astarte's DVDirector - Software Review - Evaluation

DVD's success for home entertainment and Hollywood movies seems secure, but pricey DVD authoring systems--and expensive burners--still restrict corporate adoption of the format to specialized projects, largely done through service bureaus. Fortunately, authoring prices are falling and Astarte is leading the way with a robust DVD authoring package for about half the price of previous price leaders

Starting at $5,399, Astarte's Mac-based DVDirector is admittedly still no steal by common software standards, but it's far cheaper than the software portion of Sonic Solutions' DVDCreator for Mac or Windows-based packages from Minerva, Daikin, or Spruce Technologies [All four were reviewed in EMedia between February and May 1999. All reviews can be found at http://www.emedialive.com--Ed.].

Being the new kid on the DVD authoring block has given Astarte a chance to both borrow and divert from existing DVD interface conventions. Most notably, Astarte thankfully shields users from the arcane technical DVD spec details-like Video Objects, Color Mapping, and Sub-pictures--while still offering most of the features that make DVD a powerful interactive tool. But willie Astarte has succeeded marvelously in some areas, DVDirector still suffers from minor awkwardness and some potentially serious omissions that keep this version of the software from being a runaway hit. Nonetheless, given the significant price differential, Astarte is well worth a look.

While some users may shy away from the Macintosh, the huge major of digital video content is still produced on Mac-based systems. Direct QuickTime-to-MPEG-2 transcoding from Astarte's M. Pack gives DVDirector a solid link to nonlinear editing stations and that will only improve when Wired, Inc. releases its Mac DV-MPEG-2 real-time encoder board (due this fall for less than $399).

hardware not necessarily included

The basic $5,399 DVDirector package includes Astarte's M. Pack MPEG-2 encoding solution and Wired Inc.'s 4DVD MPEG-2 decoder card for preview. Astarte also offers a "Pro" bundle ($9,899), which adds Wired's component version MediaPress MPEG-2 encoder hardware and Astarte's own A. Pack AC-3 encoding software.

Since DVDirector works with any compliant MPEG files, and has no direct interaction with the MediaPress card beyond simply handling its files, our focus here is on the authoring software. MediaPress, also available separately, offers good quality and an excellent value for basic or industrial video; however, as a price leader, it doesn't rival the best quality in the industry and some users may want to look higher. Since encoding and authoring are two separate processes, DVDirector is still a viable choice for authoring regardless of your encoder choice [See Jan Ozer's MediaPress review, May 1999, p. 31-33--Ed.].

something old and something new

On the surface, DVDirector's interface bears a strong resemblance to other DVD authoring systems. You begin an authoring project by importing media clips and menu files into a generic asset bin. While this step is necessary for the application to register incoming assets, no authoring company, including Astarte, as yet offers media management assistance to a project with dozens of media files. Providing a more rich organizational structure within this bin--with sorting, searching, and offering information about the media within the file such as timecode, duration, reel/tape number, and user comments--would be a real asset.

DVDirector also features a Graphical View flowchart, like Daikin's and especially Sonic Solutions', offering an overview of links with arrows annotating navigation paths. Yet, while DVDirector's flowchart is visually similar to the others, it doesn't support dragging and dropping to create links. Instead, Astarte features an always-on-top Property Inspector window that shows all information and links to whatever asset in activated in the Graphical Window. Pull-down menus within the Property Inspector set available options and links and give an effective quick overview. Where pull-down menus aren't revealing enough, they can be opened as separate windows like standard Mac Finder folders.

For a big picture overview of an entire project, Astarte has added a Matrix view that, depending on viewing options, can show up to all assets, menus, buttons, and their links for a whole project. For organization buffs, this Matrix may offer the easiest check on whether all links are in place.

Note that while its far from essential for using DVDirector, power users will be happiest with the largest monitor possible, or a dual monitor configuration, to efficiently manage the variety of window options and helpful views.

one step at a time

DVDirector's Project Window, a Mac Finder-style list of folders, is where you group elementary stream media assets to form tracks. Track folders can contain video, audio, subtitles, and scripts and simply dragging and dropping assets into the same folder joins them together. If you've done your editing and MPEG encoding well, this approach is a very straightforward for pairing elementary audio and video streams.

On the other hand, Astarte does not offer a timeline-based track editor as found in most other authoring systems, a potentially serious omission for some users. Assets must begin together at the start of their track and line up perfectly. If, for example, you have narrative audio that shouldn't begin until after a visual introduction, you'll need to add the proper amount of silence to the beginning of your audio clip. Potentially more serious, Astarte offers no audio-video offset if your elementary streams are off by a small fraction.

Astarte argues correctly that media editing should be done prior to the DVD authoring phase, but since DVDirector can't guarantee smooth playback between two separate tracks, contiguous content must be edited together into one file by your video editing application before encoding. This may result in long, awkward video clips, especially if you're looking for multistory functionality. Using a generic play/scrub bar, you can set unlimited markers within video clips (though not audio clips), thus annotating chapters and, with scripts, jump between those markers for multiple story version. However, since the Mac OS limits filesize to 2GB, continuous playback of one track is restricted. The actual time limit will depend on your encoding rate, but DVDirector isn't the best choice for a two-hour movie.

