How To Burn A DVD Using MPEG Video Audio Files

[PeteF]

How To Burn A DVD Using MPEG Video Audio Files???

This is a general question about how to create a DVD
with video & audio content that can played in any
home entertainment DVD player.

The typical scenario is where you have a device such as
a Camcorder connected to your PC, or a TV Tuner card in
your PC and the software that comes with the device
creates audio/video MPEG files of various types such as
MPEG-2, MPEG-4, etc. that it saves to the hard disk.

You can't simply copy the MPEG file from your hard
drive to a DVD disk and expect it to play in most home
entertainment DVD players. It seems that home
entertainment DVD players require DVD-Video file types
such as.. *.bup, *.vob, *.ifo . Unfortunately, most
devices you buy don't come with software that allow
you to create the DVD. They only include software that
creates the MPEG files to the computer's hard drive.

So, what is the best procedure & software to use to
create/burn a DVD that can be played in any home
entertainment DVD player?

Any good websites for articles about the various
audio/video file formats and DVD burning?

---pete---

[PeteF]

I did some research and located a few interesting
apps that seem to provide a simple cheap solution for the
specific scenario I'm talking abouut. These programs below
are either FREE or about $20 to $25. ---pete---

Cucusoft MPEG to DVD Burner
Cucusoft MPEG to DVD Burner can burn MPEG files
to a DVD so that you can play your movies on DVD player.
It is a revolutionary DVD creator for "dummies".

As long as you have a MPEG file, you are just two clicks
away from a player-ready DVD! With the built-in powerful
and easy-to-use DVD Author and DVD Burner, you only need to:

1. Click the "open" button to choose you MPEG2 file.
2. Click "Start to Burn DVD" button.

All is done! Just make sure that a blank DVD-writable
disc is already in your DVD Writer. The software will
indicate how long it will take to create a DVD. What you
need to do is just rest with a cup of coffee, waiting.

Too simple to believe? Then why not have a free try first?
Your surprise and satisfaction is guaranteed!
https://www.regnow.com/softsell/nph-softsell.cgi?item=8889-3&affiliat...

VSO DivXtoDVD v0.5.2b (Freeware)
VSO DivXtoDVD is an easy-to-use freeware tool that allows
converting any video file format (not just DivX) to a
DVD-Video -compliant.
http://www.afterdawn.com/software/video_software/video_encoders/vso_d...

Xilisoft MPEG to DVD Converter New
Xilisoft MPEG to DVD Converter is fast, easy to use
video to DVD conversion software, which can convert
MPEG to DVD and burn MPEG to DVD disc
(playable on home DVD player).
http://www.xilisoft.com/mpeg-to-dvd-converter.html

---end----

[dale@fcg]

In the past, I've used Ulead Studios to take Mpeg files, open them, edit them, then burn to DVD.

I'm now using ArcSoft ShowBizDVD2, which i really like.

Both came with hardware. Ulead with an ADS Anolog to Digital converter box I use to take old vhs videos and convert to DVD. Showbiz came with my LiteScribe DVD burner from HP (Lite-on actually made it).

[PeteF]

I did some experimentation today using the 3 programs I
posted in msg 2 of this thread. The first one, named
"Cucusoft MPEG to DVD Burner" did not work at all,
so forget that one, but the other two will work.


Ok, lets start here...

I have a single file on my hard drive which is an MPEG
file similar to what a device like ATI TV Wonder creates
when you record a TV show. I'll refer to this file as..
TV_SHOW.MPEG

Ok, here is the FIRST solution using the free program,
VSO DivXtoDVD v0.5.2b (Freeware) and the NeroExpress
(free version) program that comes with many PC DVD drives.

1.) Download and install VSO DivXtoDVD v0.5.2b (Freeware).

2.) Run VSO DivXtoDVD v0.5.2b (Freeware) and use it to
to convert the file.. TV_SHOW.MPEG, to DVD files that
will be burned later to a DVD disk.

Note: The conversion process will create a folder on
your hard drive named.. VIDEO_TS, and in that folder
will be 5 files of various types as shown below.

VIDEO_TS.BUP
VIDEO_TS.IFO
VTS_01_0.BUP
VTS_01_0.IFO
VTS_01_1.VOB

3.) Now you run the NeroExpress program to burn the
DVD. Use the "Burn DVD-Video Files" option in NeroExpress
to create the DVD. Below are the basic steps:

* Insert the DVD disk you want to write to.

