Why cant I just copy an MPEG file to my DVD burner... drag and drop?

[guitrldy]

I just finished reading the thread about the problems folks have been having burning MPEG files to DVD's ... having audio sync problems and all that.

Reading that whole thread gave me a headache! I had purchased SS3 with the full intention of moving files onto DVD's when my HD filled up. My hopes were dashed... This was the whole reason I dropped $$'s to purchase a DVD Burner!

I now see that the actual process is labor and $$ intensive with the amount of software one has to buy... converters, authoring...

Is there any way to make the DVD-RW media act like a hard drive and then just drag-drop MPEG files onto it?

I can do this in Windows with CD burners. Why not DVD? I don't want to create a movie here, I just want an MPEG file I can play on another computer.

Thanks!

[RobertH]

you technically can drag and drop (assuming your burner is supported by xp's burner feature or you have a program similar to directcd) but this will not produce a disk that is usable in a standalone dvd player.

The dvd format is a mastered format that is based off of mpeg2. Yes snapstream can produce "dvd-ready" files but these files must be pased through a dvd mastering program like tmpgenc dvd author, roxio dvd builder, or one of the many other dvd mastering solutions if you wish to have the video you record able to be played back using a standalone dvd player.

One of the best options for doing this is using roxio easy cd/dvd creator 6.0. The dvd author soultion built into the newest roxio is very easy to use and from the several disks I have burned with it, it is very easy to use and doesnt have the problems with the audio sync issues. It has a very easy to use front end, simple drag and drop interface.

I have used roxio's direct cd software to do the same drag and drop support with dvd-r and it should also work with dvd-rw. Another problem when using the files on other computers is that an mpeg decoder would also need to be installed, this can be in the form of an mpeg2 pack for media player or a software dvd solution like nvdvd, powerdvd, or ati mmc

[RobertH]

You could also use nero, or easy cd to just burn them as a data-dvd disk then it will be just like a regular cd rom except it holds 4.3 gb of data

[Gman]

I'm pretty sure the newly released Nero 6 has all the DVD features Roxio's product has. I haven't installed it yet, though.

[cgwaters]

Originally posted by RobertH
You could also use nero, or easy cd to just burn them as a data-dvd disk then it will be just like a regular cd rom except it holds 4.3 gb of data

Are there any disadvantages to that approach? If so, what are they? Thanks.

[Julia]

The biggest problem with using a DVD-R as a data disk for mpeg2 files is that you won't be able to play them in a stand alone DVD player. Other than that, not really.

Julia

[RobertH]

yep, the new nero 6 has some mastering features (conversion, menus, etc) but only if you have a pro license to unlock the media software.


Using a dvd-r/w as a data disk the only downside is that not a single standalone player will recognise it (ive tried using them with jpeg and mp3 in those boxes that support jpg/mp3 playback and they all barf, apparently as soon as the laser detects it is a dvd format disk they automatically assume it is a dvd-video disk and then die because it doesnt have a video on it)


DVD-Video is a standard that uses VOB (Video OBject files) these files contain other mpeg data such as video, audio, menus, and subtitles. These VOB files aslo have IFO files that point to the various parts of the VOB and tell a dvd player how to playback the content, when to change chapters, where the chapters are, what audio/subtitles the disk offers, etc. The video and audio inside the VOB files must also be in a certain format, and the vob files themselves must be in a certain spot on the disk (VIDEO_TS folder and they must have a certain name and be under a certain size) all of this is done by mastering software.

But if you are just going to be dragging it from pc to pc to do playback and for archival purposes then it will be fine to burn it as dvd-data onto a dvd-r/w

[Terminal]

You know what really sucks, I bought Nero 5.5 on April 20th, they say on their site that you get a free upgrade to 6.0 if you purchased it after May 1st.

[Julia]

If anyone here gets the upgrade let me know if it was worth it.

Julia

[tjodork]

I just installed Roxio Easy CD & DVD Creator 6 and made sure it was up to date and I cannot import a .mpg file that was greated at the GOOD setting of PVS using the PVR250 card. The DVD builder says "Data of this type is not supported". That just doesn't make sense.... Anyone have any ideas ? Thanks

[SHS]

RobertH what are you crazy the Rxio DVD Builder is 100% junk.
Boys and Girls the best bang for buck Ulead DVD MovieFactory 2 or DVD labs if want more hard core dvd mastering program.
As for Nero 6 the problem with it, it re-encoder mpeg data and convert the audio so I say junk it to.
As for drag and drop support for mpeg data file you must use RW+ or RW- Disk.

[Cayars]

I'd agree with RobertH's accessment of Roxio's DVD Builder. I find I'm using it more and more all the time. I also have Nero, Ulead, DVD Labs, Pinacle and a few other programs but if you already have MPEG2 files on your system Roxio DVD Builder is very easy to use and pretty fast.

I like the fact that you can overbuild the DVD to more then 4.7 GB and "burn" it to a ISO file. Then you can use any of the shrink programs to slim it down to 4.7GB and burn it.

Carlo

[RobertH]

i personally have not used the roxio to make a dvd disk, ive toyed with it and found it to be too not useful since it uses PCM audio so you get about half as much video on a disk.

I use TMPGEnc DVD Author. I just said it was "good" if you already had easy cd delux as you wouldnt have to buy anything else, its also good for the lowly point and click users.

Personally I like TMPGEnc and since Ive got a license for it I use it, the thing is most users just want simple click, drag, drop, done, they dont want to make their own fancy motion menus and design the hell out of crap they want point and click. Ive tried several including ulead and found them to be overkill. if you want simple and still pretty good feature wise tmpgenc is really good and has a nice price point. And I actually do what carlo does with tmpgenc, make the dvd oversized then spit it out with tmpgdvd and run it thru dvd squeeze

TJ - this is because dvd authoring programs have to take video in with very specific settings:
- Resolution: 352x480 or 720x480 (352x576 or 720x576 for pal)
- Frame rate: 25 for pal 29.976 for NTSC (US/Canada)
- Bitrate: should be above 2Mbs and below 12Mbs
- Audio: 48khz (most bitrates will work) in either mpeg2 or PCM (wave)

the good quality setting doesnt meet the resoultion requirements so you would have to re-encode the video back to an accepted resolution

[RTB]

For what it's worth, ULEAD Media Studio Pro does an excellent job of DVD authoring. It's pretty expensive unless you want to do significant video editing. I haven't felt the need to upgrade to 7.0, but using 6.5 with the DVD plug in produces great results which have played on every stand alone I've tried, without problems.

Menuing is rudimentary, but you can place chapters which helps with multiple shows or projects on one DVD.

I generally burn to DVD standard even though most dvd's get played on computers around here. The flexibility to share or show anywhere are the factors.

[mickwall]

I use Nero vision express to Create a DVD directory (Full Quality) I then use Nero recode to recompress the video to fit on a DVD-+R have not had a single OOS(out of sync) yet!

Mick