Specializing in systems integration, software development, training and consultation, Wes Howell is recognized nationally as a respected teacher, speaker and online forum host. Howell also owns a production company in Salt Lake City, Utah. Over the past few years, much of his work has focused on DVD production and consulting for companies migrating to digital production. As a producer with the Sundance Media Group, Howell has authored DV-related instructional videos, with several titles in the works.

"Wes Howell smoothes the rocky learning curve of Adobe's Encore application with clear and concise explanations that are workflow-oriented without the typical techno-jargon found in most DVD Authoring books. His inside tips and tricks aren't found on the web or in an owner's manual and they'll speed the workflow, providing sensible methods for accomplishing the end goal of making a great DVD package." -Douglas Spotted Eagle, Managing Producer/Sundance Media Group, Grammy/Emmy recipient"This book is a teacher beside you, guiding you through the process, teaching you the concepts, and providing you with valuable tips along the way. Best of all, you start with the most simple of DVD projects just to get you past all the basic tools quickly and easily. The author builds and continues to build on what you have learned in prior lessons. It's most obvious the author is quite a skilled teacher in addition to a DVD author. Absolutely a must-have book." - Alex Alexzander, Creativecow.net

• DVD Basics; Inside Encore; Preparing Assets and Encoding; Building the Disc; Adobe Integration: Photoshop, After Effects and Premiere; Creative Authoring; Advanced Authoring; Final Output and Delivery; Appendixes: Adobe Conventions; Managing the Bit Budget; Real World Application; File Structure of a DVD; MPEG 2; DVD Video Structure