I have quite a bit of film, and download more, in various formats. Can you recommend a good, easy-to-use application to make DVDs that can be played on a DVD player or another PC?
Thank You!
Thank You!
Good DVD burning software for newbie?
- Thread starter TheNiceGuy
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yukichigai
Diamond Member
- Apr 23, 2003
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PCs can handle just about any MPEG stream you throw at it, so compatibility isn't an issue there.
If you're trying to make VCDs the current favorite is TMPGEnc. The trial version will let you make an unlimited number of MPEG-1 video streams, and gives you a 30-day trial of MPEG-2 creation. (For higher-res DVD stuff) I also recommend trying KVCDs, as opposed to standard VCDs. Almost any standalone DVD player made in the last 3 or 4 years can play them, and quite a few made before then. It usually winds up looking better, and you can fit more video onto a KVCD than a VCD. Beats breaking up the movie into two discs.
To burn the VCD/KVCD mpegs to disc, I suggest the early, freeware version of VCDEasy, (Version 1.1.1) assuming you somehow don't have a burning program capable of doing VCDs. Even if you do, consider using it; it lets you insert chapter breaks, which is nice.
For DVDs, I stand by my above statement, though you'd have to pay for TMPGEnc to get more than 30 days of use. There's a freeware alternative -- D.I.K.O. -- but I've yet to try it. Either way, you should know that Variable Bitrate encoding is 100% DVD compliant, provided the bitrates stay within a certain range. On the KVCD site you'll notice there's some TMPGEnc templates for "KDVDs"; as the site mentions, these are 100% compliant, and due to their modified GOP structure and Quantization Matrix can let you fit a lot more video onto a DVD than "standard" format, with minimal to no quality loss.
Now those programs only make video, they don't create the VOB/IFO files or anything else. My suggestion is a relative of TMPGEnc called TMPGEnc DVD Author. If you just want to make a simple DVD with some basic menus and chapter breaks, this program gets the job done remarkably well. Again, not free, but very effective. An advantage of using this software is that it lets you specify separate video and audio files for each track if you wish; this means you can render the video stream only with TMPGEnc, and -- instead of converting the audio to mp2 -- use a program like BeSweet with the GUI add-on to convert it to AC3, a superior audio format, at least compared to mp2.
One final word: if you don't already know, 720x480 MPEG-2 video isn't the only valid DVD resolution. There are several others (conveniently listed at VideoHelp.com) which you can use. Of course these resolutions are lower in quality, what with having less pixels, but if what you're working with isn't great resolution to begin with -- or isn't 16:9 resolution -- there's almost no reason why you shouldn't use them. Especially since VCD video (but not audio) is DVD-compatible.
Hope this helps. I've said this before and I'll say it again: if you're confused about anything, feel free to send me a Private Message.
If you're trying to make VCDs the current favorite is TMPGEnc. The trial version will let you make an unlimited number of MPEG-1 video streams, and gives you a 30-day trial of MPEG-2 creation. (For higher-res DVD stuff) I also recommend trying KVCDs, as opposed to standard VCDs. Almost any standalone DVD player made in the last 3 or 4 years can play them, and quite a few made before then. It usually winds up looking better, and you can fit more video onto a KVCD than a VCD. Beats breaking up the movie into two discs.
To burn the VCD/KVCD mpegs to disc, I suggest the early, freeware version of VCDEasy, (Version 1.1.1) assuming you somehow don't have a burning program capable of doing VCDs. Even if you do, consider using it; it lets you insert chapter breaks, which is nice.
For DVDs, I stand by my above statement, though you'd have to pay for TMPGEnc to get more than 30 days of use. There's a freeware alternative -- D.I.K.O. -- but I've yet to try it. Either way, you should know that Variable Bitrate encoding is 100% DVD compliant, provided the bitrates stay within a certain range. On the KVCD site you'll notice there's some TMPGEnc templates for "KDVDs"; as the site mentions, these are 100% compliant, and due to their modified GOP structure and Quantization Matrix can let you fit a lot more video onto a DVD than "standard" format, with minimal to no quality loss.
