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Creating DVDs on Windows
The Windows market does not have the luxury of an iDVD product at the same price point. There is, however, a large group of tools you can choose from—ranging from almost free to moderately expensive.
A tool I like to use is Roxio's DVD Builder. My wife will tell you that I am notoriously cheap. To this end, I bought Roxio's CD Burner 6 when release 7 was out (I was able to pick it up at Target on the clearance rack for $25!), and DVD Builder was included. DVD Builder has a simple layout that allows you to create DVD movies. You cannot create HD DVDs or extend much control over the templates and layout. It is very bare bones. With that said, having only a few options can be an advantage when you are creating your first DVD movie. I have certainly received my $25 back from the experiments I have conducted with my family on my fledgling movies. The newer version of DVD Builder is part of Easy Media Creator 7.5 for $69.95. From what I have seen, there does not appear to be a huge improvement between the releases of 6 and 7.5. I might wait until version 8 before upgrading.
If you are looking for more bang in your presentation, a solid entry-level product you will want to invest in is Adobe's Premiere Elements. Adobe is the leader for video-editing solutions from Apple. Premiere Elements is not only a DVD-creation tool but you can also edit your movie. You can think of it as iMovie and iDVD merged into one product. For just $99 you will be hard-pressed to find a better product at the same price point.
As with Apple's products, Adobe also has professional upgrades. For instance, if you are really getting into DVD authoring you will want to check out Adobe Encore DVD. Encore DVD, at $349 or $999 as part of the Audio Video Collection (Adobe Premiere Pro 1.5, Adobe After Effects 6.5 Standard, Adobe Audition 1.5., and Adobe Encore DVD 2), is a highly competitive product to Apple's DVD Studio.