Disabling this software is not enough, as a portion of this package is always running after you start windows. You will need to uninstall it in Add/Remove programs, then reboot to remove it. For more information, visit the B's website at http://www.bhacorp.com.

2. Direct CD or Drag to Disk: These are applications from Easy CD Creator from Roxio. This package will load a packet-writing software that will constantly talk to your CD/DVD writer, and can cause a number of issues while trying to write a disc. Disabling this software is not enough, as a portion of this package is always running after you start windows. To remove them you need to do to Add or Remove Programs in the Control Panel. There you can select Easy CD Creator to change, not remove. Then you must click next until it gives you the option to modify. Then either Direct CD or Drag to Disk should be selected and changed to "make this option not available". Then click next and while the program may look like it is installing, it is removing those options. One thing to remember is that both Direct CD and Drag to Disk will not be installed at the same time. For more information, please visit Roxio's website at http://www.roxio.com/en/support.index.jhtml

3. GoBack: backup software that constantly runs in the background (Terminate and Stay Ready) this needs not only to be turned off, but disabled. Unfortunately, this may cause some restore points to vanish, but it will free up a lot of hard drive space. For more information visit Symantec's web site for GoBack at http://www.symantec.com/goback/index.html

4. DLA: Also HP-DLA, Veritas DLA, and others. DLA stands for Disk Letter Assignment. This package will load a packet-writing software that will constantly talk to your CD/DVD writer, and can cause a number of issues while trying to write a disc. Disabling this software is not enough, as a portion of this package is always running after you start windows. You will need to uninstall it in Add/Remove programs, then reboot to remove it.

5. InCD: This is packet writing software that comes bundled with Ahead Nero Burning Rom. This package will load a packet-writing software that will constantly talk to your CD/DVD writer, and can cause a number of issues while trying to write a disc. Disabling this software is not enough, as a portion of this package is always running after you start windows. You will need to uninstall it in Add/Remove programs, then reboot to remove it. For more information go to Nero's website at http://www.nero.com/en/

6. Interactual Player and PC Friendly Player: These programs are DVD software viewers that often come on DVD movie discs, and will try to install themselves everytime you watch a movie on your computer. Please make sure to NOT let these install. Both programs interfere with all DVD Authoring software and should be un-installed from Add or Remove programs in control panel when found. In some cases, you will need to uninstall and reinstall your software to restore functionality after removing one of these. For more information about both players, visit http://player.interactual.com/

7. McAfee Anti-Virus: This is anti-virus software that when running, can cause errors. It needs to be disabled by right clicking on the icon in the lower right side of the task bar. Your DVD Authoring software then needs to be restarted. Whenever you are using your software, McAfee needs to be disabled to ensure unrestricted access to your drive. For more info go to McAfee's website at http://us.mcafee.com/default.asp

8. Norton Anti-Virus: This is anti-virus software that when running, can cause errors. It needs to be disabled by right clicking on the icon in the lower right side of the task bar and the automatic updates should be disabled. Your DVD software then needs to be restarted. Whenever you are using your software, Norton needs to be disabled to ensure unrestricted access to your drive. The Norton Website is http://www.symantec.com/

9. StopZilla: StopZilla can hinder required portions of various installers, causing the software to fail. Please completely disable StopZilla, then install your software. Once our software is installed, you may safely enable it again. If you have any difficulty using your software at a later time, you may need to disable StopZilla before going to use your software. Uninstallation is not required.

10. MyStorageGuard: This backup software can hinder certain required files from being copied during the installation. Please disable this program before installing , and have it disabled any time you go to use your DVD Authoring software. Uninstallation is not required.

11. Napster 2.0: This software includes some basic burning software that can cause burning problems if it is running. You will need to close this program completely before trying to use DVD Authoring software. In some rare cases, you will need to completely uninstall this package to attain full reliability, so if disabling does not solve your issue, please try uninstalling this software, and try again.

12. Easy CD Creator 4.x: Due to the age of this package, it is no longer updated by the authors. There are bugs present in this older system that will cause NUMEROUS problems on your machine. Please Uninstall completely, and consider either the new 6.x version from Roxio ( http://www.roxio.com ) or Nero 6.x ( http://www.nero.com ). These packages, installed without the Packet Writing software (DirectCD/Drag to Disk/InCD), all work very well with DVD Authoring software.

