I don't know what's going on here, but taking 4 hours to render 1 hour of video isn't unreasonable. On the other hand, a 1.2 Mbyte or even 1.2 Gbyte file is very small for that length of video. Which files are you looking at?

My approach to fault finding here, as ever, would be to break the work down into small sections and make sure each has completed OK before moving on. So - render to MPEG2 and then make sure that plays OK. Prepare, rather than burn, the DVD and make sure it's ok on your pc. Finaly, try burning to a DVD-RW. Unfortunately I don't use DVDAS, so I'm not sure of the exact work flow, but I hope you get the idea! Good luck!

Ian G.

Ian, thank you: I tried your sugestion and rendered a good part of the movie onto a MPEG2 file, then tried to play it back on my Real and Windows Media Players on my PC.

Result looks great but NO SOUND!!!! Just a very low humming sound. What does that suggest to you?

Look forward to your reactions. Meanwhile, will keep trying different things!

Renald

One option when rendering is video stream only. In fact, when rendering for use in DVDA, the preferrable way is to render the audio stream as a wave file separate from the video stream (need to select the advanace button to do this). So I would suggest that you look closely at the type of file you rendered to and make sure it is not video only.

To start off, I think you should first check the program preferences for Vegas Movie Studio. Open up the Preferences window from the Options menu, and make sure that you uncheck "Close Media Files when not the active application". You will find this under the "General" tab. If you had that option turned on, that may be responsible for the lack of sound in your last attempt. For some reason, Vegas Movie Studio "forgets" to render the audio when that option is turned on. Make sure it is turned off. That should be all you need to change in the "Preferences" window.

Next, take a look at the Project Properties for your project, and make sure that you are using the right template. The default template is NTSC DV (720x480, 29.970 fps). This is the standard for viewing on an NTSC television. If you want your project to be viewable on a PAL television, select PAL DV instead.

The next thing you should do, is look at each of the individual video clips (if more than one) in your project on the timeline. Look at the properties for each one, and make sure they are set up as they should be. I don't know if this is absolutely necessary, but personally I make sure the "Loop" and "Maintain aspect ratio" boxes are unchecked. This makes sure that the video footage you are using matches the project template. The footage will look wider than it should when you view it in the preview area, but don't worry - when you play it later on a TV, it will look normal.

Provided that your project is set up correctly, you should be ready to make your movie. When you select "Make Movie" and then "Burn it to DVD" this time though, make sure you uncheck "Fast video resizing" - with that option turned off, Vegas Movie Studio will render each frame properly. All that option does when it is turned on is cut a few corners in the rendering process, which can create problems with your movie. Make sure it is turned off. Beware though - if it took you 4 hours to make your movie last time, it'll take about 5 this time - but it is worth it. Next, if you did what I mentioned earlier by unchecking the "Maintain aspect ratio" option for each video clip on your timeline, then you can uncheck the "Stretch video to fill output frame" option in the "Make Movie" window. When you are ready, then click "Next" to start rendering your movie.

~several hours later~

Once your movie is rendered and you have selected "Send to DVD Architect", take a look at the project properties in DVD Architect and make sure the template is the same as the one you used in Vegas Movie Studio - either NTSC (720x480) or PAL (720x576). When you are done with that, make your menu etc, add a background picture or whatever you want. Keep in mind that the screen area looks wider than normal - so if you do use a background picture, stretch it to fit the template. It will look normal on a TV.

After you have set everything the way you want it, try using the "preview" option, and test out your menu - infact, if your computer is powerful enough, continue through the menu and try playing your movie for a minute or two - then you can make sure the audio is working. If you don't hear audio, then you know something is wrong. It is unlikely that there'd be anything wrong at this stage though, so don't worry. When you are ready, exit the preview screen, and select "Make DVD". Make sure you have a blank DVD in your DVD drive, and then choose "Prepare DVD and Burn". For a movie of the length you are making, the entire process will probably take about 20-30 minutes, maybe. When you are done, try out your movie!

