Newbie:mpeg problems writing from Studio 7

[mad-bax]

I have been reading the How to's on this site for about two months, and got a DVD burner for Christmas, and I have a few questions that I cannot find the answer to. If someone could direct me to the correct article(s) I would be grateful.

The following questions refer to data captured from a DV-camcorder.

1. When I write an mpeg-2 from Studio 7 and try to play it with Windoze media player it freezes after about 13 minutes, and real player crashes completely. However, If I write the DVD (using NeoDVD) the DVD plays perfectly (using powerDVD). I would like to check that the movie is OK b4 writing a disc. Why can't I play a Studio 7 mpeg on my computer?

2. I would like to add a simple front menu with chapters but I only have Pinnacle Express with which to do this and I can only import AVI files into it. If I output an AVI file from Studio 7 is the quality of the movie impaired? Are there any settings that I MUST use?

3. Is there a piece of reasonably priced software with which I can add animated titles (i.e. rolling credits) to my movies?

Please be gentle with me, I am very new to this.

[Hojobey]

I am going to tell you something that I wish somebody had told me about months ago. Pinnacle 7 is a good program for capturing and editing. However, there is something proprietary about pinnacle. For example, Pinnacle will only edit AVI's captured in Pinnacle.

Your problem is that you are rendering in Pinnacle. I used to do the same thing. The problem: you can't view the MPEG in mediaplayer. What's worse, movie factory has major problems with Pinnacle rendered MPEGs. The lesson is that an AVI is not AVI and an MPEG is not an MPEG when it is all done in Pinnacle.

Your solution: Capture and edit in Pinnacle 7. Render your MPEG with TMPGENC or Mainconcept. Now it will work perfectly with Mediaplayer and moviefactory. I have struggled through this and learned the long hard way (which can be the best way to learn.). Express is a very basic (bad) program. If you render with a different program, you can use Ulead's movie factory perfectly (accepts MPEGs and very easy chapter). Movie Factory 2 is even better. Any more questions, please ask. I was exactly where you were!

[falberni]

Hojobey is exactly right. Clips rendered by Studio 7 are not usable in other authoring software. I have tried both MovieFactory and SpruceUp and they don't take Studio 7 rendered files. However, DVD Workshop seems to have no problems with them. I think as Hojobey suggested, you should capture and edit in Studio 7. Then render with TmpgEnc and then you can use any authoring software you like.