Burning Dvds

[Guroo Guroo Jaap]

Vaheguroo,

I have some videos on my video camera and was just wondering what is the best format to convert to? I tried converting to mpeg-2 (i think) but when i burnt it, it only worked on computers and not dvd players.

Also what is the best disc to burn it on? DVD+R or DVD-R?

[VanHelsingh]

The raw footage needs to be converted to VOB files if you want to play it on any random DVD player (not just a computer). The VOB files are then burnt as a DVD.

DVD+R and DVD-R don't make much of a difference - they're just formats. I use DVD+R 4.7GB discs for video. If you have a LOT of footage, then you need the DVD+R/-R Dual-Layer discs which accept up to 8.5GB (I think) of data (but they're obviously a bit more expensive than single-layer discs).

But like I said, convert the raw footage from your camcorder to VOB files if you want your finished DVD to be played on DVD players. Some people convert from the original footage to MPEG2 then another format, but that's unnecessary.

Presuming you want to edit the video you capture, your video editor needs to be able to handle AVCHD-compressed (MTS file type) video. Many video editors' current versions can - but older versions cannot. In the Windows/Vista environment, no version of MovieMake can deal with AVCHD video - Sony Vegas and Adobe Premiere generally float to the top. Apple iMovie '08 or newer (bundled with Macs) can deal with AVCHD video - as can the current versions of FinalCut Express and Pro - they must be running on an Intel-Mac.

Once the editing is done, you can output to whatever format you need - that your video editor can support. For DVD playback in a regular DVD player, your best bet is to use a DVD authoring tool. There are a ton of them - but the Windows example is WinDVD. This will allow you to create menus and scene selection buttons - and will render VOB files to the blank DVD. Apple iDVD is bundled with Macs. In either case, this video will be downsampled to standard definition and rendered into the VOB file.

If you require high definition playback, you have limited choices because of the camcorders you have selected. For the most part, the easiest method is to also save the finished video project as a computer-readable h.264 encoded high definition video file. Playback using your computer is about it. I can connect my computer to the VGA port on my HDTV and watch that...

BUT, since I use miniDV tape based camcorders to record HDV, I can also export the finished project back to the camcorder and use the camcorder as the play-back deck when I connect the component (RGB) and audio or HDMI cables to the HDTV... And I can archive that final project onto a miniDV tape in HDV format and store it for years...

If you want to burn a high definition file onto DVD that can be used by a BluRay Player (or PS3), you can burn an AVCHD/h.264 data file to the blank disc. The blank DVD can be a regular single layer or doulble layer DVD - it does not have to be a BluRay blank. A regular DVD player will not be able to read that AVCHD data file on that disc.

Keep in mind that a regular single layer DVD holds only 4.7 gig of data and a double layer holds 8.5 gig so they don't hold very much compared to BluRay blanks which start at 25 gig (and are a lot more expensive)...

[Guroo Guroo Jaap]

Thank you jee!!

Are there any converters on the internet so i can try this?

[VanHelsingh]

I'm not aware of any free software that does the job (although I could be wrong and sangat could help), although there is a lot of paid-for software available. Can I ask you how you intend to get the camcorder footage over to your computer?

[Guroo Guroo Jaap]

Dass is lucky enough to have a camcorder with a usb!!

[VanHelsingh]

Dass is lucky enough to have a camcorder with a usb!!

Lucky you. Well that's brilliant then. Good luck.