DVD To Video Editing

[TylerVlasak]

So I have multiple DVD's that of my football season which I need to combine into one DVD and create a menu on this DVD so I am able to select which chapter to go to.

I have 3 individual game DVD's which I am going to put on there as well as one highlight video also on a seperate DVD. I need a program and possibly step by step instructions on how I can bring the videos from the DVD's. I have a Nero program where I can bring them together and be able to burn them, but I mostly need to be able to create a menu. Any help would be appreciated, thanks!

[guns1inger]

Step one : repeat after me - "I will never use Nero to author. I will only use it to burn my DVD video if I am unable to use Imgburn 2"

OK, got that out of the way.

Next : some questions for you

1. Are these full length games ?
2. Are you planning to edit these down in size (substantially)
3. How important is quality to you ?
4. How much effort do you want to put into this project ?

[TylerVlasak]

haha alright. sounds good. and the quality is pretty important because I am sending it out to colleges. and yes, these are full length games which I need to send out to the colleges and i'm hoping to be able to get it done rather quickly so I can send the packages out. I have all the full length games on DVD's already as well as the highlight tape, but I just want to put them all on one disc so I don't have to send out three or four discs in every package. I am pretty sure I can get the DVD's burnt as it is, but i need a way to put a menu on there to be able to jump from chapter to chapter.

[guns1inger]

Not going to happen.

At full DVD resolution, you can get 2 hours of good quality material on a single layer disc, and 4 on a DL disc (be aware that DL discs still have compatibility issues in a lot of players). Getting three full games in a single layer disc will require re-encoding to VCD resolution and bitrates, which will give you sub-VHS quality, especially during action scenes (you know, like a you get in a football game).

Going to DL will get you closer, but you will still have to re-encode at a lower bitrate, and you will lose quality.

If I was going to attempt this, I would

1. Rip all three discs to my HDD, demuxing to video and audio streams at the same time. DVD Decrypter can do this.

2. Create a new DVD using Tmgenc DVD Author (it's cheap and simple for beginners), with one title for each game. GUIforDVDAuthor is a free alternative.

3. Compile the DVD as an oversized DVD.

4. Use DVD Rebuilder to re-encode the DVD to a size suitable for a single disc, using the HCEnc encoder (good for low bitrates), and test view to see how ugly it looks.

However realistically, I don't believe you can fit that amount of video on single disc and maintain any decent quality.

Perhaps doable as a double Dual Layer disc set. Disc 1 gets the highlight reel and a game (keep the highlights reel up front), disc 2 gets the other two games. Same principles as above for process, but much higher quality outcome. Can also be mailed out in a single, double disc slipcase.

Edit : Just noticed your computer specs. If these are accurate, then allow a few days for encoding.

[TylerVlasak]

Well I could cut one game out and use the 2.5 minute highlight video and two other games, which are a half hour to about 45 minutes each, I was just hoping to fit three. So if I were to just use two games and the highlight video, and have no issues with size, how would I go about making a menu, or would the burning software make the menu automatically for me?

[guns1inger]

What is the total running time of all three games and the highlights reel ? If the game discs are only 30 - 45 minutes each you may still be able to do a single disc.

[TylerVlasak]

I tried fitting all 3 and the highlight onto it and it was a little bit over, so with some clipping i should be able to fit it on, but i think i might just go with the two games and the highlight. I'm guessing it is a total of an hour and a half or so for the two games and the highlight. And I can set it all up on Nero to burn, but the issue is that i dont know if it will set up a menu so i can access them through a dvd player or if it will just play them like a VHS would.

[guns1inger]

OK - new plan. Assuming the total running time is under 120 minutes, you could do the following.

1. Copy the Video_TS folder from each DVD to your HDD.

2. Install the demo version of Tmpgenc DVD Author.

3. Use the Add Video function in TDA to import each of your game videos and the highlights reel as separate titles

4. Create/modify menus and compile to your HDD

5. Use DVD Rebuilder with HCEnc (all free) to re-encode to fit a single disc if required

[TylerVlasak]

thanks, that helped a lot...i actually am burning the DVD right now. Thanks again!