Hi there,

I have just finished making a short movie for a school project using Movie Maker 2 (I know it's not the best video editing software, but it's free and is probably the only one I know how to use ) but it does not seem to be able to output to a dvd file...

Anyone know where I could find a decent program that could convert my .wmv file into a DVD? If possible, something that can make menu's and such and not be overly priced or hard to use.

Thanks for your help and time,
Hyper Kid

Wow there are loads.

If you just want a simple menu without too many refinements I would go with Nero Vision (Nero 7 [Nero Vision 4]) which can be downloaded as part of the Nero Premium suite. A demo is available for free download, but there are restrictions on file sizes with the demo.

You could make better use of your money by buying a budget video editing program which also includes basic DVD authoring. Something like Pinnacle Studio 10 or Adobe Premiere Elements 3 will do the job, and you will find that you have much greater editing control than Windows MM allows.

If you do stick with MM, remember to export your finished movies as DV AVI format, as opposed to WMV. All DVD authoring programs have to compress and convert the movie into an MPEG2-based file format. WMV files are already compressed, and your finished DVD will be of poorer quality. You are better off giving the conversion software a good quality movie file to begin with.

Anyone know where I could find a decent program that could convert my .wmv file into a DVD? If possible, something that can make menu's and such and not be overly priced or hard to use.

If you're just starting out and don't have much cash to spare, you can try out
Magix Movie Edit Pro. It is a budget video editing program with a built-in disc authoring feature which allows you to burn your edited video into VCD/SVCD/DVD. I have tried out the disc-authoring feature and it works satisfactorily and dispenses with the need to purchase a standalone disc-authoring program.
There's a full tutorial of the program, including burning your video to DVD at:

Magix Movie Edit Pro Free Video Editing Course Index


Happy Exploring.

Kumara

Thanks for your replies guys (don't know what DekaFoor's reply is about though) and I think I will go with Adobe Premiere 3 Elements as I think it's about time I get some proper editing software and it seems it has a good DVD authoring feature, all for under £50!

Whats with the spam??

edit by Alan: Referenced spam now removed.

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Wil Chapman Jr.
Oly, Washington
DP, Producer, Editor

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