I, too, am condsidering the dvd burn option....my question...can an older computer (Athlon 800 mhz, 512 ram, 5,600 rpm drives)output 1:1 playback...in other words, does a dvd burner/software have a buffer that will allow recording/playback at full motion...
Thanks for any assistance...
David

if you guys are serious about editing video and burning dvd's etc
my advice is buy a new computer
the entire package should not run you more than $1,400

the reason is it takes very long to convert to mpeg 2 --a few hours easily for 60 minute project...(not to mention the capture time and burn time)

you can get a brand computer with everything you need (firewire and 120gig hard drive) for under $800
if you buy a dvd burner---$264 oem pioneer drive (bare drive)plays only dvd-rw's
ulead movie factory--authoring program $45 (download version)
esbuy.com gold dvd's...$1.59 per

then you don't tie up your main computer

so far i have burned 7 dvd's and i am really happy with my setup--knock on wood

and i owe all my happiness to people in this forum for recommending the oem drive and movie factory authoring program
i love it
good luck
sb

I disagree with Sonic Boom, that you should spend $$ on a new system. I'm running VV3 and DVD Workshop (for authoring) on a PIII 750 and its fast enough to run the software. As far as rendering, if you're going to render material for an entire DVD, it will take so long no matter how fast your system is, that you should just let the computer do it overnight (I realize that this may not be an option if you're making videos for a living or if you want to render several short videos). The system you have should be fine, the 5400 rpm drive (assuming it's ATA-66) should be fast enough to capture from the camera without frame drops assuming you have defragged your capture drive and are not running any programs in the background.

Also the statement about the Pioneer is a little misleading. The drive will burn and play DVD-Rs and DVD-RWs (as well as CD-R and CD-RW. (But not DVD+R or DVD+RW). I can't imagine it wouldn't play commercial disks.

nolonemo
i agree with you--i may not have expressed myself clearly--no need to to go out and buy a whole new system
but i did it last year and it makes my life soooo much easier
i am not a pro video person, but i use it a lot for slide shows and various projects
i just think if you are using your computer a lot, since the cost is very reasonable at the moment---people should CONSIDER buying a new computer---
i did and i'm really happy
by the time i add up capturing, editing, rendering, converting, print-to-tape, burning, etc. -- it really takes up a lot of time on my computer
**also, as far as the pioneer dvd burner goes---i really love it and it plays on every dvd set top so far--but i did go to vcdhelp.com and see the compatability chart
i realize it wouldn't play on some
as a result, i bought a pioneer 656a set top for myself
this way i can play dvd-r and dvd-rw on it
i guess it all depends on your application
i wanted something that i burn and then play back and watch
i guarenttee the day will come when i make a dvd for a friend and they have a dvd+ and they won't be able to watch it
but again, i am not a pro video person so i won't have a problem with it
the end reuslt, i am really happy with my set up and that's the bottom line.
btw, what burner do you use?
sb

There are all sorts of DVD "authoring" programs out there. For around $50 you can buy products like Ulead DVD Movie Factory (www.ulead.com) or Pinnacle Express (www.pinnaclesys.com). You take the avi files you've created from VV3 into these products, and they allow you to create simple menus that will show up in the finished DVD. They also will convert the avi files into MPEG2 files that are required by the DVD Video standard.

More sophisticated authoring programs will allow for the creation of much fancier DVDs. I'd suggest you first get your feet wet with something simple first.

An older computer is just fine for now. As mentioned, it will take longer to do the encoding into MPEG2, but for getting started, that's probably okay, right? If you really get hooked into this niche, then you can consider building or buying a fire-breather PC. Also, the programs that do the actual burning to the DVD disk use the same kind of "burn-proof" technology that you use when making CDs. If the PC can't keep up with the burning process, the burn is temporarily halted in a fashion that doesn't ruin the blank, creating a coaster.

I personally have a Pioneer -04 drive, which burns DVD-R at 2x (that's equivalent to about 14x in CD parlance). Pioneer is about to introduce a 4x successor this fall. You could wait, but keep in mind that there will always be something faster coming out "next month."

DVD atuhoring apps that are in the $50 - $100 range allow you to take video (avi or mpeg) and record it on a DVD disc in a way that the video can be played back on a set top dvd player. You can not simply burn videos files onto a disk and have them play on a dvd player in the same way that you can burn audio files (.wav) onto a disk and play them in a CD player. If you're looking to create "professional" or "Hollywood" style dvds, you need to buy a more sophisticated dvd authoring app. These generally start in the $750 - $1500 range.

