AuthorScript® Video SD

AuthorScript Video SD, a component of the AuthorScript Video SDK, is a comprehensive solution for authoring video, audio, and still-image content stored on a PC into DVD-Video content compatible with hundreds of millions of set-top DVD players and DVD-equipped PCs worldwide. AuthorScript Video SD also features integrated support for the VCD and SVCD formats.

With close to 400 APIs covering all aspects of DVD-Video creation, AuthorScript Video SD's C++ libraries enable all the functionality needed at each stage of the production process:

Authoring:

  • build a project structure (i.e. Movies, Slideshows, Menus, Playlists, etc.);
  • populate the structure with references to source media (video, audio, and image files);
  • define navigation for buttons and PGCs;
  • define the look and feel of menus, either with custom settings or predefined styles;
  • define project attributes and settings (e.g. TV system, aspect ratio, language, etc.).

File Conversion:

  • convert referenced source asset streams into the elementary stream formats (e.g. MPEG-2 video) supported for playback in the target format (e.g. DVD-Video).

Multiplexing:

  • combine referenced source asset streams into the MPEG program stream format required for playback.

Formatting:

  • arrange all of the presentation content and navigation information into a file and directory structure ("disc image") readable by hardware and software DVD, VCD, or SVCD players.

Writing:

  • record a disc image to recordable or rewritable media, or to a folder or file.

AuthorScript Video SD supports a wide variety of source files for project assets, transcoding the files for video, audio, and stills into formats that are compatible with the target logical format (e.g. DVD-Video).

Video:

  • 3GPP/3rd Generation Partnership Project (.3gp)
  • Advanced Systems Format (.asf)
  • AVI/Audio Visual Interleave (.avi)
  • Digital Video (.dv)
  • DirectShow Editing Services (.xlt)
  • DivX (.divx)
  • DVR-MS/Microsoft Digital Video Recording (.dvr, .dvr-ms) - requires optional install
  • Flash Video (.flv)
  • H.264/MPEG-4 AVC (extension depends on container file)
  • Internet Video Recording/Real Player (.ivr)
  • MPEG-1 (.mpeg, .mpg, .m1v, mpe, .mpv, .vbs)
  • MPEG-2 (.m2p, .m2v, .mv2, .mp2, .mp2v, .mpv2)
  • MPEG-4 (.mp4)
  • QuickTime (.mov, .qt)
  • TiVo (.tivo) - requires user install of TiVo decoder
  • Video Object (.vob)
  • Windows Media Video (.wmv, .wm)

Audio:

  • Audio for Windows (.wav)
  • Audio Interchange File Format ( .aif, .aifc, .aiff)
  • Audio Visual Interleave (.avi)
  • Digital Theatre Systems (.dts)
  • Dolby Digital/AC-3 (.ac3)
  • MPEG Audio Layer II (.mp2, .mpa, .abs)
  • MPEG Audio Layer III (.mp3)
  • QuickTime (.mov, .qt)
  • SND (.snd)
  • Unix Audio Format (.au)
  • Windows Media Audio (.wma)

Still picture:

  • Adobe Photoshop (.psd)
  • BMP/Windows Bitmap (.bmp)
  • CompuServe RLE/Run Length Encoding (.rle)
  • GIF/Graphics Interchange Format (.gif)
  • JPEG/Joint Photographic Experts Group (.jpg, .jpeg, .jpe)
  • Macintosh PICT (.pct, .pic, .pict)
  • PNG/Portable Network Graphics (.png)
  • TIFF/Tag Image File Format (.tif, .tiff) - LZW compression is not supported

AuthorScript Video SD provides several different options for outputting a DVD-Video or VCD/SVCD project:

Recordable/rewritable media - build directly to media in a device:

  • DVD-Video project to DLT, DVD-R, DVD-R DL, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+R DL (12cm/8cm), DVD+RW, DVD-RAM;
  • VCD/SVCD project to CD-R, CD-RW.

Folder - build project to hard drive as a specification-compliant directory structure.

ISO image file - build a specification-compliant disc image encapsulated in a single ISO file, which may subsequently be written to disc.

System Requirements

Operating System

  • Windows Vista
  • Windows XP (Service Pack 3 recommended)

Processor Speed

  • 1GHz minimum (1.5 GHz recommended)

RAM

  • 512MB minimum (1GB recommended)

Disk Space

  • 20MB for SDK libraries

Other

  • DirectX 9.0c or later (10.0 or later for video slideshows)
  • Windows Media Player 10.0 or later
  • Windows-compatible sound card