Newbie-DVD format question

[plemal]

Sorry if this is redundant-but I couldn't find this being posted in the forums. I have a question about how I would format (via DVD authoring I assume) to have my DVD of stocktrading lessons accessible in both a PC and Mac version and will there be a problem with the DVD automatically starting to play once inserted into a computer or a DVD drive in either a PC or MAC without some additional front end programming. I'm trying to avoid people having to go into the DVD itself and open up a data file in the version they need. I'd prefer the disk to auto-play based on the type of computer it is being inserted into. The file size for a few of these DVD's is 1.6 GB per format-so I guess twice that for both Quick Time and then Windows Media. I just downloaded DVD Flick and IMG Burn and I hope they work ok for the Authoring. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Paul

[SingSing]

TMPGenc DVDauthor can author DVD as auto start from chapter one.

DVD is neither a PC nor Mac format. PC and Mac hardware/software have to be DVD compatible to play. So far they are.

Therefore a properly produced DVd will play in a DVD player, PC, Mac, and more...

[DB83]

You seem to be suggesting to author a dvd-data disk which is simply a disk with a bunch of data files on it. Imgburn will burn that disk for you.

Neither quicktime or Windows Media Player files are dvd-video compatable without conversion.

A dvd-video disk has to play in both a stand-alone player and a PC/Mac for it to be truly a dvd.

You can do the first but I do not think you could get a loader to recognise which files to load depending on whether the disk is placed in a Mac or a PC unless it can test for the operating system and even that may not be conclusive.

[plemal]

Thanks TMP-so to clarify-you are saying that if it is properly produced in either format the DVD reader will automatically play it in Windows Media Viewer if a PC or quick time if a Mac. Having both on the DVD will not interfere with the ability of the DVD to auto-play when inserted?

Sorry if this sounds amateur but this is all new to me. Thanks for your help and taking time to reply!

Paul

[DB83]

No. I am NOT saying that.

Read my reply again. A dvd-video disk CANNOT play quicktime or Windows media files.

You CAN convert both of these formats into dvd-compliant mpeg2 and use the converted file to make a dvd which can auto-play when inserted. But you only need one of these. The dvd-video disk would not be able to tell whether the original source is quicktime or Windows media.

But there is another type of dvd disk. You CANNOT play these in a stand-alone player only in a computer. Again, in practical terms, you only need one format and the common one to both a PC and a Mac would be quicktime. This type of disk will autorun because it is PC based and controlled by the program which runs the files. I'm sure there are several authoring programs out there that can do this. The best known is macromedia (Adobe)

[plemal]

DB83: "But there is another type of dvd disk." ???What type of disk would that be? Not a regular DVD-R disk? This has been helpful-so it looks like the best way is to go Quicktime....ok sorry for my uninformed questions and I appreciate you taking the time to respond.

Paul

[Krispy Kritter]

You can create a DVD-video disc (like the movies you buy at the store) or a DVD-data disc (like software discs for a computer). Those are the two types.

You are wanting to make a DVD-data disc.

[Richard_G]

You can create a DVD-video disc (like the movies you buy at the store) or a DVD-data disc (like software discs for a computer). Those are the two types.

You are wanting to make a DVD-data disc.

Is he? I would have thought the best way to go would be to create a DVD Video disc. It will then play on a PC, a Mac and a standalone DVD player. Quicktime would be no good on a PC unless it has Quicktime installed (which I don't have).

[Krispy Kritter]

You can create a DVD-video disc (like the movies you buy at the store) or a DVD-data disc (like software discs for a computer). Those are the two types.

You are wanting to make a DVD-data disc.

Is he? I would have thought the best way to go would be to create a DVD Video disc. It will then play on a PC, a Mac and a standalone DVD player. Quicktime would be no good on a PC unless it has Quicktime installed (which I don't have).

The OP never mentions standalone support, only PC/Mac usage.

If you go the DVD-video route, using mpeg2, then the disc won't play unless a mpeg2 codec is installed.

Regardless, there is no right or wrong answer and there are numerous solutions.

