Got new DVD burner, but have questions.

[jayscott]

Hi all, I finally got my first DVD burner, (a Sony DRU500A) and was looking forward to burning DVDs from some video I had previously edited using Pinnacle Studio 7 DV. The burner comes with Sonic MyDVD authoring software and also the burning software Veritas RecordNow.

I am able to successfully burn data DVD's of AVI's and MP2's to DVD+RW media (Imation) using RecordNow and also using Nero Ver. 5.5.9.17. When I try to use the Sonic MyDVD to author and burn a video DVD, the DVD works fine in demo mode, but when I use the burn option it gets to the ordering files step and locks up. I tried Pinnacle Expression and it also locks up when attempting to create the video DVD.

I think Nero might work for burning the video DVD if I knew what files I need to have for the video DVD to work. I'm hoping that since the video DVD works in demo mode, that the files to use may be available. I think I remember something about .VOB files ???

Thanks very much for any advice in getting my first DVD made successfully.

[RJ]

Hi,

what you can do is to let MyDVD create the ifo,bup,vob files and use RecordNow or the DVD video option in Nero to actually burn the files to DVD.

RJ

[jayscott]

Hi RJ, thanks for the assistance. I was finally able to burn a DVD using the Sonic MyDVD that came with the drive. The only way I have been able to accomplish this is when I capture the video from my camcorder using MyDVD.

When I try to import .avi or .mpg files I had previously edited with Pinnacle Studio 7 DV the MyDVD program crashes in the step "Ordering Files. I think that since the drive is very new that some software may not yet work correctly with it.

Since I no longer have the DV tapes for some of the edited video I would really appreciate any suggestions to import and burn the edited avi's or mpg's to DVD. Additionally I have a couple of .mp2 files captured from television using an ATI All in Wonder 8500 Video card. I tried burning these and experience crashing by MyDVD. Are all .mpg and .avi files compatible with different editing and burning software?

Thanks again.

[RJ]

Well, it should be.
Are the MPEG files already in DVD video format ? Maybe MyDVD crashes when it wants to re-encode. You can use TMPGEnc or ReMPEG2 to convert the files to DVD video compliant files. MyDVD should work, too, but well, if that is the reason why myDVD crashes then you have a workaround.

RJ

[jayscott]

RJ, I think you have hit it exactly!

Today I was able to burn DVD's from the files I had created as MP2 but not from those I had created as avi's. This happens with MyDVD and also with Pinnacle Expression. Both programs burn successfully from mp2 but not avi. Maybe this has something to do with my burner? Since I'm new to this it could also be something I am not doing correctly in the software.

I had previously downloaded the trial version of TMPGEnc, but am now convinced that I need the full version. I will purchase that soon, but first need to get a stand-alone DVD player. I have been playing all DVD's on my PC. I think I will get the Toshiba SD1800 since it has good reviews and seems compatible with a wide variety of media.


Thanks for all your assistance, it is appreciated greatly.

[RJ]

Hi,

no it hasn't to do something with the burner. It's just a software thing. The burner gets involved after the ifo, bup and vob files are created. If the program crashes before, then it isn't the burner.
If it's crashing right before burning, then maybe the program may not fully support the burner, which shouldn't be in the case that the program was bundled with the burner.

I also second TMPGEnc. It is a high quality encoder and very stable. I haven't had a crash with TMPGEnc yet.

RJ

[jayscott]

Well, after a great deal of trial and error, it now seems that the software that creates and burns the DVD crashes only when the mpg files imported are more than about ten or twelve minutes in length.

This happens using the MYDVD software that was packaged with the DRU500A and also with Pinnacle Expression. In MyDVD the program will crash when the "ordering files" step is complete.

Thanks for any suggestions.