Adding comments to a DVD

[avz10]

I have a DVD with 8 mm films that was converted to DVD via a video cassette (quality not good- films no longer available).

There is no sound on the DVD.

I want my mother to comment, record it and then add it to the DVD. I know I will need to redo the DVD.

What is the better option?

I have a Panasonic NV GS camcorder and will be able to record with it, but then the DV cassettes will be too short. I also has its mic, and suppose the best option would be to record with the mic to the laptop because then it will be on the hard drive. But I do not see a connection point.



Any other options??

Synchronising will be another issue, but that I will be able to sort out later

Thanks

Ps
I just thought of another option, if I use my 4GB memory card in my camera, will I be able to record sound? I just tried it, but when I try to record without a cassette, it gives me a "no tape" sign and doesnt want to record.

[filmboss80]

It is not an easy task, but it is doable. A few years back, I did something similar, gathering family members in front of a couple of microphones to add commentary to old home movies made decades ago. I recorded onto a video camera that was pointed at the TV screen showing the movies, so that I could visually reference and synchronize the audio back to the original video.

Use your camcorder to record the narrative, but point it at the TV screen while it plays the DVD. Even with multiple tape changes, you can match the picture to sound later. (The memory card in your camcorder is for still images. Use tape.)

You will need to be able to capture your camcorder footage to the PC. A firewire connection and capture software like WinDV will do the trick.

For synchronization of sound to picture, you will need video editing software to match your mother's comments to the video. There are several simple and low-cost choices in the Tools section of this site. You will also need to demux the video stream (an .m2v file) from the original DVD, so that you can work with it in the video editing software. Without altering the video from the DVD, use your camcorder visuals to match your mother's narrative to the DVD video. Once everything is synchronized in the video editing software, export ONLY the audio track as a single file that can later be remuxed with the original video from the DVD. (You do NOT want to reencode the video portion, as it will degrade the image.) Your final audio track must be a 48000 Hz, 16-bit .wav or .ac3 file.

Overwhelmed yet? Well, there are some more steps. You will need to use a DVD Authoring program to add the new audio file to the m2v video stream that came from the DVD. Then burn back to a new disc.

Look in the Tools section of this site for mpeg demux utilities (TMPGEnc has a freebie, as well as PgcDemux), video editing programs (many choices), DVD authoring programs (many free choices are there), and the final disc burning utility (ImgBurn is free and the best).

There are tutorials with each piece of software. Yes, there is a bit of a learning curve, but the rewards are many.

[avz10]

Does not seem to impossible- I normally capture AVI with the Panasonic software, then use Tmpg Enc, then use GUI for DVD Author, sometimes need to Demux, etc. But will study your comments.

Thanks

[filmboss80]

Great! You're halfway there. Copy the DVD's folders to the hard drive. In TMPGEnc, go to Files > MPEG Tools to use the demuxer to extract the video .m2v stream. You'll still need to use some sort of video editor that can handle 2 video streams, so that you can synchronize the camcorder video (with narration) to the original video from the DVD. Premiere Elements, Vegas, Ulead, etc., are some of the choices. Most have downloadable trial versions.

[Supreme2k]

What you may want to do is simply author the video and burn to a RW, then have it playing on a standalone while your mother comments into the mic connected to the PC. You may the either mux it into the video separately, or from within the authoring tool. I do this all the time with Rifftrax.