* In the Burn DVD-Video Files option, click ADD.
Then browse to the VIDEO_TS folder you created in
step 2 above to select it. Click FINISH

* Proceed to burn the DVD.

4.) You can now play that DVD in any home entertainment
DVD player or any DVD player in a computer.

--end of FIRST solution--


Ok, now I have a SECOND solution just using the
program Xilisoft MPEG to DVD Converter.

1.) Download and install Xilisoft MPEG to DVD Converter.

2.) Run Xilisoft MPEG to DVD Converter and use it to
to convert the file.. TV_SHOW.MPEG, and burn the DVD
all in one simple operation. Below are the basic steps:

* Insert the DVD disk you want to write.

* Click ADD and locate the file.. TV_SHOW.MPEG
to select it.

* Click the red record button.
You will see the progress bar at the bottom moving
as it creates/burns the DVD. When done, it will have
created 2 folders on the DVD disk. One named.. AUDIO_TS
and one named.. VIDEO_TS . Inside the VIDEO_TS folder
will be files as follows:

VIDEO_TS.BUP
VIDEO_TS.IFO
VIDEO_TS.VOB
VTS_01_0.BUP
VTS_01_0.IFO
VTS_01_1.VOB

4.) You can now play that DVD in any home entertainment
DVD player or any DVD player in a computer.

--end of SECOND solution--


In summary, the FIRST solution requires more steps,
but it's a totally FREE solution. The SECOND solution
will cost you about $25 to buy the full version, since
the trial version will only work for 30 minutes of DVD
burning, however, it requires less steps and is very
easy to operate.

The THIRD solution would be to buy a full featured video
editing & burning program, but that gets much more
expensive and might be overly complex if all you really
need is to convert MPEG files to a DVD disk format for
playing in any DVD player.

---pete---

[PeteF]

In the past, I've used Ulead Studios to take Mpeg files, open them, edit them, then burn to DVD.

I'm now using ArcSoft ShowBizDVD2, which i really like.

Both came with hardware. Ulead with an ADS Anolog to Digital converter box I use to take old vhs videos and convert to DVD. Showbiz came with my LiteScribe DVD burner from HP (Lite-on actually made it).

Ok Dale, thanks for the info!
I posted a couple of simple & economical solutions that get the job done
but they don't allow editing. I'm wondering what other advantages there
are to purchasing a full featured video editing & DVD burning program.
I looked at a couple so far and they typically cost $80+ .

---pete---

[dale@fcg]

The dvd authoring programs like ArcSoft Showbiz are quite powerful and many are easy to use. They allow you to add menus, chapters, text (to introduce a segment, etc), sound tracks, narration via mike, still (slides), and many more cool (sometimes overkill) features like fades, animations, etc.

But I'm really intrigued by your solutions above, and I'm going to bookmark this thread for future projects where all I/client needs is to convert mpeg to dvd.

Thanks for taking the time to post results.

[photolady]

Just a bit of input here about this topic. I too do a lot of video burning. I use freeware do this, gotten from my favorite video help site, aptly named www.videohelp.com ;)

I use dvdshrink and dvddecryptor, along with Nero I have not yet found a dvd that these programs would not burn, or edit. DVDShrink does allow re-authoring, where you can remove extras you don't need. Nero allows you to add chapters or remove unwanted clips.

And btw, video help has lots of other freeware or shareware for doing most any video authoring, burning or whatever. Most use TMPGEn and VirtualDub. VirtualDub has capablities to rotate video if somehow you get your video in the camera turned sideways. VirtualDub is freeware but TMPGEn is trialware.
Some info on both these programs:
TMPGEn (One of the best MPEG video encoders, convert to MPEG2 (SVCD, DVD) and MPEG1(VCD) with several settings and filters. Freeware MPEG1(VCD) encoding. Also basic joining, splitting, demultiplexing and multiplexing features.)
VirtualDub: (VirtualDub is a video capture/processing utility for Windows platforms . It is streamlined for fast linear operations over video. It has batch-processing capabilities for processing large numbers of files and can be extended with third-party video filters. VirtualDub is mainly geared toward processing AVI files. Also built-in capturing and video frameserving.)

[PeteF]

Just a bit of input here about this topic. I too do a lot of video burning. I use freeware do this, gotten from my favorite video help site, aptly named www.videohelp.com

photoplady, thanks for the site!
This is just what i've been looking for to learn all about the video
technology. This is one area I need to sharpen my skills on.

