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Since 2014 DVD and BD sales have dropped, primarily due to an increase in video on demand services. As a result, good DVD and BD authoring software has become scarce. I used Sony DVD Architect in the past up until version 6, but after it was acquired by MAGIX, their version 7 was the last, unfortunately. While I primarily produced DVDs and found a good alternative in DVD Styler, it was more of a problem to find a good and reliable BD authoring tool. After long searching and comparing, I decided to try TMPGenc Authoring Works. I knew TMPGenc since their early, high quality conversion software, so I was confident that Authoring Works (TAW) would produce at least the quality that I was used to from DVD Architect.
It was easy to install the TAW trial version, which has its own license key that must be validated via internet. After selecting BDMV as medium at startup and a 120 min video, the information that appears in the TAW interface seems overwhelming at first. It took me a while to figure out the workflow, especially the chapter tool, that is under a hamburger menu on the Source tab, rather than the Menu tab. If you have never used TAW before, you should really use their online manual.
The program has a lot of options, which allow for professional authoring, but it takes some time to figure out all these bells and whistles. Still, if professional authoring is what you want, then there are not many alternatives out there and the learning curve is most certainly worth the time. So functionality is great, but not so easy to use if you're new to the software, or to authoring for that matter.
Personally, I think the price isn't bad at all, given the professional level of authoring that this software offers. After purchasing a license, a serial key was emailed to me and it was easy to replace the trial key.
In conclusion, TAW 7 has great functionality, with menu templates and a lot of options that can be set to auto for beginners, but which allow professionals to fine tune conversion and create advanced menus. Best of all (for me), TAW 7 runs on Windows 7, even if minimum system requirements say Windows 10 and 11. All I had to do was to add two dll files to the program folder. In my opinion, TAW 7 is a great alternative to Sony DVD Architect. For beginners and casual users it may be a bit much, but those looking for advanced authoring will love it. |
