seeking advice for dvd creator...

[daverose808]

hi. i did a search for ppls opinions, and since new things are coming out / being improved everyday, i was hoping ppl could help me choose which dvd creator to buy with the following things in mind:

* most importantly, i really dont want anything that crashes or that is buggy. i would rather sacrifice amazing features for stability. i have a dell 5160 laptop winxp home sp2.

* i would like to make nice looking chapters and menus.

* it would be great if it also has an edititing program at least as good as pinnacle studio 7, which is the version i currently use. if the best dvd creator for me though doesnt have an editor thats ok, im sure, bc i can always create a dvd-quality mpeg with studio 7.

* i really dont want to be paying much more than 100 bucks.

having read so many threads here with so many negative opinions about programs, i am very nervous to start buying without advice. pc magazine says the newest nero is the best, but many guys here strongly disagreed. so i really do appreciate any advice u can give me.

[reboot]

DVDLab Pro.
Slightly over your $100, but (IMHO) worth every penny.

[daverose808]

thank you very much for your advice... have the "bugs" that ppl complain about in their reviews here been fixed? or, in your opinion, even with the bugs, its still better than the competition?
bc 200 bucks is a lot of moolah!
thanks again.

[daverose808]

did some more research on dvdlab pro and it has way too many features that i dont need... i dont mind a complex program for editing my movies, but i dont need such an advanced prog for making the dvd...
just need some nice menus and chapters and reliability.

my dell came with sonic mydvd preloaded... it must be the trial version bc it doesnt let u use all the features (like chapters), and worse, it doesnt really like fast forwarding the finished movie on a dvd player...

so any other suggestions please?

[reboot]

DVDlab regular then.
If you don't need the special effects, and multiple VTS, the regular one will suit you just fine. $99
Use it (fully functional, not a crippled demo) free for 30 days.
(I have guides too, if you hadn't noticed )

[dvd3500]

too many features that i dont need

You say that today dude... just wait...

[reboot]

Good point. I was satisfied with DL for about a week, and got DLP.

[daverose808]

here is something else to consider, if u would be so kind...

i also record my class lectures with a microphone attached to my laptop and currently use roxio sound editor which came with my old roxio burning suite easy cd and dvd creator 6. (i wont use the dvd creator obviously bc from what i was told it doesnt shrink the dvd small enough or something so u cant have long movies with it or something - i really bought it before i even had a dvd burner and just got it for the regular cd burning and audio capture tool).
would u recommend i upgrade to the newest roxio model bc i already paid for this one, or is the difference in price not even worth it, if its not even such a good program in the first place.

bc i definitly need to have a microphone capturing tool on my pc and if the upgrade is not a good idea, is there another dvd burning tool that also captures sound via microphone for over 2 hours at a time without crashing?

[reboot]

Audio capture is completely different than dvd authoring.
If the program you have works, why change?
Try a new post in the Audio forum maybe.
FYI, DVDLab can also burn.

[daverose808]

well, it works, but why have two progs running 90% of the same thing? if i can find one really good dvd making tool which also captures audio from a mic really well, i wont need to keep roxio 6 hogging my resources and space...

lastly, why did u mention dvdlab can also burn? did u mean it can also capture audio thru a mic? or were u saying something else i dont understand?

[reboot]

Don't get confused here.
You need a program that will capture audio. You're using Roxio something to do this. I'm sure there are other ways, but this is a different topic.

You were asking if there was another "dvd burning tool that also captures sound...".
The answer is no. DVD burning tools burn dvds, they do not capture sound. The exception is your Roxio suite, which is actually multiple programs, all working together, to create the illusion of one program doing it all. This is why it takes up so much of your resources.
What you need, is something like Windows sound recorder. Free, built in to windows, and able to record anything coming in through the sound card, by microphone, or other audio source, and save it on your hard drive. This will work perfectly for recording ONLY voice, and no need for Roxio anything.
Another application that can capture audio is virtualdub (also free). It will capture video as well, and create a nice .avi if needed.

DVDLab is strictly a DVD authoring application, with a plugin that allows you to burn the finished compilation to dvdr. It has nothing to do with capturing audio, and/or video.

You could use almost all freeware to do what you need, and remove Roxio completely.

[daverose808]

thank you very much for clearing all that up. i didnt know that virtual dub captures audio, and i appreciate that tip. as for windows sound recorder, if u are referring to the one that comes as part of xp in accessories, that only lasts for apprx 30 seconds or something small like that...
unless there is another free program with that name that i am not aware of...
appreciate everything again!

[reboot]

Um...30 second limit? Never heard of it. It may have to do with your hard drive size, or if you haven't got much free space left.
Virtualdub does need a capture device attached to work.
I still strongly suggest this as the best free one: http://www.freecorder.com/?AID=9885561&PID=1448936&SID=free

[daverose808]

60 seconds, not 30...
check it out... winxp ... windows sound recorder only lasts 60 seconds max per recording.... i have a new laptop with plenty of gigs to spare so its not that... open yours up and u will see...
but i really appreciate those plug in links. im going to see how that works right now, thanks so much

[daverose808]

additionally freerecorder only lets u record 30 minutes at a time unless u buy it. i dont have a problem paying for products i use, i just wanted to clarify that for anyone who may read this thread and think it is fully functional as "freeware".
but i do appreciate u thinking of ways for me to get rid of roxio...
thank you very much.

[gsh]

60 seconds, not 30...
check it out... winxp ... windows sound recorder only lasts 60 seconds max per recording.... i have a new laptop with plenty of gigs to spare so its not that... open yours up and u will see...
but i really appreciate those plug in links. im going to see how that works right now, thanks so much

You can change the length of the recording by making a new "BLANK.wav" file and have Sound Recorder link to that as the base file.
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;82215
While this relates to 98/ME, I'm sure the same steps can be taken in XP.

[daverose808]

gsh, very interesting link, and thank you. but the website says,

"To increase the maximum recording time in Sound Recorder, click Insert File on the Edit menu, and then insert the Blank.wav file that you saved in step 3. When you do this, the maximum recording time is increased by 60 seconds. You can repeat this step once for each additional minute of recording time that you want to add. For example, for a 5-minute recording time, insert the Blank.wav file five times"

and i will be recording lectures that run for over 2 hours, so i dont want to keep repeating that process so many times... so i bought a simple recorder for 12 bucks (total recorder) which if anyone is searching for one, i now recommend.

as for the dvd maker, until i receive some more advice, im going to hold off on dvd lab... i read too many negative reviews to buy it based on one person's advice. hope i will see more feedback here soon.
thanks to both of you again.

[gsh]

Well, the way I did it was to add it 5 times, save that file, add the 5 minute file twice and save, then add the 10 minute file 6 times to make an hour blank wav. You only have to do it the once to make the file the size you want, then each time Sound Recorder opens the recording time will be the new long file. However, for $12 total recorder sounds like a good deal.
BTW, I use DVDLAB (regular and PRO) and am very happy with the results I get. However, I use Adobe Premiere for more advanced motion menus (fades etc), then import the files to DVDLab for authoring.

[reboot]

Admittedly, DVDLab is a work in progress. The new version 1.3.2 is quite good, and a definite improvement over 1.3.1.
I still think that DVDLab Pro will serve you well, for years probably, and is far more stable and reliable than 1.3.1.