Burning DVDs - advice

[matt5791]

Hi there,

I am going to want to burn some DVDs soon and am about to install Adobe Premiere pro 1.5 on the PC.

Can anyone point me in the direction as to the type or spec of DVD burner I should be looking at?

the Adobe literature suggests that Pro 1.5 will allow me to burn the DVDs - I have heard of people using additional software, is this advisable?

Finally - Will I be able to expect excellent quality, as good as my mini dv or DVcam original? I have heard of some DVDs being crappy quality for whatever reason. If this is the case I will take a tape and have someone else make the DVDs

Sorry - I'm not very clued up when it comes to computers and software

Thanks

Matt

[tlatosmd]

If you plan on making an MPEG DVD, no, it'll never be as good as your DV original, MPEG is only for storing, viewing, and distributing (via the net, for example), not for editing. However, if you'll burn simple data DVDs of your DV files, it'll be equal as it's only a copy, not a compression. You won't need Premiere to burn data DVDs, there'll be the one software completely optimized for your burner coming right with it.

[christoph]

i like the pioneer drives, but plextor makes good stuff too as does sony and others... got a Pioneer-109 myself the other day, about 55EUR for a dual layer burner.

as for quality, it depends on the software, your settings and how much you want to fit on a DVD. you can fit 1 hour encoded around 6-7mbit/sec VBR on a DVD, which makes it hard to spot a difference to the original.
dont buy the cheapest blanks since you risk they wont play on some players. other than that there is no difference in picture quality.

dunno premiere but usually you want an authoring programm for making dvd.

++ christoph ++

[christoph]

However, if you'll burn simple data DVDs of your DV files, it'll be equal as it's only a copy, not a compression.

this is useful for storage but not for viewing, since you cant play it on any DVD player (nor on a computer without copying it first to the HD)

seriously, mpeg2 at high bitrates encoded with a decent prog looks very good (although you're right, dont use it if you want to edit it later on, but it's a great distribution format).
++ christoph ++

[tlatosmd]

dont buy the cheapest blanks since you risk they wont play on some players.

As for compatibility issues, watch out what you buy as for burner and blanks, there's PLUS blanks and MINUS blanks (when buying, watch out if the labels say either 'DVD-R/RW' or 'DVD+R/RW'), and there are burners and players for only one of these and other, more costly burners and players that do both. It's a bit like NTSC and PAL, yet generally speaking, minus media are a bit more widely accepted than plus media.

[christoph]

As for compatibility issues, watch out what you buy as for burner and blanks, there's PLUS blanks and MINUS blanks (when buying, watch out if the labels say either 'DVD-R/RW' or 'DVD+R/RW'),

true, i think these days most recorders can do burn formats (DVD-R and +R) and it's a non issue for computer playback.. but some cheap standalone players had more problems with DVD+R.
also note that you should NOT use DVD-RW or DVD+RW since those are rewritables which hardly play anyware (and cost much more).
++ christoph ++

[al77]

check out the 'today only' offers on scan in Bolton, they usually have good prices on dvd burners. I got a pioneer drive from them last year. I use mainly DVD-r discs & find it loves the cheapo Ritek discs, although you do get a couple of coasters out of every 25.

I also use Premiere pro - but i found premiere's built in mpeg2 encoders lacking in quality. So now i edit in premiere, export the timeline as uncompressed AVI. Then i use TMPGEnc 2.5 to encode to mpeg2 & finally TMPGEnc DVD author to do the menu's & burn the DVD. I'm much happier with the mpeg encoding on TMPGEnc than on premiere - a lot closer to the original AVI.

Good luck :-)

[Alex]

Here's the oddball suggestion, it's the simplest, least macho way to do it.

Finish your video, output it to mini-dv via firewire.

Import that DV tape it to a standalone DVD recorder such as a Pioneer 520 via firewire.

Set your bit rate, you have 32 choices! Add your chapters in real time.

The primary weakness to this method is you only get 9 template menu designs to choose from, so you won't be able to customize your menu page, although you do get to insert thumbnail pictures for the different shows you may want to put on the DVD and add very basic titles. Making the chapter skips is real easy.

Even if later you decide you must have a custom menu page on your DVD, the method above is so dang fast to do it's an excellent way to get your DVD out if you are in a hurry.

[christoph]

Here's the oddball suggestion, it's the simplest, least macho way to do it.

yes, and it's also the most expensive one :P
but if you have the money for a decent DVD standalone recorder and a DV camera/player with S-Video out, it's definitely fast (actually not that fast since you have to play it out and into the DVD recorder in realtime, but hey, you could loop through) and convenient.
[edit: forgot that there are standalone DVD players with firewire input, but i guess those are not cheap either.]

++ christoph ++

[Alex]

The standalone DVD recorders are now down to $399 for a Pioneer.

I doubt very many people who finish a long project on the computer are actually having success burning it to a DVD the first time out.

[super8man]

Are you guys on drugs? What's the big deal of making DVDs from timeline projects (that are composed of avi files, etc)??? And, as for inserting chapters in realtime, are you nuts? Who the heck wants to babysit an output and be stessed out for when the next scene change comes...No sir, I think that sounds like a truly old school method myself...but hey, I like old school sometimes!!! Long live super 8!

[christoph]

Are you guys on drugs?[/color]

which guys?:)
alex input is definitely worth a thought for those not at ease with computers, all those codec options can be confusing...

oh, and btw, your pretty colors make the posts kinda hard to read (at least to my eyes)
++ christoph ++

[super8man]

I only say that because I know HARDWARE solutions are waaay more expensive than SOFTWARE solutions (like with PC hardware) so my real point is that if you have enough $$ to go the hardware route, you really would not likely be a super 8 shooter worrying about jitter, blue streaks, breathing and processing woes.

However, with a cheap (modern dell-like) PC and some basic software, you should be able to author DVDs with little loss upon creation of the final MPG2 dvd compliant video...

[Alex]

Super-8 man, are you saying that a $399.00 DVD burner is cost prohibitive?

And the codecs are already built in, you simply choose from an easy to use menu the ideal bit rate.

We've ALL read stories about of people who get 99% of the project burned, it's taken all night, and then the system crashes.4

I don't understand how exporting to tape is a "risk", it's an essential step to properly archiving any computer edit master and needs to be done anyway.

[super8man]

It's about 10 times what you need to spend, but hey, its a free market...

Here:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6827152039

NEC Beige 16X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 4X DVD+R DL 16X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 24X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2M Cache IDE DVD Burner - OEM: $37.99

For the rest of the $360, get a dell and then even surf the net once you are done burning...I forget the website that has all the free shipping codes but I still see no need for a hardware item like that...but hey, again, you are free to choose.

best,
mike