DVD creation Tools - Video vs Slide Show

[vwcrusher]

This may be obvious to most, but unfortunately not to me, not yet.

My goal is to create both videos (from old VHS) and slide shows (from jpg stills). I am trying to find one application that can do both: 1) easily, as I am clearly a newbie, 2) with high quality output (why do it if the results are dissappointing), and 3) within a budget.

It seems that there really isn't one application (tool) that can accomplish both....please correct me if I am wrong.

Assuming that there isn't, I have researched and demo's several slide show packages (Memories on TV and Video Factory 2, plus the application that came with the Sony Vaio desktop). Frankly, none of these has worked.....probably pilot error.

Can anyone suggest a tool (or several tools) that a newbie won't get instantly frustrated by, but generates acceptable results?

Just for the record the DVD player is a Sony S530D - I bought a bunch of memorex DVD+Rs, which according to the survey should work just fine.

Much thanks in advance,
Allen

[Holden]

I've only been at this for two months, but I've learned a few things that might help.

- The free DV capture utilities work OK. I'm talking about WinDV and DVIO. DVIO produced a flawed AVI file one time, so I stay away from that one.

- Sonic MyDVD (Authoring) is very easy to use but seems to always transcode video and lower quality. I gave up on it.

- TMPGEnc (Encoding) works well. Use the NTSC-DVD wizard and you'll get good MPEG2 files.

- DVDLab (Authoring) works well, but is not necessarilt easy. If you've used a pane-based programming IDE, you should be up and running in no time, but otherwise, plan on doing some studying. DVDLab won't transcode or re-encode the MPEGs.

In general, be prepared for a lot of frustrating moments. There are a thousand ways to do each step of the process. Just keep plugging away and keep a log of what works and what doesn't so you don't forget anything. (FYI: It has taken me two months to produce a good DVD of home movies. So many failures along the way....)

Good luck!

Greg

[vwcrusher]

Greg,

Thanks for the reply....unfortunately, most of what you suggested or mentioned I have never heard of!

WOw, there is a lot to learn....where do you start?
I thought starting with slide shows (since they are simpler?) would be the way to go......

Allen

[MOVIEGEEK]

I recommend Ulead DVD MovieFactory.
I had MyDVD(bundled with my Sony) and used it a few times but I didn't like it because it only outputs to LPCM audio(uncompressed) and only had three quality settings.

[Holden]

vwcrusher: There's four steps to get video tape to DVD:

1) Capturing from the tape onto your PC.
2) Encoding the captured video into MPEG2 format.
3) Authoring the DVD. (This is where you build menus, add MPEG files and create a DVD file structure for burning).
4) Burning the DVD. (I've had much better luck using ImgTool Classic to create an ISO image file from the DVD file structure and then DVDDecrypter for burning the image onto DVD than letting authoring programs do the burning.)

General recommendations:

- Use DVD-/+RW's until you are absolutely sure your final product is up to snuff.
- Read these forums and look at the problems other people are having. You'll learn a lot from the answers they get.
- Don't settle for DVDs that look worse than the source tape. It's very easy to make crappy looking DVDs, but somehow, there's a way to make it as good as the source tape.
- Try the demo software available, and give them each a chance and some of your effort before giving up on them.

Greg

[vwcrusher]

Greg,

Thanks for the menu. Since I am going to start with a slide show on DVD (which I hope is easier than jumping straight to videos), I will choose an edit/creation tool.

Then, encode with the Pegasus TMPgenc tool, and then author with the TMPgenc DVD author tool?

Finally burn with an additional application? Wow, can you possibly point me to tools/applications that produce high quality results, but are still good for rank newbies?

Allen

[Holden]

Wow, can you possibly point me to tools/applications that produce high quality results, but are still good for rank newbies?

No.

You're just going to have to experiment and find your own solution. My newbie impression is that 20% of the software tools out there are crap (unfortunately for you, most of the "easy to use" software is probably in this category) and the other 80% can produce quality results as long as you can configure them (and your PC) correctly and use the correct settings.

I'd start with the freeware and then try the demo's. Once you get something working, buy it and keep using it.

FYI: I ended up using a Datavideo DAC-100 converter, WinDV for capture, TMPGEnc for encoding, DVDLab for authoring, ImgTool Classic for DVD image creation and DVD Decrypter for DVD Burning.

Greg