March 2005

Cinematize 2

Reviewed by Neil Sander

Ratings:

• Features: 5 Clicks
• Ease of Use: 5 Clicks
• Documentation: 5 Clicks
• Value for the money: 5 Clicks
• Overall rating: 5 Clicks

Basic Info:

• System Requirements: Power PC G3 or later (works better with G4 or G5 processor); Mac OS X v 10.2 or higher; 128 MB of RAM (256 MB or more recommended); 2.5 MB of hard disk space (additional space required for extracted files); QuickTime 6.0 or higher; DVD-ROM or Superdrive.
• Pros: An easy-to-use application that makes a once difficult task simple and better.
• Cons: No problems for Mac users but, sorry PC users—no version for you now.
• Company: Miraizon LLC, www.miraizon.com
• Cost: Boxed Price: $69.95, Download Price: $59.95, Upgrade Price: $39.95 or $49.95

Recently I started producing DVD’s from digital videos to tap in to all the convenience of better quality images, menus and longer archive life. It then occurred to me that now all my video efforts are “locked “ into specific DVD’s.

Since I would like to reuse some of the content in other projects, I was wondering how this could be done. To the rescue came Cinematize 2 by Miraizon, a software application that is designed to extract video and audio from DVD’s. When I installed Cinematize 2 it didn’t seem to have much to it, but when I started to use the software I was amazed at how easy it was to select and extract video files from a DVD.

Each item can also be extracted separately should you want to produce a CD from the audio track or only use the video in another production. A few features included in the newest version of Cinematize 2 are clip selection to the frame level, video decoding to any codec using QuickTime, more control over video decoding process, batch extraction of files, advanced audio/video synchronization and process acceleration for G4 or G5 computers with velocity engines.

The learning curve with this application is very small. By following the User Guide information I was able to extract selected video files on the first try with no problems. The setup choices for file extraction are explained in understandable terms by chapter 10 of the user guide. This chapter also cleared up some of the questions I had about other DVD production issues.

The Cinematize 2 software will only become more valuable to any person who would like to revise their many DVD images into new productions. Once you have used the Cinematize 2 software to recreate your DVD content you will wonder how you ever got along without it.

• The new and improved extraction functions will permit the reuse of DVD files at any level of quality by novice or professional.
• All functions are well-labeled and perform with little need for operator intervention.
• User guide in PDF form is included. Boxed version also includes a printed user manual.
• Software is priced for every type of product user new and old.
• This niche software was created for a specific function and it performs in first class order.

This page was updated on 3/1/05