DVD Authoring with Adobe Encore DVD: A Professional Guide to Creative DVD Production and Adobe Integration

Customer Reviews

Average Customer Review




Wes Howell's take on Adobe Encore., August 8, 2007
By Newt Johnson (New York City)
My viewpoint on software books is predicated on my lack of schooling in computer software; with that in mind you know I'm hard to please, especially with a big program like Encore to work with. Howell's book is a general introduction to Encore, and as such misses the point. For example, my interest in Encore revolves about Manual Slide Shows---and Howell doesn't even mention this technique. Apparently I have reached the point in my working with Encore that I need more specific information, which I suspect many others working with Encore also need. In the above context two much better books areThe Focal Easy Guide to Adobe ® Encore DVD 2.0 (The Focal Easy Guide), and the Adobe Encore DVD 2.0 User Guide, which ships with Encore and isn't sold as a stand alone text, for whatever reason. I have a collection of 6 Encore instruction books and I would put Howell's book below the above referenced books.

What I would like to see is some sort of technical "cook book", wherein a person could look at experienced people's favorite routines and comments.



It worked for me, February 15, 2006
By P. Ramsey (Peoria, IL United States)
I've already done some very basic authoring in Encore and wanted to add motion menus to my repertoire. I also wanted to learn more about encoding for DVD and how Encore integrates with Photoshop and After Effects. While I haven't read any other books on the topic, I think this book is a great starting place.

I do agree that there's some confusion where Encore 1.5 is concerned, however that didn't stop me from enjoying/using the book. I found that by reading the whole book from front to back I was able to easily follow along and correct any minor discrepancies that came along. I also agree with the reviewer who said that the updated material was not on the website. The author does provide tutorials on the site and they may be more up to date, but he never provides any correction to the published content, at least not that I could find. This was not a deal breaker for me, but absolutely could cause a headache for someone with little or no experience with Adobe products. (When I first started using Encore, I had the same problem with the default menu too.)

All in all I found this to be an excellent "missing manual" for Encore. I've referred back to it several times for a quick answer and was able to find exactly the information I was looking for quickly and easily. I think the book it thorough enough to take you from zero to making a killer DVD without a problem. My two cents... If you want to learn Photoshop, Premier or After Effects, buy a book on that topic. If you want to learn about authoring a DVD with Encore and how to make it play with those other programs, this is the one for you. Thumbs up.



Adobe Encore DVD 1.5 not supported as promised, March 24, 2005
By Patrick Kellogg
I regret buying this book. The cover has a big sticky stating see his website for updates to Encore 1.5, but there is nothing there. I am following the first tutorial in chapter 4, and page 108, step 12 says "choose menu>new menu..... keep the black background for now.... Well my menu is not black, but is an NTSC_Radiant Menu with 6 chapter buttons already on it.It apppears Encore version 1.5 differs from 1.0 in this regard. In addition Tutorial.mpg length in time doesn't match what is depicted in the book, consequently GOP's occur at different times. MPEG requires Chapter points to be at GOP's. I find this misleading in that it doesn't follow his directives. I thought I could just do the tutorials and whizz bang be done, but this book is more trouble than it's worth. I wasted my money



Reads like a page turner novel, December 18, 2004
By Wilfried (Arnhem, Netherlands)
I'm dutch. No good books in dutch hence the US language. I'm a novice to DVD authoring and I needed to jump start my knowledge.
I could understand this WITHOUT the software in front of me. It doesn't get easier. It saves a lot of time and prevents you from making those early mistakes. Big bang for a (cheap, vs euro) buck



Covers the essentials, then digs a bit deeper, May 11, 2004
By Alan H Crow (Salt Lake, UT United States)
As a reasonably experienced DVD author, I just wanted to get up to speed quickly and see how Encore relates to the DVD spec. I have been trying to get a handle on button highlights and how to use them creatively. Understanding what they are and how to use them with motion video has taken my projects to a new level. The book was already worth the money, 350 pages, and a DVD with an hour of free advanced video tutorials is included. The advanced topics and integration principles alone make this a solid purchase. Highly Recommended!!