I disagree with (dsanders) comment about the cheaper authoring programs not being able to produce Hollywood style DVD's Dazzle's DVD complete can and does do this quite nicely for $99.00. http://www.dazzle.com

Okay, I thank you people for answers !
Now you'll probably think I'm very naive, and that's probably true because all I did untill now is print to dv tape, and it seems quite different.... SO , as I'm already a bit confused by the replies, I need very BASIC precisions if you can and will :
- If i understand well, the video format on a commercial video dvd is MPEG2 ? I mean is it this format that should be made by the authoring app out of my rendered Vegas AVI files ) ?
- is the dvd writer OR the app responsible for this ending format (or both) ?
- how come that in such a new standard (dvd) there seem to be already incompatibilities and different formats/machines which can't be read on every machine ?
-----
Thanks in advance for every bit of information which would help me clarify this interesting subject !
----
Extra question : would there be by any chance a book known for its clarity, its helfulness/usefulness, its reliability and completeness on video files to dvd ?

1. Edit and render your material to mpeg2 NTSC DVD format with Vegas. File, render as MPEG2 NTSC DVD.
2. Import that file into Dazzle and let the built in wizard walk you through the process. (Very user friendly) You can have Overtures (things that play before the main movie), a main menu and chapters. You can use your own pictures for the menu or ones provided by Dazzle. They have several templates to choose from or you can make your own.
3. The Pioneer 104 drive is a proven DVD burner that is inexpensive to purchase. The DVD-R format is the one that works on more desk top DVD players.
4. Media counts. Some of the cheaper blank DVD disks may give you some problems. Apple's blank DVD-R disks seem to be high quality also Maxel (not Memorex).
Good Luck and have some fun.

The format of commercial DVDs is mpeg-2 --- but within that, you're going to find lots of variable settings such as bitrate, audio rate, etc. The DVD creation packages folks have mentioned have default settings that produce quite usable DVDs. On some packages you can tweak the settings, and on some (I think), you can't.

You'll find discussions in this forum about whether to have Vegas render the output to mpeg2 via its Main Concept codec, or whether it's better to render in avi and have the DVD software package convert to mpeg2. I don't think there's consensus.

It's not unusual to have format/standard wars with new technology. You'd expect these conflicts early on, not later when the market has "chosen" a particular solution.

BTW, I'm using Dazzle's DVD Complete software, and I like it. Some of its features are rather shabbily documented and I had to do a bit of "discovery" unaided by the documentation, but the DVDs I've created with it include titles, chapters, etc., and play just fine on my low-cost Apex set-top DVD player.

I do my editing in Vegas and render to avi, then let DVD Complete translate the result to mp2. But that's just because I'm using the path of least resistance -- I haven't experimented with the Main Concept settings within Vegas, and the discussions of it I've seen in this forum indicate it would be fascinating to experiment with but I don't want to invest that time/energy just yet.

Ernie

Hey, TLT -- you say I can create my own scene-selection templates in DVD Complete?

I haven't discovered that feature... can you point me to a place to start within that package? (If this seems too off-topic for this forum, by backchannel address is ernietamminga@yahoo.com)

thanks much
Ernie

pioneer 104. Seems to be the VW microbus of DVD burners (Flashback to 70s)

Actually I thought I read that somewhere. I may have miss spoke on that feature. I bought the extra templates they offer and have been satisfied with the selections I now have. I do like the fact that you can custimize the menus' look & sound with your own material for the DVD movie and the labels / Jackets. I am really impressed with Dazzle's ease of use and stability. I have a Dell P4 1.9 512 ddram 160 gig HD, pioneer-104 (by the way, if you own this drive make sure you install the manditory firmware update http://pioneerelectronics.com/hs/update.html) I am currently experimenting with the Meritline (http://www.meritline.com/) blank DVD disks for $1.19 each (package of 25) so far they have worked flawlessly in many different players. One other thing that I have found that is cool. http://www.neato.com for mettalic or high gloss dvd labels (you need cd stomper to get them on correctly).

that's exactly what i do! i never publish to tape.