Now those programs only make video, they don't create the VOB/IFO files or anything else. My suggestion is a relative of TMPGEnc called TMPGEnc DVD Author. If you just want to make a simple DVD with some basic menus and chapter breaks, this program gets the job done remarkably well. Again, not free, but very effective. An advantage of using this software is that it lets you specify separate video and audio files for each track if you wish; this means you can render the video stream only with TMPGEnc, and -- instead of converting the audio to mp2 -- use a program like BeSweet with the GUI add-on to convert it to AC3, a superior audio format, at least compared to mp2.
One final word: if you don't already know, 720x480 MPEG-2 video isn't the only valid DVD resolution. There are several others (conveniently listed at VideoHelp.com) which you can use. Of course these resolutions are lower in quality, what with having less pixels, but if what you're working with isn't great resolution to begin with -- or isn't 16:9 resolution -- there's almost no reason why you shouldn't use them. Especially since VCD video (but not audio) is DVD-compatible.
Hope this helps. I've said this before and I'll say it again: if you're confused about anything, feel free to send me a Private Message.
yukichigai
Diamond Member
- Apr 23, 2003
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One last thought: if you want to go hardcore and make DVDs with only freeware, using BeSweet and D.I.K.O, you can mux the Audio and Video together and split the files at the 1gig mark (required by DVDs) with bbMPEG. Get the AVI2MPG frontend on the site to go with it.
When you fire it up, hit "Start Encoding", then hit "Settings" in the new window that opens. Select your Video and Audio streams in the Input and Output files tab, then go to the Program Stream Settings tab and select "DVD". Finally, go to the General Settings tab and set the Max Size to "1024". It'll mux everything and create the VOB files for you, though you'll have to rename them so they'll work on the DVD. (VTS_01_1.vob, VTS_01_2.vob, etc.) I have no idea how to create your own IFOs though... sorry.
Once you get all your VOBs created (VTS_01_x.vob, VTS_02_x.vob, etc.) fire up your burning program and drop them in the VIDEO_TS directory. (If your program doesn't "do" DVDs just make a new disc with folders called "AUDIO_TS" and "VIDEO_TS")
When you fire it up, hit "Start Encoding", then hit "Settings" in the new window that opens. Select your Video and Audio streams in the Input and Output files tab, then go to the Program Stream Settings tab and select "DVD". Finally, go to the General Settings tab and set the Max Size to "1024". It'll mux everything and create the VOB files for you, though you'll have to rename them so they'll work on the DVD. (VTS_01_1.vob, VTS_01_2.vob, etc.) I have no idea how to create your own IFOs though... sorry.
Once you get all your VOBs created (VTS_01_x.vob, VTS_02_x.vob, etc.) fire up your burning program and drop them in the VIDEO_TS directory. (If your program doesn't "do" DVDs just make a new disc with folders called "AUDIO_TS" and "VIDEO_TS")
Wow- that looks like it covers everything!
Again, sorry for the newb questions., but I take it that MPEG is the standard that DVD players use? So other files like WMP just don't work. And can DVD players can play VCDs as long as they are in the correct format? And will any blank DVD/CD due, or must they be a special type?
I'm primarily looking to make DVDs or VCDs to store movies or make my own videos for myself and my relatives that can be played on any DVD player (even a PS2) or a computer. Any ideas?
And thanks again!
Again, sorry for the newb questions., but I take it that MPEG is the standard that DVD players use? So other files like WMP just don't work. And can DVD players can play VCDs as long as they are in the correct format? And will any blank DVD/CD due, or must they be a special type?
I'm primarily looking to make DVDs or VCDs to store movies or make my own videos for myself and my relatives that can be played on any DVD player (even a PS2) or a computer. Any ideas?
And thanks again!
yukichigai
Diamond Member
- Apr 23, 2003
- 6,404
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If you're looking to make stuff with maximum DVD player compatibility then you really need to make actual DVDs, especially for playback on a PS2. An unmodded PS2 can only play DVDs, though it is capable of playing DVD+/-Rs. However, VCDs are supported by almost every DVD player made, and SVCDs have slightly worse compatibility.
MPEG (1 and 2) is indeed the standard that DVD players use. It requires minimal processing power, hence why it was adopted as the standard.
