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  1. I am trying to convert all my old home videos to dvds. I bought Dazzle dvd recorder HD which comes with Pinnacle for Dazzle software. It lets me import my videos ok but I have not been able to export them to my computer or make a DVD. The program gets to around 60% and then stops.
    I also have Sony Movie studio so I ended up opening my videos in that program and rendered them to compress the files and then have been able to burn them using Sony DVD Architect but it seems like it's an awful long process.
    Is there some quicker method or better hardware that doesn't cost more then $100?
    One other thing, I started off doing this project on my mac computer. I bought Roxio VHS to DVD but the quality of the videos was either terrible or out of sync so I returned the hardware and bought Dazzle for my PC, which I prefer using.
    I'm not sure where I should post my questions so I thought I'd start here.
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  2. Member hech54's Avatar
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    DVD is MPEG2(video) - no need for anything "HD".
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  3. I'm not really making it HD but I have to compress the file so it will fit on one DVD and Pinnacle hasn't let me do that.
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  4. Your post is somewhat vague.

    Please list very specifically the steps you are taking, the settings you are using, and any error messages.

    Originally Posted by sheryltoo View Post
    have to compress the file so it will fit on one DVD and Pinnacle hasn't let me do that.
    How long is your material? Maybe more than one DVD would make sense. If you don't understand the settings you are using or why, you may want to let Pinnacle (or DVD architect) make those decisions automatically this time around.
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  5. Member hech54's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by sheryltoo View Post
    I'm not really making it HD but I have to compress the file so it will fit on one DVD and Pinnacle hasn't let me do that.
    Are you recording/capturing in HD?
    If so....stop. Like I said....DVD is MPEG2 video. Recording/capturing in anything else is a complete waste of time and the WRONG way to go about it.
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  6. I think I'm learning a little something about the programs I'm using. It looks as though I'm importing, which is the term the software uses for transferring my vhs tape to my computer in mpeg-2 form. The version of Pinnacle which came with the hardware doesn't give me many options so it doesn't look as if there's any way I could change the format if it wasn't importing in the correct format but I think it is.
    I'm trying to keep my movies at 2 hours which makes the file size over the 4gb limit for a single dvd so I thought I had to encode it again before I opened it in DVD Architect but I just tried opening one of my movies saved Pinnacle movies and since it opened, I think I may be able to just compress it without having to first open it in movie studio.
    I don't have a complete imported movie quite yet so I can't try it. I'll get back to you when that's done. Eliminating the encoding in movie studio will help some. I realize this whole process takes times since you have to play through your entire movie first but I think based on what you've been telling me that I've added more work for myself.
    Do you know if different burning software burns your DVD quicker then others? It's been taking between 1- 1 and a half hours to burn a 2 hour movie. Does that sound right?
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  7. You're double compressing your files which is both time consuming and quality destroying. Limiting the length of the clips to what will actually fit on the DVD is the fastest, least destructive way to do this. With high quality DVD blanks less than $1, there's no economic reason to not spread it out.
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  8. And a DVDR holds 4.37GB and not the 4GB you mentioned.
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  9. I was kind of estimating when I said 4gbs. I've actually been able to put 4.5gbs on one DVD.
    Thanks for letting me know I'm double compressing.
    Still haven't tried making a DVD without the added step because I'm still trying to import my 2 hour video.
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  10. It looks as if I figured out how to add my movie file to DVD Architect but I'm not sure how to add two files and then cut out some unwanted parts of my video. I guess that was one of the reasons for going through Sony movie studio first. This is just all so confusing.
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    I had the Dazzle/Pinnacle on my old XP computer and it worked great for capturing. However, I couldn't get Pinnacle to work for editing or making a DVD. I had to drag and drop the captured file into another program (in my case ArcSoft Showbiz) to do the editing and burning.
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  12. Originally Posted by sheryltoo View Post
    It looks as if I figured out how to add my movie file to DVD Architect but I'm not sure how to add two files and then cut out some unwanted parts of my video. I guess that was one of the reasons for going through Sony movie studio first. This is just all so confusing.
    The Dazzle/Pinnacle hides the steps, but here's what you're actually doing:
    Step 1: Capture/ingest your material (Pinnacle hardware, Vegas Software preferred)
    Step 2: Edit/Trim your material (Vegas Movie Studio)
    Step 3: Author your DVD (DVD Architect)
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  13. Thanks for that information smrpix. I wish I could use my Sony Movie studio to capture the video but it keeps giving me a message saying the Pinnacle hardware can't be opened and I need to check to be sure it's not being used with another program. I don't have any other program opened up but it is associated with the Pinnacle software so maybe that's why it won't open in Movie Studio.
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  14. I guess I should be all set with the drivers. I opened the software for Movie Box and was able to locate the dazzle drivers so I image that's all I'd need to use if I ever have to reinstall this.
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