If I was to search for text books on this topic, what keywords
would you suggest? I would like to learn all about the different
file formats and all that goes with audio/video editing and burning
DVDs. Can you recommend any good books on this topic?

---pete---

[dale@fcg]

I've used virtual dub, and I love it. It is so clean and fast. A little deep to figure out, but it's fun to play with and since it's fast, no real time lost. it's main drawback is that it does not open mpeg2 files, so it's kinda a bummer to convert to avi then add to time frame in Showbiz.

[photolady]

Pete, all you need is to read on that site, it covers everything about Audio/Video editing, converting, burning, extracting (audio), or anything else you want to know. Do a search on the site for what you want to know. There are also tutorials to be had/read, or you could print them.

[kern]

I've used virtual dub, and I love it. It is so clean and fast. A little deep to figure out, but it's fun to play with and since it's fast, no real time lost. it's main drawback is that it does not open mpeg2 files, so it's kinda a bummer to convert to avi then add to time frame in Showbiz.

Dale,
Virtual Dub MPEG2 ver1.6 will open mpeg files. the ympeg plug-in will allow you to edit mpeg files.

[mikehende]

Sorry I saw this thread so late guys, if you guys wish to know almost everything about DVD burning, simply go to Videohelp as Photolady has suggested and do a search using my username [mikehende], you will see all of my threads asking for help in almost every area of DVD burning, lol! :D God knows those guys there have been fully tested by myself, that's the best site out there for this and you get great help there very quickly, BTW Photolady, I use the exact process as you, DVDFabDecrypter to rip and Shrink to burn large files which I use the reauthor feature to split, otherwise I use NerovisionExpress3 to burn compilations so I can add chapters and menus.

Pete, if you need any help, you can also ask me to save time and headache, hell, I've been through it so why should you? I can give you step by step instructions on how to do the stuff which I have been through, just offering to help in the same way you have helped me, if you need me, I'm here!

[photolady]

Mike, I tried this one (DVDFabDecrypter) but it conflicted with DVDShrink, I kept getting an error message that DVDShrink had encountered a problem and would need to close. I found my copy of DVDDecryptor and used that instead, and never had another problem with Shrink. I do not know what caused DVDFabdecryptor to cause the problem....but it's not part of my software anymore.

I found NeroVisionExpress inadequate for what I do. I use Premiere Elements now. I also tried Windows Movie Maker, what a piece of junk that was. LOL

[mikehende]

Yeah, Elements is a nice piece of software and at just around $100, I tried using that for ultimate slow motion control for Football team and for analysing my son's games, it does this close to what you see in the NFL/NBA but I got a demo copy of Pinnacle Liquid Edition6 [$600] which doesn't have an expritation date so I use that instead, you can request it too from Pinnacle, if you need the link, let me know.

I've never had a problem with DVDFabDecrypter but have DVDDecryptor on hand just in case, what I have learned from the many months of experimenting with DVD issues is that there is a "free" software out there for almost anything, it just involves using more processes sometimes and also a combination of different free softwares to do a certain job.

I have never really done video "editing", I use DVDFab to rip any DVD quickly and then use Shrink to compress and split up large files or delete scenes from a film. When I capture footage from my TV screen or Videocam I capture in DVD format and use Nero to create chapters and menus, mainly when burning multiple video files, like music videos.

[PeteF]

Thanks everyone!
I have plenty of reading and experimenting to do now.

I might even get a TV Tuner card for my PC and try
playing with turning my PC into a TV video recorder.

Below are 3 TV Tuners I'm looking at on eBay is anyone here
has any experience with TV Tuners and burning to DVDs
I'd appreciate your inputs.

http://cgi.ebay.com/New-TV-Tuner-Video-Capture-PCI-Card-w-Remote-SW_W0QQitemZ220009755913QQihZ012QQcategoryZ3761QQr dZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Hauppauge-WinTV-PVR-150-MCE-PCI-TV-1042-Tuner-Card_W0QQitemZ260008846725QQihZ016QQcategoryZ3761Q QrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/TV-Tuner-Video-Capture-PCI-Card-Remote-Philips-Chipset_W0QQitemZ200007714570QQihZ010QQcategoryZ37 61QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

---pete---

[mikehende]

I don't know about those, I use this one Pete:

http://cgi.ebay.com/BRAND-NEW-LEADTEK-TV-TUNER-WINFAST-2000-XP-RM-EDITION_W0QQitemZ270010904872QQihZ017QQcategoryZ37 61QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

My TV has both a built-in VHS and DVD player and with this card I can record anything that comes across my TV screen so this works even when I connect my digicam to the TV via the line-in, the interface is very easy to use and shows crystal clear and gives you picture in picture, the tech support is reliable [same day usually].

