Creating a dvd from a mpg file extension

[DPATTERSON23]

I am trying to create a dvd from captured tv video. Basically the same as I did wth a vcr.
I have a External tv tuner
PX-TV100U Plextor. It records to a file on my hard drive as a mpg file extension.
Previously I did create a dvd with the ext of mpg and it worked fine. For the life of me I cannot remember how I did it!!! I have two programs that supposedly will create a dvd. Video Stiudio 8 and Nero 6. All I want to do is burn a dvd from files that are created by PX-JTV100U tv tuner directly to a dvd. Do I HAVE to author these files? Video Studio 8 takes forever. So does Nero 6. If there is a simple way to do this I would be very happy to learn it. I have downloaded a dozen
free programs none of which work and one of them eat my entire mpg file of 6.5 gb. Completely wiped it out. This is driving me crazy. Isn't there ONE program that will capture a pre existing file with a mpg extension and BURN it to a DVD????
Any help will be greatly appreciated. Please spell it out 1.2.3 for a complete novice with no knowledge what so ever about video creation. Thank you. dpatterson23

[jimmalenko]

If you want your creation playable on the majority of DVD players, then there's no getting around the Authoring step. Authoring takes a DVD-compliant MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 file and converts it into IFO, BUP and VOB files. Now there might be a number of apps which advertise the ability to capture as well as spit out a DVD structure, but my experience has been such that you would be better off using the best capturing app you can, and then using the best authoring app you can.

There's a couple of free authoring apps that are well-regarded here, including DVDAuthorGUI - check the Tools section to your left for more.

One tool that I have liked the look of that isn't free is NeoDVD - it has limited abilities for quick n dirty capture and author on the fly. YMMV.

[redwudz]

First you need to know the specifications of the DVD format. Your MPEG-2 video and audio have to be DVD compliant. For the DVD specifications see 'WHAT IS' DVD to the upper left. Some DVD players will play just a MPEG file by itself, but most won't. You need to use a authoring program to make them into a format any DVD player will accept.

If your files are DVD compliant, then you just need to author them and burn them. You can use the freeware GUI for dvdauthor or DVDAuthorgui. For easy, TMPGEnc DVD Author is a good choice for a payware program.

It's about as simple as that. If you want really simple and your files aren't presently DVD compliant, or you don't want to figure out the authoring programs, try ConvertXToDVD or the older freeware DivxToDVD. They will take most video formats and convert them to a DVD file, ready to burn.

[DPATTERSON23]

Hello redwudz,
I want to thank you for your suggestion to look at
xConvertxtodvd. I just used it and it works perfectly.
Not only does it convert the files to dvd format , it compress's
them to a single dvd+r disc AND burns it in less than 8 minutes.
What a great program. It was EXACTLY what I was looking for.
I can now dump all the video programs and have only one.
You have no idea how happy this makes me. Finally after
fiddleing around with this and that and a little bit that, I finally get to do exactly what I want to do.
THANK YOU!
Dave Patterson
dpatterson23@wi.rr.com

[yoda313]

FYI there is a chance your dvd player may be able to read a normal mpg file off a dvdr without authoring. It would be in FILE MODE and it would just play it without menus. That might save you time if its a show you want to watch right away without authoring then burning - you just burn the file and pop it in.

You could do a test run with a rewritable disc (make sure its a rewritable that your player can read - some may like +rw more than -rw and vice versa). Burn the mpg file to the rewritable and stick in your dvd player. It might work. Testing it could be worth while for shows you want to watch more quickly.

Now you'll still want to author the mpg file to dvd and burn a final dvd for later playback on other dvd players of course. But this might work for you if your player has file mode playback cability.

[DPATTERSON23]

Thanks Yoda313,
I wiill try this and see what happens. I think tht is what I did when I got a dvd with the mpg extension. It would play fine on the computer and with Nero Showtime but would not play on other dvd players.
Appreciate the help.
dpatterson23