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The Quick 'n' Dirty Guide to HDAfterEdit

This guide is aimed at getting alpha and beta-testers up and running with HDAfterEdit v1 as quickly as possible. It assumes a good knowledge of DVDAE Version 3 and DVD authoring in general, and will be continually under development. As we near release the documentation will come online and make it redundant.

The guide will highlight things which are different from the old version, features we would like tested as a priority, and sometimes just Really Cool Stuff :-)

First of all, a heads-up:

This Is An Alpha Version

As you know, we aren't quite ready to lock off the features and go into beta-testing just yet. The exciting thing about this for us testers is that new features may appear at any time, and our comments may be used to improve what's already there. However it also means that not all the features are unlocked, yet.

Please check the Summary Of Features section at the end of this guide to see exactly what features will be present in the 1.0 release, and what the state of play with the current alpha version is.

Running the program

When you first run HDAE, it will prompt you to enter your administrator password, and then browse to a VIDEO_TS or HVDVD_TS folder. Along with requiring the password, Mastering and Editing can be locked to prevent unauthorised access. By default there will be no passwords on these locks, but this can be changed if security is important to you. When a suitable folder has been selected, the Disc Overview window will open, plus the Preview window. This behaviour can be changed via the Preferences, if you like.

Notice that now we have proper Project files, Open and Save on the File menu relate to Project files. To open a new VIDEO_TS folder and create a new project, choose New From DVD.... To write changes to a new folder, choose Save DVD.... This will take some time, since a complete new VIDEO_TS folder will be built, however Project saves will be very fast, and crucially, non-destructive.

Many menu items in the application change their appearance and meaning dynamically while the shift, command (Apple) or option (alt) key or keys are held down. To change this behavior and see all the commands at all times choose Expanded Menus from the Edit menu. when you get accustomed to the way the commands work and want to return to simpler menus simply choose Collapsed Menus from the Edit menu and return to the default setting.

Disc Overview Window

This displays a graphical representation of the data in the project, and allows Formatting ( Pre-mastering ) operations. For dual-layer projects, the layer-break can be set by dragging the slider, and a choice of PTP or OTP can be made. Everything is pretty self-explanatory - click "Switch View" to browse the project by viewing the VIDEO_TS, HVDVD_TS and ADV_OBJ folders, or the "Browser" button to open a Browser Window.

  • Choose Unlock Mastering from the Master menu (or click the small lock in the bottom right corner of the window).
  • Tick the "Unused space" box to see how much space is available on the disc
  • The type of disc ( DVD, HD DVD, Blu Ray ) is indicated in the top left
  • Notice how available layer-break locations vary depending on whether the disc is OTP or PTP

The Browser Window - Structural and Editing Panes

The Browser Window is effectively the equivalent of DVDAE's Main Window, and at the moment is set out in a very similar way to it's predecessor. So, it is divided into two halves - the Structural Pane and the Editing Pane. You should find most of it quite familiar, but here are some things to notice:

  • Double-click on a PGC to rename it
  • Use tabs in the Editing Pane to see different information, for example select a VTS and use the tabs to choose whether you view the Menu or Title information
  • Use the Tools ( "cog" icon ) menu at the bottom of the window to select whether TT#, VTS_TT# and Menu Type ( Root etc ) is displayed in the Structural Pane
  • Navpack browsing is not enabled yet
  • Use the Commands menu to open the Command Editor window to view and edit Pre, Post & Cell commands
  • Use the "Plus" button to create a Bookmark
  • In the Editing Pane, click the top of a column to sort - eg. in order of duration, TT#, VTS_TT# etc
  • Click and drag to re-order columns as necessary


Summary Of Features


Currently Confirmed Features of HDAfterEdit 1.0

  • SD & HD DVD Standard Content Browsing
  • HD DVD Advanced Content Browsing
  • AppleScript access to browsing and editing, including navpacks
  • Blu-ray Browsing will not be included, or will be very limited
  • Browsing and editing of navpacks will not be ready in 1.0 - code for writing to VOBs is still being finalised
  • Nameable PGCs ( Double-click )
  • Bookmarks
  • Browsing history
  • PGC editing
  • Title editing
  • Import/Replace/Delete VTS
  • Command editing, including text editing view
  • Drag and drop command editing & direct cut/paste
  • Preview, accurate to the cell level and including audio
  • Save to DVD ( VIDEO_TS folder, HD folders )
  • Save to Disc Image
  • HD Formatting ( DDP or CMF for Pre-Mastering ), not including AACS
  • Blu-ray Formatting (no AACS)
  • SD Formatting, including CSS
  • Red-laser disc burning

DLT will not be supported (There will be a separate application) There will be no Tracer/Player functionality in 1.0

Notes on the first public alpha version

  • Browsing is incomplete. Title and PGC browsing works well, but will be reorganized soon.
  • Editing is incomplete. Insert/delete, tool tips, more cross-reference to layer break info, etc. will be added soon.
  • Import/Delete/Replace VTS is not enabled
  • Command insert/delete and text editing is not finished.
  • Preview is under construction. Only SD MPEG-2 video will be supported in this version.
  • Importing of DDP will work, but not output (Mastering). This is our #1 priority for the next alpha release.
  • Disc Burning works but will not be enabled to begin with.