one step transfer DV to DVD with time and date as subtitile

[safaje]

Hi..
Is there a single software that I can use to Directly transfer DV to DVD with the date and time as subtitles (not permanent stamp)
I am looking for a simple one step method... i don't want to use 2 or 3 different softwares.... even if it means buying a shareware.. as long as its simple, the quality is perfect, and i have options of PAL/NTSC, different aspect ratios, and using the date and time as optional subtitles

thanks
Safa

[guns1inger]

No.

[safaje]

1.I transfered the DV to My PC using windows movie maker and saved it as AVI
2. I extracted the date and time using DvDate and saved that as a SRT file to use to produce subtitles in the DVD
3. I tried to use DVDAuthorGUI to create the DVD with the subtitles... however I realized that the AVI file is not recognized....

so what should I do?? Please give me clear steps up to the point of finalizing the dvd to play on any TV

Thanks!
Safa

[guns1inger]

Encode the AVI to DVD compliant mpeg-2 video with DVD compliant audio.

This can be done either by encoding the streams separately (recommended) using HCEnc for video and Aften for AC3 audio, or by using a front-end to these tools. I like FAVC, which will produce a compliant DVD structure, including subtitles if you wish. However it can only produce simple menus at this stage. If you don't need a menu then FAVC is an excellent solution.

That said, you can still use FAVC, then bring the VOBs it creates into GUIForDVDAuthor for re-authoring with your own menus.

[safaje]

I don't need to do any editing to the DVD or add any menus... all i need is to add the optional subtitles... so will FAVC be enough to just add the subtitles?

I was hoping to keep the format to avi untill i burn it to DVD

[safaje]

I installed FAVC and am trying to use it... however I couldn't figure out how to attach the srt file for the subtitles or how to select the correct aspect ratio..
would you kindly help me with that?

Thanks a lot
Safa

[safaje]

Ok.. I did attach the srt file created by DvDate
I tried this on a short 3 minute video and saved it to my computer...
i tried playing vof file using windows media player with the subtitles turned on... however i did not see any subtitles...

please help me out... all i need to do is have the option of viewing the date and time..

thanks
Safa

[guns1inger]

FAVC will sort out the aspect ratio itself. The subtitles should be added on the DVD Options tab. If they are correctly formatted SRT subs then they should get authored in. Make sure they have the same name as the video e.g.

movie 1.avi
movie 1.srt

Don't use Windows Media Player to test, especially for something like subtitles. Use VLC or MPC. Also, don't play the VOB, load from the IFO files.

[safaje]

I will try the subtitles one more try... I think the name was not exact...
however the video was in 16:9 and the FAVC sees it as 4:3

[guns1inger]

FAVC may not be seeing the DV AVI 16:9 flag. Unfortunately a lot of software doesn't. You can still use FAVC, but then alter the flags in the IFO files later. This might be enough to get it to play correctly. Get the subs working first, and we can fix the aspect ratio afterwards.

[safaje]

ok the subtitles are still not showing!!
I tested the saved dvd before buning... opened it using windows media player and using media player classic... and they both had the subtitles to on but nothing showed on the screen!!

and the aspect ratio was 4:3 instead of the original 16:9

[guns1inger]

You can also try DVD Flick (free) or ConvertXtoDVD (not free) and see if it helps.

[safaje]

but why haven't the subtitles been added by FAVC? I am sure i did it all correctly!! I even opened the srt file in Subtitle creator that comes within FAVC just to check if its compatible and it was...

[guns1inger]

I'm not sitting at your PC, so it is hard to tell. When you open the file in Media Player Classic, you should be able to right-click on the video while it plays, and scroll down the menu to the Subtitle option. If you do this, are any subtitles listed ?

[safaje]

no... the subtitles cannot be selected to be turned on... thus i assumed they are not available
I even tested with a DVD movie i have and the subtitles were displayed properly...

[safaje]

Ok... I just tried playing the files using VLC and now i have the option of playing the subtitles! so i guess it was a fault in my MPC

I tried using DVD Flick... its nice to be able to choose the location of the subtitles... however i couldn't even make a menu so i didn't like that...
I will try ConvertXtoDVD now and see if i like the results...

for the time being... would you mind helping me figure out how to manually set the aspect ratio in FAVC?

Many Thanks!!!
Safa

[guns1inger]

Once FAVC is finished, open IFOEdit, then open the VTS_01_0.ifo file. Under titleset 01 you should see the video section. Double-click on this to open a dialogue with several settings in it. One of these is the aspect ratio. Tick the 16:9 box. Save the new IFO files, then test to see if it plays with the correct AR.

[safaje]

So I will have to install IFOEdit? cause its not part of the programmes included with FAVC

[safaje]

I noticed that the subtitles kept flickering... if thats the correct term... its the date and time... I thought it would look like a clock and only the numbers will change.... but i noticed the whole thing sort of blinking....

the subtitles were extracted from the avi file using DvDatecode (when i used DvDate the produced srt file is not readable)

this flickering was visible in both FAVC and DVD Flick

[safaje]

thanks guns1inger you really tought me a lot in such a short time

I just need a little more help and some pointers...

what do you think of my procedure...
1. I can transfer the video using windows movie maker and keep it as avi... I couldn't figure out the settings in WinDV... is the qualty still the same? or should i use WinDV?

2. I create the subtitles using DvDatecode... I feel it takes too long... should I keep using it or would you recommend another software? It will have to be compatible with both Pal and NTSC as I use both.

3. to convert the avi to dvd and add the subtitles...
I like the simplicity of FAVC however, I will need to figure out how to change the aspect ratio and how to change the position of the subtitles (i need it to be in the lower right)
I tried ConvertXtoDVD and like the fancy menu's though I still need to learn how to use that...

Is there any difference in the video quality between the two?

also Is there any other software that you would recommend that will provide better quality or more features (yet not too complicated)

right now I am not very interested in editing the video's but even if i did i believe I will look for something that will keep the result in avi format if possible to conserve the quality...

Thanks alot
Safa

[guns1inger]

1. I would recommend WinDV over WMM, however as long as you keep it DV avi the quality will be the same.

2. I don't worry about the time codes, so I haven't used any other programs. Others may have an opinion. If you use subtitles you are pretty much stuck with the flickering effect. Subtitles are basically bitmaps of the text which change screen at a time, so you can't get a nice rolling timecode effect using this method. To get that you have to hardcode the timecode from the original video.

3. ConvertXtoDVD is probably the better option for 16:9 DV footage, as FAVC doesn't recognise the flag and therefore sets everything to 4:3. This has another impact - the subtitle graphics will be different for 4:3 and 16:9, so it is best to get them right at the authoring stage if possible. The latest Beta version of DVD Flick does simple menus, so it might be worth a look. Otherwise, learn to do it the manual way, so you have total control. This means encoding the video and audio separately, then authoring the two streams together while creating your menus and adding your subtitles. It will take a little longer to begin with, but the quality and control is usually far better than the one-click methods.