Audio & video software forum: Need software for burning camcorder videos to DVDs for preservation

I have put VHS videos onto DVD formats with Roxio, and take videos from my camera and create DVD videos, or VCD (CD size disk that will play on most DVD players).

try http://www.roxio.com/

There are others, like Sony's Movie Studio, and Apple has good programs too.

To start, get Roxio, it does lots of things that are useful.

Hi there! Some people think that its difficult to deal with the wide variety of camcorders video format. The only tool that we have known it is the "Codecs" & "drivers" with the apropriate and updated software that let you manage and process all popular video formats.

You say that the right solution it is "buy a proper MAC". I dont think so. I suggest you instead of waste your money on one new PC or MAC, either check and update your codecs & drivers, or try a new O.S. like Windows7 and enjoy the new features where youll edit any video format as you want. Simple and easy, without throw away your money on one MAC.

KInd Regards.

Lawtimes74

Try DVDSanta even the demo works quite well. With
the demo it does place a watermark upper left and
lower right on the first 30 seconds of the resultant
DVD.

You do not need to install anything for most camcorders if you have Windows Vista or 7. Microsoft has a cool program called DVD Maker that will do exactly what you want. http://windowslive.com/Desktop/MovieMaker

I have a very good program that copies not only photos and other files but will also burn videos I have been using it for several years. It came with my first CD burner. It is called Nero, and it works great. You can go to www.nero.com and get all the info and price. Sorry but it is not free.

In Windows Vista Basic you should still have Windows Movie Maker instead, this was also included in XP and that does a very similar job to DVD maker.

Hi,
Please walk me through on how to download that free programe / video converter.

Sorry I did not specify, I actualy want to convert dvd and vcd files to Video/3gpp or Video/mp4 and the other way round.

Hi, I am not a serious expert, but I am using my computer for years. I have a Sony camcorder, a few years old, and it came with a program which helps me to download the videos I made on the Sony. After I downloaded the pictures to my computer, I can easily cut DVD-s for both the moving pictures and the still ones. I think, if you go in to a store where they sell camcorders, somebody should be able to give specific advice on this. My Sony is at least 5 years old, it was on the expensive side at the time I purcased it, so they might have even more upgraded programs to do this. It is a fairly easy process. I think I used a software package in the past (beside the one which came with the camcorder) called Nero or something like that, I am sure they are several programs like that. Again a store which sells these camcorders could give you more specific advice. Good luck. (It is a lot of fun!!!)
szpetro@ucsd.edu

Download the free windows live software from microsoft and use the windows live movie maker software included in the package. this software integrates with vista well and gives you messenger , mail, and photo software also...

http://download.live.com/messenger

There are many vendors of "camcorder to DVD" software. I haven't come across many that require you to remove other software that may be in conflict.
I have used Pinnacle for many years, but learned how to use it, using Broderbund's Total Burn.

That is to say that Broderbund's was a bit easier to use. But, it doesn't offer as much as Pinnacle's.

Why I suggest Pinnacle is that you can do so much with it. I use version 9 still (I had an install issue with version 10). I have upgraded the computer a couple times, & it works right along (going faster yet, with each upgrade).
Also with 9 (or Pinnacle on a whole), you can use a third party disc burning program after you have rendered the movie.
Pinnacle has always been there with support too! Updates, errors, returns everything.

I am thinking about version 14, as I'll be switching to a 64 bit OS soon. Also the later versions allow you to import more formats (mpg, xvid etc). But I won't give up the older versions till way late.

There are quite a few programs out there. I haven't tried them all. I'm sure there is better or worse.
Ease of use, like I said, there is a small learning curve (as with anything new), but you can get passed that in little time. You can just drag the movie & click make disc if you don't want to edit anything. Or you can touch it up, as transitions, menus & things like that.
They even provide a way to get the movie to your computer. I use Movie Box Deluxe. Which hooks up to nearly everything. I will say that you have to be careful when capturing, as sometimes frames get dropped, or portions of the shoot, won't come off just right. More than 90% of the time, the capture is flawless & you can leave it unattended.

Hope this helps on your quest. Good luck.

I am certain you will receive lots and lots of suggestions with regard to software. My only addition to those is that you should only consider packages that will let you try them out for a limited time period, and do exactly that. Second, the DVD is giving way to Blu-Ray, and Blu-Ray burners have been on the market for a couple of years now. I would recommend buying one - they're not terribly expensive any more, and considering you have an HD camcorder, wouldn't it be nice if you could store and view your video in HD? Because DVD is not capable of handling the resolution your camcorder provides, so if you store your videos on DVD, you will lose that lovely HD quality forever. This means that whatever package you end up getting, has to be able to master Blu-Ray. I believe there are currently only three or four mastering suites that do that. As an aside, the Blu-Ray burner will let you write 25 or 50 GB data disks, nice for backup.

On the same score, you may want to consider updating your Vista to Windows 7, which is very stable, and has HD compatibilities that work much better than those in Vista. You're going to Windows 7 anyway, eventually, so perhaps this is a good time to do that.

I have one comment on your mention of "preserving on DVD". It is brief: DON'T. DVDs are an unreliable storage method, they are easy to damage, there are compatibility issues between different brands of drives, in short - great for distribution, not great for storage. I recommend getting a multimedia server with gobs of disk space, if you have the wherewithall you can set up a simple cheap desktop with a large RAID drive, like a 2 terabyte Fantom, and make that accessible from your network, and use it to store all your "stuff" on. Periodically, as technology advances, you will have to move your files to larger disk arrays, in my case, every two years or so, when I begin to run out of space, but your "preserving" will last way beyond the life of a DVD. And in the future, you and your children can still copy your videos to whatever the playback technology of the age is.

I know, hschyma - but I was trying to make it simpler for him, not more complicated. I see no advantage in storing HD on DVD, which, as a format, will disappear over time.

depending on the video format it comes out as you might be able to use this program i like it a lot it might be helpfull

http://www.effectmatrix.com/Free-MKV-DVD/index.htm
it cover just mkv but will make other with a small watermark unless you get the paid for version

paid for version covers for sure these formats

video
HD-DV, MKV, Blu-ray TS, TP, M2TS, AVCHD, WMV-HD, Youtube Flv, RM, RMVB, 3gp, h264, Xvid, MOV, VOB, Mpeg, Mpeg4, WMV, ASF, DV, Nsv, Ogm, AVI
audio
Mp3, Mp2, Wav, Wma, Ogg, Amr, Ac3, Au

but to get a better idea check out the site
http://www.effectmatrix.com/Free-MKV-DVD/index.htm

And how is this going to get the video edited?