13. Spyware and Adware - some programs can install other software that can be damaging to your Operating System. Please scan for these programs with a Spyware utility. We recommend Ad-Aware, available freely at http://www.lavasoftusa.com

14. Disable the Windows XP packet writing utility. To do so, go to My Computer, Right click oon your DVD burner, choose Properties. Find the "Recording" tab. Uncheck "Enable CD recording on this drive" While you are there, switch off all AutoRun options too. It means going through each option and then selecting "Take No Action" as the default option. AutoRun will "poll" the drive every few minutes to look for a new disc, and if it finds one it will try to open it.

15. Symantec PCAnywhere has been reported to cause problems with Encore as the awvid5.dll file it installs is a video driver designed to facilitate the transfer of screen information from one computer to another. Sadly, this causes a conflict which can cause XP to restart - or give a bluescreen if the "Automatically restart" option has been unticked, giving a PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA stop condition.
Another crash can be reproduced by
a) Open a project
b) Add an MPEG file and associated WAV file as assets
c) Link the MPEG file to a menu button by dragging
d) Encore creates a Timeline for the MPEG file automatically
e) Open the new Timeline
f) Drag the MPEG's WAV file into the timeline's audio track
g) Close the Timeline
h) Repeat (b)-(d)
i) When the new Timeline is double-clicked, XP restarts

The
i only
solution found so far is to uninstall PCAnywhere, then all returns to normal.

16. It has also been found that either Efax or Winfax software installed to the system can cause the dreaded "Visual C++ Runtime Error" which will crash Encore. Microsoft support have confirmed that if you see this error, you need a hotfix KB884538, from www.microsoft.com in the support area.
Install the hotfix, and if the error remains, check for either of these fax programs. If either are present, remove them, reboot and all should now work.

17. Roxio Easy CD Creator - General issues.
Firstly, when uninstalling any Roxio application it is best to do this from the "Add Remove Programs" applet in Control Panel, as usual. However - this will NOT remove all Roxio's tentacles from your system. To be sure all is definitely removed, you need to visit
http://www.microadvantage.net/downloads/zapper60.zip
and run this. When you are done, you can then reboot and the evil Roxio will finally be gone.
Another common issue with Roxio is when Nero also co-exists on the same system. The two
i loathe
each other and are apparently incapable of co-existing.
If you have noth these installed there is an additional set of stuff to go through. Remove Roxio first, then reboot, then remove Nero completely beginning by uninstalling from "Add Remove Programs" and then we also need to get rid of all the various tendrils it has also addeed to the system using the following tools:
(You must use all 3 of Nero's Clean tools in order to do the job correctly.)
They can all be found here:
http://www.nero.com/us/631940828445001.htm
1. General Clean tool
2. Registry cleaner and driver cleaner
3. InCD Clean tool
When you reinstall Nero 6.6 OR Neros new 7 Ultra Edition, DO NOT install InCD OR if you do, turn it off in startup under msconfig (better to not install it)

18 - FindSounds Palette
This is a tool designed to help you find SFX on your drives, and it seems to prevent Encore from importing M2V files for some reason, and should be uninstalled if present.
To uninstall this, do the following steps:
Uninstall "Find Sounds Palette" (FS Palette).
Delete the two registry key folders for "Comparisonics".
Uninstall Encore CS3.
Delete Registry Keys for Encore.
Restart.
Install Encore CS3.
Install Encore 3.0.1 update.
Restart.

19 - Quicken

It has been reported that if you back up your Quicken files to CD, then Quicken sets up your DVD burner for CD DLA through the built-in Windows burning facility. This assignment recurs each time your system is restarted. When this happens, Encore will see your burner as a CD burner only. You'll have to manually disable this start-up assignment to get Encore to see your burner as a DVD burner again.

Additionally, it is a good idea to disable Autorun for your burner, preferably from the registry. While this will not prevent anything polling the drive from the OS to try & "helpfully" check for freshly inserted media, it will prevent sneaky DRM applications from installing themselves to your system just by having the disc inserted. As well as the registry hack required, there are other methods of stopping this described at
http://www.annoyances.org/exec/show/article03-018
To do the registry hack, perform the following:
* Run the Registry Editor (REGEDIT.EXE).
* Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Cdrom.
* Double-click the Autorun value, and type 0 for its value. (If it's not there, create it by selecting Edit -> New -> DWORD Value, and typing "Autorun" for its name.)
* You may have to log out and then log back in for this change to take effect.

