Adobe Encore DVD In The Studio

Rating:
Summary: well integrated with Photoshop
Review: Adobe has spent considerable effort to make DVD authoring as easy as using Photoshop. Dixon goes through and shows in copious detailed text and diagrams how you can author your own DVDs. Photoshop users will see some familiar features here, like layer sets to build compound images. Still, Photoshop knowledge is not a prerequisite.

Quite aside from authoring, you should peruse Chapter 2. A nice explanation of the various DVD formats and their history. Good overview of what a DVD really is.

Now as far as authoring goes, the book does show a tight integration with Photoshop. Perhaps the greatest benefit is that Encore can deal with layer sets, as mentioned above. So Photoshop images do not have to be flattened. Which means that Encore is not faced with a flat bit image. Giving you easier control.

Those of you into game programming should consult the last chapter. It talks about special features like secret item menus (Easter eggs) and invisible or inaccessible buttons. Very cool stuff.

The power of this book can be enhanced by hardware developments still unfolding. Like Blu-Ray. This promises to make DVDs of even greater capacity than the current maximum of 18Gb. If so, the methods of this book may give you more creative freedom.

Rating:
Summary: Well illustrated, organized and informative
Review: This is a very will written guide that covers all of the basic operations of Encore. The author starts with the basics of DVDs, then takes you through projects, timelines, menus, links, and into burning DVDs. He also demonstrates how to use Encore in conjunction with other Adobe applications.

I was very impressed with the quality of the book. The illustrations are beautiful and very effective. The text is readable, but doesn't pander like a step by step book. Screenshots aren't used in an overwhelming way.

Given the introductory level of the book I would have liked to have seen a chapter on DVD examples. This would give us some inspiration in what we build and not just cover the how-to aspect. But this is a minor gripe and the book gets along very well without such a chapter.