DVDComposer for Windows

By CodeJam
Trial version
User Rating

Used DVDComposer for Windows?

Editors’ Review

Download.com staffNovember 8, 2008

If there's a little Alfred Hitchcock in all of us, DVDComposer is one of the tools that will help let him out. The software is a simple tool for creating DVDs, aimed at home-computer users who have no desire to lose themselves in the details of video-file formats and menu structures. It uses a series of wizards and templates to create slick-looking DVDs with animated menus, multiple tracks, and easy navigation. It's too limited for full-blown professional projects, and can't go much beyond the templates offered by the software's developers, but we were surprised by how easy it was to author a complex DVD. We recommend this program for home filmmakers looking for a fast, simple way to move their digital work to disc.

DVDComposer for Windows

By CodeJam
Trial version
User Rating

Used DVDComposer for Windows?

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Full Specifications

GENERAL

Release: September 22, 2005

Latest update: November 8, 2008

Version: 1.5

OPERATING SYSTEMS

Platform: Windows

Operating System

Windows 2000
Windows 10
Windows XP

Additional Requirements: None

POPULARITY

Total Downloads: 135,327

Downloads Last Week: 0

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Last Updated

User Reviews

1.8/5

6 User Votes

Terrible Format Support
EhFrankJuly 3, 2010
Pros
None that I can tell.
Cons
Doesn't work with .wmv or .mp4 video formats.
Summary
There is just no excuse for software like this to not support as many file formats as possible. As soon as I saw that it doesn't work with .wmv OR .mp4, I uninstalled this piece of crap right away.
Waste of space
ComputingTeacherApril 11, 2008
Pros
Interface is nice and fairly intuitive. Can generate decent menus with spot vision/images embedded. Appears that the editor features for tracks are good.
Cons
Ignores the audio stream that is already embedded in a .vob file, even though it claims to scan the audio stream when loading the file. So cannot tell whether track editor performs at all well. Finally when I check the created dvd files there is no audio on any of the demuxed remuxed .vob files. A waste of time and a waste of space on my hard drive.
Summary
Can not burn Dvix movies
Alphan73February 21, 2007
Pros
Cons
I tried this program on two different PC's. On both cases when I try to burn a Dvix movie (avi) with a subtitle, it gives an error message during the convertion.
Summary
Wasted money to burn DVD. Cannot test final result and links before burning.
wtgkcckNetNovember 30, 2005
Pros
Nice and easy to run and install without writing to the Window System Registry and therefore can even be installed without admin rights. Successfully burnt my first DVD with much trial and error both using the easy-to-use Wizard and also without it. Have also try out creating user-defined buttons and changing text colours. (But all these lead to no where as you CANNOT test out the results - which is the main flaw in this software).
Cons
Generally a nice software to used to create your own DVD with chapter links. But I wasted some pieces of DVDs realising what I wanted to link did not turn out as expected. Also there is a bug: the 1st Chapter (Chapter 1)is fixed in the beginning of track (cannot be moved) and is reflected in the Disc Mapping off and on (if not linked or used). Because of this all the chapter links are 1 chapter offset, linking to chapter 1 goes to chapter 2 and so on. <p>Using the wizard also did not give me the result I wanted. My Player connect to my TV failed to recognised the DVD. It is not the DVD player or system because when I did it without the wizard it is OK. The DVDs used in both trials are of the same type and brand.
Summary
How to love this program...
PinothyJAugust 25, 2005
Pros
Okay, this is a fantastic program but it has major error handling problems (hehe the irony). Because I love this program so much I though that someone should write some tips on how to use it so there will be only one, one star review.
Cons
* Never open saved files inside the program (or when the program is opened), always double click the saved file itself. <p> <p>* Never add/drag across menus from the palette to an empty project; always make sure there is some video and/or audio present in at least one track. <p> <p>* Never add files that contain both audio+video, split them first. Go to 'Tools|Mpeg Tools' and then click the MPEG Splitter tab - learn to use this tool (NB: this program also split DVD vob files so just type in '*.vob' in the directory with the said files present and hit enter). <p> <p>* When assigning start and end point of any kind make sure that the value is positive (i.e. 00:01:32:21 - 00:01:33:02 = good, 00:01:32:21 - 00:01:31:15 = bad. also note that 0 is not positive so 00:01:32:21 - 00:01:32:21 = is also bad). <p> <p>* If audio/ video gets out of sync then download Wavepad from download.com to fix it up. Not only is it free but it’ll open both ac3 and mpa files (although doesn't always save them so save them as wav). Also note that when the audio/video/subtitle ruler (in the ‘Track Editor’) is fully zoomed, one increment (the space between one mark and the other) is equal to 40 milliseconds. <p> <p>* To make sure you have successful DVD builds use only mpa or ac3 or any other supported audio that has compression: wav take up too much space, it causes unsuccessful builds and is unnecessary. There are many programs that convert but the best and most advanced is Xilisoft’s Video Converter (even though it is called video converter it converts a>v, a>a, v>a and v>v). This is not free like Wavepad but is still downloadable from download.com <p> <p>* If you video card should support this program and it still slows you should download the latest direct x 9 and then have a fiddle with your graphic settings. I did this for mine and I don’t know what happened but slowly it began to work faster and faster until it lagged no more (crash support sucks so don't even waste your time).
Summary
Some nice features, but too many crashes, awkward to create slideshows
PCONRAD0June 25, 2005
Pros
Nice features for rich menus, automatic creation of chapters, etc.
Cons
For my purposes: creating DVDs of still images, you have to purchase this along with MemoriesOnTV. As it turns out, I already own MemoriesOnTV, and the latest version (a free upgrade) promises that you can export your video slideshows from MemoriesOnTV to DVDComposer. Only one problem: you have to import each video track and each audio track separately, and give them all new titles, etc. etc. It's a real pain if your project is moderately large (mine had 15 separarate videos, and was about 3.4GB). <p> <p>Furthermore, when I was almost done with my project, it started crashing every time I loaded the project. Saving and rebooting didn't help. <p> <p>I think this product may have a very nice future, if they fix the bugs, and make the integration with MemoriesOnTV more seamless for the end user. For now, this is a product with all the typical problems of a 1.0.x release. <p> <p>After a frustrating several hours, I downloaded ArcSoft's DVD Slideshow, and had a much better experience. The ArcSoft product lacks some of the cool features that I liked in DVDComposer 1.0.3, but it has the best feature of all: it works. Furthermore, I get everything I need in one package for a lower price, and the user interface is easy to navigate. <p> <p>If I were actually working video files instead of creating them in another product, and perhaps if I had 1GB of RAM instead of 512MB, or were working on smaller projects, I might have had a better experience with DVDComposer 1.0.3
Summary

Developer’s Description

Create video DVD projects with flexible menus and add multiple audio and subtitle tracks.