DVD X — Complete Tutorial Guide

Welcome to DVD X - DVD Creator & Burn DVD, a powerful yet easy-to-use application for creating professional DVD discs. This tutorial covers everything from your first project to advanced customization.

1. Quick Start

Follow these three steps to create your first DVD in under 5 minutes.

1 Add Video Files

Click the + Add Title button on the toolbar to select video files. DVD X supports all common formats:

• Standard: AVI, MPG, MPEG, MP4, WMV, MOV
• HD / Container: MKV, FLV, VOB, TS, M2TS

Tip: You can also drag and drop video files directly from File Explorer into the title list.

Each video becomes a separate Title on your DVD. Use the Up / Down arrows to reorder them, or the Edit button to set title names and thumbnail frames.

2 Configure Project Settings

Open Project Settings from the toolbar:

• Target Format: Choose PAL (Europe/Asia) or NTSC (Americas/Japan). Auto-detected from your locale.
• Disc Size: DVD5 (4.7 GB) or DVD9 (8.5 GB).
• Create ISO File: Check to generate an ISO image for archiving or virtual mounting.
• Burn to Disc: Check to write directly to blank DVD media.
• Thread Count: Auto-set to 2× your CPU cores for optimal encoding speed.

3 Set Up Menu

Open Menu Settings from the toolbar:

• Template: Choose from built-in templates. Preview updates in real time.
• Title Text: Customize the menu heading.
• Buttons: Each video title becomes a clickable menu button.

Click Create DVD on the right side of toolbar when ready. The progress window shows real-time encoding status.

2. Project Settings

Target Format (PAL / NTSC)

DVD X auto-detects whether your locale uses PAL (720×576, 25 fps — Europe/Asia) or NTSC (720×480, 29.97 fps — Americas/Japan). Manual override is available.

Disc Size

Choose DVD5 (4.7 GB) for standard single-layer discs or DVD9 (8.5 GB) for dual-layer. The status bar shows real-time disc usage as you add content.

Video & Audio Options

• Video Bitrate: Auto-calculated for optimal disc fill. Custom bitrate available in Advanced Video Options.
• Audio Bitrate: Default 224 Kbit/s (AC-3 encoding).
• Aspect Ratio: Auto-detected (4:3 or 16:9) from source, with manual override.

Output Options

• Create ISO: Generate a .iso file for mounting, archiving, or burning later.
• Burn to Disc: Write directly to inserted blank DVD media.
• Both: Create ISO and burn simultaneously.

3. Menu Design

Choosing a Template

DVD X includes professionally designed menu templates. The interactive preview updates in real time as you browse. Each template defines the background, button layout, and font styling.

Customizing Your Menu

• Menu Title: Set the main heading text (e.g., "My Vacation 2024").
• Button Labels: Derived from your title names — edit them under each title.
• Font Selection: Auto-selects fonts matching your language (Latin, CJK, etc.).

Preview & Navigation

The preview panel is interactive: hover over menu buttons to see highlight effects and test navigation before burning.

4. Subtitles & Chapters

Adding Subtitles

For each title, click Edit → Subtitles to add subtitle tracks:

• Supported formats: SRT, SUB, SSA, ASS
• Auto-detection: DVD X detects language from file content (CJK characters → Chinese/Japanese/Korean).
• Encoding: Select the correct text encoding (UTF-8, GB2312, Shift-JIS, etc.).

Chapter Management

• Auto-generate: Create chapters at regular intervals (e.g., every 5 minutes).
• Manual editing: Add, remove, and rename chapter markers.
• Chapter menu: Generates a dedicated chapter selection screen on the DVD.

5. Burning & Output

The Burn Process

When you click Create DVD, DVD X runs through these stages:

1. Encoding: Videos are transcoded to DVD-compliant MPEG-2 via FFmpeg.
2. Subtitle Multiplexing: Subtitles embedded into the video stream.
3. Menu Rendering: Menu generated with your custom text and layout.
4. DVD Authoring: All assets assembled into a VIDEO_TS folder structure.
5. ISO Creation (optional): VIDEO_TS packaged into a .iso image.
6. Burning (optional): Disc written to your DVD burner.

Output Files

• DVD Folder: A VIDEO_TS folder with .IFO, .BUP, .VOB files — playable in any DVD player.
• ISO Image: Single .iso file — burn later with any disc tool.
• Tool Logs: Detailed per-step logs for debugging.

6. Advanced Settings

Video Bitrate Control

In Advanced Video Options you can:

• Set custom minimum / maximum bitrate limits.
• Enable 2-pass encoding for better quality at the same file size.

Thread Management

Defaults to 2× your logical CPU cores. Reduce if you need to use your computer during encoding.

Multi-Language Support

DVD X supports 7 interface languages: English, 中文, 日本語, 한국어, Français, Deutsch, Español. Switch in Settings — UI updates instantly.

7. License & Upgrade

Free vs Premium

Upgrade Options

• Premium Annual — $9.99/year: Full access, auto-renews. Cancel anytime.
• Premium Lifetime — $39.99: Pay once, forever. Recommended.

Employee Key Activation

If you have an employee key, open the upgrade dialog and click "Have an employee key?" at the bottom. Enter your key and click Activate to unlock Lifetime Premium instantly.

8. Troubleshooting

File analysis is slow

Ensure you have the latest version. DVD X uses FFmpeg -analyzeduration flags for fast scanning.

Menu text shows as boxes (□□□)

The template font may not support your language. DVD X auto-falls-back to system fonts (Microsoft YaHei for Chinese, MS Gothic for Japanese). Try another template or update your system fonts.

DVD output is oversized

Check bitrate settings in Advanced Video Options. Stick with auto-calculated bitrates for best results.

Burning fails

Ensure blank writable DVD is inserted. Check logs at %LocalAppData%\DVD X\logs\. Some external USB drives need powered ports.

Subtitles don't appear on DVD

Subtitles are selectable via the DVD player's subtitle menu — they are not hard-coded. Verify file encoding matches your language (UTF-8 recommended).

Contact Support

Use the Send Feedback button in the toolbar — your logs are automatically attached for faster diagnosis.