DVD Recording Authoring Questions:

[Ranger One]

Object: To create concert DVD's from my videotape & dvd collection to play on my home dvd player.

Hardware, Software:
ATI All In Wonder Radeon Video Card
Hauppage PVR 250 PCI Capture card
TDK Indi 4X Multi Format DVD Burner
Easy CD/DVD Creator 6
Ulead Video Studio 7
DVD Movie Factory 2
Smartripper
DVD Decrypter

I use the Hauppage card for my DVD "standard quality" video capture so I don't have to any format conversion as I do with the ATI card.

I have a lot of concerts on videotape and on dvd.
I would like to do two things: make copies of my videotapes into dvd's & also create my own mix dvd's with songs from both my videotape & dvd collections.In doing this I want the dvd's to play as a store bought dvd would > auto play & instant access to any song.

Questions:

(1).Videotapes: Is there a way to record the whole tape & then insert a chapter marker for each song with the authoring software or do I have record each song individually?

(2).DVD's: When creating a mix dvd with songs from different dvd's > I plan on using Smartripper to record the songs to the hard drive. Which files do I need? Any guides I've read are only concerned with individual dvd's not with ripping from different dvd's. Can this be done? Is there any guidelines to doing this?

(3).Can I mix songs with 5.1 sound & songs without 5.1 sound on the same dvd?

[rsquirell]

You want to get all your files in the same format (MPEG2) in order to successfully merge, mix, and match. Convert your VHS capture with VS7. For ripped DVD's set your ripper to give you one big .VOB file...take it to TMPGenc and "demux" the audio/video streams out...and remux them in simple multiplex as MPEG2 ProgramVBR). Once everything has the same format, then you can use MPEG2CUT to precisely cut the songs out...which you can then combine back using VS7.

[setarip]

As long as each of the following is either in DVD-compliant format, you can EASILY use "TMPGEnc DVD Author" (different than "TMPGEnc") to accomplish your mission(s). There is NO need to use SmartRipper. In order to accomplish item 3), you simply have to bring such differing format songs into "TMPGEnc DVD Author" as separate "tracks".

(1).Videotapes: Is there a way to record the whole tape & then insert a chapter marker for each song with the authoring software or do I have record each song individually?

(2).DVD's: When creating a mix dvd with songs from different dvd's > I plan on using Smartripper to record the songs to the hard drive. Which files do I need? Any guides I've read are only concerned with individual dvd's not with ripping from different dvd's. Can this be done? Is there any guidelines to doing this?

(3).Can I mix songs with 5.1 sound & songs without 5.1 sound on the same dvd?

[rsquirell]

Yep....TMPGenc DVD Author will take both MPEG2 AND VOB files...and you can easily cut out your scene and complete the process to create DVD files for that scene which you can import into DVDShrink to size it smaller (so you can get more files on the final DVD). Rename the VOB Shrink makes to the song's_title.vob...save it until you get enough to create the final DVD...with each song having it's own track that you can toggle thru the Stand-alone's menu to find and play.