SpruceUp Personal DVD Authoring

[dchip]

If this does what it says, $129 is not bad at all. I was in the TMPGEnc forum and someone had posted the link. Supposedly it has been tested with MPEG-2 from TMPGEnc and does not require a DVD-R drive, instead works with CD-R drives to make DVD's that play in any DVD player. I want to do DVD's in the worst kind of way, but I don't want to wreck my budget getting there. Maybe this is the answer. Here's the link: http://www.sprucedvd.com/products/spruceup/

[rchapoteau]

I went looking through the site, and after quite a bit of looking it states that it will not work in settop players as of now. It will work on your dvd-player on your pc. I am going to try it on my APEX which is just like a dvd-rom anyway and see what happens.

[Sciascia]

I also am interested. Apparently it will support CD-R/RW, but not in the SVCD format. They also do not plan to support it in the future. It may not make much of a difference, but 480*480 resolution will make a smaller file, allowing you to record more video to disc. I also have a settop DVD player that loves SVCD on CD-RW discs. SpruceUp also requires WIN NT4/Win 2000/or Win 98 SECOND EDITION. Since I am still using the original Win 98, I can't even install the demo. It does sound like a really good application though. I like the idea of being able to preview the menus and transitons before burning, unlike I-Author. if anyone gets it keep us updated on the pros and cons. Especially for the price...

[dchip]

Since SpruceUp seems to be stating it works
with CDR/RW discs, I would guess that the typical faux-DVD, for lack of a better term, would need to be no more that 15-20 minutes long. That would work fine for most of my projects. I would hope there is a chance I could play the disc on my set top, but if not, I can live with that too.

I already saw a post in TMPGEnc stating that SVCD or XVCD can get great quality without the limitations in length. The problem I have with that is it's not DVD and I want DVD. If this thing can do that, I'm in.

As always, available time is the problem. I might not even get to look at it until the first of the year, so I like your thought there Sciascia, and hope anyone who tries this will post some feedback.

[dchip]

Looks like this package is more a hardware solution that accomplishes its goal with software.

When it's burned, the DVD on CDR/RW also gets a software player copied to the disc that enables fairly fast CD-ROM drive and moderate CPU horsepower to play the CD-DVD.

Supposedly the quality is DVD all the way, but of course GVI-GVO would be applicable here. I mainly want a way to get my Mini DV footage onto CD with a lot of the quality remaining.

[Sciascia]

Just checked out the trial version last night. It is very nice. The interface beats the crap out of I-Author and building menus and defining chapters is so simple it almost takes the fun out of it. The simulation mode is one of the best features, it really does work. I plan on doing a few more tests and then I'll probably go ahead and register. The only problem I have so far is that I can't seem to get 352*480 to work. It is supposed to a supported format, but it doesn't like it. If anyone knows anything about the Half D-1, MPEG2 stream, I would appreciate the tips. I figure that for the quality trade off versus file size, it might be worth it.

[dchip]

Thanks Sciascia. That's good info. I am playing catch up and adding a DVD-ROM to my system next week. I'll give Spruce UP a try after all the holiday "fun." Meanwhile, since you have ventured in and given an encouraging report I wanted to mention that Spruce Up has a forum that I have been monitoring a bit. Perhaps help with the 352x480 issue can be found there. The moderators and experts seem very open and ready to help. Here's the link:
http://www.spruceuserforums.com/ubb/...assCookie=true

I did read in there that Spruce plans on making a couple more revisions before the final product. Mostly cosmetic changes and eliminating unecessary dialougue boxes or error messages.

Thanks again for the feedback.

[rchapoteau]

No thats not true! According to them it won't play on a settop dvd player yet. Tried it out on my apex with no luck. If it doesn't work on that player it won't work anywhere on set tops yet :-). They say that they are going to have it settop compliant on later versions. Seems like great software. Can't wait till they do. . . either that or maybe when pioneer comes out with there cheaper dvd-r system.

[dchip]

I haven't tried SpruceUp yet but do know that so-called set-top players vary widely in what disc formats they will recognize and play. All those lasers need to do is hit something they like and it's off and running. I have been putting my VCD's on rather expensive Memorex CD-RW discs, which have a surface color very similar to professional DVD discs, and I have been able to play them on a lot of different set-top players. Don't give up just because the player doesn't seem to recognize the format. It could be the disc.

