Help please with burning home movie DVDs from hard drive to playback in DVD players!

[stephcurtis007]

Hi all,
I'm sadly not a computer whizz and desperately need some help.... I have a Sony DVD Handycam, and have used the Picture package application to save home movies onto our computer hard drive. Now I'd like to download these onto blank DVD-Rs so they can be played in DVD players. I've tried, and the movies seem to be on the DVD-Rs fine (i.e. they will playback ok in any computer) but it just says disc error when I put them in a DVD player. Help! Do i need new software, if so can I download anything good for free?

[Dude a llama]

Have you tried to play them on another dvd player, not all dvd players 'like' copy dvd's. I use NERO to burn dvd's and don't have any problems.

[stephcurtis007]

i've tried 2 different types of DVD-R and 3 different DVD players!!!
Is Nero free software?

[MarkE19]

For your video to be playable on a standalone DVD player you need to author a DVD and not just put the files onto the disc. There are many programs that can do this, but the easy to use ones are not free. Nero is not free but does tend to be supplied with many PC's. If your PC came with a CD/DVD burner installed you will have some sort of program to burn a disc - what is it?

I personally recommend Ulead DVD MovieFactory for creating DVD's as it is very easy to use and fairly cheap at about £30. It also produces very good quality DVD's (assuming the origional video is any good). You can download a free 30 day trial of it from their web site.

Mark.

[felix2]

Hi

I haven't used the Sony Picture Browser program for more than a few seconds... Am I right in thinking you've used that to copy the mpg (or whatever they're called) video clip files from the cam onto your computer? Have you then used that program to make the DVD, or have you literally just copied the files across onto the DVD?

To work in a normal DVD player (rather than in a computer), a DVD needs to be "authored". That generally means the "mpg" video file(s) are changed slightly and re-named as "vob" files, and "ifo" information files are added for the DVD player to read as an index of what video (vob files) is/are on the disc. (And "bup" back-up files of the "ifo" files in case they fail.)

Does your DVD have a selection of vob, ifo and bup files in a VIDEO_TS folder, or has it just got the bare mpg video files?

I don't know if the Sony Picture Browser program "authors" DVDs or not? Would've thought it probably ought to if you ask it nicely.

Otherwise, NeroVision as already recommended, or even better Corel Ulead DVD Movie Factory, do the job very nicely - but cost a few quid (not all that much). I think some versions of Windows Movie Maker free with some versions of Vista now author DVDs too. Don't know what other free programs do...?

Other possible causes are as said the type of DVD-R (or +R, -RW, +RW) - but you've already tried 2, so maybe not that. (I always use Taiyo Yuden DVD-R blanks, but have also used TDK and Verbatim, and never had one fail... yet.) Or the burner, but if it plays on other computers, ought to be OK really. Or the DVD players, but having 3 not compatible would be pretty long odds...

Hope that helps to start.

[jaymac]

before you spend any money try this freebie dvd flick http://www.dvdflick.net/
Add your files to it and inorder to save making a coaster go this route
Go project settings then clcik on burning .Then on the page that opens tick the create iso image button.Click accept then create dvd
Flick will now create disc image that will be the same as a proper dvd video. It uses a burner called imgburn and should ther be any problems it will give you alog of what wenrt wrong .Hopefully if all goes well when its finished you can then open imgburn onits own and burn the Iso image.Matter of choosing write image file to disc and adding the file

[stephcurtis007]

wow guys, just wanted to say a big Thank You for helping me get sorted - much better advice than the local computer shop! I downloaded Nero Vision and have happily now got some great movies of my kids to play back on DVD player.
Thanks!

[Geordie Jester]

guys. not wishing to hijack the thread, but I have sony vegas movie studio and I want to author a DVD. As I don't have platinum or "full" Vegas I don't get the option to make a ac3 file. If I want to render so DVD architect doesnt re-render do I render the movie to a mpeg2 file without audio and a wav file separately ?

.

[redsox_mark]

Yes, that is correct.

[senu]

Originally Posted by Geordie Jester

guys. not wishing to hijack the thread, but I have sony vegas movie studio and I want to author a DVD.
As I don't have platinum or "full" Vegas I don't get the option to make a ac3 file. If I want to render so DVD architect doesnt re-render do I render the movie to a mpeg2 file without audio and a wav file separately ?
.

Or Get Ulead Movie factory for £29.. it does ac3 from your DV AVI, .The trial version is fully working and free ..you have nothing to lose
Even Vegas Platinum version did not have ac3 before ver 8

[Geordie Jester]

cheers guys.