DVDirector also currently lacks DVD's multi-angle feature that allows viewers to switch between different camera angles of a single scene, like a concert or sporting event. Additionally, since all assets within a track must start together, DVDirector has no slide show functionality. In an unrelated oddity, DVDirector does not allow a viewer to return to the title menu from another menu by pressing the remote's "Title" button, only from a media clip.

menus come alive

Like other DVD authoring products, DVDirector doesn't include graphics and menu creation design tools in deference to Photoshop and other design tools. After all, Photoshop is a given if you're spending a few thousand on an authoring application. That said, Astarte's menu creation methodology is a runaway best-in-the-business feature.

DVDirector brilliantly understands and uses Photoshop layers to mask the DVD spec's powerful, but awkward "Sub-pictures" and "Color Mapping." By accessing, and indeed leveraging, all the layers within a PSD file, DVDirector dramatically increases both the ease of creating button highlighting effects and the creative potential to change overall menu appearances with users' cursor actions.

Minerva's Impression also uses Photoshop layers, but requires very strict naming conventions, limiting the flexibility of the interaction. Astarte lets you create any number of layers in Photoshop and assign them at will to any menu state. DVDirector's Property Inspector lists all layers separately, so any button state can activate any or all layers. By assigning multiple layers to a single state, such as when the cursor highlights or activates a button, you can turn a static menu into a very creative, non-static set of images.

Unfortunately, there is a downside of using Photoshop layers in this way. Playback cursor responsiveness is reduced because the DVD is replacing a complete image--just what DVD's manual "Color Mapping" tries to avoid. Fortunately, cursor sluggishness is far more noticeable in preview mode than once you've actually built your DVD file image. Nevertheless, Astarte has added Color Mapping to version 1.5, giving you both options.

Also new in 1.5 are motion menus that let you create button links over moving video clips. The visual buttons themselves must be in the video; however, DVDirector does allow you to highlight (i.e., Color Map) using custom shapes or anti-aliased letters by linking to a graphics file.

subtitles and scripts

DVDirector offers two ways to create subtitles. First, you can import an EDL of timecodes and subtitles, then drop it in the appropriate track. Alternatively, Astarte's subtitle editor allows you to create subtitles on-the-fly while viewing your video, typing text directly into a subtitle file, which in turn gets added to the appropriate track. Unfortunately, the Wired 4D decoder does not recognize subtitles, which forces users to build their project before they can do QA.

While Astarte has in most cases successfully shielded users from the programming jargon of the DVD spec, DVDirector wins no favor from novices when it comes to taking advantage of DVD's powerful (GPRM and SPRM) programming parameters. For even the simplest "if>then" logic, you'll need to create a script, import it, and drop it into a track. Astarte notes this method allows you to re-use scripts for multiple buttons or assets without individually programming each; however, it is far less convenient for basic navigation parameters.

Scripts can jump between video clip markers, but note that DVDirector does not support DVD's specific parental control feature. DVDirector does support multiple-language tracks, though it will require a script in each track if multiple-language subtitles are to be included as an option.

before the final burn

Astarte's manual isn't too bad in individual sections, but lacks coherent organization. A minimalist tutorial begins about half-way through. In our version, the manual also did not completely agree with installation procedures, a reputed version anomaly due to revisions between Wired and Astarte. We also experienced intermittent blackscreen failure when previewing with the Wired 4DVD to either a video monitor or the computer display.

In the final analysis, DVDirector is not the right tool if you're encoding Hollywood movies, but it was never meant to be. Astarte's goal is to provide a cost-effective way to create DVDs without burdening new users with the unsavory details of the DVD spec. And, for the most part, they've succeeded admirably. You'll have to be the judge as to whether your work will be hindered by DVDirector's scripting complexity, its lack of a track editor, and the omission of features like multi-angle and slide show (due to be added with the COMDEX-released Version 2.0). For most corporate users, these concerns should prove minor, and they are clearly the market Astarte has targeted with DVDirector.

astarte's DVDirector

price $5,399

synopsis: Astarte's DVDirector is a comparatively low-cost, Mac-based DVD authoring application targeting the corporate market and smaller independent production facilities. Astarte has successfully shielded users from the arcane jargon of the DVD specification and most other authoring products without dramatically reducing features and functionality. While multistory navigation remains awkward, and some features are omitted such as muti-angle and slide show capabilities (both due to be added with the COMDEX-released Version 2.0), many users will gladly overlook the drawbacks to save the money and duck the learning curve.

for more information, contact:

Astarte USA, 364 Wilwood Avenue, Birchwood, MN 55110; 651 /653-6247; Fax 651 /653-6495; http: //www.astarte.de. Astarte GmbH, Weberstr. 1, D-76133 Karlruhe, Germany; ++49 731 98 5540; Fax ++49 721 85 3862.

Jeff Sauer (jeff@dtvgroup.com) is the Director of the DTVGroup, a research and test lab that regularly reviews tools and technology. He is an industry consultant, an independent producer, and a Contributing Editor to NewMedia Magazine, Video Systems Magazine, Presentations Magazine, and AV Avenue.

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