I need to burn a DVD from a MiniDV tape. We’ve been doing this at a studio, but have a very nice computer with a DVD burner in it.
These are fairly long DVDs, up to about an hour. The transfer to the computer is fine; I can import via e.g. Adobe Premier, and save as a .avi file, but I am unsure how to add chapter headings, and in what format movies are burned onto DVDs for replay in a television DVD player.
Can anyone suggest a good DVD editing/burning program? This is to be used by a Product Placement company who has already assembled and edited the video clips, so the only things left to do is burn the DVD with chapters.
I used the programs that came with my Sony dru 500a writer, I don’t know what model you have, but you have to know to get the software that works with it. It might even have come with the stuff already. Mine came with Sonic MyDVD.
You also need a capture card.
Since you only have on video, it might be better to ask someone with a dvd recorder to transfer it to a dvd for you (ask at at photo store or there are online shops).I have a Panasonic E30 dvd recorder (these are like a dvd player, but do recording too), it makes the absolute best vhs or video to dvd quality that I have seen.
I just bought a DVD burner, after doing some research. Here’s what I found:
To convert your video to DVD (mpeg-2) format, use a program called tmpgenc. It’s shareware, free for thirty days. Even though it’s one of the most inexpensive programs, it’s also generally considered one of the best.
To make custom menus, chapters, etc. you need authoring software. The best I found was ULead Moviefactory 2. You can download it from their website for about $45, I believe. I haven’t actually used it yet, as I’m still stuck on step one.
To do the burning, I have Nero, which is an excellent CD and DVD burning program. Very flexible. I know that you can do rudimentary chapters and menus with Nero, so you may not need Moviefactory, unless you want to get more fancy.