Hi guys,

i'm after some software that does this...

captures the video to pc from the dv camcorder
captures mpg2 (?) so there's no converting to be done
automatically begins burning the dvd
automatically adds chapter frames at ten minute intervals throughout the dvd

does anyone have any ideas that might at least get me near?!?

thanks

Rich

[klr10]

Ulead's DVD Movie Factory 2 can do this apparently although I haven't tried it out. You can download a trial on their website.

[MarkE19]

I have the trial version of Ulead's DVD Movie Factory 2 (awaiting delivery of full version from Dabs since before Christmas ) and the specs are very good. I've not done a direct to DVD capture, but it is listed as a feature. I also don't know if chapters can be added with this type of authoring, but certainly can if captureing to a HDD and then authoring. Have a look on the web site and if the retail box ever turns up I'll let you know on this thread.

Mark.

thanks chaps, i think i've got a copy somewhere on a hard drive so i'll install it and check it out and let you know....

[JH4]

ULead Movie factory2 will do want you want , but make sure you download all the updates, or you may have problems. It burns to DVD fine. Make sure you disable all running programs and screensavers and disconnect Web access, and scheduled tasks.
Store the DV capture footage on a separate partition on a large defragged HD if you can, otherwise you can get dropped frames.
What ULead won't do is fades and effects, which the free Windows Movie Maker will do, but WMM won't burn to DVD, although you can output the finished movie back out to a camcorder.
Incidently, I have found that you get better sound and picture quality if you can input DV footage directly into a DVD recorder and do any editing and titles there. It's possible to do very accurate editing if the recorder has a hard drive. Quicker and better than editing and burning on a PC imo, but you can't do all the fancy stuff, obviously.
Hope this helps.

thanks for your help guys. dvd moviestudio 2 seems to be the best option - though i can't still get the chapters on the first screen and it takes a while but it's the best so far. thanks for all your help!

Rich