Leawo DVD Creator is a marriage between a video converter & a Windows GUI for the *nix-based DVDAuthor. The only thing that might be a bit unusual is that it's open to using Direct Show filters you've already got installed to handle opening & decoding the video files you import. Of course if you choose to go that route, rather than using the built-in filters, if they're screwed up or missing you'll get poor results -- on the flip side you might be able to import video that you could not otherwise. During install you're given the option to install the Klite codec pack -- http://www.videohelp.com/tools/K-Lite-Codec-Pack -- but as that linked page notes: "If you install all the included codecs/decoders you might get problem with other video software on your computer.". One of the comments on the download page says that pack is poor for encoding -- that may or may not be true, but is irrelevant in any case since the optional codecs/filters are strictly an aid for importing video, in case you don't have the necessary software already installed, & in case it's some format Leawo DVD Creator cannot handle.
Installation leaves some temp files in the root folder [C:\] from the install routines of Microsoft C/C++ runtimes. It also registers a few files with Windows... The Xvid that gets added to the system folder & registered should not pose any problem, but the others *might* -- if you experience any difficulties with video after installation, after a fresh re-boot so nothing related is running, rename the program's folder [DVD Creator] & see if that doesn't fix things.
Leawo's DVD Creator isn't bad, but before you sink a lot of time & effort into a video DVD project, here's some stuff that might help you to dive in with your eyes open. If you're just throwing together a very quick project have at it, but if you're going to be spending more than a couple of hours hands-on [not including re-encoding times], I think it might pay to consider some of this info.
The biggest difference *you'll see* between authoring app X & authoring app Y is in creating menus. Some apps let you do more, & give you more freedom, *If* you want it, If that matters to you -- if you have a menu with a single button to play the video title it will function just as well if you created the DVD in Leawo's DVD Creator or the very top dog, Scenarist. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonic_Scenarist http://www.delancie.net/PD_Samples/Scenarist_SD/rovicorp/products/distribution/content-production-tools/scenarist-sd.htm What you won't see until afterwards is the quality of encoding. What you won't know till afterwards is how well any added, scripted features work with various players -- that isn't as much an issue of course with very basic authoring software, where you can't use or add those sorts of features to begin with. In a nutshell then you're looking for something that's comfortable for you to use [video DVD authoring apps can vary a lot], either does high quality encoding or lets you use your choice of encoding software, and allows you to do what you want, has the features you want.
More entry level video DVD authoring apps often will encode your video to mpg2 -- as you move up this becomes an option. From the very first authoring software it's been preferred to encode the video first, outside the authoring app -- *The* make or break issue in fact used to be whether the authoring software would pass through your mpg2 video unaltered. This has changed a bit over the years, & authoring apps have gotten better at encoding, but you still see video DVD authoring software tending to be in 2 camps, those that expect you to encode elsewhere, & those that don't. Most of the authoring apps out of China leverage their expertise with ffmpeg, accepting a wide range of video & using ffmpeg's mpg2 encoder -- I much more strongly prefer Mainconcept or TMPGEnc, but if your big concern is getting video on a video DVD, ffmpeg will work.
Video on a DVD is mpg2, preferably VBR [Variable Bit Rate]. The max bit rate is between 9 & 9.5 -- 9.5 will normally work but some software will reject anything over 9. There is a specific set of encoder settings that should be used, so you do need to use a DVD template or preset for whatever encoder. The preferred audio format is AC3. Audio, video, & subtitles [if present] are all separate tracks or files, to allow for multiple audio & sub tracks -- these are combined into VOB files on the DVD. Better software prefers, or may only accept separate audio & video files -- as you move towards entry level OTOH video DVD authoring software may only accept mpg2 video combined with audio in a .mpg file. Mpg2 as a .mpg file also contains timing data that's missing from video only .m2v files -- software may give limited or even wrong info for .m2v files because of that. Sony Creative software has the idiosyncrasy of preferring mpg2 video as .mpg without audio -- similarly it likes AVC in a .m2ts file, again without audio... without that timing info importing video takes a long time, if/when it's possible, as the software reads the entire file to get the missing timing data.
Now, the ideal source video for DVDs is HD at the highest quality you can manage -- the lower the quality &/or resolution [frame size] the video, the lower the quality of your encoded mpg2. Generally if your source is less than D1 [720 x 480 or 576], you're probably wasting your time putting it on a DVD. Quality will suffer from the re-encode, and there are simply so many other ways to get your video on a TV, that bothering with a DVD conversion wouldn't be worth your time & effort. That said, HD is often encoded using AVC/H.264, which can be trouble-prone, so test your workflow first, using the software you plan on using, checking for timing issues &/or dropped frames. Do note that mpg2 is quite popular for video capture & D1 broadcast, & if your source is mpg2, you can often perform trimming &/or cut edits without re-encoding everything -- the downside to that is your audio may need a bit of extra work [e.g. you might see sync problems at cuts/joins when your source is AC3 audio in larger packets].
