Slight EMERGENCY! Please help with editing .SDV files!

[Carppacio]

I have some wedding video files from a Samsung camcorder with the file extension .SDV that I'm trying to edit into a movie playable in a DVD player. My somewhat emergency is that my plan is to give the video to the bride and groom this Friday, right before he is deployed to Afghanistan. I have tried for months to do this and I have come up with almost nothing.

The files require an SEDG codec. I don't know if I have the necessary codec, but Avidemux (video editing software) is the only video editing software I have found that will play and edit these files on my computer - Windows Movie Maker and Nero will not.

I have tried downloading the codec from Samsung's website, but there's something wrong with the file and it permanently crashed my previous laptop, and this laptop's security software won't even let me install the codec. So, that seems like it's a no-go. I have also downloaded an all-in-one codec, but this hasn't helped either.

My goal is to edit these clips together (complete with some fades and/or wipes, intro music and credits, exit music and credits, and music overlays during the movie) into a movie then burn them to a DVD that's playable in a DVD player.

Here are my questions:

What format do they ultimately need to be in to burn them to a playable DVD?

How do I convert these files to that particular format? (I've read it's very easy to do with Avidemux, I just haven't figured out how to do it yet.)

Avidemux won't add add effects like fades and wipes between clips (it's a basic editor), so I'm thinking I could recode all the files to the new format, then use Windows Movie Maker (or something else) to do the fancy editing. What do you think? How can I convert these .sdv video files into something either WMM or Nero can read?

If anyone has an easier route for me to take to make a movie with these video clips that has fades, wipes, and opening and closing credits, I'm very interested to listen.

Thank you very much for your help.

[aedipuss]

if avidemux can open it then you could try convert with it. set video to either a lossless format or lightly compressed like DV and audio to pcm. then you can most likely open the result in wmm.

[Carppacio]

if avidemux can open it then you could try convert with it. set video to either a lossless format or lightly compressed like DV and audio to pcm. then you can most likely open the result in wmm.

Thank you so much for your quick reply.

I'm sorry, but I'm a beginner at this, so I'm not exactly sure how to do what you recommended. Could you please break it down even simpler for me?

Would ConvertXtoDVD be a quicker way to recode these files?

Thank you.

[aedipuss]

by all means use convertx if you have it and it accepts the source files. it does a decent job making dvd material.

[Carppacio]

by all means use convertx if you have it and it accepts the source files. it does a decent job making dvd material.

What is the best all-in-one codec and do I need one?

Is there a better, free program to make DVDs with than WMM?

What format do the files need to be in to make a DVD or do I even need to be concerned about this because the software will take care of this for me?