Help burning Pinnacle project to DVD...mpg, converting, etc.

[jubbilee]

Okay. I'm embarrassingly new at this. I've created a 1hr40min movie clip/slideshow etc project in Pinnacle Studio12 Plus. It has been saved as an mpeg-2 (I am unable to burn to dvd directly from Pinnacle-it doesn't allow for the amount of time/size that my project is, I believe?).

Anyway, if I use something like ImgBurn or Nero to burn my .mpg file to DVD, do I need to convert it to something else first before doing that?

I'm so confused about rendering, authoring, etc.

Also, when I did try to burn directly through Pinnacle, it recorded about 10 minutes and my menu/chapter options didn't work.

Sorry if I seem a bit all over the place. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

[OldMan64]

I gave up on Pinnacle long ago, so I cannot comment on how to get that software to finish the project. The best part of the post seems to be that is was saved in mpeg-2 format. Lets start with that and ask if that will play in VLC and look as expected. If VLC can play the saved file and it looks to you as it was expected to look, then it can be put to DVD, even if it is too big for a single layer DVD. If it is not too big ImgBurn can only burn it if it was made DVD complaint. Nero probably can do it, but that is payware, and many here do not recommend it. I would give DVDFlick (free) as try, as it can take the mpeg-2 file and author that into a playable DVD, even if it was too large before to fit on a SL DVD. Quality is good and it will/can make a basic usable menu.

[tmelo38]

Drag your mpeg file to the storyboard, insert fades/effects if needed.
Click tab3 (on top), select "Disc" on top left corner, select "Automatic Quality", click "Create Disc" (make sure blank disc is in drive).

Hope this is what you need to know.

Also, do you have the latest updates for Pinnacle 12?

[ranchhand]

If you have that large a file, you may need a dual-layer disk; I am not sure that vs 12 will burn dual-layer. At the least it should give you a warning if your file is too large for a single DVD. However, if you can't see any options in the burn screen, and Pinnacle is warning you that the file is too large, you may be up a creek minus a paddle. You might investigate if vs12 will allow you to make a file instead of a direct burn; in that case you can see if another program will burn it to a DL. If your file is a simple mpeg, give Freemake Video Converter a try. I burn dual-layers in Freemake and it does a good job. It's free. Another one to try is ConvertX to DVD.