Moving on from your main video title(s)... A current DVD or Blu-Ray player will likely play your mpg2 video pretty much as-is, sending the proper signal to your [HD]TV. It didn't used to be that way -- they used to rely a Lot more on the included scripting. Video DVDs store player instructions in scripts in IFO files, but the scripts, commands, variable storage etc. are all alien to most anything you'll ever see re: PCs. Video DVD Authoring software writes out that scripting, usually by including boilerplate code for whatever functions or options are available in that software package -- they also may add all that boilerplate code to every DVD, then just use or switch on the portions of code that you're using with that particular DVD. And finally, there are things that are part of the DVD spec that are rarely if ever implemented in players, there are things that are not really part of the spec that most players can handle, & there are *tricks* that use parts of the spec in ways that were not originally envisioned.
Here's what all of that means to you... Some of the commands etc. that you can include in a DVD will or can be ignored, & some stuff may not work, and both of those depend on the authoring software you used & the player. It depends on the authoring software because the boilerplate code used in one app may not be as universally compatible as what's used in some other software. It depends on the player because there is more than one way to do things, & it may prefer one app's code to another's. Now, because the player electronics are smarter nowadays your video title(s) will usually work, though success with anything beyond that can vary quite a bit. In a word: TEST. Note that many of these authoring apps use DVDAuthor -- you can see it in the program's folder -- so if one app using DVDAuthor doesn't do what you want in your player(s), chances are no apps using DVDAuthor will.
The most basic code in the IFO files includes subtitle colors & playlists. Video is divided up into cells -- each video has at least one -- which are beginning & end times, so a video divided up into 5 minute cells would have cell 1 from 0-5 minutes, cell 2 from 5-10 minutes & so on. Chapters can only occur at the start of a cell, & both must occur at a I frame [a mpg2 keyframe]. Playlists include what cells to play in what order.
[How to edit a DVD video title without editing... Using the example of a recorded TV show, set your chapters to just when every commercial ends, & create your chapter menu if you're going to include one. Add a chapter at the start of each commercial break, then render the DVD to your HDD as a set of files. Open that in PGCEdit, find the playlist for that video title, & remove the chapters at the start of the commercial breaks, & save. Now playing that video DVD, the player will just skip those chapters or cells. FWIW it's basically the same thing that happens when you use a DVD Recorder, then edit out the commercials using the Recorder -- it just adds a whole lot of cells during recording so there's a very good chance that whatever you want to cut, it probably matches cell boundaries.]
Menus have mpg2 video & optionally audio backgrounds. You'll see IFO files associated with the VOB files holding your title video(s), containing the basic info I just mentioned, & you'll see IFO files for menus, with the video [& optional audio] stored in separate VOB files. Menu IFO files are where all the scripting comes in. Along with the logic or code that says what video to play & which audio track, those menu IFO files also store hot spot coordinates for any buttons, very much like image maps on web pages. The rectangular area described by those coordinates determines what highlights are shown when a button's selected -- button highlights are shapes stored the same way as subtitles, & when a highlight is activated the player will color that shape according to data in the IFO file. The images or text etc. that you see as a menu button is actually just merged with the background video -- there is no separate image overlaid or anything. There's also something called the button order, which basically is a list for each button that says which other button will be selected when you press whatever arrow key on the remote. Buttons can be auto-activated, & they can be hidden.
It's obviously a lot more work coding an authoring app that let's you control the number, placement, & size of menu buttons, vs. apps that make you use pre-defined templates with a set number of buttons that you cannot move. Likewise it's more work to give you control over the button highlights, &/or the added scripts you can use [or store] on a menu. Comparing authoring app A with authoring app B, the amount of control over that sort of thing is what generally sets more pro apps apart from entry level versions, but you also need to consider the part of the app that you use to design & create menu video backgrounds... There is no set way to design &/or blend or merge the visual component of buttons with the menu background, so you'll find some software you like better than others, & some software that just does a better job of combining button elements & such with the background video. At the pro level that sort of thing's done outside the authoring app, often using something like P/Shop &/or a video editor [e.g. it's a bit of work but you can use VirtualDub], but to do that you need something like Sony's DVDA that will let you place empty buttons, i.e. just the coordinates without image or text.
Managing dual layer video DVDs... A single layer DVD can handle up to 2 hours of video -- 1.5-1.75 if your mpg2 encoder or source video isn't top notch. Beyond that is dual layer, where the player plays the 1st layer, then reverses course to read the 2nd. The place where the player reverses course is called the layer break, and it exists only as a direction or command to the burning software, or in a dual layer ISO file. IOW it's not something you stick in the video or DVD files or anything. Ideally the layer break is midway through the total content on a DVD, & ideally it's located in a quiet scene or between videos so if there's any delay it won't be as noticeable. And a layer break can only be at the start of a cell.
Now, hardly any software will let you insert a cell wherever you want -- you have to insert a chapter, which also inserts the cell. You can use an existing chapter, or you can add one just for the layer break. If you add one just for the LB, create your chapter menu 1st, add the chapter, then use PGCEdit to remove the chapter [but leave the cell] once the DVD layout is rendered or written to your HDD. PGCEdit can also create an ISO with the LB included -- use Imgburn to burn whether you used PGCEdit to create your ISO or not. Be aware that the brand/model of DVD burner & the quality of blank media matter, sometimes a Lot.