[plemal]

Well it sounds like there are a few options, I am just trying to pin down the most universal standard option to avoid fewer problems once my clients get the videos into their hot little hands. So, still a tad confused-but I guess that's the nature of DVD authoring. But, overall I'm 75% less confused-so there is progress. Thanks for your help guys!

Paul

[DB83]

Just a quick question as this may already be over-complicated.

In what format are these 'lessons' in at the moment ?

[plemal]

The current format is .AVI. I recorded it in the Camtasia program-computer screen capture of Powerpoint and my trading platform....thanks

Paul

[DB83]

Yes. The issue has become over-complicated

Forget about quicktime. Forget about windows media. And forget about making a dvd-data disk.

Your goal should now be a dvd-video disk. All sorts of possiblities arise. You can set up a menu system to guide your user to a particular section of the tutorial, have an inter-active arrangement where, again through meunus the user can read what the next tutorial will do and when he is ready play that video before proceeding to the next section or even replaying the last.

The videos that you have captured are not ready for the dvd but depending on the authoring program you chose they could be converted directly by it or you could use a program like super to convert to mpeg2 dvd compliant video.

There are lots of tutorials on this site to guide you and with many of the authoring packages you can get a 30 day trial so not make a mistake in getting the wrong one.

With most authoring tools, they will take you straight to the first menu and the beauty of a dvd-video is that it will play in stand-alone players and PC/Macs with dvd player software. You will not have to worry about that.

Of course you can still take the dvd-data disk route but it will be a much harder task for you.

[Cornucopia]

You could make a DVD-Video disc (authored MPEG2) or DVD data disc (with combined or separate Mac/PC-native elements) or a Hybrid (including all 3). The 3rd option uses lots of real estate which may be too much for your data budget.

Now, if you go the simple DVD-Video disc route, all you have to do is require that users have a DVD player software on either their PC or Mac. If they do, this will include support for MPEG (and AC3) decoding and menu navigation. THis is SEPARATE from either Windows Media Player (which may or may not includ the above support depend upon the install) or Quicktime (which may include support for MPEG2 with the addon, but doesn't include support for AC3 decoding or the DVD menu structure and navigation).

You could put an MPEG1 version on disc. It would be natively supported in ALL installs of WMP and QT. Basically Lowest Common Denominator. Not as efficient a codec as more recent ones, but a good backup and UNIVERSAL.

HTH,
Scott

[plemal]

If anyone can who has any experience with DVD Flick for DVD authoring can explain why after I burned an .AVI data file to a DVD-R disk the DVD would not even play on my computer and when I inserted it into another computer it played the audio but not video. When I open the disk it shows Audio and Video file-maybe this is a disk problem....I should be using a DVD-Video disk. Man, this is so foreign to me.....thanks for any help!

Paul

[DB83]

My only thought is that dvdflick could have a problem with the codecs used by Camtasia to make the avi - I just did a quick 5 minute disk using an XviD codec and there was no problem

Another issue could be the frame size of the video - not sure how dvdflick handles conversions.

There are many, many factors and almost impossible to answer without seeing your files. You should also read up on the tutorials for the program as you could well be over-looking something even tho dvdflick is VERY simple to use.

Why the file does not run in another computer is more easy to explain and again probably not having the correct codecs installed.

I do not have camtasia installed now but from memory I think there is an option afer you record to make the file available for viewing and not rely on the program's in-built viewer. That may explain a lot.

[SingSing]

If anyone can who has any experience with DVD Flick for DVD authoring can explain why after I burned an .AVI data file to a DVD-R disk the DVD would not even play on my computer and when I inserted it into another computer it played the audio but not video. When I open the disk it shows Audio and Video file-maybe this is a disk problem....I should be using a DVD-Video disk. Man, this is so foreign to me.....thanks for any help!Paul

DVD Flick is a simple but at the same time powerful all-in-one DVD Converter and Authoring tool. It can take several video files stored on your computer and turn them into a DVD that will play back on your DVD player, Media Center or Home Cinema Set. Support for WMV, WMA, MPEG2, FLV, 3GP and more in latest 1.2.0+ releases.

DVD flick did not support the avi files you throw in.