As far as discs go, some players are finickey, some aren't. You don't have to buy the "special" DVD/CD media, despite what the idiots at WorstBuy might tell you; for maximum compatibility -- at least in DVDs -- buy from Ritek, Ricoh or Taiyo Uden if you can, otherwise stick to the big-name companies, like Verbatim, FujiFilm, etc. (Or do what I do and buy whatever big-name brand is on sale
) As far as CDs go, nowadays the manufacturer isn't really an issue, at least for CD-Rs. I do recommend you burn at the lowest speed you can though, as some players have weak/misaligned/etc. reading lasers which have difficulty reading, say, a 48x burn.
Now as far as what format you choose, consider the audience you'll be giving these to. Unless any of your relatives or friends have an HDTV of some kind, there's really no point to encode anything at a resolution higher than 352x240. (Or 352x288 if the video is at 25fps) This is the VCD standard resolution, so you can do VCDs, KVCDs or DVDs at low resoltuion. A little info to help you make a decision:
If you're really set on making what you send out compatible with PS2s I can only recommend KDVDs. These are great for compilations of TV shows -- I fit 25 episodes of Naruto (Anime) onto one 4.7gig DVD using KDVD templates -- and the like. Playback on a computer may look a little bad, but then again you could always just send people with a computer the original file, rather than a converted DVD version. (Or you could encode at a higer resolution, if you're set on the DVD thing)
I might be able to give you some better advice if you tell me some specifics about the files you're wanting to convert; resolution, format, is it anime or not, that kind of thing.
MPEG (1 and 2) is indeed the standard that DVD players use. It requires minimal processing power, hence why it was adopted as the standard.
As far as discs go, some players are finickey, some aren't. You don't have to buy the "special" DVD/CD media, despite what the idiots at WorstBuy might tell you; for maximum compatibility -- at least in DVDs -- buy from Ritek, Ricoh or Taiyo Uden if you can, otherwise stick to the big-name companies, like Verbatim, FujiFilm, etc. (Or do what I do and buy whatever big-name brand is on sale
) As far as CDs go, nowadays the manufacturer isn't really an issue, at least for CD-Rs. I do recommend you burn at the lowest speed you can though, as some players have weak/misaligned/etc. reading lasers which have difficulty reading, say, a 48x burn.Now as far as what format you choose, consider the audience you'll be giving these to. Unless any of your relatives or friends have an HDTV of some kind, there's really no point to encode anything at a resolution higher than 352x240. (Or 352x288 if the video is at 25fps) This is the VCD standard resolution, so you can do VCDs, KVCDs or DVDs at low resoltuion. A little info to help you make a decision:
- VCDs are constant bitrate, meaning the quality of the video fluctuates a lot. VCDs will only let you fit 74/80 minutes on a CD-R, but are very compatible.
- KVCDs are variable bitrate, in fact encoded using the "constant quality" setting. By adjusting this you can fit more than 2 hours on one CD-R, but the quality tends to suffer noticably after 2 hours and 20 minutes. These have worse compatibility than VCDs and DVDs, but the percentage of DVD players that support them is above about 70%.
- DVDs will be the most compatible, and natively support variable bitrate/constant quality encoding. They allow you to use AC3 audio, meaning better quality at a lower filesize. However, DVD media can be expensive, and if you encode at a lower bitrate chances are you'll have a lot of space left over. Then again, you could use this to make compilation DVDs, especially if you use the KDVD templates for maximum space.
If you're really set on making what you send out compatible with PS2s I can only recommend KDVDs. These are great for compilations of TV shows -- I fit 25 episodes of Naruto (Anime) onto one 4.7gig DVD using KDVD templates -- and the like. Playback on a computer may look a little bad, but then again you could always just send people with a computer the original file, rather than a converted DVD version. (Or you could encode at a higer resolution, if you're set on the DVD thing)
I might be able to give you some better advice if you tell me some specifics about the files you're wanting to convert; resolution, format, is it anime or not, that kind of thing.
