Project Settings Dialog

Accessed by selecting Project Settings on the Edit menu, this dialog is used to define parameters specific to the current project. It is divided into a number of tabs. Two buttons appear in common on all of the tabs (except the Layout Settings tab):

Save As Default  Saves the settings on the current tab (except the Disc Name field on the Project tab) as defaults for all future projects.

Reset Defaults  Returns settings on the current tab to the factory installed default values, and resets these defaults for future projects.

The Project Settings dialog includes the following tabs:

Project Tab

The Project tab includes fields and drop-down menus for setting the following parameters:

Project tab of the Project Settings dialog

Disc Name  Enter the volume name for the project’s disc image. Valid characters for the volume name are: A– Z (upper case only), 0–9, and underscore (_).

TV System  Indicates the TV system of the project’s video content: NTSC (29.97 fps) or PAL (25 fps). (The DVD specification does not allow mixing of TV System content within a single DVD volume.) When the first video file is dropped into a new project, this setting is changed automatically (with a warning message) to the format of that video file. The TV System setting is locked once the first video or still image asset is added to a project.

Time Code Format  To ensure proper synchronization, indicate the timecode format of the audio, video and subtitle source files used in the project: Drop Frame or Non-drop Frame. (This setting only applies when the TV System is NTSC.)

Video Format  Indicates the format of the project’s video content: MPEG-2 or MPEG-1. (The DVD specification does not allow the mixing of video formats within a single Video Title Set (VTS). ReelDVD uses only one Video Title Set, so no mixing of video formats is allowed.) The Video Format setting is locked once the first video or still image asset is added to a project.

Aspect Ratio  Indicates the aspect ratio of the project’s video content. ReelDVD supports both Standard 4:3 and Widescreen 16:9 formats. (The DVD specification does not allow the mixing of video aspect ratios within a single Video Title Set, so mixing of aspect ratios is not allowed in ReelDVD.) The Aspect Ratio setting is locked once the first video or still image asset is added to a project.

When working with content in the 16:9 aspect ratio, ReelDVD will automatically create a letterbox version of menu subpictures, ensuring proper alignment of button highlights. Because some vertical picture data is lost in this process, it is recommended that 16:9 subpictures be prepared with thicker horizontal lines (see Subpicture Assets for more information on subpicture preparation).

Size  Indicates the image size of video, still image, and subpicture content. Valid settings are as follows:

NTSC
MPEG-1
352x240 (SIF)
 
MPEG-2
720x480 (Full D1)
704x480 (Broadcast D1)
352x480 (Half D1)
352x240 (SIF)
PAL
MPEG-1
352x288 (SIF)
 
MPEG-2
720x576 (Full D1)
704x576 (Broadcast D1)
352x576 (Half D1)
352x288 (SIF)

Audio Encoding Type  Indicates whether audio files—Linear PCM (Wave/AIFF) audio and MPEG audio—are to be used in the format of their source files (As is), or to be encoded by ReelDVD to Dolby Digital (2/0), a two-channel AC-3 format. The Dolby Digital (2/0) setting can be used to ensure that all audio in a given stream position (stream 1–8) is in the same format, as required by the DVD specification. (The format and bit rate of audio stream 1 of Track 1, for instance, must match that of audio stream 1 of Track 2.)

Audio Encoding Rate  Indicates the audio encoding bit rate to use when the Audio Encoding Type is set to Dolby Digital (2/0). Values range from 96 Kbps to 448 Kbps. Dolby recommends values of 196 Kbps for standard stereo, and 224 Kbps where higher definition is required.

Image Encoding Rate  Indicates the bit rate to use for encoding still images that are added to the current project. The valid range of values depends on the Video Format. For MPEG-1, values range from 0.5 MBps to 1.8 MBps, with a default of 1.8 MBps. For MPEG-2, values range from 1.0 MBps to 9.0 MBps with a default of 8.0 MBps.

Languages Tab

The Language tab is used to set parameters related to the Language codes that are assigned to audio and subpicture streams. DVD players use these codes to automatically choose the audio and subpicture streams to play back, based on the languages set by the viewer in the player’s setup menu. (If the preferred audio or subpicture language is not available, then playback defaults to audio or subpicture stream 1.) The assigned language is also displayed on-screen when the viewer changes streams with the remote control.

Languages tab of the Project Settings dialog

Audio Languages  Sets the language code assigned to audio streams 1–8 in all Tracks of the project (see Audio Streams for information on changing an audio stream’s language code in the Track window).

Subtitle Languages  Sets the language code assigned to subpicture streams 1–32 in all Tracks of the project (see Subpicture Streams for information on changing a subtitle stream’s language code in the Track window).

Simulation Defaults  Defines the audio and subpicture language settings on the setup menu of the DVD-Video player that will be simulated in the Preview window’s Simulation mode. When the AutoStart icon is selected and simulation begins, ReelDVD will automatically attempt to use these Simulation Default language settings to choose appropriate audio and subpicture streams for playback.

Subtitle Tab

The Subtitle tab includes buttons and drop-down menus used to define the appearance and position of new subtitles created with ReelDVD’s built-in subtitle generator. Note that these settings do not have any effect on existing subtitles.

Subtitle tab of the Project Settings dialog

Font  Sets the default subtitle font.

Size  Sets the default subtitle font size.

Style  Sets the default subtitle font style (Bold, Italic, Underline).

Alignment  Sets the default horizontal alignment of the subtitles (Center, Left, Right).

Location  Sets the vertical position of the subtitles (Top, Middle, Bottom).

Render  Determines whether each subtitle’s subpicture image is rendered as a full-screen graphic (e.g. 720x480 for NTSC, Full D1) or as a graphic just large enough for the subtitle text. (The default is Text Area, because the resulting image files use less disk space in the Project Cache.)

