Looking for free DVD authoring software that doesn't re-encode and supp

[DaDude]

I just got a DVD recorder. I like the way it records, but it's very sloppy when adding chapter stops and putting together a dvd menu. So, I would like to edit it with a computer software since I have a DVD burner on my computer. Currently, I have Ulead Video Studio 10 and it can easily extract the Mpeg 2 videos from the recorded DVD. However, the problem is, this software doesn't support Dolby AC3 audio, which is audio codec that the DVD recorder uses to record the videos. It only supports PCM or Mpeg 2 audio, which is ridiculous IMHO since Dolby is the standard audio codec that is used in 99% of DVDs. So, the software will not author a DVD from Mpeg videos with a Dolby AC3 audio.

I tried a few free DVD authoring softwares out there, but all of them re-encode the videos, which is crazy because the videos don't need to be re-encoded since they're already encoded in the proper format. It just needs to be formatted into a DVD file with menus and chapters added. Ulead VideoStudio is able to do that without a problem, but like I said, it will not accept these videos recorded from the player since it won't support Dolby AC3.

So, are there any free DVD authoring softwares that doesn't re-encode and supports Dolby AC3 audio? I'm not looking for anything fancy. I'm just looking for a simple software that will take a bunch of Mpeg 2 videos (with AC3 audio), create a simple DVD menu, add some chapter stops, and format it into a DVD file?? Does one exists?

Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[phackett]

Hi DaDude,

Buy 2x 2TB Hard Drives and mirror them to give you your backup. In Australian money a Seagate Sata3 2TB HD costs $94. So 2 would cost you $192. To get the same amount of storage from DVD's based on 4.7GB per disc and assuming no wasted space, you would need 425 dvds. From the same supplier of the above Hard Drive the price for 100 Verbatim DVDs is $36 lets ignore the 25 and assume you buy even bundles that's $144. Now to ensure you don't lose any videos you'd want to back up those DVDs so that's another $144 (and a lot of hard work duplicating) for a total cost of $288 for a similar level of redundancy, but without the flexibility. The numbers are similar if you went for a 2xTB Drive option. Or alternatively, for a little more money but still cheaper and a lot more flexible than the DVD option, you could go for external USB Hard Drives, eg 2x Seagate 3.5 USB3.0 Expansion's is $218 (or $109 each). All of this is in Australian prices. :)

[Brandon H Supervisor]

Ok, just one more question. If DVD is a dying format, where you people suggest I store all those mp4 digital videos that I encode? Even a 32 GB USB flash drive is not enough to store all those videos I want to keep and even then, DVD discs have a longer lifespan than USB because USB flash drives are known to fail after excessive use. Ok, so I can buy a 1 TB hard drive. But still, what if the hard drive crashes? I lose all my videos?? There's a reason I'm clinging onto DVDs. They provide the best security that my videos will last for many years to come. Is there a better way to store all those GBs of videos that I plan to create??

that's a lot of what ifs there. you could play the same game with dvds. what if some moister gets under the label, what if they get too badly scratched .. etc

what I'm saying is you're over thinking it, and the truth of the matter is an external hard drive has a less chance of going bad over several years then a dvd-r going bad due to scratches and other factors. and trust me when i say from experience CD-Rs and DVD-Rs for whatever reason scratch a lot easier than professionally pressed disks

[DaDude]

that's a lot of what ifs there. you could play the same game with dvds. what if some moister gets under the label, what if they get too badly scratched .. etc

what I'm saying is you're over thinking it, and the truth of the matter is an external hard drive has a less chance of going bad over several years then a dvd-r going bad due to scratches and other factors. and trust me when i say from experience CD-Rs and DVD-Rs for whatever reason scratch a lot easier than professionally pressed disks

True, but one scratched DVD means one lost movie. While one bad hard drive means HUNDREDS of movies lost!

[Brandon H Supervisor]

True, but one scratched DVD means one lost movie. While one bad hard drive means HUNDREDS of movies lost!

this is true, but this is why you'd do something like phackett recommended

or there's also options in the cloud, though for as many videos as it sounds like you have most will cost some money for that much storage (if anything you could always upload the videos to a private youtube account :))

[DaDude]

Sorry for the stupid, ignorant question, but what's "phackett?"