Yukichigai- Thanks so much! Very, very helpful! I guess basicaly I'm looking to make DVDs to free up HD space and give to my inlaws. The files would be primarily movies and TV shows, and a little bit of stuff made with a video camera. For example, I downloaded Phantom of the Opera for my sister in law ("KVCD" folder with a 800MB BIN, 1KB CUE, and 2KB XML Document in it). I tried to just drag 'n drop the whole file to my DVD drive (onto a blank DVD) in Windows and got an error. My Window's Media Player, Alchohol120, AnyDVD, and VLC didn't have any options for creating a DVD - so I was stuck.
Other file types I have include: 674MB "Movie Clip" file (movie); 4.36GB iso file; 692MB (96kbs) "Video Clip" file (movie); 703MB SVCDRip XviD file; 10 TV documentaries at 700MB each DivX-AC3 files (at least thats what the folder says); 93MB wmv file.
There are others too, but I just wanted to give a cross-section of the kind of files I have.
Anyway, thanks again for taking the time to help out! Take care- j
Other file types I have include: 674MB "Movie Clip" file (movie); 4.36GB iso file; 692MB (96kbs) "Video Clip" file (movie); 703MB SVCDRip XviD file; 10 TV documentaries at 700MB each DivX-AC3 files (at least thats what the folder says); 93MB wmv file.
There are others too, but I just wanted to give a cross-section of the kind of files I have.
Anyway, thanks again for taking the time to help out! Take care- j
don't mean to interrupt but how do you make a DVD out of .AVI files? it can't seem to be compatable i use DVD architect 2 but it would never read those files
yukichigai
Diamond Member
- Apr 23, 2003
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That Bin/Cue you have of Phantom of the Opera is actually a disc image. You can mount it as a virtual drive using something like Daemon Tools, then go to the MPEGAV folder and copy the .DAT file in there. The DAT file is just a renamed KVCD MPG file. If you want to burn that to CD as a VCD (Mode 2/XA) you can use CDBurner XP, which will also let you burn files to DVD. (And DVD Video)
Pretty much every file you have there can be converted to DVD-standard format, though you may run into some trouble with anything RealMedia or Quicktime. However, if it's just an issue of getting the files on to a disc CDBurner XP should let you drag and drop anything you want to. Anyway, just use TMPGEnc or DIKO to encode the video, and BeSweet to encode the audio to AC3. 192kbps AC3 is one of the common formats used on most DVDs.
Oh yes, when you convert the wmv files, if you convert them, TMPGEnc may be unable to find the files, and DIKO may not be able to process them. In TMPGEnc simply go to the folder it's in, put "*.*" into the file box and hit enter, then select the file. (Or you can rename the extension to .asf) TMPGEnc can parse asf files, which is basically what a wmv file is, as much as Microsoft may not want to admit it.
Pretty much every file you have there can be converted to DVD-standard format, though you may run into some trouble with anything RealMedia or Quicktime. However, if it's just an issue of getting the files on to a disc CDBurner XP should let you drag and drop anything you want to. Anyway, just use TMPGEnc or DIKO to encode the video, and BeSweet to encode the audio to AC3. 192kbps AC3 is one of the common formats used on most DVDs.
Oh yes, when you convert the wmv files, if you convert them, TMPGEnc may be unable to find the files, and DIKO may not be able to process them. In TMPGEnc simply go to the folder it's in, put "*.*" into the file box and hit enter, then select the file. (Or you can rename the extension to .asf) TMPGEnc can parse asf files, which is basically what a wmv file is, as much as Microsoft may not want to admit it.
If your buying software get the newest version of Nero.It can do just about anything i've ever tried to do, and I think it can take any video file and make it into a dvd.
yukichigai
Diamond Member
- Apr 23, 2003
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It's a good program to do the quick n' dirty convert, though it's lacking in format options. However, you would get an outstanding burning program along with a way to make custom menus and the like.
try a program called dvdSanta. Converts pretty much any media file into vob files to burn on a dvd. Great program
Thank you so much for the help everyone! Especially Yukichigai!
BTW, I bought Alcholhol 120% before. Is that not much good campared to Nero?
BTW, I bought Alcholhol 120% before. Is that not much good campared to Nero?
yukichigai
Diamond Member
- Apr 23, 2003
- 6,404
- 0
- 0
Alcohol 120% has superior disc duplication abilities, but it lacks the simple drag n' drop features of Nero. For what you're doing it'll suffice.
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