My First DVD - My First Question! :-)

[markannab]

I'm using Ulead Videostudio 7 SE. I've captured footage of a wedding & reception from a camera (captured in *.avi format). Trimming, editing, adding of music & titles, etc is completed. It's been great fun. But I now have two questions:

1. CHAPTERS: I've read all over the net about setting up chapters but haven't found out where this feature/tool is. It must be staring me in the face, but I've searched the program for ages with no success. Could someone explain what screen I should be in and where the feature is located? I read one forum where a fellow user of the SE version was asking questions about issues within the Chapters section, so SE definitely has this feature.

2. DVD FORMAT: As a test, I selected about three minutes of the video and attempted to make it ready for DVD. This is what I clicked: Share/Create Video File/PAL DV. (I'm in Australia, so PAL is correct). My question is, does "DV" actually refer to DVD? Did I make the right choice? The reason for my question is that the resulting file, an *.avi, when watched in Windows Media Player, had no sound and the quality just possibly had deteriorated a little.

If a video guru could help me out, I'd much appreciate it! I was asked spur of the moment to film and prepare the wedding video & only have to the end of next week to have it burned to DVD.

Thankyou in advance for any help you give,
Mark.
(P.S. Regarding question 1 (Chapters), please spell it out rather than assume I know the terms that may be familiar to you. Thanks.)

[Baldrick]

Does the old videostudio 7 even support dvd converting and authoring? DV is another format. Check for DVD and nothing else.

[markannab]

Thanks for your reply. I'm not sure. When I use the DV option, it results in an *.avi file. Both *.avi and DV are compatible formats in Nero - the burning software I use. So I'm guessing I can get a good DVD as a result.

What puzzled me is why I had no sound. And, of course, my other question: Where specifically do I specify chapters?

[Baldrick]

You add chapters when you author the DVD with Nerovision.

1. Edit with videostudio, save as DV-AVI.
2. Nerovision will convert it to DVD MPEG Video, author(make menus, chapters) and lastly burn it.

does the captured avi has audio? what audio format are you converting to in videostudio?

[markannab]

Thanks for your help. I've managed to get sound now. Instead of going straight to DV, I've used Custom. This allows me to specify 'video and audio'. That seems to make all the difference. Thanks for the tip on Nero which I'm looking at right now. Much appreciated.
Mark.

[markannab]

Happy conclusion! I've done a test. All works beautifully on the DVD player - complete with animated chapters, background music, etc. Thanks!

[pepegot1]

Upgrade to VS 10. It is more than worth the while. VS 7 is a child compared to VS 10.