Apple today announced that DVD Studio Pro 2, a new application re-designed to simplify professional DVD authoring with what they say is a “breakthrough” user interface, will be available through Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers beginning August 18. Starting today, customers can place their orders on Apple’s Web site. New features include Apple-designed, fully customizable templates, an innovative menu editor, timeline-based track editing and a new MPEG-2 encoder. The English language version of DVD Studio Pro 2 is priced at US$499. Localized versions in German, French and Japanese will be available in September.