DVD Studio Pro 4 - Technical Specifications

Minimum System Requirements

  • Mac computer with an Intel processor

  • 1GB of RAM (2GB of RAM recommended when working with compressed HD and uncompressed SD sources; 4GB of RAM recommended when working with uncompressed HD sources)

  • ATI or NVIDIA graphics processor. Integrated Intel graphics processors are not supported except the Intel HD Graphics 3000.

  • 128MB of VRAM

  • Display with 1280-by-800 resolution or higher

  • Mac OS X v10.5.6 or later

  • QuickTime 7.6 or later

  • DVD drive for installation

  • For writing finished projects to disc: an Apple SuperDrive or other DVD recorder

  • For writing finished projects to a double-layer disc: a double-layer-compatible recorder and double-layer media

  • For transporting projects that contain copy-protection or dual-layer features to a replicator: a DLT drive, external drive, or Internet transfer of the project’s disk image

Graphical View

  • View flow of DVD graphically

  • Print or save to PDF

  • Use Macro view to navigate easily through large projects

  • Flag elements for more attention

  • Fit all elements in window, zoom in/out

  • Organize tiles with Auto layout command

Transitions

  • Add transitions to menus, menu buttons, slideshows, and timeline-based stills

  • Choose from more than 30 prebuilt transitions such as Blur, Dissolve, Droplet, Fade through Color, Melt, Motion Dissolve, Rotate, Rotation Blur, and Zoom

  • Create additional Alpha transitions

Jacket Picture

  • Shows picture of choice when user stops playback of DVD on supported DVD players

  • Creates all necessary files for jacket picture from any popular image formats

Automatic MPEG-2 Encoding

  • Encode video in the background while you work or while building the DVD

  • One- and two-pass variable bit rate (VBR) encoding for MPEG-2

  • Three levels of motion estimation

  • Support for PAL and NTSC formats

  • Support for 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratios

  • DVD-compliant MPEG-2 streams from other encoders accepted

  • More advanced encoding options provided via Compressor (included)

Asset Management

  • Organize assets with folders

  • Open in Editor

  • View status of background encoding

  • View information on imported assets such as type, timestamps, length, encoding progress, bit rate, and more

  • Reveal the location of the asset in the Finder

  • Sort by name and information

  • Refresh assets that may have been updated with other applications

  • Re-encode source assets

  • Reconnect assets

Advanced Interactivity

  • Multistory feature for creating alternative versions (up to 98 stories)

  • DVD-ROM functionality using DVD@CCESS (for computer playback only); DVD-ROM input includes the ability to add photos, PDFs, or direct links to websites

  • Control actions for remote control buttons, including number offset

  • Enable/Disable user operations

  • Specify actions for First Play, Title button, Menu button, end jumps, pre-scripts, pre-script targets, Angle button, Chapter button, Audio button, Subtitle, and Return

Pre-mastering Options

  • Region encoding

  • Industry-standard analog and digital copyright management with Macrovision (Types 1, 2, and 3) and CSS for SD projects1

  • Test functionality with built-in Simulator

  • Test built projects with Apple DVD Player software

  • Allows burning first layer of DVD-9 project to DVD-5 media for testing

  • Supports 12- and 8-cm discs, single and double layer

  • Dual-layer options:

    • Choose between Parallel Track Path (PTP) and Opposite Track Path (OTP)

    • Specify the dual-layer break point

    • Specify a non-seamless or seamless dual-layer break point

  • Format existing builds to DVD-R and DLT

  • Burn DVD-9 projects to double-layer media for testing

  • Replication to red laser media

  • Replication to blue laser media (for HD DVD)

Import

  • Maintains named chapter markers from Final Cut Pro, Final Cut Express, and iMovie

  • DVD Studio Pro 2 and 3 projects

  • iDVD 3 and 4 projects

  • AIFF

  • AVI

  • BMP

  • DV

  • JPEG

  • Macromedia Flash 5

  • MPEG-1

  • MP3 (MPEG-1 Layer 3)

  • MPEG-2

  • M4A, M4P (iTunes 4 audio)

  • PDF (Mac OS X)

  • Photoshop (with layers)

  • PICT

  • PNG

  • Targa

  • TIFF

  • WAV

  • Aspect ratios: 4:3 and 16:9

  • TV systems: PAL and NTSC

  • Frame rates: 29.97 fps (NTSC) and 25 fps (PAL)

  • Maximum GOP sizes: 18 frames (NTSC), 15 frames (PAL)

  • All QuickTime supported codecs — encoded to MPEG-2 (SD or HD DVD)

