Book Review - Digital Video and DVD Authoring

Review by Ron Cotton - May 11, 2005

by Jeff Sengstack (http://www.sengstack.com/)
published by Sams Publishing (http://www.samspublishing.com/)
$34.99 US Soft cover.
686 pages, Copyright 2005.
ISBN: 0-672-32689-2

Digital Video and DVD Authoring has been fashioned together in the hopes for beginners and intermediates understanding and utilizing the process of editing and authoring their own DVD with step-by-step instructions with ease and simplicity. Beginning with Windows XP's free video editing software Windows Movie Maker 2 and then to the next step of Pinnacle Studio, Adobe Premiere Elements, and Adobe Premiere Pro 1.5. DVD Authoring tutors both MyDVD 6 and DVDit! 5, the prior being much less yet more inferior to the later.

First, it glosses over the system requirements needed to turn your Windows equiped PC (Windows, not Mac or Linux) into the DV non-linear editing machine thats waiting to be unleashed. The basics of purchasing a consumer or prosumer camcorder are touched upon as well as capturing video from legacy analog camcorders. Video and Audio production is glossed over quickly.

The meat of the book is using the commercial editing and authoring software. Without purchasing the software described above, the book is quite worthless as a heavy paperweight. Fortunately, Movie Maker is free while Pinnacle allows you to download a trial version of Pinnacle Studio before paying the piper. Tips that I found most useful in Digital Video and DVD Authoring included scanning images for TV and audio acquiring.

The problem I have with this book is the advances made in DV Editing and Authoring changes day by day, and although this book can create a foundation, it should not be considered the be all and end all book. Unless Jeff Sengstack produces a newer edition, the information contained within will become quite antiquated within 3 to 5 years.

I would recommend this book if your completely new to the DVD format and have at least one of the commercial editing programs and authoring programs. For the average computer user, they will find most of the information within quite pedestrian.