DVD Studio Pro 3 In The Studio

Rating:
Summary: Good introduction to a tricky application
Review: If ever Apple made an application that could use some usability work it's DVD Studio Pro. It's a comprehensive and powerful application that has a user interface that only a mother could love. That's why I found this book so critical. It's an end-to-end guide from the very basics of DVD construction through to using templates and building custom transitions. There are also pitstops along the way into building DVD games and creating easter eggs.

As with O'Reilly's other book on DVD construction, Adobe Encore DVD, one of the other benefits of the book is the content ideas that it gives you. Though I found the examples in this book slightly less appealing than those in the Encore book.

Very well written with appropriate, not overwhelming, use of screenshots and illustrations. This is a must have for DVD Studio Pro users.

Rating:
Summary: Check out the hyperlinking ability
Review: The Apple DVD Studio Pro is a popular but very complex tool for authoring DVDs. This book shows why it is popular, and also offers an improvement on the Apple documentation. The program has immense ability to record audio and video and to merge these in as intricate a fashion as you desire. There is a panoply of editing functions. For such things as adding subtitles to video tracks. Or supporting several languages using the audio tracks. Or to have a multistory project.

Where ever possible, the book shows how Studio Pro has automated the steps in each of these tasks. There are many colour screen captures revealing the menus you invoke, and the results they generate.

Plus, in today's Web oriented world, Studio Pro lets you insert hyperlinks using DVD@ccess. These links can go into menus, markers and slides. So that the user can reach out into the Web (or local files). In this way, you can use the DVD and Web to complement each other. Imagine producing a game DVD with links to your website. So that a gamer can easily engage in a multiplayer scenario, or download the latest 3 dimensional world. In this way, you can offer more fresh material to the gamer. Increases the value of your website, and helps you get paid.

Rating:
Summary: You have to see this to believe it
Review: This book breaks new ground for O'Reilly. I'm used to finding great technical content in their books--that's what they're famous for--but media tools like DVD Studio Pro require a more visual approach for explanation, and Marc delivers this extremely effectively.

The examples are numerous, on target, and very thorough. They walk you through the process of learning and achieving anything you might need to produce a compelling, professional DVD experience. And what really struck me is how unbelievably good the book looks. Every page is beautiful, glossy color with a clean, easy-to-follow layout, and huge numbers of screen shots and visuals.

If you have a chance to flip through this book in person you'll realize how much you need it when you're starting to create DVDs. Or you can order it sight unseen and be pleasantly surprised.