writing dvds - what software to choose?

princess

hi, im not being very sucessful here. what i want to do it take 'movie' from my digital video cam, edit it, and burn it onto dvds which will then play on my 'proper' dvd player not just on the pc one. i have done ok with the editing using pinnacle studio, which came with the pc, but getting it onto dvd is driving me bonkers. i have used hp record now which again came with the pc, burning onto dvd+rw which should apparently play in my dvd, but dont, tho they are ok on various pcs. ive been told maybe my problem lies in the fact im not 'closing' the dvds when i finish recording, but hp record now doesnt seem to give me that option. would i be better off using roxio or nero? and if so which version? (i would also like to do menus and stuff) both seem to get very mixed reviews....what do people think? also are dvd-rw more likely to play on the dvd player?
sorry.....i dont even know the right questions to ask let alone the answers!

CIS

for free options try:

CD Burner XP pro 3 (burns cds and dvds)
http://www.cdburnerxp.se/
or
Deep burner
http://www.deepburner.com/?r=download

brummybloke

what version of windows have you got? xp has its own movie maker on there which is perfectly good at converting digital camcorder to dvdr.

nero 6 also works a treat

windym_2

I use Pinnacle Studio 9, it has its own burner in and menus and loads more, it could be that the version on your PC hasn't been activated or needs an update from their website to be fully operational (or it could be a trial version??). Why not take a look at their website to see if you can sort your version out? http://www.pinnaclesys.com/PublicSite/uk/Home/

culpepper

If all else fails try a DVD r incase it is the DVD RW that is causing the problem.

princess

thanks everyone for these ideas i will give them a go.......i am using xp brummybloke, and have just found movie maker....hidden in the bowels of the pc.........another totally unrelated question, why dont these programs show up on my 'all programs' list on the start menu? it only shows a few - im sure i could set it to show them all, but i dont see how.

squirrelz

culpepper wrote:

If all else fails try a DVD r incase it is the DVD RW that is causing the problem.

Yep, not all standalone dvd players will play DVD RW's (+ or -). DVD R's are down to about 15p a piece, so splash out on some

matty_c608

I convert Video files from PC to DVD Format using TMPGEnc Plus. Output as seperate Audio and Video Files.

I use Ulead DVD Workshop to create menus, and to interlace the audio and video files. I output it as a ISO DVD image.

I find that with DVD workshop, DVD's are very slow when played in normal DVD players. I find the laser is jumping all over the DVD. I think that the data storage order or what ever is not at its best, so I use:

DVD2ONE to optimise data order on the DVD. Output to an ISO image again, and burn with NERO!

With that I have created PERFECT DVD's, pretty proessional looking

windym_2

princess wrote:

why dont these programs show up on my 'all programs' list on the start menu? it only shows a few - im sure i could set it to show them all, but i dont see how.

You could try - right mouse click on the bottom toolbar (the one next to Start), select PROPERTIES, then select START MENU tab, click CUSTOMIZE and you should be able to tweak to your hearts content.