* Note: With this solution, Windows will no longer be notified when you insert a new CD. To make sure the correct icon and title for the current CD are displayed in My Computer and Explorer, press F5 to refresh the window.

If you perform any of these changes, you may need to uninstall your software, then re-install to fix any damage left. If you find some of these packages, please shut down and reboot twice to ensure that the last pieces of the conflicting software are completely removed.

Missing Library Content from Downloaded Retail version?

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 09:43:35 GMT

With Thanks to Stef for the original Post.
I have added this to the FAQ because "missing" library files & functional content seems to be an issue for some users. Here is the solution.

Stef Ryckmans - 11:47pm Dec 16, 07 PST

If you purchased a download version of our products, just follow the instructions below and start using it today:
1. Go to the URL below and select your store:
* https://www.adobe.com/go/store_selector
2. From the Store drop-down menu, click on "Your Account".
3. Login into Your Account with the ID listed above.
4. Locate your order #AD000XXXXXXXX and click on the order number.
5. In the Order Detail page, click on the 'Downloads for this Order' button.
6. Start your download by clicking on the 'Download' button.
7. After you have completed the download process, your serial number will be displayed in the download center.
8. First install Download manager, which you HAVE TO INSTALL before downloading other files.
On that page you can download the files PPROCS3_Cont_ALP.EXE (Premiere Pro Content/manuals) AENCCS3_Cont_ALP.exe (Content/manual installer for Encore CS3 manual).

!!! Take care that all downloaded files are saved on your local system in the same directory (Premiere/Encore)

Why does Encore try to re-transcode compliant M2V files?

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 19:07:50 GMT

Encore will only try to re-transcode an MPEG-2 file in 2 circumstances.
1 - The asset is not properly DVD-Compliant.
This could be for several reasons, the most likely offenders being either too high a bitrate or an incorrect GOP size. DVD-Video limits us to a total
i combined Audio & Video
bitrate of 9800 kbps, or 9.8 Mb/s. This is also a peak value, not an average one. The easiest way to check the bitrate is with the excellent "Bitrate Viewer" available from http://www.tecoltd.com/bitratev.htm

2 - The total combined bitrate of the Audio & Video files
i on the timeline
exceeds the maximum bitrate set in the Project Settings (Advanced).
If, for example, this is set to 7Mb/sec, and the peak rates when combined
i exceed
this number, Encore will re-transcode.

The only solution in both cases is to re-transcode the original source file to MPEG-2 or else to use the uncompressed asset & allow Encore to transcode automatically.

OS Error 00000020 fix?

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 09:06:10 GMT

With thanks to Martin Hargreaves for the detective work.

When you build a DVD, Encore displays one of the following error messages and the burn fails:

Operating System Error: number = 0X00000020. The process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process. This occurs because you have rendered your motion menu then edited it by removing the motion background or by changing its layout or text.

Solution

Delete the rendered motion menu files from the project folder

In Windows Explorer, Open the project folder and navigate to the Sources/Menus folder. This folder contains Encore's working copies of all the menu files and motion menu backgrounds. The name of the menus are not immediately obvious so you will need to identify which menu is the one from which you removed the motion menu background. You can double-click the .psd files to open them in Photoshop or import them into any Encore DVD project. Once you have identified the problem menu, delete the .mpg and .xmpses files in the Sources/Menus folder that share the same filename as the .psd file.

For Example

If your menu is named Menu_Bpgc_Asf_539856144.psd, delete the Menu_Bpgc_Asf_539856144.mpg and Menu_Bpgc_Asf_539856144.xmpses files.

Note: Do not delete .mpg or .xmpses files for menus that still contain motion menu backgrounds. Doing so may cause additional errors or Encore DVD to freeze or fail during the build process.