[Sciascia]

I have a Hitachi DV-P250 that plays just about anything that I throw in it. Sometimes better than WinDVD does. It plays CD-R/RW and SVCD as well as VCD. I can burn on those cheap old blue discs and just about any re-writeable that I can find. If the file structure is right and the MPEG file is DVD compatible, I see no reason why it wouldn't work on my set-top. Of course I'll let you all know the results later in the week.

[Sciascia]

I have been playing with this app quite a bit the last few days and am holding off on making a burn, since you are only allowed one with the trial version. About the set-top support though this is an excerpt from the help file:

SpruceUp is a software program designed to run on systems with the Microsoft's Windows 98 SE, Millennium (ME), NT 4.0, and 2000 operating systems. It imports MPEG video and audio files from third party equipment such as video capture applications and non-linear editors. SpruceUp provides the tools to design a DVD title by allowing you to add menus and chapter points, and finally to compile the project into a finished title suitable for playback on set-top DVD players and the DVD-ROM and CD-ROM players in personal computers.

According to them it should play on a set-top DVD. I know that if the file structure and all of the encodong is right that it will play on a set-top. I will give it a try probably next week. I just want to make sure that all of e files are DVD compliant.

Another note is the button making feature is quite cool in my opinion. You can go throught the MPEG file and select chapter points, and then choose a frame that you want to represent that chapter and create buttons for the chapters. You only have 1 menu instead of multiple ones like in I-Author and as you scroll throught the buttons they automatically highlight. Looks very professional and there is no need for linking of multiple menus. You can resize, move, add drop shadows and borders, add text.. all kinds of neat stuff and it is so easy that I figured it out on my own. If the burn is successful, this one will be added to my repetoire of toys.

What I have been doing with some success is capture in MJPEG, edit in MSP 6. Create "clips" of about 1-2 Gig. Open them in VDub, using the append feature. Apply a few filters to clean them up (temporal cleaner and smart de-interlace) for the encoder and frame serve them to the encoder. Takes a couple of hours to complete, but when you are done you have one continuous MPEG file. Insert it into SpruceUp as a media asset. Go through and add chapter points, create buttons and then I can simulate the play back in SpruceUp.

One note, the audio has to be 48K. I guess that this is the DVD spec.



[This message has been edited by Sciascia (edited 16 December 2000).]

[rchapoteau]

The reason it won't work on a settop box is because in order for it to work as a cd it has to install software I believe. I have used these disks in my apex all the time and had no problem. I admit I didn't try it in my toshiba 6200, but I hightly doubt it will work in that. The apex will play almost every other format out there so if it can't play this I doubt anything will. . . . not to mention the fact that they say it won't work. We just have to wait for them to release a new version OR for someone to release a sub $1000 dvd-r

[Sciascia]

rchapoteau,
You are correct, unfortunately. I went ahead and did a burn and the file structure is wrong. It plays back beautifully on a PC, but is not readable on a DVD set-top player. Unless they do something to change this, it is pretty useless to me. I really like what it has to offer, but I want to be able to archive to disc that my family can watch in the living room. Oh well, SVCD still looks pretty good. I just like the ability to add chapter points.

[dchip]

Sciascia. Really appreciate your keeping us posted on this as you ran your trials. Sorry it didn't work out. The folks at Spruce seem like they're pretty innovative and also good at listening to their customers. It probably won't take them long to create the compatibility you need.

[Sciascia]

I hope that thay will, because it is a nice product. I am still confused, I am not 100% on the structure of DVD file tree, but I thought that all that was needed was the video_ts folder. If the .vob is MPEG2 and is DVD compliant, I wold think that it would work. It amy have something to do with a .vob on a CD??? Unless they did something to it in the packing. I get a disc reading error in the set-top, so it won't even attempt to play. With the "mini-DVD" possible, I would think that Spruce is capable of makng the right format, it may have to do with a lack of desire on their part (since they have more expensive DVD authioring apps) or licensing factors.

Either way, I'll just stick with SVCD's for now. I just really wish I could use the chaptering option. In I-Author, I can make pseudo chapters, but in order to use the next command to advance to the next track during playback, it tries to play the entire disc, then go back to the next track. I guess that it is inherent in the way the play items are structured. "Next" means next track for advance and for playback. having one continuous MPEG stream plays back smoothly, but in order to take advantage of the next command, it works best with individual streams, which causes a delay between tracks. More whining to come...