DVD software ?

paul2louise

I have been using windows DVD maker and noticed that the quality of the film afterwards is nothing like as good as the original videos. I could just burn the video directly on the DVD but I like to have a format with a menu, nothing fancy. Any suggestions.

My Nero software is not compatable with windows 7.

Thanks

paddyrg

That software trades simplicity and convenience and speed for quality.

On a single-sided disc it'll get 2.5hrs video where full-quality will be closer to 60 mins with most software.

Try DVDFlick (free) as an alternative - it is a bit harder to set up, but you have a lot more flexibility in terms of settings

gman955

Is it necessary to burn DVDs? Nowadays there are so many diff options instead:

I personally just copy media onto usb and play through my PS3 (or a TV if it is compatible)
Also, you can stream through media server, or even plug your laptop directly into the TV through HDMI

paul2louise

I want to create backup videos of my little boy as he is growing up. He is only 2 and I have hrs of footage already. I have fill 5 DVDs with just photos and now I wanted I to back up the videos too. I want to be able to make DVD for the gran parents for their DVD players too, so that is why I chose DVDs. Thanks for the help

Lum

Careful with your choice of blank DVDs. They don't last forever, some may not even last more than a few years.

As for software, no idea I just store the original files on a NAS which gets upgraded from time to time with bigger drives.

paul2louise

I plan to buy a better laptop soon as my current one is very iffy, hence why I am backing up. I could put videos and pics on new laptop when I get it. I know they are still on hard drive but just want a backup just in case. I know DVDs are fragile and you have to be careful and look after them. But I don't want everything on 1 stick either, as I can easily loose them with a inquisitive toddler on the loose.

Lum

I was actually referring to degrading with age.

e.g. you put them somewhere safe, decide you want to look at them in 10 years time only to find them unreadable.

paddyrg

Silly as it sounds, the best archival formats are still analogue - printing the best photos is cheap enough and wil retain a passive archive for 50+ years. There is no cheap way to store video reliably.

When the classic ballet film 'the red shoes' was digitally restored recently, they had to think how to archive it all over again. Hard drives failure was roughly 6%/year so that's not ideal. Cheap dvd blanks will degrade even in ideal circumstances. You can buy 100-year dvd blanks but at a price. Worse by far is that formats get abandoned regularly - physical and data alike. Got photos on a 5.25" floppy? Sony memory stick format? You might find someone wh can transfer them for a price, but then you're stuck with the next generation you'll need to upgrade from. Know what the movie restorers did in the end? Go back to 35mm film stock with optical sound track. In 100 years when everything is unrecognisable, we will have am archive black hole, movies from the 1980's on film stock will be pretty easy to decode, a bunch of numbers on a rusty glass platter impossible.

Just saying anything you *really* value, print on archive quality paper/ink and keep it cool and dry, frames of video even, and you can at least watch it back in part!