Solution 3: Troubleshoot menus to determine which one is is causing the error

1. Save the project with a new name (this is for troubleshooting purposes only).

2. Save each motion menu as a template by clicking its icon in the Project panel and choosing Menu > Save as Template.

3. Delete one menu and try rebuilding the project.

4. If the error persists, continue deleting menus until you determine the one that is causing the error.

5. When you have determined which is the problem menu, reopen the original project.

6. Delete the problem menu by clicking its icon in the Project panel and pressing delete.

Note: If the problem menu is a motion menu, delete the source video for the motion background as well.

7. Reimport the menu using the templates you saved in step 2. If the problem menu is a motion menu, open the .em file instead of the .psd file to add the menu and the motion background.

Note: You can also add the saved .psd and .em files to the Library by clicking the Library flyout menu and choosing Add Item.

8. Relink the menu's buttons.
9. Rebuild the project.

Background information

These errors occur because Encore is trying to overwrite the temp file for the motion menu and it was locked when the motion menu was originally rendered.

It worked for me!

Help File Online

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 18:18:39 GMT

For Encore 3
http://livedocs.adobe.com/en_US/EncoreDVD/3.0/index.html

Also for Premiere Pro 3
http://livedocs.adobe.com/en_US/PremierePro/3.0/index.html

Does the make of Blank Media I use really matter?

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Tue, 24 Jan 2006 13:51:14 GMT

Brand-name vs. discount DVD blanks

In its latest issue 14/2005, c't has tested blank DVDs. There was one major finding in the test of 63 brands: the quality of the blanks is not, contrary to common opinion, relative to the purchase price. Good blanks are available at 8x burning speeds starting at 60 cents. For instance, discs from Taiwan and India sometimes offer as much quality as brands from Japan. No wonder: after all, manufacturers from less expensive production sites sometimes supply blanks to Japanese brands and have gained their expertise in the meantime. Anzeige

The biggest problem with supermarket blanks is that customers cannot easily tell from the packaging which manufacturer has made which disks. One package may even contain media from various producers. The indication of the country of origin may help consumers discern the manufacturer. However, you can only be sure if you read out the manufacturer's ID on your PC. But even here, you have to be careful: one manufacturer from the Chinese peninsula of Macao imitates the ID of a Japanese brand without attaining the quality of the original. These very inexpensive imitates produced a much larger number of burning errors.

Blank DVD-Rs had much better quality than blank DVD+Rs. The reason may be the physical differences between the two burning formats. For instance, plus media work with a higher wobble frequency and have much greater radial disturbances in the record tracks than minus blanks.

In a climatic chamber test, c't simulated the ageing of the media and discovered some surprising differences: some disks that revealed very good quality just after burning were hard to read after spending time in the climatic chamber, while others that only had mediocre recording quality withstood the climatic chamber almost without deterioration. If you want to archive your data for many years, you should choose your storage media carefully.

The great risk of burning errors is still due to burning speeds that are too fast. Fortunately, in the meantime a few manufacturers of burners and blanks have managed to produce speeds up to 16x reliably. However, many recorders try to burn 8x blanks, in particular, too fast. In such cases, you should manually slow down the burning process to prevent errors and ensure the durability of the media. c't checked the optimal burning speed for each blank based on six different burner models and gives explicit recommendations for blanks for each model.

For details on the test of blank DVDs, tips on the best combination of blanks and burners, and background information on the technology of writable DVDs, see the specialist website below, "Nomorecoasters"
http://www.digitalfaq.com/media/index.htm

Additionally, there is a freeware application you can download called "DVD Identifier". It can be found at http://dvd.identifier.cdfreaks.com/
All you need to do is load up your blank, and it will tell you exactly who made it.

How Do I Reset My Preferences?

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Sat, 13 May 2006 19:15:19 GMT

To set your preferences back to the "factory" default, quit Encore and then relaunch Encore while holding down Ctrl+Shift. If you get a dialog asking you to locate the plug-ins folder, just cancel it.

Converting text subtitles to image subtitles in Lemony

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Sat, 22 Apr 2006 04:23:26 GMT

Here's a tutorial for converting a text subtitle script to an FAB image subtitle script using the Lemony subtitling app.

This can be used as a workaround for Encore's lack of support for languages that flow right-to-left, such as Arabic and Hebrew.

