Write to DVD-RAM in VRO format to play on Panasonic DMR-E50

[Surg]

Hi All,

I have a problem I hope someone can help me with. I have searched for a few weeks trying to find a solution to this but have not had any luck. Here's a bit of background info which may help...

I have a Panasonic DMR-E50 Recorder under my TV which records/plays DVD-RAM. When it formats the RAM disc, it creates a DVD_RTAV folder with the following files in this folder.

VR_MANGR.BUP
VR_MANGR.IFO
VR_MOVIE.VRO

From what I can gather, the VRO file contains the video and sound and the other two files contain info about the recording.

In my PC I have an LG 4040B DVD Burner with the latest firmware.

My problem is this...

I have some video on my PC that I would like to record to the DVD-RAM disc so that I can play it back on the DMR-E50. Now I am very new to DVD recording (hence this post!) so please point out to me where I am going wrong even if it seems obvious!

I have tried converting avi files into mpg using a number of avi to dvd style tools. Then I have tried burning these to the RAM disc but whenever I try to play them on the DMR-E50 it tells me the disc will need formatting. This happens if I just put the basic mpg file straight on the disc, or even if I convert it into .vob files under the VIDEO_TS folder. I then read that you can just rename a .vro file to a .mpg file so I tried doing the opposite and writing that to the disc using the DVD_RTAV folder format but again my DMR-E50 said it was an unformatted disc.

I then read that Ulead Media Studio suported writing video to DVD-RAM using the proper DVD_RTAV folder format, but when I tried this (following the walkthrough on the Ulead website) with any .mpg file it would throw up an error.

Unfortunately, I'm unable to get the exact error message as I'm in work at the moment but if anyone feels it may help to know it then let me know and I'll post it a bit later!

This is now as far as I've got and I'm getting very frustrated. I'm sure there must be a way to do this so I can watch the video on my PC down on my TV. Oh and by the way, the DMR-E50 manual says it wont read DVD+ or -RW so this is not an option unfortunately, and as I just want to watch the video for a short period of time, I don't really want to waist money using DVD-R's.

I appreciate any help you might be able to give me!

[markjj]

Surg. I never found a solution to this either with my E50 but I imagine there are forum members out there who do know how to do it.

My workaround (if you can call it that) was to buy a second (multi-region) dvd player for under the tv which reads dvd-r/w etc. At £35 from Richer Sounds it was a steal. I use the pc to write to a dvd-rw and just use the cheap dvd player to read it.

May be I'm paranoid but I don't like the idea of using the E50 as a player, the theory being that I'll wear it out much quicker and it's a damn sight more expensive to repair/replace than a cheap player! One other thing - you need an understanding wife to allow all that a/v gear in the lounge

[Roll Tide]

https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=194288&highlight=

Check out this thread. I asked the same question a couple of months ago and someone helped me out. I hope this helps you.

[elkfir]

Supposedly Ulead MovieFactory 3 Disc Creator can do this as well:

http://www.ulead.com/dmf/features.htm

Haven't tried it myself. Maybe you'll get the same error you get with Media Studio.

[CaptainKrunch]

MTVmagen is the easy way to go from mpeg2 to the Panny recorder or Ram player. To see the progam in English right click on top and select English. This program creates mtv file required for importing to panny's Movie album program which writes to the dvd-ram in about 25 minutes for a two hour movie.
At first I would get an error trying to import to MA but after making a few changes It imports every time.
The mpeg encode needs to have audio at 224 and 704X480. You can do 720X480 but I it may give you an error in some cases. I have not checked it out that well. When encoding create elementry files and mux with TMpeg tools for the mpeg input to MTVMAgen.
There are some very good reasons for going from the PC to the Ram player.
Have your Mom or Kids buy a Panny S35 or above DVD player for $100 and Rewrite each new movie to the same disk. Other setop players are also able to play Ram.
You can also use Ram to check out movie before burning to DVD-R.