Ntsc or pal, About the terms “ntsc” and “pal – Apple DVD Studio Pro 4 User Manual
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You can also use Compressor as a standalone application to get more options and control
over the encoding process. Compressor also integrates well with Final Cut Pro, providing
exceptionally high-quality MPEG-2 streams directly from Final Cut Pro sequences.
This chapter describes how to prepare video source material for use in DVD Studio Pro
and how to use the integrated MPEG encoder. For more information on DVD-compliant
material, see
.
There are three areas in a DVD project that can use video sources:
• Tracks: This is the primary area that uses video sources.
• Menus: This area uses video sources when you are creating motion menus. Menus can
also assign video sources to buttons and drop zones. For the most part, video sources
used for motion menus must follow the same rules as video sources used for tracks.
See
for more information.
• Alpha Transitions: You can use specialized video sources as alpha transitions in your
menus, tracks, and slideshows. See
for more information.
The DVD-Video specification has strict requirements for several aspects of the sources
used. For best results, you should create and capture your video and audio using the
settings required for DVD.
See
DVD Video Source Settings Summary
for a complete list of settings required for a
source to be DVD-compliant.
NTSC or PAL?
A DVD-Video title must contain either all NTSC or all PAL sources. If you intend to create
a title that can be played on either NTSC or PAL DVD players, you must create two titles
and two versions of the sources (including all graphics and video, which will require
significant effort), one for each standard.
About the Terms “NTSC” and “PAL”
The terms “NTSC” and “PAL” are technically incorrect when used with respect to DVDs.
These terms specify a variety of things with respect to an SD composite video signal.
When you refer to a video asset as NTSC or PAL with respect to SD-based DVDs, you
are defining the asset’s frame rate and resolution. With most HD assets, the terms NTSC
and PAL refer only to the frame rate, because the resolution is far different than an SD
video asset.
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Chapter 4
Preparing Video Assets