Oh boy - not sure what DVD program I have. It's when I go into 'make move' within screenblast movie studio and choose 'DVD' that the render issue comes up. That's without even putting a disc in. I don't actually choose a DVD burning program - I think it does it automatically?? I know I have Roxio on my computer but it never comes up when I try to make a disc. Nothing but the Screenblast program does...

When I choose "Make Movie" and then choose "DVD" I'm presented with a screen that allows me to choose the file path but nothing else. It does create a .mpg file, which in fact would be MPEG-2 even though the .mpg file extension might not indicate as such.

So, I'm a bit confused as to why you think you're only able to create MPEG-1.

Have you ever actually burned a DVD disc that you've watched using a standalone DVD player and your TV?

Hi - thanks for your response. Mine also allows me to choose the file path and nothing else, but the unchangeable file format shows up as mpeg1 instead of 2. I have successfully burned this onto disc and can play it in my DVD player, it's just that the quality is compromised from what the mpeg2 file looks like when viewed on my computer. And it's not just cause it looks different on the TV, cause I have viewed both the mpeg1 and mpeg2 version on my computer and the difference is the same...

I'm using Vegas Movie Studio version 4, so what I describe here might be different if you're using a different version.

I guess what I'm saying is this: If you choose "Burn DVD" in the Make Movie wizard, you have no choice to use MPEG-1. A DVD is by definition MPEG-2. So, choosing "Burn DVD" and then rendering will create an MPEG-2 file.

If, instead, you chose "Burn it to Video CD or CD-ROM" then, indeed, you will only be able to render to MPEG-1. Video CD is by definition MPEG-1.

Hope I'm not stating the obvious here, but maybe it would be worth retracing your steps to see which of those you chose.

Keep in mind that Video CDs can be created on "regular" CD burners using regular CD discs, while DVDs need a specific type of burner and a specific type of DVD disc.

Am I on the right track here?

Thanks for your response - not stating the obvious for me! I'm not sure why I'm having this problem, because for me it appears the opposite is the case. When I select 'burn to DVD', Mpeg-1 is listed as the format and it cannot be changed. When I Burn to Video CD, I have the option of selecting either Mpeg 1 or 2 from the dropdown! I just have the regular old Screenblast Movie Studio, but it seems that what I'm saying is contradictory to what you've explained should be happening.

Perhaps it is an issue with my burner... I bought a bunch of blank DVDs and could not write to them, but regular CDs work fine...

This is really stretching my brain cells to the limit.... but wasn't there a deal with some of the versions of Screenblast where you had to "register" to get the mpeg2 encoder? I seem to remember going through this, (and then having to go through it again when my HD crashed). In any case, have you looked up mpeg2 in the help file? I think the procedure was in there somewhere, again, IIRC.

I also have a similar problem ( I think). I'm making mini-videos for my friend's band and for one of the videos, I made graphics out of the text options a lot. It was only 1:30 long and alternated from the graphics and the footage. When I went to make the movie, the program crashes and exits out whenever I begin to render. It is usualy 5 seconds into the rendering that this has happened. I have tried just about everything I can including making a new video from scratch. I made another video which also had the same type of graphics (shown once) but was only shown for several seconds. This movie rendered farily well and I was able to sucessfully burn it to DVD. Any thoughts?