* i capture/compile the video project
* i render to mpeg-2
* i use ulead's dvd workshop to create the dvd
* i write an image file with dvd workshop
* i burn the final using my prassi dvd software that came with my burner.

this exact process works for me about 99.999% of the time.

i just bought a spindle of 50 silver top dvd-r's from www.cdr4less.com. when you take in account the shipping cost, they ended up only costing $1.07/disc.

i use these discs almost exclusively with no problems. i've burned close to 150 of them so far. i have the pioneer a04. now, the only drawback is that they aren't 2x discs. but, hey, i don't care. i'll take the price! :)

When we were putting together an NLE I looked at Adobe and Vegas. Adobe was great, but what put me into Vegas (other than having experience with 2.) was the ability to render straight to Mpeg2 without having need for an external encoder. We shoot classes here and burn them to DVD. When students need copies, we put the disc into a player hooked into our dup bay and make 10 VHS copies off the DVD master.

If rendering time is an issue, look the the SF batch encoder. It can take a series of AVI's and make MPeg2 conversions overnight while you're asleep.

-D

My two cents...

If you can live with longer render times you don't really need a new computer. Which DVD burner you pick really don't matter as long as your DVD player can read it. Check over at VCD help to see which models work with the various media. There is nothing "special" about rendering to the DV format. If your present system renders OK, no need to upgrade.

As far as making the DVD, pick either the DV NTSC or DV PAL templace. Render as MPEG-2 as file type. The MC encoder built-into Vegas works fine at the default settings.

Ulead's DVD Movies factory is cheap, simple to use and complete in that it ues a wizard to walk you through the steps to make chapters and the required overhead files and it includes a burner application so no need for Nero or any other burning software. Generally the DVD burning software that comes with your DVD burner is junk. You'll need something, Vegas only creates a compliant file, it does not burn DVD's directly. DVD Movie Factory is around $40... a steal compared to other similar software that can cost five times or more and not do any more. The one limitiation is limited number of templates, but they put new one on their web site each month or you can make your own custom backgrounds.

what's the SF batch encoder? - don't see any info on website

sirbellog

A good place to start if you want answers about DVD authoring is "DVD Demystified"

http://dvddemystified.com/dvdfaq.html

Batch Convertor 5.0 would have been on your CD-ROM of VV3.

I'm sure I saw a post from SoFo suggesting that you were better off rendering MPEG-2 from VV3 rather than Batch Convertor though !

Thanks to all for your replies,
They made this subject a little clearer, and gives me the hope that after all, getting a dvd from my video projects is not such a foolish and desperate adventure.
I’ll re-read carefully all your posts, and probably this will generate new questions…
So I may be back soon, begging for complementary info !
Thanks again.

> You'll find discussions in this forum about whether to have Vegas render the output to mpeg2 via its Main Concept codec, or whether it's better to render in avi and have the DVD software package convert to mpeg2. I don't think there's consensus.

I use DVD Complete (tried it out thanks to peeps on this newsgroup), and agree that it is far better than any under-$100 program. Far better. I tried two DVDs -- one with the VV3 encoder (Main Concept) default settings, and one with the DVD Complete (Ligos) default settings. The DVD Complete DVD looked noticably grainier than the VV3 DVD. Not to say that the DVD Complete settings cannot be tweaked for better appearance, just that without tweaking, the VV3 output was noticably better. Only problem I had with the VV3 file was that for some reason, the audio portion didn't get imported into DVD Complete. I had to render the audio as a separate WAV and bring it in separately. Unlike when I imported the DV AVI into DVD Complete and the audio came in with it as well.

> It's not unusual to have format/standard wars with new technology. You'd expect these conflicts early on, not later when the market has "chosen" a particular solution.

It's hard for me to believe that there will be set-top boxes that will not be able to read DVD-R going forward. Even if they support DVD+R, I can't imagine them not supporting DVD-R as well. I think the thing about DVD-R is that it is supposed to work on existing set-top boxes by definition (key phrase being *supposed to*).

> BTW, I'm using Dazzle's DVD Complete software, and I like it. Some of its features are rather shabbily documented and I had to do a bit of "discovery" unaided by the documentation, but the DVDs I've created with it include titles, chapters, etc., and play just fine on my low-cost Apex set-top DVD player.

It's not the most beautiful program in the world, but the wizards (which I usually hate) are invaluable. Really valuable, *and* editable templates, and the wizards guide you well through the process.

-Jeremy