Greetings

So I'm new to DVD authoring, have been all over the internet, read through so many forums and guides and am still at a loss as to what I should buy.

Can anyone tell me what is the best software for a beginner who wants to create TV quality DVDs from Avi files and add menus (don't mind if these are templates)

Basically, I have some films and episodes of TV shows on my PC and want to burn them to DVD.

Apparently Sonic's mydvd studio 6 is good and also Pinnacle Studio and Nero 6, but some reviewers say they slow CPU speed and have a variety of bugs.

All useful advice appreciated!

Clair
X

I started with ULEAD DVD Factory. It steps you intuitively through the process of video capture, scene trimming, menu creation and DVD burning while still allowing some customisation along the way. I graduated to Adobe Encore which is one of the best, but is totally non-intuitive (to the beginner) and expects you to know what to do and what order to do it in.

I would personally recommend Adobe Encore. But then I would as it's the one I have and the only one I know

Actually I though I;d already posted a reply to this question. Is it a double post? Anyway, if it;s some TV recordiong and it;s a one-off effort then downlaod and install the 30 day trial of something (Encore?) and then bash them all out.

I'm not sure what you mean by TV quality DVDs. All DVD authroing packages will be at standard PAL/NTSC resolutions so you'll always get the right level of quality in that sense. Encoding quality may vary slightly. The biggest issue you havew, quality wise, is the quality of your source material. If it's not up to scratch then neither will your final DVD be.

But basicvally, there's plenty of DVD authoring packages around. Play with a few trial versiosn and see which suits you personally.

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I'm not young enough to know everything!

The free software on any mac (idvd) is actually pretty good at encoding, and is pretty fool proof.

Other than that there's the pro end 'dvd studio' which is Dolby certified, and as crisp as you like. (also supports all hd formats and hd dvd burning).


One thing to point out...

I always thought this was rather illegal. Should people be offering advice to those who are admittedly breaking the law?

Just a thought...

it's not really any different to recording TV progs to DVD from your DVD Recorder under the TV is it?

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I'm not young enough to know everything!

that depends on how it got there, where it's from and where it's going, how much of the credits you chop off the end, and how nicely you ask the copyright/licensing team of the broadcaster/copyright holders.


an expert from international copyright law

"A broadcast qualifies for protection if it is made from the United Kingdom or if it is made from another country to which the qualification clause extends."

It's not illegal on its own.

Start flogging said DVDs on eBay - then its illegal.

The OP wasn't admitting breaking the law, and we shouldn't assume they were.

The TV programmes on her PC might well be ones captured to hard drive courtesy of a TV tuner card.

My Sky+ works in exactly the same way. When I record episodes of Teletubbies using my set-top DVD recorder for my 3-year old, I'm committing no crime.

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Witty signature text coming soon...

Gotta love copyright law!

You are quite legally entitled to make a copy for personal reference VHS/SKY+/DVD recorder. you are NOT entitled to then produce another copy in another format. This is classed as reproduction, for which you require permission from all copyright holders.



"My Sky+ works in exactly the same way. When I record episodes of Teletubbies using my set-top DVD recorder for my 3-year old, I'm committing no crime."

No you're not, but if you were to record them on a computer and them reproduce them on dvd you would be.