DVD authoring - Buyers Guide

Emedia Professional, Jan, 2000

MicroBoards Announces Desktop DVD-R Multifunction Duplication System

MicroBoards Technologies, Inc. has announced a 4.7GB desktop multifunction DVD-R duplication system called the DVR-1000. To create an integrated system, MicroBoards incorporated technologies from Hoei Sangyo and Pioneer. The DVR-1000 operates as an external DVD-R drive, a multidrive DVD-ROM drive, and as a duplicator. The DVR-1000 operates as a stand-alone unit or can be connected to a PC, When connected to a PC, the system operates as an external DVD writer. The addition of the DVR-1000EX slave module allows the user to duplicate one to three DVD-R discs simultaneously. The DVR-1000 includes the Pioneer U08S DVD-ROM drive as well as the Pioneer S201 DVD-R drive; both drives use a SCSI interface. The DVR-1000 has a suggested retail price of $7,995 and the DVR-1000EX slave module is priced at $12,495.

(MicroBoards Technology, Inc., 1480 Park Road, Suite 8, P.O. Box 856, Chanhassen, MN 55317; 612/470-1848; Fax 612/470-1805; http://www.microboards.com)

Panasonic Introduces DVD Authoring Systems

Panasonic Broadcast & Television Systems Company (PBTSC) has introduced a new complete turnkey DVD-Authoring System, the LQ-VD2000S. The integrated LQ-VD2000S consists of a Windows NT 4.0 workstation, Panasonic's MPEG-2 encoder, LQ-VD3000 emulator, 2-channel AC-3/LPCM audio encoder, a hardware MPEG-2 decoder, DVD-RAM drive, dual- channel SCSI card, 10GB SCSI hard drive, VTR control card, and dual 32-bit graphics card. The bundle includes authoring, extended MPEG-2 video and Dolby AC-3 audio encoding, subtitling, emulation, and close-captioning software. The system also accommodates an additional authoring seat, which allows developers to define video and audio segments to be compressed offline. The offline software can be used as a network authoring seat when used in conjunction with the LQ-VD2000S networked with a server. The LQ-VD2000S DVD-Authoring System, which in its current release, marks the first public availability of a system that has to date been the exclusive province of Panasonic's own DVD production services, is available at a suggested list price of $120,000. The LQ-VD3000 emulator is available as a separate accessory for $15,000 and the LQ-VDS120 offline software package is $22,550.

(Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company, One Panasonic Way, Secaucus, NJ 07094; 201/348-7000; Fax 201/348-7016; http://www.mei.co.jp)

Astarte Brings DVD Production to the Desktop

Astarte has announced the availability of its newest DVD production tool, DVDelight. DVDelight offers a drag-and-drop interface, and allows up to 99 video and audio tracks to be defined. The tracks can be set up to play sequentially whenever DVD-RAM media is inserted. For self-running or looped videos, DVDelight allows users to program the video for loop play. DVDelight accepts encoded video streams in a variety of standard formats including MPEG-1 or MPEG-2. Accepted audio sources include MPEG, AC-3, SoundDesigner, and AIFF files. The Mac version of DVDelight includes a copy of Astarte's MPEG encoding application, M.Pack. Windows versions include PixelTools ExpertDVD MPEG encoding software. Astarte has also announced that DVDelight is fully compatible with Panasonic's DVD-RAM drive. Astarte's DVDelight is available for a suggested retail price of $999.

(ASTARTE GmbH, Weberstr. 1, D-76133 Karlsruhe, Germany, 49 731 98 5540; Fax 49 721 85 3862; http://www.astarte.de/dvd)

GEAR Upgrades Pro DVD for Windows

GEAR Software has announced GEAR Pro DVD 2.0 for Windows. The new version, featuring a revamped graphical interface, supports output to DVD-R recorders, DLT tape drives, DAT, and DVD-RAM. The software offers drag-and-drop functions cyclic buffering. GEAR Pro DVD includes backward capability with CD-R/RW drives and provides ANSI-labeled output for DVD format, Orange Book multisession recording, disc-at-once, and track-at-once recording methods. Other new features include a CD copy button, an option for writing beyond disc capacity, and automatic handling of auto insert notification. Pioneer's DVR-S201 recorder is shipping in Europe with a full evaluation copy of the software. GEAR Pro DVD 2.0 for Windows is available at a retail price of $699.

(GEAR Software, 1061 East Indiantown Road, Suite 500, Jupiter FL 33477; 561/575-3200; Fax 561/575-3026; http://www.gearcdr.com)

Visible Light Delivers Sub-$1OK DVD-Authoring System

Visible Light has announced shipments of its new Macarena line of DVD-Authoring systems that are based on the Power Mac G4 series. Macarena systems integrate DVDirector authoring software by Astarte GmbH, and include a hardware DVD playback device, SCSI interface, a software MPEG-1 and -2 encoder, a 5.1-channel Dolby Digital encoder, and DVD-Video image premastering software. Available directly from Visible Light, the base Macarena DVD-Authoring system has a list price of $9,995. The Macarena Pro version is $14,995, and includes a hardware MPEG encoder, hardware-assisted QuickTime transcoder, and tape deck control software and hardware. Optional equipment includes the Pioneer DVR-S201 DVD-R drive and a range of DLT storage products.