Problem: My HD slide shows set to music--my HD "music videos"--range in length up to a maximum of about 12 minutes. If I use standard 25GB Blu-ray disks to share these, then
1) there is a lot of wasted space
2) I haven't been able to find blank Blu-rays disks that accept Lightscribe labelling, which my clients and I really like and
3) the blank Blu-ray disks are expensive
Last but not least: I can't burn the HD file to a HD folder.
Solution: Sony's DVD Architect Studio 5.0 software accompanied by Steve's recent new book on how to use it.
Here, based on Steve's recommendatons and my just-completed testing, is the workflow for making a single-movie Blu-ray of up to 20 minutes in length, by which I mean one that has no menus and that autoplays merely by inserting into one's Blu-ray player:
1) using your favorite video-editing program (I use PRE7), perform the final edit of your creation and then play it back to ascertain that it is flawless--personally, I accomplish this by sharing my HD Timeline to Folder (4.7GB) and then playing the resulting VTS file with Windows Media Player (this method is much faster than rendering my HD Timeline)
2) once you are certain that it is flawless, share the HD Timeline by going to Personal Computer>MPEG>H.264 1920x1080i 30
3) place a SD DVD in your machine's Blu-ray writer and then open DVD Architect Studio 5.0
4) go to File>New and make the following choices: Single Movie; Disc Format Blu-ray; PCM can't be changed as that is the only audio format that works with Blu-ray with this software; click OK, browse to the H.264 file on your HDD and click Open, which brings the file into the Project Overview Panel (the far-left window)
5) go to File>Optimize and verify that there is a green check mark under video, which signifies that no recompression of the video will be necessary
6) in the lower-right of the Optimize Disc window, click Project Properties and then verify that the Disc Format is Blu-ray and the Target media size(GB) is 4.70--make this 8.50 if you have inserted a double-sided SD DVD disc into your Blu-ray burner
7) if desired, check the box that says Start all new projects with these settings--I did so as I will be using the software only to burn Blu-rays on 4.70GB single-sided discs
8) click OK and when the Optimize Disc window reappers, click OK again
9) on the toolbar, click Make Blu-ray disc
In the Make Blu-ray Disc window, I personally like to choose Prepare, which burns the HD Timeline to folder without simultaneously burning the actual disc. My nearly 4-minute HD Timeline took 1:38 to complete the task (only the audio needed recompression).
To burn a disc from the folder, click Make Blu-ray Disc again and then click Burn.
If desired, apply a Lightscribe label to your SD Verbatim Lightscribe disc(s).
Hats off to Steve for bringing to our attention this fabulous new capability.
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P.S. The software is capable of ever so much more than what I use it for--and the missing manual that Steve created is vastly more helpful, IMO, than the Help files that come with the program. Steve's book can be purchased right here on muvipix by going to the Muvipix Store at the far left. Here are just a few of the features that Steve's book also covers:
1) insert a video clip before the main menu
2) develop intricate menu structures
3) create fully-customizable menu pages, including motion backgrounds and music
4) add bonus features, chapter menus and slide shows and
5) a whole lot more