What are the MUST HAVE'S for creating your own DVD's?

[RB4580]

I don't know if this is the right forum for this question but my question is what's the best way to get started creating your DVD's from scratch, what's the checklist? I currently have in software Vegas 5.0, DVD Architect, and Adobe Premier 7.0 just sitting around.

1. Good MiniDV Camcorder
2. ?
3. ?
4. ?

I'm basically wanting to know what's in your bag of goodies sitting on your desktop? Thanks for helping a beginner

[fmctm1sw]

If your doing mini DV, you need something like windv. You need a conversion program like cce. Then an authoring app (I'm still weeding out the ones I am interested in), and a burning app. But it sounds like you already have most if not all of the software you need. Got money burning a hole in your pocket? I can give you my paypal address...

[edDV]

I don't know if this is the right forum for this question but my question is what's the best way to get started creating your DVD's from scratch, what's the checklist? I currently have in software Vegas 5.0, DVD Architect, and Adobe Premier 7.0 just sitting around.

1. Good MiniDV Camcorder
2. ?
3. ?
4. ?

I'm basically wanting to know what's in your bag of goodies sitting on your desktop? Thanks for helping a beginner

Just sitting around?

2. Vegas 5 or Pinnacle 7 (pro) - I prefer Vegas these days.
3. DVD Architect
4. Done

[redwudz]

Just my 2 cents from the low end: For DV to DVD:

WinDV for transfers to the computer.

VirtualDubMod for filtering and simple editing.

Gotta bite the bullet for the encoder and authoring program: Quality counts,IMO:

I like TMPGEnc and TMPGEnc DVD Author. There are other similar programs.

Nero or TMPGEnc DVD Author to burn.

The encoder and Authoring program are pay programs and well worth it. IMO. The others are freeware.

There are a bunch of all in ones, some with a hefty price. Also some very good programs that do just editing and maybe authoring.

You really need to decide exactly what you need to do, and the quality/time you want to spend to decide on your final software. Sony Vegas for one is excellent for a price. But look around a little. Doesn't cost a penny.

[joecav]

Well I use Vegas 5 and DVD Architect alot to do my VHS transfers of football games....here's what I do in a nutshell

I use the capture utility in Vegas to transfer over the analog video.
I use Vegas to trim out the commercials.
Use the calculator here to determine bitrate.
I encode the AVI to MPEG2 using Vegas again. Use the DVD Architect template included for the video only portion.
Then I encode the Audio to AC-3.
I use DVD-Arch to create my menu and ultimately the DVD itself.

Like I said, I use these products extensively so if you have questions you can PM me or whatever. It really is easy. The longest part is the transfer of the video...