DVD Making. Before I start the editing can anybody advise me ?

[stacks]

Hello People,

I wonder if anybody can give me a few pointers as i really dont want do do a lot of work then find out i should have done it another way..

This is my current experience: I used to use windows movie maker to create wmv clips for a website i used to have, I was ok with cutting, transitions and adding titles etc ok.

For my new venture I need to create a DVD to accompany a calendar I am making. .. sorry in advance, some of my questions might sound dum.

I have a mini DV camera, before i put the hours in to the editing can anybody advise me if what i am about to do is not the right way ?

I would edit the most of it in windows movie maker as AVI & get rid of the unwanted footage then, from there look at a program to make the AVI into a DVD. I am assuming i would loose no quality editing it as AVI ?

And would i have any problems getting the edited AVI to dvd ? in what ever program i use when it comes to that ?

Obviously i would like the finished product to be as good in quality as possible so am i right to edit first as avi or is there a better way ?

Another concern is the DVD needs to play in all countries, though i am unsure about this regional business.. ? can i burn my dvd so it pays on all regions / dvd players or can i at least burn different types from the editing i have done.

Would very much appreciate any help, pointers & advice,

Thanks

Floyd

[redwudz]

Burned DVDs don't have regions, unless you add them. But different parts of the world use NTSC and some use PAL or versions of PAL. Most newer PAL DVD players can handle NTSC video, but few NTSC players can deal with PAL video. Burned DVDs are never going to be completely compatible with all areas of the world or even all players. Choosing a good brand of DVD media can help, though. Taiyo Yuden and Verbatim are two popular brands.

Editing is best done in the native format. And DV is a great format to edit with. WMM is a OK editor, but there are many better. If you use WMM, be sure to output in DV, then there should be minimal quality loss, depending on how you edit.

Next is encoding to DVD format, most times MPEG-2, probably with AC3 stereo audio. Many options there. For the DVD format, structure and specifications, look to 'WHAT IS' DVD to the upper left on this page. If you stick to that, you should be fine. HC is a great freeware encoder. Other payware encoders are available in our 'Tools' section to the left.

After encoding you author to the DVD format. GUI for dvdauthor is one freeware choice. Lots of other options also.

Or others can suggest some programs that can do most all of this.

The main suggestions is to do some reading. We have guides for most all these operations and programs. Again to the left.

And welcome to our forums.

[stacks]

Thank you very much Redwudz,

I really appreciate you taking the time to fill me in.

I have saved the information and see i have a lot of reading up to do..

Quick one, the capture in DV-AVI option in my wmm has ( PAL ) in brackets..

Does this then meen it cant be transfered later or in the burn process..?

it also gives me -

bit rate 25.0 Mbps
Display size 720 x 576 pixels
25 frames per secod
and states the format is PAL

Does this quality sound ok to get a good dvd quality after editing ?

I will now go and read the information on "what is dvd" and the other links you have given me on encoding & authoring..

Thanks again

Floyd

[DB83]

Firstly, welcome to the forums.

You should not confuse region encoding (which you will probably will not use) to video standards.

I see you are from the UK (good choice ) so , unless you obtained the camera from overseas, it should have recorded the video in PAL format - the settings you quoted are for full quality PAL so you need not worry any more about those.

As redwudz states, many people will suggest different programs to do the job. Nothing can do it all. You can get a reasonally good basic video editor such as Ulead Video Studio which also very basic dvd authoring. My suggestion then would be to encode your edited video into DVD-compliant mpeg-2 (same video settings as you alread quoted) and the program takes care of it. You then author the dvd from within the program (just basic menus tho)

If you wanted to do more sophisticated menus then there is Ulead DVD Movie Factory.

Both of these programs can be obtained for a free trial for 30 days complete use.

But do look at the tools section as there are also many that do the work at a fraction of the cost of these. Some are even free.

[zoobie]

I think you're on the right track and have the right attitude before starting. A few hours reading will save you several hours of trying to figure out what went wrong. When things do go wrong, it takes all the fun out of the project...not to mention the creativity.
Generally speaking, members here achieve high-quality by using several programs each taylored to a specific task rather than an all-in-one program which usually results in lower quality but higher convenience. For example, I also have Ulead's VS and just for fun, tried it's DVD burner. It worked but the quality suffered compared to separate programs made specifically for burning like imgburn or even deepburner.
Once you've bothered to read up, you'll be on the way to making high-quality impressive DVD's of your very own.
And welcome to the forums...

[tinker]

bit rate 25.0 Mbps
Display size 720 x 576 pixels
25 frames per secod
and states the format is PAL

Does this quality sound ok to get a good dvd quality after editing ?

Floyd

All your specs are for PAL format, except bitrate. For DVD max is 9.8 Mbps for video, more reasonable is between 6-8 Mbps.
No software will do region coding, unless you tell it to do that.
To play DVD on computer, you do not have to worry about PAL or NTSC, it will play.
On stand alone DVD player through TV that will become a problem, it needs right format, unless it is a PAL player.
If you want to make one DVD for PAL and NTSC, than double sided(no dual layer) DVD will work.
You cannot have two formats on one side, that creates a problem.

[redwudz]

Just to clarify, 25MB/S is the standard DV bitrate. When you encode to MPEG-2, then you use a more proper bitrate for that format. As stated, usually ~9MB/S for best quality or about 1 hour of video per single layer disc. For a longer video, you use a lower bitrate. A bitrate calculator will give you the required bitrate for your playing time: https://www.videohelp.com/tools/sections/bitrate-calculators Lower bitrate=Lower quality=Longer playing time, and the reverse is true. A longer video can still be very good quality, but takes a bit more work to get the best results.

Converting PAL DV to NTSC DVD format should be much easier than MPEG PAL>MPEG NTSC conversions, but I haven't done it. I'll let others advise you with that.

[stacks]

Thanks all !

DB83, Very clearly explained thanks, the "the program takes care of it" is just the kind of thing i was hoping to hear ! i will also look at Ulead dvd factory..

Zoobie, i was up your way in March, on a road trip in my chevy beautiful ! thanks, i will have a look at them options too, i'm saving all this post for future reference..

Tinker, it is a releaf too that a 2 sided disk is an option so i will be looking to do that most likley when the time comes

& Thanks again Redwudz..

Now i gota start editing, i'm really not looking forward to this !

Thanks for al the help,

Much Appreciated

Floyd