DVD Studio Pro® Project Proofing - 
Bulletproof Your DVD for Mass Release
Protect Your Company with Trai's DVD Studio Pro Project DVD Authoring Guidance

The world's acknowledged 
leading authority on 
DVD Studio Pro®



Trai got his start with DVD Studio Pro
in the spring of 1999 when the program 
was known as Astarte DVDirector.  
Trai became the world's leading Astarte
Dealer/Distributor by fall of 1999, 
traveling throughout the country, installing
and training on the new system, helping bring in 
scores of studios into DVD Production.
 

Apple hires Trai Forrester as a
private consultant in
April, 2001, to help introduce
DVD Studio Pro 1.0, at NAB.
Photo credit: Lou Skriba 

Trai introduces the first (and still only) 
comprehensive DVD Studio Pro 
Scripting Tutorials disc in July, 2001.


"Trai's scripting disc taught me
how to 'think DVD' - Marc McCoy



Trai Founded TFDVD.com
a DVD Studio Pro support site,
in 2001.

"I'm beginning to understand. 
All DVD Studio Pro roads lead to Trai" 
- A Poster on 2-Pop, Spring, 2002. 

Unsolicited comments 
from TFDVD.com members, 
during 2002/2003 

Trai Releases the "TFDVDSP Engine",
the first and still only, professional
DVD Studio Pro Advanced
Play List Project Templates - early 2002

Trai released the "TFDVD-9 Maker" -
the workaround to DVD SP's DVD-9
formatting bug - summer 2002'.
For almost 2 years afterwards,
it's the only way to guarantee a
spec compliant DVD-9 in DVD Studio Pro®.

Trai led the development of DVDAfterEdit,
beginning in Fall, 2002. The program
was originally designed to extend
DVD Studio Pro's capabilities.

Send in your current version DVD Studio Pro® project files and all elementary streams by FTP, USB stick or on Fire wire hard drive.

Trai Forrester has spent his 13 years with DVD Studio Pro (first known as "Astarte DVDirector" and Spruce Technologies' "DVD Maestro"), learning how all aspects of working with the program affect the "hidden" file structures that it creates on the final disc. This knowledge, along with his extensive DVD-Video Specification experience from working with Scenarist Professional for 12 years, and leading the development of the DVDAfterEdit VIDEO_TS folder editing and pre-mastering program, will keep you and your company's DVD out of trouble in the market.

Trai Forrester will:

1) Solve any and all DVD Studio Pro project issues you may be experiencing. For example, the public internet discussion boards currently have many posts trying to solve the GPRM-based button targeting a menus' loop point in scripting - Trai has the solution to this nagging problem. Whatever the issue, it is more than likely Trai has already dealt with it many times before, and / or will quickly bring it to resolution - most of the time within the minute of you telling him what you're experiencing.

2) Make sure there are no property inspector setting imperfections in the project that can affect the compatibility and performance of your DVD. Mistakes of this kind are easy to make with DVD Studio Pro's vast, and sometimes conflicting interface Property Inspector settings. Trai will advise on the right Property Inspector settings for the particular assets.

Please note: There are several features and Property Inspector settings in DVD Studio Pro that should not be used or set, under any circumstances - or major incompatibilities can be encountered with the installed base of players out there. Trai will make sure there is nothing amiss in your project, in this regard.

DVD Studio Pro® Project Setup Strategies - Get Trai's Crash-Course on His "Physics of DVD Authoring"

DVD Studio Pro's VTS Menu Allocation feature (a crucial concept in the DVD Specifications for optimal disc asset placement) is almost unusable, due to never allowing disc navigation to jump directly between Menu and Title elements within the VTS. All navigation routing between Menus and their adjacent titles in the same VTS in DVD Studio Pro's Abstraction layer auto-programming scheme are routed to the head of the disc in the Video Manager (VMG) and then back to the VTS again, causing unnecessary player laser seeks back and forth across the disc (and sometimes layers on a DVD 9), slowing navigation down and causing freezing and other issues in many players on the market.

3) Will advise on all kinds of issues to know about when working with DVD Studio Pro, including how best to arrange all the elements on your disc, how to properly set Disc startup (Over 90% of DVDs out there do not do this optimally) and when and when not to use scripting, for example.

Many times, Trai will recommend a complete reorganization of your DVD Studio Pro® Project. This can sometimes seem daunting on large and complex projects, but as Trai explains his concept of the "Physics of DVD Authoring", then it will all begin to make sense. Seeing your DVD navigate and perform on many project types, at more than up to many times faster than it did before before sending it in to New Constellation Technologies (we've clocked more than 30 times faster in many instances), usually is what ends up making a believer out of you; and then there's no turning back - and your clients will love your 'new way of doing things'.

4) And just as important - Make sure no features are left out of your DVD that your client and their viewers have come to expect on DVDs. Note: DVDs are occasionally redone after they hit the market because one or more features were not implemented during production of the disc - Trai will make sure he provides the information to you so this doesn't happen. DVD Studio Pro is very powerful, and several of its cool (and safe to use) features that should be a part of the disc, unfortunately are not included on DVDs released by many studios.

DVD-9 Layer Break Compatibility Problems

5) Pre-mastering issues: This is a big one. There are many pitfalls to avoid in DVD Studio Pro, and high on the list is being careful submitting DVDs for replication. Dual layer DVD-9's are still especially tricky in DVD Studio Pro.

Several of New Constellation Technologies' Replication Troubleshooting jobs over the last year (we didn't see the project's beforehand) have been due to DVD Studio Pro replicated DVD-9's failing at the layer break in a high-percentage of players. Most of these DVDs have been in perfect spec compliance, passing both Eclipse ImageAnalysis® and the MEI DVD-Video Verifier® tests, but have been set up in such a manner as to trip up in many DVD players, causing the discs to have to be redone. Trai has identified at least 7 different dual layer DVD Studio Pro setup errors over the years that will cause playback issues in players and will make sure you and your client set up the DVD Studio Pro® project properly for DVD-9 formatting.

DVD Studio Pro® is fully capable of constructing perfect dual layer, DVD-9 discs, but there are many project setup configurations need to be avoided.

Trai Forrester can assure perfect DVD-9 compatibility in DVD Studio Pro projects, especially if New Constellation Technologies pre-masters the job to DLT (with all the verification that goes with it), and the replicator holds up their end - which we can check also.

Trai looks forward to collaborating with you

This package also includes one hour of phone consultation time, discussing things. Seriously consider this service, even if you have years of authoring experience with DVD Studio Pro®. Seasoned professionals find that this DVD Studio Pro Project Proofing package and working with Trai, has been extraordinarily helpful with the knowledge gained. This DVD Studio Pro® Project Proofing package is also an excellent companion to New Constellation Technologies' DLT Pre-mastering packages - Make sure everything is correct, then it's off to replication.

Trai knows DVD Studio Pro. If you would like, check out just some of Trai's "DVD history" in the side bar of the two-page "Why Verify the DVD" article.