5.8 How do I copy my home videos/movies/slides to DVD?
Description
This article is from the DVD Formats FAQ, by jtfrog@usa.net (Jim Taylor) with numerous contributions by others.
5.8 How do I copy my home videos/movies/slides to DVD?
If you're rich enough, put together a system with the following components
* a video digitizer ($300-$10,000)
* an MPEG-2 video encoder ($150-$35,000)
* a Dolby Digital audio encoder ($800-$5,000)
* a DVD-Video authoring application ($500-$70,000)
* a DVD-R recorder ($5,000)
Then take the following steps
* digitize the audio and video from VHS, Hi8, DV, or whatever (for
slides, use a scanner; for film, get it transferred to tape or digital
video at a camera shop or video company)
* encode the video into MPEG-2 (make sure the display frame rate is set
to 29.97)
* encode the audio into Dolby Digital (or, if your video is short enough
that you have room on the disc, format the audio as 48KHz PCM)
* bring the video and audio clips into the DVD-Video authoring program
* create a menu or two if you're ambitious, and link the menu buttons to
your video clips
* if you're converting slides, use the slideshow feature or turn them
into menus (most authoring systems will read TIFF, JPEG, or PhotoShop
files)
* create some chapter points if you're really ambitious (if your
authoring program supports this)
* write your finished gem out to a DVD-R ($40)
Otherwise, if you're like most of us and you make less money in year than
Bill Gates does in a day, then wait until sometime in 2001 when all the
above functionality is available for only a few thousand dollars. Or, in
the meantime, find someone who has the above system and will transfer your
video for a reasonable fee. Or, if MPEG-1 video quality is sufficient for
your needs, get MPEG-1 encoding software and a CD-R/RW formatting
application that supports Video CD (such as Easy CD Creator or Toast from
Adaptec, MPEG Maker-2 from VITEC, NTI CD-Maker from NTI, or WinOnCD from
Cequadrat). Quality won't be as good, and playing time won't be quite as
long, but software, hardware, and blank discs will be much cheaper. Just
make sure that any players you intend to play the disc on can read CD-Rs
(see 2.4.3) and can play Video CDs (see 2.4.5).
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