Basic video authoring advice

[Lappyire]

Hi, I've used Videopad 6.01 to edit a two hour video. The video should contain about 7 or 8 chapters however I made the mistake of rendering it as one single MP4 file. Are there any FREE DVD authoring software packages which allow you to create chapters afterwards?

[hech54]

MP4 cannot be "DVD". I hope you saved your project for another render.

[matonanjin]

DVD Architect will allow you to add chapter points. This Youtube video at about 2 minutes explains how:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScH7nDTJuOA

But it is not free. It may have a trial period like they do with Vegas Movie Studio but I'm not sure.

DVD Styler is free and will make chapter points. There is a YouTube video explaining how but it is not very intuitive.

Both will take an MP4 and render it. I've done it. It just takes longer.

[Lappyire]

DVD Architect will allow you to add chapter points. This Youtube video at about 2 minutes explains how:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScH7nDTJuOA

But it is not free. It may have a trial period like they do with Vegas Movie Studio but I'm not sure.

DVD Styler is free and will make chapter points. There is a YouTube video explaining how but it is not very intuitive.

Both will take an MP4 and render it. I've done it. It just takes longer.

Thanks alot for this. Yea, I've tried DVD Styler but the interface is very basic and it doesn't allow you to include sound on the menu.

[manono]

Are there any FREE DVD authoring software packages which allow you to create chapters afterwards?

You can reauthor easily enough, and add the chapters then. But as hech54 mentioned, with an MP4 as a source you have to do a lot more than reauthor to get a DVD out of it. And for best quality you don't want to use that already degraded MP4 as your source.

And by using the freeware Muxman, you can easily reauthor, assuming you have already compliant assets with which to work. Which you don't.

Go back to VideoPad and this time export for DVD, creating the chapters before doing that.

[videobruger]

it doesn't allow you to include sound on the menu.

It allows both audio and video on menus.

[matonanjin]

DVD Architect will allow you to add chapter points. This Youtube video at about 2 minutes explains how:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScH7nDTJuOA

But it is not free. It may have a trial period like they do with Vegas Movie Studio but I'm not sure.

Do not take this as authoritative, but according to sources at the DVD Architect forum the trial is only time limited. So if you haven't gotten this resolved yet you could use DVD Architect to make your DVD with chapters and then decide if you want to purchase it and continue using. Btw, the guy that made that last comment, "I don't believe there are any limitations on the free trial other than how long you can use it." is Steve Grisetti. He, very literally, wrote the book on DVD Architect. I would think he would know.