| discWelder Feature Comparison |
| Feature |
|
|
|
Feature
Explanation |
Simple,
Intuitive, and Fast User Interface? |
Yes |
Yes
|
Yes
|
All
discWelder
products use the same simple and direct interface. When you go from discWelder Bronze to discWelder
STEEL
to discWelder
CHROME,
you gain powerful new features, without having to learn a new program. |
Full
Support for Linear PCM in DVD Audio? |
Yes |
Yes
|
Yes
|
discWelder
supports
audio at resolutions of 16 to 24 bits, and sample rates from 44.1 up to
192 kHz. All channels in a track share the same resolution and sample rate. |
Imports
Files in Wave, and AIFF Formats? |
Yes |
Yes
|
Yes
|
discWelder
products accept source audio files in all common formats, fully compatible
with major digital audio workstations on Macintosh and Windows. |
Supports
6-channel Surround without Data Packing? |
Yes |
Yes
|
Yes
|
Fully support 6-channel surround at resolution of 24 bits and sample rate
up to 48 kHz. |
Compatible
with MLP (Meridian Lossless Packing) files? |
No |
No
|
Yes
|
Meridian
Lossless Packing (MLP™) is a lossless compression scheme required for
extreme audio data rates, such as multiple channels at sample rates above
48 kHz. |
Encoder
for MLP? |
No |
No
|
Optional
|
Minnetonka
Audio's fully-certified Surcode
MLP
encoder
is the new industry standard for efficient and cost-effective encoding in
the MLP format. |
Up
to 99 Tracks per Track Group? |
Yes |
Yes
|
Yes
|
DVD-Audio
provides for up to 9 "Track Groups" with as many as 99 Tracks
in each. |
Up
to 9 Track Groups? |
No |
No
|
Yes
|
STEEL
supports a single Group of 99 Tracks, CHROME
offers up to 9 Groups, for a total of as many as 891 tracks on a single
disc. |
User-Defined
DownMix Coefficients? |
No |
No
|
Yes
|
When
multi-channel audio is played on a stereo-only system, audio channels must
be summed for compatibility. CHROME
lets the author define downmix levels, STEEL
uses default presets for downmix coefficients. |
Master
Track Select Menu Created Automatically? |
No |
Yes
|
Yes
|
Both
STEEL and
CHROME
automatically create on-screen selection menus showing the names of the
project (Album),Tracks, and Track Groups. |
Multiple
Selection Menus Available? |
No |
No
|
Yes
|
In
CHROME,
each Track Group can have its own selection menu, with a master menu to
select the Group, for up to 10 menus total. |
Graphic
Menu Background? |
No |
Yes
|
Yes
|
Both
STEEL
and CHROME
provide a default graphic for menu background. |
Import
User Graphic as Menu Background? |
No |
Yes
|
Yes
|
In
CHROME,
the default graphic can be replaced with a user file in any common format
such as TIFF, bitmap, etc. |
Full
User Control of Menu Text Font, Style, and Colour? |
No |
No
|
Yes
|
In
STEEL,
the selection of fonts is limited to two (Arial, or Times New Roman), while
black or white text can be selected, with or without outline. CHROME
offers any font installed on the system, with font body and outline in any
colour. |
Transition
Effects, such as Cut and Wipe, between Menu Screens? |
No |
No
|
Yes
|
When
using a multiple track selection menus, CHROME
provides a full range of graphic transition effects, including Cut, Fade,
Dissolve, and Wipes in various directions, with full user control of the
effect duration. |
Onscreen
Graphic Accompanies Track? |
No |
Yes
|
Yes
|
Both
STEEL
and CHROME
provide a default graphic that is displayed on video when a track is played. |
User
Graphic (Slide Show) for Display with Track? |
No |
No
|
Yes
|
In
CHROME,
the graphic shown with a track can be replaced with a user file in any common
format. |
Transition
Effects, such as Cut and Wipe, between Slides? |
No |
No
|
Yes
|
CHROME
provides a full range of transition effects between slides, including Cut,
Fade, Dissolve, and Wipes in various directions, with full user control
of duration. |
Format
Disc as Hybrid, Compatible with DVD Video Players? |
No |
No
|
Yes
|
CHROME
can import a video_ts directory created by any standard DVD Video authoring
program, and format output to play compatibly on all DVD players, not just
those that are DVD Audio capable. |
Supports
DVD-R, R/W, +RW, and DVD-RAM drives? |
Yes |
Yes
|
Yes
|
Both
STEEL and
CHROME
use
a dynamic library to support every recordable DVD format and nearly every
drive currently on the market. If a new drive or format is introduced that
differs from previous ones, the library can be "patched" to support
the new drive or format by a compact download from Minnetonka Audio's website. |
Supports
output to DLT for standard mass replication? |
No |
No
|
Yes
|
CHROME
supports output to DLT (Digital Linear Tape) format, the original standard
for DVD masters for mass replication accepted by all replicators. Increasing
numbers of replicators also accept masters in DVD recordable formats. Check
with you replicator to determine the best form of delivery for mass production. |
Compatible
with All Current and Recent Windows Versions? |
Yes |
Yes
|
Yes
|
STEEL and
CHROME
run under Windows 2000, Windows 98, Windows NT 4.0, and Windows XP. |
Compatible
with Macintosh-based Audio Production Environments? |
Yes |
Yes
|
Yes
|
discWelder
currently runs only under Windows, but audio files can
be easily accessed over network in AIFF format, providing easy compatibility
to all audio workstation environments. |
Low
Minimum System Requirements? |
Yes |
Yes
|
Yes
|
discWelder
runs
with minimum loading of CPU and DRAM, and function well on even very low-cost
PC hardware. The major requirement for DVD-Audio production is availability
of hard disc space sufficient to hold source audio and the discimage file
for the final output. Current low costs for hard disk drives makes it very
economical to implement DVD Audio capability even if you are not currently
using Windows in your production cycle. |
| DOWNLOADS |
|
|
|
discWelder Bronze Demo (7.6Mb)
discWelder Bronze Manual (2.8Mb)
discWelder
STEEL Demo (approx 10Mb)
discWelder
STEEL Manual (2Mb)
discWelder
CHROME II Demo (12Mb)
discWelder
CHROME II Manual (6Mb)
SurCode
MLP Demo (6Mb)
SurCOde
MLP Manual (3.5Mb)
View all Minnetonka products
|
.gif){kind=small}
