DVD Burnng Software

[Sandman]

Have a new machine (XP Pro) with a dvd burner and I am looking for recommendations on software, I am looking for something that will allow me to copy my video camera tapes, etc to dvd, also allow me to burn music cd's and possibly do a data backup to dvd. I looked at several Roxio programs but remember a while back that Roxio and XP did not get along to well.

Any suggestions will be appreciated.

Bob

[Danny R]

For basic burning, get Nero. I've never had a problem with it. It burns DVDs and CDs with equal ease.

As for DVD creation, thats another story. You need some sort of software to capture the video image, and then possibly another to format it into proper DVD format ready for burning. I can't help you here, but would be interested in hearing what others have to say.

As for data backup, lots of backup programs will store onto DVD. However if you want to have access to them from the media, then you want to just copy the files over using Nero rather than use a backup program. This is fine for small backup jobs, but if you have LOTS of files it can get tedious. One tool I found in a surprising place is in the MusicMatch Jukebox. Its burn tool features a splitter program that scans directories and virtually breaks them up into DVD or CD size portions for burning. It was very nice when I was backing up all my online books and MP3 files across 14 or so DVDs.

[CoriBright]

Roxio v6 and XP get along just fine.... but if you're going with Roxio, you want to ensure you do NOT download the updates on their website (117 and 2.0) since they have a pixelation problem with compression. If you can get hold of the original version of v6.0, it produces beautiful DVDs.

The other one some folks rave about is Sonic MyDVD.... haven't tried it, so I've no comments on it.

6 DVDs burned on my Pioneer AO6 and no coasters... all with Roxio v6.

[Five Hole]

[QUOTE=CoriBright 6 DVDs burned on my Pioneer AO6 and no coasters... all with Roxio v6.[/QUOTE]

I just bought an AO6 from Compusa and I have a question. In the properites, it shows it being a DVR-104. This doesn't sound right to me. I thought it would be a DVR-106. The packaging looked like it could have been opened in the past. I also can't get it to work. If I don't have the right burner, then I will take it back. Is the AO6 suppose to show DVR-104? Thanks

[Danny R]

Mine shows DVR-106D if I go to the hardware device manager in XP.

Easy way to tell: Put a +R disk in. The A04 only reads -R media.

The front of my drive has the following logos, starting in the center of the tray and moving right:

DVD with a circle under it and R/RW

RW in a box with a DVD+ReWritable

Compact disc ReWritable High Speed

If you have the A04, I'm betting you won't have the RW DVD+ReWritable logo.

Over 300 DVD's burned using the this drive and the Sony DRU500A. I've had coasters, but not because of the burn software, but rather poor media.

[Five Hole]

I have also looked there and it show DVR-104. I am going to take it back. I didn't think that was right. Thanks

[Chris Blount]

DVD Video burning is all about how well the compression is done. Usually the compression that comes built in to DVD authoring programs is crap.

I use three programs for DVD authoring. The first is ULead Video Studio to capture the video from the source (i.e. Video Camera, VCR, etc). Then I open up TMPGenc for compression. This is probably one of the best compression utilities out there with tons of options. http://www.pegasys-inc.com/e_main.html

To burn the compressed video to DVD, I use Sonic DVDitPE. The reason why I selected that utility is because it encodes Dolby Digital and does anamorphic DVD's.

As stated above, to make copies of DVD's, Nero Burning ROM is a good program.

I know there are now other programs out there that are probably easier to use but I have found to get best results, you will need to find the best programs for the job rather than using an all-in-one utility. I know it sounds like a hassle, but it's not so bad after to get past the learning curve. :)

[RichW]

I use Nero 6, Ultra Edition. It is a great burner for almost any type of drive. I have the Sony DRU-510A which will write just about any CD/DVD media (except DVD-RAM).

[ibglowin]

I use a Mac.

I import right into iMovie and edit then add menus and and chapters with iDVD. Never had a "coaster" yet. DVD's are close to professional in quality

It doesn't have to be this difficult. You just need a better computer! (Ha! JK)

[jrbdmb]

For me, three steps from video capture to DVD:

1. MAGIX VIDEO DELUXE for video capture/editing. This program is inexpensive, relatively bug-free, and has a lot of flexibility in its editing.

2. TMPGENC to take the edited video and convert it to MPEG-2. I prefer this program because it allows a great deal of control on how to compress the video, and gives great results.

3. DAZZLE DVD COMPLETE to create the DVD. Version 2.5 allows you to generate DVDs with menus, etc. Inexpensive, relatively bug-free. Not as flexible as some of the more expensive programs, but it works for me. Bad news - Dazzle has been bought out by Pinnacle, and DVD Complete was discontinued. (I hate when that happens.) But it looks like the product has been resurrected by 321 Studios (who also sells the infamous DVD X Copy).