Setting a Layer Break for GEAR Pro Mastering Edition with EncoreDVD & IFOEdit

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Sat, 25 Mar 2006 19:57:31 GMT

Setting Layer Breaks Manually for Encore/GEAR Projects

Although we can write straight to a DVD+R DL disc directly out of EncoreDVD 2.0 and we can also create our Master DLT tapes directly out of EncoreDVD 2.0 also, there are times when these options simply are not sufficient.
For example - we wish to Verify the successful writing of a DLT Tape, or we wish to create a QC disc for our clients in DVD-R DL format.
Either way, the "option" of using a +R DL disc is often unacceptable.
Another very good reason for +R DL discs to be NFG is that they are NOT DVD-Video format, and as such tend to expect the layers 0 and 1 to be of equal size.
Yet another reason could simply be we are using EncoreDVD 1.01, which does not support direct writing of any DL discs at all.
The solution is to use GEAR Pro Mastering Edition to create your DLT or DVD-R DL disc directly from your Encore project instead.

And here's how you do it.
You are going to need copies of both GEAR Pro Mastering Edition, EncoreDVD (any version) and finally a copy of the freeware application IFOEdit http://www.ifoedit.com/. Additionally, we will also need the GEAR Layer Break Calcuulator, provided for free on their excellent support site at http://www.gearsoftware.com/support/documentation/layerbreakcalculator.xls
Now we are ready - lets look at how it is all done. Don't be put off by what looks like a lot of math here either - this gets easier every time you do it and all it takes is a little common sense and practise.

The best way to proceed is to use EncoreDVD to build your project to a folder. This will not make any Layer Break settings at all, and will allow us to create a new DL Project in GEAR and also allows GR+EAR to build the UDF/ISO structure for us.
So once we have written our tested and checked project to a folder, the next step is to close out of EncoreDVD and launch GPME. By the way - if you're not certain that you need the expense of GPME for a one-off project you can simply download their 30 day trial version and use this as it is 100% fully functional in every way - there are no limitations at all.
When GEAR loads, select to create a new DVD-Video project and be certain you tick the DVD9 box in this screen too. Another window will appear now asking you to locate the folder where the Video_TS files are stored. Point this at the Video_TS folder and GEAR will create a basic DVD9 project for you.
Next we need to load up the Excel Spreadsheet with the Layer Break Calculator we downloaded earlier. I always use a different machine for this as I don't have Office installed and any open source application that can read an XLS file will do the job. If you don't have one, I recommend either OpenOffice or Star Office to do this. There are a lot of helpful calculators in XLS mode, and you won't regret it. Just try to keep all this stuff well clear of your authoring system though. But I am rambling, and I'm sorry. Back to buiness.
Once we have loaded up our Layer Break Calculator, we need to enter in some numbers.
Back over in GPME, where we have our shiny new DVD9 project sat there waiting for instructions, there is a file structure on the lower left hand side of the project screen. Att the top of the list we should see something very much like "VOLUME (projectname) (DVD-Video ISO/UDF)"
Right-click on this, and select "Properties". A screen will appear with all sorts of numbers in it, and we ignore the lot of them except for the "Total Volume Size in Sectors" - which we need to write down, nip across the room to our spreadsheet, and type the number in right at the top where it says "Total Volume (project) Size"
Another set of (probably) meaningless numbers appears - and the 2 we are interested in here are the ones where it says "RULES" and specifically "Layer Break Point must be Greater than .....
And Less than.....
Write these 2 numbers down, and hop smartly back across to where we have our GEAR project open on our authoring machine. Or simply minimize the spreadsheet if we are doing all this on the same system.
We now need to click on the folder marked "Video_TS" in the bottom left of the GEAR screen, and on the lower right we need to click once on the bar in the middle above all the VOB files marked "start sector" to arrange all the files in the sequence they will be on the disc. This makes finding our VTS file so much easier.
Somewhere in that list there will be a file that has that range of numbers in it. If we are really lucky, there will be more than one, which means that one of these will soon become our Layer Break.
When we have identified the correct file, take a note of it's name - it will be VTS_01_4.VOB or something with a similar structure name wise.
Next, we need to write down and enter into the Layer Break Calculator the start sector number of the VTS_xx_1.VOB file that holds our values.
I will try to explain why. If our Sector range is to be found in the example we gave earlier, say VTS_01_4.VOB, we need to note the start sector of the file VTS_01_1.VOB. This is because all these VTS_xx_x.VOB files are all extensions of the same file. They are just in handy blocks so that the Computer can keep track of them without breaking any rules about file sizes. Anyway, we write down the Start Sector of the file VTS_xx_1.VOB where xx is the file where the Layer Break range is to be found.
Just to try & make the concept clear, if the range were found in the file VTS_05_5.VOB, our start sector we need to write down is VTS_05_1.VOB
Enter this into the Calculator/Spreadsheet in the place where it says "Chosen Video Object VTS_xx_1.VOB Start Sector.
Now this will tell us exactly where we need to look next, and tell us we now need to hunt for a cell start sector between a range of sectors.
It might be something like "1,148,678 and 2,051,052" sectors.
This is where IFOEdit comes in.
Launch IFOEdit - and you may as well go back to GEAR, and close the project - but not the application. Go to the "File" menu, and from the drop dow select "Delete GEAR Project" and delete the one we just created, as we will need to change it anyway. Why you will find out later on.

