Minnetonka Audio Software announces Version 2 of its flagship DVD-A authoring application, discWelder CHROME.
New features added in V. 2 include Video Auto-Mirror, which allows the user to automatically create the Video zone from the contents of the Audio zone, allowing playback on both DVD-A and DVD-V players (by creating a universal DVD-A/V disc). The audio tracks are encoded with an integrated SurCode Dolby Digital (AC-3) encoder, and the VIDEO_TS (video title set) is auto-formatted. The Auto-Mirror option creates the video main menu and a static MPEG-2 slide per track (if there is a slide programmed for the track). Also new is DSD Import/Conversion, which allows the import of DSD-format DFF audio files into the CHROME playlist. The DSD-to-PCM conversion bit depth is set at 24-bit, and the sample rates are set at 48 kHz for surround and 96 kHz for stereo. Video Track Link allows a track in the Audio zone to be linked to play a video title in the VIDEO_TS. This makes possible the playback of videos within the audio menu. Users can now customize the DVD-A look and feel by creating the menu background image and overlay bit maps in an image-editing program (like Adobe Photoshop LE), then importing these into CHROME to create the Hit or Button boxes with their associated actions (such as play track, go to menu, etc.). Motion menu allows the user to select an MPEG video file to use as a menu background. The MPEG may contain audio and video, and the user may select a “video loop” option. The Motion Logo feature allows the user to select an MPEG video file to be displayed once upon disc insertion. The file may contain audio and video. If the “Auto Play” option is checked, Group 1 Track 1 will start to play after the Motion Logo plays. Otherwise, the first page of the menu will be displayed after the Motion Logo.Other features include: Active Menu, where the playlist menu is active during track playback; CPPM, enabling the copy-protection flag for the album; and PGC Blocks, where two audio formats (surround and stereo, or different languages, for example) are contained in each DVD-A track.
discWelder CHROME Version 2 is scheduled to be released in January 2004; upgrades from CHROME V. 1 will be available for $500 (U.S.).
More information is available at www.minnetonkaaudio.com or at www.discwelder.com.
