DV files to Mpeg2 files - problems encoding and authoring

[fuzzyjon]

Hi everyone

I'm having real trouble with a DVD that I'm trying to put together and any help would be much appreciated.

Here we go....
I have 60-odd .DV files of varying sizes (some over 1gb in size) which need to be converted into mpeg2 files. When I use the IMToo converter software I am able to get the files into mpeg2 but no matter what conversion specifications I use I always seem to get a strange shadow down the left hand size of the mpeg file.

The software I'm using the author the DVD is Sonic DVDIt v5 (I've also tried v6). If I try to import and encode the .DV files from within this I eventually hit the problem of my computer running out of power even though we are using a new powerful Dell machine.

So, my questions are:

1) Does anyone know why I'm getting the shadow effect in IMToo?
2) Is there a better way to convert .DV to mpeg2?
3) Does anyone know of any reputable DVD authoring companies / individuals out there who would be able to do this for us (obviously for payment!)

Thanks for your help.

A very stressed Jon!!

[guns1inger]

If you are willing to pay, and have a lot of this type of conversion, you may be better off in the long run buying a DVD Recorder with DV/Firewire input, and doing it yourself.

Otherwise, get a good encoder - ProCoder Xpress would be a good starting point, instead of an all-in-one toy to convert with.

[redwudz]

If you really want to use a all-in-one, which I wouldn't recommend for the best quality and control, try ConvertXToDVD. ImToo doesn't have a very good reputation around here.

But better, as guns1inger mentioned, is a standalone encoder. Then you are able to adjust for quality and size of the finished product. Once you have your settings figured out, you can do the encoding and set it basically the same for all the DVs. If you take their total running time and use a bitrate calculator, you can see how much DVD space you need and adjust the bitrate,size and quality of the encoded videos to fit the DVD. During the authoring step to the DVD format you can join the videos together as wanted or make separate chapters.

Or you can go with the DVD recorder method, which is quite a bit easier, but you may not have much control, depending on the DVD recorder.