From IFOEdit, you will see 2 halves of a screen. Down the bottom left there is an "Open" button. Click on this and locate the Video_TS folder, and specifically the file VTS_xx_1.IFO, where xx is the file we know from earlier the Layer Break will be placed.
Immediately your head will start to ache, your eyes will glaze over & your brain will wave a little white flag, as some serious mathematics suddenly appears (Well, that's what happened to me the first time. I was too fascinated to be confused - sheer bewilderment is perhaps the best expression. And I still don't know what most of it is for.
The one we are interested in can be found in the upper half, and is called "VTS_PGCITI".
Click on this, and a lot of little others will appear immediately below it.
You will see VTS_PGC_1 and so on until you run out of blocks.
The odds are high our layer break will be in the longest file - but this does not always hold true, so we start at the top & work our way rapidly down. What we are looking for is twofold.
1 - A Cell Start Sector within our range defined earlier.
2 - A cell Start Sector flagged as "NON Seamless playback.
If we can fill both these criteria, we have our layer break.
Write this number down, and enter it into our spreadsheet - and close down IFOEdit as we are done with it for today.
Back in the Spreadsheet we are almost done. Once we enter this number in, it will helpfully calculate exactly where in our Virtual image from earlier that sector lies, and will check to see if it is divisible by 16. Don't worry for now why, just know that it has to do this.
The chances are high it will not be, so the spreadsheet will tell you how many sectors the whole image has to be shifted forwards by, and what the new Cell Start Sector is in this revised image. This is automatic, and you get 2 figures.
1 - Offset. This number will be between 0 and 15.
2 - Layer Break Sector.

Time to go back to GEAR, and in our "Options" drop-down menu we will have another one called "Preferences". In this, we need to tell GEAR to ask us for the start sector to be entered for each file.
Now we create our project again - but this time GEAR will ask us for the start sector of VIDEO_TS_IFO, and the figure 640 will be highlighted.
Add our offset figure we were given earlier to this so if our offset was 11, enter in 651.
GEAR will do all the rest automatically for you.
One more job to do now.
Go Back to "Options/Preferences", and under DVD we need to tell GEAR we are changing the Layer Break. Click on the "Change" button, and use the up/down arrows to arrive at our newly discovered Layer Break Value.

Save the project - we're done. And write down that offset & Layer Break whatever you do.
You can now write to DVD-R DL, DLT tapes (and if you right-click on your DLT drive in the lower "Devices" screen, and choose "Properties", you can tell GEAR to verify the tape after writing too. It will write both layers first, then verify each one.
There is, however, a minor "GOTCHA" in GPME when writing DLT tapes.
It is allowed to set the IDENT.TXT file to be included on the DLT tape by means of a tick box. However, as this file is not actually required for replication in DVD-Video, but only in DVD-ROM - GEAR will not include the file
i even if the box is ticked
but it
i does
add a pointer to the file in the DDPID file instead. The upshot of this is that a DLT tape where IDENT.TXT has been selected to be included will be
i rejected by the factory as unusable.
This is because when they try to verify the DDP image on the tape it will fail as IDENT.TXT is NOT on the tape.
You must ensure this box is NEVER TICKED - I fell for this one recently, and had to rework 7 DLT tapes.

