Thanks for the info, Stan. So that matters are clearer for me, when replying to my posts it might be best to use the term Blu-ray, not DVD. I never build DVDs, and I'm never completely sure when you say 'DVD' whether it means only DVD, or Blu-ray, or both.
Unrequired Timelines
I did two tests of an Encore project:
- one had only a single timeline which reported no problems when built to Blu-ray (120MB)
- then I added a new timeline with a video on it, and built to Blu-ray (600MB). The new timeline reported two problems before the build: it was an orphan with no end action. It was not shown in the Flowchart.
The Blu-ray which came from 2 (above) had an additional m2ts file (480MB) in the Stream folder, corresponding to the new timeline. Even though the additional m2ts file was on the disk, I could not access it.
Seems a funny thing to me that Encore includes all timelines in a build, even though they are not in the Flowchart and not accessible from the disk. Encore assumes wrongly (in my opinion) that if you put something on a timeline, then you want it on the disk.
Other matters
Let me sum up other matters to see if my understanding is correct. Please correct any statements that are wrong.
Free movement and Single Timelines
1. For a sequence of clips that are to be treated as one from start to finish (such as a movie), if you want free movement – the ability to jump to the next section or a previous section, or be able to fast forward or rewind through the entire show – then you must have all clips on a single timeline.
2. Corollary: it is not possible either in Encore or when using a Blu-ray disk, to have free moment with multiple timelines, Playlists, or chapter playlists.
3. If you want the ability to preview a build in Encore with complete freedom of movement – jump forward or back as described in (1) – the only way is to use a single timeline.
Movies are best built as single files
4. Even though you can have multiple clips on a single timeline – say a movie broken into scenes – it is preferable to have the movie as a single file, with chapter points added in suitable places.
But there are exceptions to movies as single files
I've just had a look at one of my Star Trek Blu-rays. Four episodes per disk, and each episode is offered either:
• in the original form, or
• with certain sections featuring enhanced visual effects (computer generated images of planets and so on), instead of the original poor quality effects.
The Stream folder has 120 items in it, meaning that each episode had about 30 clips associated with it.
Questions
• For each Star Trek episode, would the Blu-ray have been authored with two timelines (original and enhanced)?
• How did the authors of the Blu-ray avoid pause problems between clips?
