DVD Studio Pro 4: The Complete Guide to DVD Authoring with Macintosh [Paperback]

Bruce Nazarian (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0071470158 | ISBN-13: 978-0071470155 | Publication Date: March 27, 2006 | Edition: 2

Author professional quality DVDs with Studio Pro 4

With Apple DVD Studio Pro just about anyone can author high performance DVDs -- easily and inexpensively. This heavily-illustrated complete tutorial, written by world-famous DVD trainer Bruce Nazarian, provides the step-by-step guidance necessary to unleash Studio Pro's full power and understand all the new features of Studio Pro 4.

• Includes DVD with sample footage, authoring samples, graphics, and project graphical layout
• Covers video and audio encoding, Photoshop for DVD authoring, and new Hi-DEF features

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

THE SUPERSTAR GUIDE TO DVD AUTHORING WITH THE MAC!

DVD Included!

• Learn how it's done with QuickTime movies, PDF tutorials, and plenty of insider tips on DVD Studio Pro 4
• Complete assets provided for building a simple DVD project, and to add advanced features to it, including scripting
• Authoring tutorials, menu tutorials, and scripting tutorials!
• Lots of DVD projects to build and proven DVD training and productivity products to use from the supplied sampler pack for Recipe4DVD's Pro-Pack 1 (projects), Pro-Pack 2 (scripting), and Pro-Pack 3 (menus)
• Invaluable DVD technical information
• Links to the book's website, for addenda, project tips, and more!
• A free, limited-time membership to the revamped DVD Pro Club on www.recipe4dvd.com, with lots of new content, re-launching in early 2006!

A private DVD authoring tutorial, from one of the world's top trainers
Bruce Nazarian, "the DVD Guy," travels the world, teaching both home users and media professionals how to make world-class DVDs, using Macintosh computers with DVD Studio Pro and the Superdrive. But now you don't have to wait for one of his sought-after seminars to come to your hometown. DVD Studio Pro 4 puts his expert advice, time-tested methods, and frustration-evading shortcuts by your side. This book is ready to guide you, any time you want help from "the DVD guy."

Over a million people already have the potential to create professional-quality DVDs at home with their Superdrive-equipped Macintoshes and DVD Studio Pro. If you're one of them—or want to be -- here's the perfect guide to making great use of all that power!

COVERS ALL THE NEW FEATURES OF SP4!
No one knows more about DVD authoring with DVD Studio Pro than Bruce Nazarian, and no one explains it better. His DVD Studio Pro 4 gives you:

• A complete and thorough explanation of what a DVD is
• Chapter-by-chapter analysis of DVD Studio Pro 4's vast array of features
• Step-by-step tutorials that make DVD authoring simple and fun!
• A bonus DVD disc packed with tutorials, tools, tips, and project templates, as well as sample menu graphics
• Thorough coverage of new hi-def features and how to encode MPEG video and AC3 audio for DVD
• Photoshop graphics tactics for successful DVD images
• Walkthroughs on Slideshows, Menus, Markers, and Stories
• In-depth coverage of Scripting in DVD Studio Pro 4
• Simple Scripting strategies and techniques
• Overviews of DVD assets, advantages, and applications -- and ways to get the most from them
• 150 time-saving illustrations
• Advanced techniques to try after you've mastered the basics

Since the advent of Macs with Superdrive, the high-cost entry barrier to the world of DVDs has been knocked down. If you want in, this book has the passkeys!

About the Author

Bruce Nazarian is President of Gnome Digital Media, through which he produces, consults, and instructs on DVD. A world-renowned expert on DVD authoring and a Master Trainer, Bruce is also a member of the DVD Association National Board of Directors, and the busy webmaster of www.recipe4dvd.com and www.dvda.org.

Product Details

• Paperback: 536 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill/TAB Electronics; 2 edition (March 27, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071470158
• ISBN-13: 978-0071470155
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,332,857 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars lots of info for experts- doesn't get you started, October 31, 2006

By 

J. J. Spencer (sydney australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: DVD Studio Pro 4: The Complete Guide to DVD Authoring with Macintosh (Paperback)

the basics seem to be omitted. There is no "quick start" chapter on how to get moving. The minutiae are well covered. The practical hands on explanations are deeply buried. The included DVD is almost completely useless and does not even play properly on my Mac G5- not a good sign for "the DVD guy"

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars not for beginners, August 13, 2006

By 

Gray Fox (California, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: DVD Studio Pro 4: The Complete Guide to DVD Authoring with Macintosh (Paperback)

This book is very dissapointing. Sure, this book is full of information, but does not know how to teach. This book is not completely written in step by step method. Before you actually start touch your project, you are fed up with information. I even found a couple of mistakes in earlier chapter. DVD comes with this book, but this DVD is not a lesson project like Apple Pro Training Series. Not useful.
If you are beginner and start studying DVD Studio Pro 4, don't by this book! You're going to waste your money. Buy the one from Apple Pro Training Series, which is much better, easy to understand.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Useful, but not very clear, January 11, 2007

By 

Joseph Potts (Alberta Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: DVD Studio Pro 4: The Complete Guide to DVD Authoring with Macintosh (Paperback)

The book has many useful tips and ideas, BUT it is not written very clearly and it seems to be an amalgamation of his writing about DVD SP 2 and 3 as well as version 4.

The quality of the book also leaves something to be desired. It is all in black and white--which generally is not a problem, but some of the illustrations are hard to figure out because I couldn't figure out what part of what menu he was talking about and there were no "color" hints to help me figure it out.

Although the book covers a lot of ground, it was missing some critical--at least for me-- issues. For example, can you create a 16 x9 splash screen that matches a 16 x 9 video. (If it can be done, I did not see any instructions about it and I can't seem to find a soluion to this problem is his book--or elsewhere).

Also, even though he talks a lot about Compressor, he fails to give any real practical advice about formats that need to be used to make a 4 x 3 video look okay on a 16 x 9 screen.

Maybe I am being a bit harsh because I wanted to know more about the practicalities of going from Final Cut Pro via Compressor to DVD SP4 and having a product that looks good when played on both the old 4 x3 format TVs and the newer 16 X 9 format TVs--and that was not there.

I will say that he had a lot of good stuff to say about menu designs and how to create good ones and for that alone the book was worthwhile.