total dufus here

[alisamidad]

greetings,

got a new machine expressly for the purpose of putting my digital video home movies onto a dvd that will drop into grandpa's dvd player so he can wet him self watching his grandkids in action. my machine: Pentium D 830, asus dual core board, a gig of ddr, evga 128mb sli card, sony dw-q30a 16x burner, windows xp pro 64 bit, etc.
the only software i have is nero, can't tell which version, as i mentioned i'm a bit of a dufus. i can capture the video fine in movie maker, saved in avi, but nero won't let that in. do i need different software? or just a clue on what the heck i'm doing?



One or more files could not be added to a compilation.
The following files may not reside in the VIDEO_TS directory of a DVD-Video compilation. Only compliant DVD-Video files
VIDEO_TS.IFO,
VIDEO_TS.VOB,
VIDEO_TS.BUP,
VTS_nn_0.IFO,
VTS_nn_0.VOB,
VTS_nn_0.BUP and
VTS_nn_m.VOB
can be added to the VIDEO_TS folder. Please add files from a completed DVD-Video title or use an authoring software like NeroVision Express to create DVD-Video files from standard video files such as *.avi and *.mpg.
The file does not match the current file filter.
C:\Documents and Settings\me\My Documents\My Videos\try again.avi


help me and be gentle as i am very sensitive...

thanks in advance.

[spuddog]

What version of nero do you have. If you have a version that contains Nero Vision Express use that to import your AVI. If not you can use a program such as TMPGenc DVD Author. Don't worry about asking questions, we all start somewhere.

P.S. Look at your Nero log and it will tell your version, also post the log here so people can see it.

[alisamidad]

nero express 6? not sure where the log is located.

i did find a tab that says i need to use a dvd authoring tool such as nero vision to import the video files.

so i'm guessing i need to either buy or d/l software?
i searched that product you mentioned and there is a trial version. i shall forge ahead and report my bumblings.

thanks. keep an eye out for further cries for help.

[alisamidad]

after a few failures with the TMPGenc:

TMPGEnc DVD Author does NOT have MPEG encoding abilities.
AVI format(*.avi),RealMedia format(*.rm),WindowsMediaFile format(*.wmv, *.asf),etc. can only be used after they have been encoded to MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 format.

Users of TMPGEnc DVD Source Creator or TMPGEnc can create MPEG files based on the DVD standard by using the DVD template in Project Wizard.
(To encode in different formats requires the various codecs.)





and, i found this in the help file:


Q2. It seems you cannot convert AVI files to DVD-Video?
A. It is necessary to convert the format to MPEG-1/2 format based on the DVD video standard. This function, however, is not available in this software. To change the AVI file into an MPEG-1/2 file based on the DVD video standard, we recommend using our company's MPEG-1/2 encoder TMPGEnc Plus.


now.... can 'movie maker' save my video as mpeg2? (i'm guessing that would be a "no")

or this VIDEO_TS that keeps popping it's ugly head up? if i could save the file in that format, wouldn't the nero be happy with it?

i'm more than willing to go plunk down some hard earned cash if there's software out there that can do for me what i can't seem to do for myself. and i really do appreciate any input on that front.


i'll be over there at pokerstars sipping on a barley pop and losing virtual money.

thanks again.

[blutach]

If you wanna use TMPGEnc, use the DVD template. Select MPEG2 , load in your AVI and out will pop MPEG2 files.

Then use TMPGEnc DVD Author to add menus and the IFOs etc.

Note - TMPGEnc is different from MPGEnc DVD Author.

Regards

[alisamidad]

i d/led the trial version of "tmpgenc dvd author". is this dvd template part of that? cause if it is, it's hiding.

am i making this harder than it should be?

use the DVD template. Select MPEG2 , load in your AVI and out will pop MPEG2 files

that sure sounds like i should be able to do that.


thanks.

[blutach]

Nah - the template is in TMPGEnc. (or TMPGEnc plus). Same name, different prog. One's an encoder, the other (which you are using) is the authoring prog.

Steps:
1. Encoder prog - load avi in, select DVD template and it encodes
2. Take encoded stuff, load into author and make menus if you like and out pops a compliant DVD for shrinking if necessary.



Regards

[alisamidad]

well, even a blind squirell can find a nut if someone shoves it up his nose. my first try i turned a 3 gig masterpiece into a 151mb plie of crap. but on try number two, it only shrunk to just under a gig. i'll keep playing around until i find the highest setting for the mpeg2. but i assume, it isn't going to be possible to burn something that has the same quality as it comes off the camcorder.

now for the 64 thousand dollar question: is there a software bundle that can do both chores that is recommended? and obviously, it has to be uber user friendly.....

thanks a million for the help.

[techreactor]

You can try WinDVD creator, but I would not rate it amongst the best of the software. It has a very easy interface and needs very little effort to start.

Try it and then evaluate yourself.

[jmet]

TMPGEnc - http://www.tmpgenc.net/e_download.html

TMPGEnc DVD Author - http://www.pegasys-inc.com/en/product/tda.html

[jimzcatz]

Please dont take this the wrong way,no disrespect is meant,but in my opinion,the EASIEST way to transfer vhs to dvd is with a set top dvd-recorder.It is cheaper than a dedicated computer,which is why you said you bought the computer in the first place.Line out from vcr to line in on dvd-recorder,its almost idiot proof.I see you say digital home movies,probably from a digicam right.It has a line out on it im sure. Good luck anyway.

[alisamidad]

no vhs involved. just straight from my camcorder into my computer. my main intent in getting this machine built was to get the irreplaceable digital video off of the tape and into a high quality form to save it, and to be able to share it easily with family. i probably should have investigated a little more before i set out, but as far as i can tell, once i figure out the best way to use this machine, this is the way to go.

something i would like to know too is, if i could archive the digital video on dvds in raw form. something that isn't in viewable form, but in the same form as it would be on the hdd. i have a 350 gig hdd, but with the monster file sizes, it wouldn't take long to fill that up.

i'm glad i found this forum. you guys/girls rock.

[spuddog]

Have you thought about using another capture software instead of Movie Maker, I use windvd recorder to capture directly to mpg2 then author.

[LT. Columbo]

alisamidad

perhaps this will make it clear the 2 seperate steps with tmpgenc encoding and authoring.

http://forum.digital-digest.com/showthread.php?t=56454

[alisamidad]

thanks Lieutenant. that will take some studying to digest it all.

another quick question:
can i burn the wmv files as data burn, remove the file from my hdd, and add it later?

might be a silly question.....