There is yet another way to get a DL project to the factory if you do not have a DLT machine, and do not have access to DL discs in the correct format.

Write the DDP images to 2 single layer discs instead!
This requires the use of GEAR Pro Mastering Edition again, and is incredibly easy to do.

What you need to do here is follow the original guides in the FAQ sections for setting the Layer Break manually, but instead of writing the project to DLT tapes or to DVD-R DL/DVD+R DL media, what we do next is write the project to a DDP file on the HDD instead.
This will result in 2 folders appearing - Layer 0 and Layer 1.
Each of these has the necessary information for the replication plant to manufacture the discs - all we need to do is get them onto 2 discs instead of 2 DLT tapes.
This is simplicity itself.

Launch your burning application.
Create a new DVD-ROM project.
Name it (Project)_Layer_1
Broswe to the 2 folders with the DDP files in them, and add the contents in this exact order
DDPID
CONTROL.DAT
IMAGE.DAT
(Checksum.txt - optional)
(Log file - optional)

Burn the disc.
Repeat for Layer 1.
That is all there is to it.

What will happen at the factory is the Eclipse verification system will look for the DDPID file at the root level of the disc. If it cannot find it, it will assume it is dealing with a standard DVD-ROM disc instead, but if it is there it will know what is going on, load the files, and ask for Layer 1 after it has finished in the normal manner.

I hope this helps out - if not, please post in the main forums, and I'll try to help out.

Why does EncoreDVD 2.0 add a chapter point at the end of my timeline?

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Mon, 06 Mar 2006 21:55:32 GMT

Encore 2.0 automatically adds a hidden chapter point at the end of every timeline...it's a feature.

Its purpose is to execute the timeline end action so reliable navigation is provided, reason being that many DVD players execute a title search when you hit the Next button, which before Encore 2.0 would then bring you to the next title on the DVD. Many times, this would result in undesirable navigation behavior (and users would have to add a chapter point manually to the end of a timeline), hence the new feature.

Some burning applications may not correctly handle this new feature. If yours does not, then build a DVD image in Encore 2.0 (this creates the entire disc structure) and then burn the image from your burning application. The behavior should be the same as burning directly from Encore.

[by Joe Bowden]

Will Adobe support EncoreDVD 2.0 on an AMD system?

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 01:50:47 GMT

If you own an Adobe product, using it on a system with an AMD processor will not (and should not) ever mean a denial of support.

What it means is that Adobe will not pursue the problem if it turns out to be an AMD-specific problem with Adobe software.

All Adobe products in the Digital Video group are expected to work with AMD processors, as long as they have the SSE2 instruction set.

Regards,
Joe Bowden
Adobe Systems

Encore DVD 2.0 keyboard shortcuts (full list)

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Tue, 21 Feb 2006 18:11:21 GMT

Here's a complete list of shortcuts for Encore 2.0, including those left out of the User Guide and Adobe Help.

- Larry
Encore DVD QE

CBR or VBR - What's the difference?

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Tue, 24 Jan 2006 13:46:36 GMT

CBR is Constant Bit Rate, VBR is Variable Bit Rate. In a CBR MPEG stream the encoder uses the same amount of bits for every second of video. So if you set it to CBR with a bit rate of 5Mb/s all of the video will be encoded using 5 megabits per second. For some sections this will be enough, other sections could have been better with more bits per second (because they are more difficult to compress - e.g. lots of motion), while others could have used less bits and still look good (easy to compress - e.g. a shot from a tripod with almost no movement in the subject matter).

With a VBR encoding at 5Mb/s, the 5Mb/s would be the average bit rate. You would also set a maximum (and a minimum) bit rate. For the hard to encode sections the encoder will use more than 5Mb/s, for the easy material it will use less. But as the average is 5Mb/s, the resulting file will be the same size as the CBR one - i.e. it will take up the same amount of space on the DVD.

The advantage of VBR is that it uses the available space more efficiently. As it can use more bits per second for the difficult stuff there will be less artifacts in the MPEG-2 video.

Set top player compatibility should be the same for CBR and VBR. If you want to maximize compatibility for writable DVDs it may help to keep the total audio plus video bit rate at or below a maximum of 7Mb/s.