I had tried a Hauppauge Win TV GO FM card before and it was a waste. The one thing I regret not having done was to get a card which has an S-VIDEO OUT so I could send my pc's signal to the TV, this is useful for viewing video from your pc like if you purchase videos for cheap from the net [verizon movie link] so you can watch them on the TV as opposed to the pc monitor.

[PeteF]

The one thing I regret not having done was to get a card which has an S-VIDEO OUT so I could send my pc's signal to the TV, this is useful for viewing video from your pc like if you purchase videos for cheap from the net [verizon movie link] so you can watch them on the TV as opposed to the pc monitor.

Yeah, I hear you. After thinking about it, that's exactly what I need too.
I need S-video output so I can playback recordings from the hard drive
to a regular TV and not have to mess with burning DVDs.

I saw somewhere that you can record 1 hour of video per 1/gb hard drive
space using the MPEG-1/2 format file. That explains why these TV
Tuner cards record in the MPEG format and not a DVD format which I
assume is not as compressed.

Do any of these TV Tuner cards record direct to DVD such that you
can simply record a show direct to DVD and then play the DVD in your
home entertainment DVD player?

The TV tuner card below is more like what I need.
It has the S-video output for playback via a regular TV set.
WinTV-PVR-350: TV and video recorder with hardware
MPEG encoder and decoder plus FM radio! Aprox $150
http://registration.hauppauge.com/webstore/hardware1.asp#pvr350

Those cheap (Aprox $50) TV Tuner cards I showed you from eBay
would only be good if I used the computer to record to the hard drive
and then view the shows on the PC monitor. For everyday use, it does
not seem practical to make a recording of a TV show on the PC and
then go through the additional process of converting the MPEG file to
DVD format to burn a DVD that can be played in a home entertainment
DVD player.

---pete---

[mikehende]

I saw somewhere that you can record 1 hour of video per 1/gb hard drive
space using the MPEG-1/2 format file. That explains why these TV
Tuner cards record in the MPEG format and not a DVD format which I
assume is not as compressed.

Do any of these TV Tuner cards record direct to DVD such that you
can simply record a show direct to DVD and then play the DVD in your
home entertainment DVD player?
---pete---

My card does record in DVD format, my card's options for capturing are
mpeg1, mpeg2, VCD, Super VCD, DVD, Windows Media Video [WMV] and Uncompressed avi. Simply put, I capture as DVD to burn via Nero if no editing is neccesary and if I need to edit, I then capture as Uncompressed avi. I am not aware of a card which will capture and burn directly to DVD, as far as I know you must go through the "Authoring" process to get the file types [vob, ifo e.t.c] that the standalones can read.

According to what you wrote here:

"For everyday use, it does
not seem practical to make a recording of a TV show on the PC and
then go through the additional process of converting the MPEG file to
DVD format to burn a DVD that can be played in a home entertainment
DVD player. "

I only burn to DVD anything I wish to save and have around for many years, for what you've mentioned that is why we have Dish Network to record any TV show on the Receiver's Hard drive [we have up to 100 hours of recording time] then we burn to DVD what we wish to keep and erase the rest after viewing. There are 2 things to pay attention to here Pete, one, if you wish to send your monitor's signal to your TV, be prepared to buy all quality stuff [card and cables] as the guys on the videohelp forum has warned me that I will have quality issues with this which is why I haven't run out and purchased a card yet, I am presently looking into it and when I do, I will pass along the info to you, if I were you, I would not make my mistake, having to purchase 2 separate cards, I would get one card which has all the features of capturing as mine but one that would also have the S-Video OUT.

Another key piece of info people miss is that if you intend to burn DVD on your pc to play back in standalones you MUST have a DVD burner which supports "booktyping", my first burner did not do this and I lost money becuase of it because I had to go buy another burner that had this feature in it's firmware.