By the way - I highly recommend that you use DVD+R discs - a lot of DVD players have trouble reading DVD-R's. DVD+R's are more widely accepted. However, if you are using your computer to watch DVD's, it shouldn't make a difference which kind of disc you burn your movie to.

Well, that's all I can really say for now. If there are any more problems, just post here and I'll do whatever I can to help!

Cheers,
Atheryn.

Dear Atheryn:

With your sugestions, I succeeded, overnight, to render my movie in MPEG2, INCLUDING sound! I did uncheck all three boxes you mentioned ('close media...;fast video resizing; stretch...). I did notice two vertical black lines, about 1 cm wide, on each side of my screen throughout the playback, but maybe they will disappear later?

Must now buy some DVD+R discs and burn a few (or have them copied commercially?) for the rest of my family to share my chef d'oeuvre, but did want to thank you for taking the time to send me such detailed guidance and instructions. It's members like you who make this a great forum!

Renald

While you've got your money out it's worth buying a couple of DVD+RWs as well - it's amazing how many mistakes you'll spot the first time you play your DVD on a TV!

I wouldn't even think about having DVDs copied commercialy if they're for family and friends - I don't know where you are, but blank DVDs are <$10 for 25 in the UK. If you want them to look more professional, printable DVDs are only a little more expensive and the Epson R200 & R300 are excellent printers at a very reasonable price (and getting cheaper!).

Ian G.

cheers to Atheryn for his easy to understand walk through of a burn process. you ROCK !! all us newbies can enjoy that thread. you should write a book.

DearAtheryn,

I finally succeeded in burning a first disc of my first movie....but it wasn't easy.

Your guidance left me with a rendered MPEG Video file of 2.7 GB on my hard disk (there is also a file of the same title with the ending "_ses" which is 3.23 MB (i.e. much smaller).

I first tried to burn a disc on DVDAS but couldn't import that file: DVDAS sems to accept only .dar files...which I hadn't created, knowingly or unknowingly, and didn't know how to create out of the MPEG file.

I next tried the Nero software but received an error message to the effect that Nero has a "known compatibility problem" with my PC (which has Windows XP as OS).

Finally I tried a third software prgram, entitled Sonic My DVD which came with my PC's DVD drive. That application asked me to create a project file, which I did, then "transcoded" my audio file, and finally burned the disc. Took some 40 minutes only.

The black lines on the side of my screen disappeared when the movie was played back through a DVD player onto a TV screen.

So all's well that ended well . Thamks again for your help.

Renald

PS I will keep checking the forum for any addtional comments/posts you may have!

Thank you Atheryn for your wonderful explanation of the rendering process. I have just created my first movie and did not know how to proceed. A few more questions if you have the time. Following your instructions I will end up with a mpeg file? I have DVDAS but am totally unfamiliar with it and nervous about tackling it with my first project. I also have Sonic MyDVD which I know is very simple in comparison, but I've used it before with success. After reading Renald's comments I am leaning that way. Does DVDAS accept mpeg's or do they have to be encoded once again. I don't understand about the prepare DVD process. And do you know if I follow your instructions will this be using the Main Concept Encoder that I hear so much about. Sorry about so many questions. I would appreciate any explanation you could give me. Thanks again.

Hi Renald,

When you rendered your project in Vegas Movie Studio, did you use the "Burn to DVD" option? If so, at the end of the rendering process, a completion window would have been displayed with a button labeled "Finish", and a button above that labeled "Send to DVD Architect". Chances are, you probably did what I've done multiple times, and clicked "Finish" without first clicking the "Send to DVD Architect" button. By clicking on that button, Vegas Movie Studio would have automatically launched DVD Architect Studio with your movie project already contained inside. Then all you'd need to do is arrange the menu to your liking, and burn your movie to DVD. Anyway. If you did miss that button, don't worry - here's what you can do.