As many set top players have at least some problems reading DVD±R discs they will encounter read errors from time to time. If the read error exceeds the error correction the player will have to reread the information. While the player is reading again, the video will keep playing from the decoder's buffer. But as the size of this buffer is limited, it will be empty at some point. The higher the bit rate, the sooner the buffer will run dry. When that happens playback will stutter, stall or fail completely.

By using a moderate bit rate, you are giving the player more of a chance to recover from read errors. 7Mb/s isn't a magical figure, it is just a general recommendation - weighing image quality against compatibility.

If you know that the player used has no problems with writable DVDs you can ignore this advice. The same is true if your end product is going to be a pressed/replicated DVD.

Video Playback Option in "Preferences/Audio-Video Out"

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 18:43:15 GMT

The following did not make it into the User Guide, though it did get into the troubleshooting docs:

http://www.adobe.com/support/techdocs/332121.html
332121 Video Playback option in Audio/Video Out preferences (Encore DVD)

A new option was added to the Preferences menu of version 2.0 of Adobe Encore DVD. When you select Edit > Preferences > Audio/Video Out, you see an Automatic option in the Video Playback section. This option is selected by default, allowing Encore DVD 2.0 to play video in a Standard Direct3D mode. If the feature is not selected, then video playback will be in GDI mode.

The only reason to deselect this option is in the case of poor preview playback or black video. In order for the change in preference to take effect, you must close the Monitor panel and then reopen it.

Background information
Encore DVD 2.0 (unlike previous versions of Encore DVD) uses the Premiere Pro playback engine for video playback. Premiere Pro has three Desktop Display modes: Compatible, Standard, and Accelerated GPU Effects. In Compatible mode, video is played using the GDI. In Standard mode, video is played using Direct 3D. In Accelerated mode, video is played using Direct 3D with GPU.

The default setting for Encore DVD 2.0 is comparable to Premiere Pro's Standard mode (Direct 3D). When the Automatic option is deselected, it is comparable to Premiere Pro's Compatible mode (GDI).

If Adobe Premiere Pro 2.0 detects a Direct 3D error when previewing in Standard mode, it switches to Compatible mode. Encore DVD 2.0 does not have this capability, nor does it provide the same option in the User Interface for the user to switch between the three display modes. This is why the Automatic option was included in the Audio/Video Out preferences.

Dual Layer Disc Does not Play in Set Top DVD Player

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Mon, 06 Dec 2004 21:05:30 GMT

Problem: Dual Layer Disc Does not Play in Set Top DVD Player

Solution: If your burner supports having its bitsetting changed, find a utility and change it to include DVD-ROM.

Additional Information:
DL (Dual Layer) is currently only a +R format. This is a serious problem, as you will find that on older players - and a lot of new ones - there is no +R support. It is not official, and therefore useless for any professional application.

By changing the bitsetting of your burner, it allows DLs (Dual Layer discs) to be burned with a book type of DVD-Rom and thus readable by many more players.

DVD player support drops off exponentially if your burner doesn't support bitsetting, allowing you to change the book type of your disc from DL to DVD-Rom. The DL book type will play on most newer software DVD players but not set top players.

If you've burned a dual layer disc without changing the bitsetting, it is a permanent semi-coaster as it will only play on your computer. I understand that newer DL burners are coming with firmware that automatically sets the book type.

Encore offers no control over book-type. My understanding is that this is a burner-specific parameter: some burners support allow themselves to be set and others do not.

Bitsetting (setting the Book Type) is specific to individual burners. There are some 3rd party software utilities out there that do a good job. The best thing to do is do a Google Search for your specific burner and find what works for yours.

LiteOn has a book type utility available for its DL burners:
I believe DVDInfoPro can set this on burners which support it.

Note: I would caution everyone who updates their firmware to check their bitsetting before burning DL discs. I don't know if it always returns to its default but it did in my case.

Bitsetting is done prior to burning the disk and generally only needs to be set once (unless like me, you update the firmware of your burner). The book type identifies to the player what type of disk is in it. Most players will play DVD-Roms with no problem. However, the book type of a DL disk is DVD+R DL as opposed to DVD-Rom and few players can read that.