What video capture/dvd making program do you use?

WeedoWeedo New
edited November 2004 in Science & Tech
I've got Pinnacle 8 and 9 and they both suck. Glitchy and things don't work as they should. I'm always having to find odd ways of doing what I want and some context menu items that I would like to do are grayed out and I can't figure out how to get it done. There's got to be a better program out there. I'm trying to make dvd's out of home video shot with a digital camcorder.

Comments

  • floppybootstompfloppybootstomp Greenwich New
    edited November 2004
    I'm using Pinnacle Studio 8 and it's mostly OK but yes, it can be a little temperamental, even with latest patch.

    Nero V6.0 Video Express is actually quite good. I don't know about Windows Movie Maker 2, I've never used it. There's always Adobe Premiere, but something of a learning curve there and it's expensive.

    There is a recommended program that costs a little more than Pinnacle, DVD something or other, but I can't recall the name of it atm.

    There's also all that free stuff you can get at Doom 9's site and elsewhere, I believe some of it is mentioned in Thrax's XVid to AVI article, which is a really rather excellent article btw.

    Perhaps Thrax could offer a suggestion? I've found that those freebies often require a steep learning curve but once mastered are really rather excellent.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited November 2004
    Are you looking for DVD menu authoring, or DV footage -> DVD-compliant files for authoring? Both?

    I don't quite understand.
  • WeedoWeedo New
    edited November 2004
    Thrax wrote:
    Are you looking for DVD menu authoring, or DV footage -> DVD-compliant files for authoring? Both?

    I don't quite understand.

    Both. I need to be able to make the menu. I can capture DV footage to mpeg or AVI. Then I want to combine it all into a custon DVD. Pinnacle has the menu authoring built in. I did a practice one but everything didn't come out the way I wanted. Now The program is so glithy that things I did the first time I can't get the program to do the second time around. I hate crappily written software.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited November 2004
    Unfortunately there is no good freeware DVD authoring program. I personally use TMPG DVD Author, but it doesn't do what I really want it to. Ulead has better features, but forces a reencode on everything you give it (Even if it's compliant).
  • floppybootstompfloppybootstomp Greenwich New
    edited November 2004
    Weedo, is basically what you're after compiling edited footage to a file you can save in mpeg or avi form, then have some software convert it into a file that can be burnt to DVD?

    If so, I've used Pinnacle to do the editing, saved the footage as a raw mpeg 2 file, then used Nero Video Express to burn the DVD. You basically just follow Nero's wizard and add the files you want to burn to DVD.

    This can be several files and they'll be converted and burnt to a blank DVD. Or you can save them to hard disk to burn at a later date. If you do use several files, they'll be burnt as chapters and you can choose which one you want to play using your PC software or DVD player remote control.

    I've saved a lot of VCR tapes to DVD this way, it works surprisingly well.

    Nero only seems to like the RAW footage from Pinnacle though, if you render the file using Pinnacle, Nero turns it's nose up at it.
  • WeedoWeedo New
    edited November 2004
    I have no problem capturing video to mpeg or avi using Pinnacle 9 and the Dazzle 80 capture device from digicamcorder or vhs. It's when I try to put it all together to make a dvd with a menu and multiple clips and all that good stuff that it won't cooperate. I can see how the program should work, it just wont do what it's supposed to. Quirky and glitchy. Context options I want to use inactive. Imports graphics for a menu screen at low resolution. Music track doesn't work. etc... etc... It just does or doesn't do stuff and I'm scrathing my head at it.
  • floppybootstompfloppybootstomp Greenwich New
    edited November 2004
    Weedo wrote:
    It's when I try to put it all together to make a dvd with a menu and multiple clips and all that good stuff that it won't cooperate. I can see how the program should work, it just wont do what it's supposed to. Quirky and glitchy. Context options I want to use inactive. Imports graphics for a menu screen at low resolution. Music track doesn't work. etc... etc... It just does or doesn't do stuff and I'm scrathing my head at it.


    Aye, I experienced the same problems, which is why I now use Nero to burn edited footage. If I capture footage straight, as one file with no editing, Pinnacle actually burns to DVD OK but it takes about half of forever to do it.

    I mentioned earlier of another video editing program that was recommended but couldn't remember what it was. Thrax mentioned Ulead - that was it. Several products, DVD Movie Factory 3 is the cheapest, Video Studio V8 is reasonable and Media Studio Pro V7 is quite expensive (about £210.00 UK sterling) but meant to be good.

    I've never used any of Ulead's products myself, but they may be worth taking a look at.
  • floppybootstompfloppybootstomp Greenwich New
    edited November 2004
    btw, sytem I use with Pinnacle, basically, is:

    Gigabyte GA700N Pro 2 motherboard
    XP3200 2.2Ghz
    2 x Corsair 512 Value Select PC3200 in dual memory mode
    9800 Pro 128Mb
    2 x WD SATA 120Gb in RAID 0
    1 x WD IDE 120Gb (storage)

    Which I would have thought to be ample for the job I want to do with it.

    But I still get probs with Pinnacle sometimes.
  • WeedoWeedo New
    edited November 2004
    I like Nero for cdr cdrw so maybe ill get that and try it
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