  • H.264 and HDV (supported natively in HD DVD projects)

Audio Formats

  • STAP (Soundtrack audio file) support

  • MPEG-1 Layer 2 (64 to 384 Kbps)

  • Dolby Digital AC-3 (mono to 5.1 surround using 64 to 448 Kbps)

  • DTS — mono to 5.1 surround at 48kHz; DTS ES — 6.1 at 96kHz at 754 Kbps or 1509 Kbps

  • Stereo PCM (16 bit/48kHz at 1536 Kbps)

  • Stereo PCM (24 bit/96kHz at 4608 Kbps)

  • Other QuickTime audio formats automatically transcoded to AIFF/PCM

DVD Standards

  • Author traditional DVDs using SD assets

  • Author HD DVDs using SD and HD assets

Output Formats

  • DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, double-layer media

  • Double-layer media support

  • DLT drive (required for DVD-9 projects)

  • DDP 2.0 and 2.1

  • CMF 1.0

  • CMF 2.0

  • DDP 3.0

  • Disk Image

  • Video_TS to hard drive

  • HVDVD_TS to hard drive

Menus

  • Choose from a wide variety of automatic transitions

  • Create your own transitions

  • Includes several theme-based royalty-free Apple-designed templates that can be user-customized

  • Supports up to 36 buttons per menu (18 for 16:9 aspect ratio)

  • Templates in both NTSC and PAL formats

  • Allows still menus and buttons to be made from layered Photoshop files

  • Allows motion menus to be made from video streams

  • Set the loop point on motion menus to avoid replaying intro transition

  • Add effects to menus and buttons with shapes and drop zones

  • Built-in action-safe and title-safe areas

  • View menus with rectangular or square pixels

  • Use grayscale and chroma color mapping

  • Create language-localized versions of the same menu

Connections

  • Automatically assign functionality to assets with one click using over 60 combinations of context-sensitive drop palettes

  • Automatically create movie scene indexes based on chapter markers

User Interface

  • Mode-free interface for workflow efficiency

  • Rearrange interface tabs to different quadrants to create different workflows

  • Save user-defined workspace configurations (three preset configurations)

  • Customizable toolbar

Timeline

  • Manage up to 9 video angles, 8 audio streams, and 32 subtitle streams per track

  • Add, modify, and delete chapter markers in the Timeline

  • Trim audio and video clips interactively or with timecode

  • Combine multiple video clips and slides into one track

  • Stills in Timeline are added to DVD as space-saving stills, not generated video

  • Add up to 99 tracks in a project

  • Import Line 21 files for closed caption support, for NTSC SD projects only

  • Two types of angles:

    • Multiple angles add another full-length segment to track

    • Mixed angles add only video that is different from the first video angle

Subtitling

  • Integrated subtitler

  • Add up to 32 subtitle streams per track

  • Set position, font, size, style, and color, fade in and fade out

  • Enter timecode or drag in Timeline to set start, stop, and duration

  • View built-in title-safe and action-safe areas

  • Use graphics in subtitles

  • Import subtitles in .son, .stl, .txt, and .scr formats

  • Use buttons over video

Slideshows

  • Choose from a wide variety of automatic transitions

  • Create your own transitions

  • Fit slideshow to audio

  • Apply audio to individual slides

  • Convert slideshow to a track

  • Set a slide duration or choose manual advance

  • Use PSD (8-bit RGB), TIFF, JPEG, BMP, Targa, PICT, and any other QuickTime-based image format

VTS Editor

  • Automatic allocation of project’s assets to VTS folders

  • Automatic placement of menu’s assets into VTS folders

  • Manually move elements between multiple VTS folders

  • Up to 99 VTS folders per project

Scripting

  • Jump to motion menu loop point

  • Advanced scripting controls to program the DVD to play back from the correct location on the disc; switch audio, video, and subtitle streams depending on context; and temporarily change parental controls

  • Access to 8 GPRMs with partition options to 112

  • Add pre-script commands to menus, tracks, and slideshows

  • Use up to 124 commands per script

  • 10 scripting commands, including Jump, Set GPRM, Goto Set System Stream, Resume, GPRM mode, Exit, Exit Pre-script, and Jump Indirect

  • Machine-level control

  • View values of GPRM and SPRM registers in Simulator

  • Bit-wise operations

1. Copy protection requires that you output your project to a replicator. Macrovision requires that users work with a Macrovision-certified replication facility or execute a Macrovision usage agreement. Check with your replicator for costs and minimum quantities.