[mikehende]

Here's the thread I had created on the videohelp forum a while back concerning transferring the pc monitor's signal to the the TV

http://forum.videohelp.com/viewtopic.php?t=303670&highlight=

[photolady]

I use a Hauppauge card in my computer for transferring not TV signals, but vhs to dvd. The only tv signal I have at this point is a rabbit ear type tv antenna, I suppose if I ever go satellite, I'll use it to record movies or tv shows, but at this point in time, I am not a real tv fan. I keep it on for the noise only, rarely watch anything except Fear Factor. ;)

[mikehende]

Pete, made some progress, here is a post I just received from one of the forums regarding the qualtiy issue when sending pc monitor signal to the TV:

"I always watch my Dvd movies by playing them in the computer and using TV out on video card to connect to Tv via S cable. I do this to take advantage of the computers sound system and the larger TV picture. movies look fine .. Text is terrible for normal computer apps. on TV screen"

his other post mentiones what he uses:

" A very inexpensive Nvidia Gforce 6200. There are plenty of low priced cards out that provide TV out function. High end cards are better for heavy gaming.. Good luck "

Here is the very short thread

http://forum.digital-digest.com/showthread.php?t=68970

[mikehende]

The TV tuner card below is more like what I need.
It has the S-video output for playback via a regular TV set.
WinTV-PVR-350: TV and video recorder with hardware
MPEG encoder and decoder plus FM radio! Aprox $150
http://registration.hauppauge.com/webstore/hardware1.asp#pvr350

---pete---

Looks like there isn't a cheaper good card which will do both than the one you've found here Pete.

[dale@fcg]

Another key piece of info people miss is that if you intend to burn DVD on your pc to play back in standalones you MUST have a DVD burner which supports "booktyping",

Mike,
Please explain this. How do I determine if my Lite-on DVD-RW SHM-165h65 HSO6 Lite Scribe supports booktyping?

[mikehende]

Hey Dale, how's it going? Standalone DVD players mainly read commercial DVD's so when you play a DVD which was burned on a pc, this usually gives a lot of errors therefore you have to fool the standalone player into recognizing the burned pc DVD as a commercial DVD and this is what Booktyping does. When you set your DVD burner to "DVD-ROM" under Booktyping, the burned DVD will now appear as a commercial DVD.

To answer your question, the only way I know of is to use Nero, if you don't have Nero you can download the trial and go through this process, it's show you step by step how to do it, go don to the 5th post from the top

http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/1/277889#1577028#1577028

If you can't use Nero for any reason then go through this tutorial and you're all set, if you have any questions, feel free to ask Dale.

http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?t=172660

[dale@fcg]

Mike,
I've burned several dvd-r videos (home videos i've edited, added titles, etc) with my lite scribe using ArcSoft Showbiz, and all of them work fine on any dvd player I've tried them on. Is this because I'm using -r media, which I believe is best bet for working on standalone players?

[photolady]

Dale the brand comes into play here also. I've burned and watched those burned DVD+R's in my standalone dvd player. I know a lot of people who swear DVD-R are best but I'm not so sure about that because those I used TDK brand, would not even play in my DVD player or the one my daughter has either.

[mikehende]

Mike,
I've burned several dvd-r videos (home videos i've edited, added titles, etc) with my lite scribe using ArcSoft Showbiz, and all of them work fine on any dvd player I've tried them on. Is this because I'm using -r media, which I believe is best bet for working on standalone players?

Don't think so Dale, gotta go with Photolady here as I get better results with quality Taiyo Yuden +R discs, I really think you should look into the Booktyping more so because when you do you will see a listing of the exact types of blanks that's recommended for your specific burner.

[mikehende]

Either that or "experiment" with different brands and types of blanks until you find the one that works best for "your" burner.

[photolady]

Just a followup here, I know lots of people who use the -R disks, and some of them would probably say my problem stems from the brand of burner......but I have different brands of burners (both dvd) in my computer and still the -R disks would not play on standalones.

Now -R on a CD is different, those are good, but don't count on the DVD versions being the same. ;)

[mikehende]

My take on this issue is that you have to try different brands recording the same exact video footage from the same source and play that back on one standalone, only then will you know which brand works best for your burner but one thing's for sure from my experiments, quality discs gives you quality results compared to the average stuff, meaning you can take a Maxell -R and compare it with a TY -R as one example and the TY will show lots better but it goes deeper than that.

Even with TY or Vebatim discs which are reported to be the top 2 available, it depends on which "code" of discs you get within those brands, to sum it up, it's like everything else, get the best discs there is and you will have the best quality.