Start DVD Architect Studio. You will need to manually import your movie, so, select "Media" from the "Insert" menu, or alternatively, press CTRL + F. In the file window that appears, locate the MPEG video portion of your project on your harddrive, select it, and click "Open". Once you do this, a thumbnail-image of your movie will appear in the DVD menu creation area. Right-click on that thumbnail, and select "Navigate Into". This will take you to a more detailed view of your movie file. This next part is important, because your overall movie is split into two seperate files - and so far, you have only added the video portion. So, take a look at the right-hand side of the screen - you will see the words "Media Properties", and below that, the file location of the video segment you just imported. Below that, there will be another file location bar for the audio stream - but you will find it has the word "None" listed there. Click on the "Open" icon beside that Audio stream bar, and in the file window that appears, locate the audio portion of your project, select it, and click "Open". After you have done this, both the video and audio stream bars should now show their file locations. Now you can leave this view and go back to the main screen - you can do this by either clicking the "Back to Parent" button (near the top of the screen, in the middle), or alternatively, you can press the Backspace button on your keyboard. Now you have successfully imported your movie into DVD Architect. Next, all you have to do is dress up your menu page to your liking with background images etc, and then when you are ready, click the "Make DVD" button, and select "Prepare DVD and Burn". Within about 20-30 minutes, depending on the size of your project and the speed of your DVD drive, your project will be on DVD, ready to watch!

I hope that helps. If you have any more difficulties with your project, feel free to let me know!

Cheers,
Atheryn.

Hi benannas,

I have not worked with anything other than Vegas Movie Studio and DVD Architect Studio, so I'm not the best person to ask about Sonic MyDVD. I've actually only been playing around with movie making for the past couple of months. The only reason I know as much as I do is because I ran into a BUNCH of problems when I first started out, and spent a good amount of time sending emails to Sony Tech support. Anyway, here's what I can answer of your questions:

As I mentioned above, when you render your project in Vegas Movie Studio, there is an option to "Burn to DVD". If you use that option, your project will be rendered as two seperate files specifically for DVDAS - a video file in MainConcept MPEG-2 (mpeg) format, and an audio file in .wav format. At the end of the rendering process, there will be an option to "Send to DVD Architect" - if you click on that option, DVDAS will be launched, and your two files will be linked through automatically. If you do not click on that "Send to DVD Architect" button though, you will need to import your project manually into DVDAS as I described above to Renald. Anyway. As for the "Prepare DVD" process in DVDAS, all that does is render the menu items that are not ready for burning - such as any background pictures, buttons, links etc that you may have added to the DVD menu page. The video and audio files from your project that were rendered in Vegas Movie Studio are already in the correct formats for burning, so they will not be re-rendered in the "Prepare DVD" process. All in all, the "Prepare" process only takes a few minutes, if that.

I hope that answers your questions. If you have any more, I'll do my best to help =)

Cheers,
Atheryn.

Well following all of the above instructions I put together a 43 minute video of a captured tv show for practice. I even added menus and chapter points(which took me all day to figure out). Preview it and all was going well, even had sound. But then I burned it through DVDAS and came out with an unreadable disc. I fortunately used a DVD-RW so no big loss there. But I need to figure this out because I am working on another very important project. I know the writer works because I recorded a disc using the media center last week. Also on a DVD-RW. Could it be a media issue or did I do something wrong. I selected Make DVD-Prepare and Burn- 1x speed. Now what do I do. I see that Renald succeeded with the Sonic MyDVD software which I also have but have not loaded onto this computer. I like chapter points but would not have to use them. Is it as simple as getting DVD+ discs? I hope someone can advise me. I'm fairly new at this movie stuff so please keep directions simple. Thanks to everyone!

Most DVD players will have trouble reading DVD-R and DVD-RW discs. Some players have trouble reading DVD+RW discs. So far though, I have not found a player that does not read a DVD+R disc - so I highly recommend you try re-burning your project onto DVD+R.

Cheers,
Atheryn.