what format to save a movie file as in order to burn DVD

[cal_gecko]

Hey all...
I'm new to this forum, so I'll take any 'newbie' comments and hazing if needed

I got the Lite On 411s (the one that was on sale after MIR's for 79.99 at Best Buy)....

I've been working on some video on my computer that I captured from my camcorder, and would like to burn this video to a DVD so it can be played in a standard DVD player with my TV. (does it matter if I use a DVD + or - disc?)

What format should I save the video in? MPEG 1, MPEG 2, AVI, etc etc?

Thanks!!!

I'm using Ulead VideoStudio 5 to edit the video.. and I've got DVD X Copy Gold also .. (haven't used it yet though)... but I'm just confused as to how I should save the final video once I'm done editing it and stuff..

[David]

Welocme cal_gecko

(does it matter if I use a DVD + or - disc?)

Check http://www.dvdrhelp.com/dvdplayers to find which formats you player is compatable with.
If it's compatable with both it dosn't matter which you use.

[treemana]

cal_gecko, When I capture video, I save the video in MPEG-2 format. I usually capture at 4000kbs, which lets me store about 2 hours of video on a 4.38GB writable DVD disk. I have used both DVD+R and DVD-R disks, and both seem to work equally well for me. (I use a PS2 and X-Box as my DVD players.)

Once you have the MPEG2 file, you will need a DVD authoring program. I use ULead MovieFactory2. (I'm not sure if VideoStudio can author a DVD or not.) Other video authoring products I have used are Sonic MyDVD 4, and Nero Video Express 2.

Most of these programs can import other formats as well, (i.e. AVI). But, I've been happy with the results I get when using MPEG-2.

Good luck!

[MikeTR]

Welcome to the forum

Check out http://www.doom9.org for more than you ever wanted to know about DVD & Video.

[cal_gecko]

cool.. thanks for the info guys!!!

I used the Ulead videostudio 5.0 to edit the video, and save it as an mpg1 file.. then I used "Sonic MyDVD" to put it together to burn onto the DVD...

So far, so good, but it's taking FOREVER to do the transcoding!!!

[cal_gecko]

Crud... the DVD will work on one of my DVD players, but not on the other

[burninfool]

Crud... the DVD will work on one of my DVD players, but not on the other

Try both -R and +R.Media makes a differance too,unfortunatly you never know who makes DVD media until you open the package so try different brands.I use Sonic RecordNow Max to burn DVD's with great success,I'm an avid Nero hater.
Some free utilities:
http://www.liteonit.com/ODD/english/eng ... asp?show=4
http://www.dvdinfopro.com
http://www.cdspeed2000.com
..and of course checkout http://www.dvdrhelp.com & http://www.doom9.org for more info and tools.

[treemana]

So far, so good, but it's taking FOREVER to do the transcoding!!!

If you initially encode the MPEG using "DVD Compliant" settings. (MPEG-2, 720x480, 29.97fps, 2000-8000kbs, etc.) Sonic should not need to re-encode (transcode) it.

Note: The settings I mentioned for for the NTSC standard, PAL values would be slightly different.

[cal_gecko]

whats the difference between NTSC and PAL?

Thanks for helping out a newbie cheezie...

[treemana]

cal_gecko, the video standard used in North America is NTSC (National Television System Committee). Several other areas of the world use the PAL (Phase Alternation by Line) video standard.

The settings you would record a video at to make it PAL DVD compliant would be slightly different than those I mentioned in my previous post.

The Sonic MYDVD support page lists the requirements for an MPEG-2 file to be DVD compliant in both the NTSC and PAL standards. Non-compliant video files will automatically be transcoded. (A time consuming process, as you mentioned.)