Outer Edge  Sets the color and contrast level of the outer 1-pixel outline of the subtitle text. Click the color swatch to choose from the sixteen colors in the pop-up color palette. Use the up and down arrows to set the contrast to one of sixteen levels, from 0% (transparent) to 100% (opaque). The default color/contrast setting for the Outer Edge is 100% black.

Inner Edge  Sets the color and contrast level of the inner 1-pixel outline of the subtitle text. Click the color swatch to choose from the sixteen colors in the pop-up color palette. Use the up and down arrows to set the contrast to one of sixteen levels, from 0% (transparent) to 100% (opaque). The default color/contrast setting for the Inner Edge is 100% black.

Face  Sets the color and contrast level of the font face of the subtitle text. Click the color swatch to choose from the sixteen colors in the pop-up color palette. Use the up and down arrows to set the contrast to one of sixteen levels, from 0% (transparent) to 100% (opaque). The default color/contrast setting for the Face is 100% white.

Background  Sets the color and contrast level of the background color of the subtitle area. Click the color swatch to choose from the sixteen colors in the pop-up color palette. Use the up and down arrows to set the contrast to one of sixteen levels, from 0% (transparent) to 100% (opaque). The default color/contrast setting for the background area is 0% white.

Color Tab

The Color tab allows you to change the default colors and contrast of subpictures used for menus and subtitles. Changes to these settings do not affect any subpictures that are already present in the current project.

Figure 1: Color tab of the Project Settings dialog

A subpicture is a four color image. Each color serves as a mask to define an area of the screen. The Color tab is used to map these masks to the actual colors and contrast levels that will appear in the four areas on-screen when the subpicture is displayed.

In Figure 1, the column of color swatches on the left side of the tab indicates the original colors of the subpicture mask, while the other three columns indicate the colors and contrast levels to which the original colors will be mapped in three different playback conditions (Display, Selection, Action). For example, the blue (Color 1) areas of the subpicture will map to a 100% blue Display Color, 100% magenta Selection Color, and 100% medium gray Action Color.

To change a given color mapping, click a color swatch and choose from the sixteen colors in the pop-up color palette. Use the up and down arrows to set the contrast to one of sixteen levels, from 0% (transparent) to 100% (opaque).

Display Color  Defines color mapping and contrast values for subpictures displayed in their “default” state (no button selection or activation).

Selection Color  Defines color mapping and contrast values for subpictures within the hotspot area of a menu button when the button is selected.

Action Color  Defines color mapping and contrast value for subpictures within the hotspot area of a menu button when the button is activated (by pressing Enter on the remote).

Color Palette Tab

The Color Palette tab is used to define the 16-color palette used in the current project. This color palette determines which 16 colors are available for assignment to subpictures and subtitles, both in the Preview window and in the Color tab of the Project Settings dialog.

Color Palette tab of the Project Settings dialog

Note: Any changes to the color palette will affect all existing subpictures and subtitles that refer to those colors changed.

The DVD-Video specification supports 4-bit color palettes for subpicture overlays (subpictures and subtitles), meaning that at any given time 16 different colors are available out of a possible 16 million. In ReelDVD, a single color palette, set in the Color Palette tab, is used for the entire project.

To change a color in the Color Palette, simply click the color swatch you want to change. The standard Windows Color dialog will appear, from which you can select a new color, after which the RGB values for the new color will be displayed in the swatch.

Layout Settings Tab

The Layout Settings tab is used to choose options related to the output of a disc image with the Make Disc command. These choices determine the default settings for the options in the Make Disc dialog (see Make Disc Dialog).

Layout Settings tab of the Project Settings dialog

Layout Options specify the directories that should be used to store the files that ReelDVD creates in preparation for outputting to disc or DLT:

Disc Image  Indicates the directory where ReelDVD will output its work files and final disc image during the Make Disc operation. To avoid conflicts between projects, a new, empty Disc Image directory should be selected for each new ReelDVD project. Clicking the Browse button will bring up a Browse for Folder dialog that will allow you to select an existing folder. You must create the target folder outside of ReelDVD before it can be selected here.

Once the Disc Image directory is set, ReelDVD will automatically fill in the DVD Video and Temporary Files fields. The values shown will represent paths for subdirectories that ReelDVD will automatically create within the Disc Image directory during the Make Disc operation.

DVD Video  Indicates the directory where the DVD-Video files (VIDEO_TS directory) will be written during the Make Disc operation. By default, this directory is defined by ReelDVD as the Zero (“0”) directory beneath the Disc Image directory. However, the hard drive on which the directory resides must have free space equivalent to at least twice the size of the entire project. If there is not enough disk space available, use the Browse button to choose a DVD-Video directory that does not reside on the same hard drive.

The “Delete when done” option tells ReelDVD to remove the files in the DVD-Video directory once the Disc Image file is created. The default setting for “Delete when done” is on (checked). Uncheck this option if you plan to use the DVD player software bundled with ReelDVD to test playback of your project from the hard drive.

Temporary Files  Indicates the directory where ReelDVD creates temporary files during the “multiplexing” phase of the Make Disc process. By default, this directory is assigned as the “mux_data” directory beneath the Disc Image directory. However, the hard drive on which the directory resides must have free space equivalent to at least twice the size of the entire project. If there is not enough disk space available, use the Browse button to choose a Temporary Files directory that does not reside on the same hard drive.

The “Delete when done” option removes the files in the Temporary Files directory once the Disc Image file is created. The default setting for “Delete when done” is on (checked). Unchecking this option can cut down on the processing time of subsequent Make Disc operations, but will also use disk space equivalent to the size of the project.

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