[+BudMan MVC]

mp4/mkv is not a codec btw - those are containers.. Way back in this thread stated H.264 and then pick your fav container.

So your now rethinking the whole burning to dvd thing? ;)

"I can see why you guys want be to play through video files. It's more futureproof"

Exactly!!! Its a file - I can store it anywhere, don't have to worry about media that can or can not be read/played - and as I mentioned before mpeg2 is not the most efficient storage of said media. Nor is placing those on a dvd in a format that standalone player can read them. Limitations and not very size friendly -- I can put way more information on that same media if I just use a different file format.

As to storage/backup - I never said not to keep your dvds, I clearly mentioned that are good for your backup copy of your video that you ripped using your dvd recorder. But I would not store them on the media in mpeg2 format so standalone can read them - again it is not space efficient storage. I can put a whole season of tv show on 1 dvd in better quality mind you.. And in your way you can get what a couple of episodes, and then limitation of dvd format of resolution limited, etc..

To be honest, I really don't care for backup of something like a tv show or movie -- they can always be gotten again. What requires backup is what can not be recovered -- my home movies of my gd, etc. Now those I have on multiple disks, on optical both here and my sons house for DR, and as well as in the cloud.. Those movies will not be lost, but sorry I can always rerip a copy sanford and sons or Sienfield. If your worried about loss of disk costing you time in recovery/rerip - then run some parity to hedge against that. Again Raid or parity is not a backup!! There are many ways to get parity of your data in case of loss of physical drive failure. You can go with the standard 5 or 1, etc. even get paranoid with 6, etc. Or you can go with something like snapraid or unraid, or drive pooling with copies of critical data on more than one physical disk in a non parity way. Many ways to skin the cat when all your working with is a file ;)

[DaDude]

Ok, I was trying to convert some of my videos to MP4 using Freemake Video Converter and the video is coming out choppy, i.e. the motion lost its smoothness. Is there a better free MP2 --> MP4 converter out there?

BTW- I'm trying to edit out commercials while converting the videos to MP4. Freemake does just that, but like I said, the video isn't very smooth. So, if you guys can help me find one that edits and converts without losing the video's smoothness, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Thanks!

[LaP]

Ok, I was trying to convert some of my videos to MP4 using Freemake Video Converter and the video is coming out choppy, i.e. the motion lost its smoothness. Is there a better free MP2 --> MP4 converter out there?

Thanks!

Avidemux

btw you are not converting video to mp4. It's a container. It contains a video, audio tracks, subtitles, chapters and such.

In Avidemux you'll be required to choose 3 formats. One format for the video (recommend h264), one format for the audio (recommend aac) and one file container (mkv/mp4 it's your choice). You can edit/add/remove subtitles too. Not sure you can edit/create chapters using it though.

There's better converters with more options out there. But Avidemux is a fire and forget muxer/demuxer and is really easy to use. If you want more control you can try Handbreake.

[DaDude]

Thank you, LaP. I appreciate the help!

[Brandon H Supervisor]

Sorry for the stupid, ignorant question, but what's "phackett?"

phackett is a neowin user a couple posts above my previous one

[+BudMan MVC]

I normally use mp4 as my container and handbrake works great! But yeah Avidemux is also a very good tool.

If your looking to move to mkv container - easy to use tool is http://www.makemkv.com

[DaDude]

Thanks, Budman.

I always understood why people prefer video files. But the only reason why I never used them is because I can only play them on the computer. When I'm at home, I'd rather sit back on my comfortable couch and watch on my bigger LCD TV in my living room than sit in from of a desk watching on a computer. I always liked formatting to DVD so I can pop the DVD into my player and watch in my living room. But like you guys pointed out, physical media always ends up obsolete over a short period of time. So, that's a big disadvantage there.

[hckngrtfakt]

Thanks, Budman.

I always understood why people prefer video files. But the only reason why I never used them is because I can only play them on the computer. When I'm at home, I'd rather sit back on my comfortable couch and watch on my bigger LCD TV in my living room than sit in from of a desk watching on a computer. I always liked formatting to DVD so I can pop the DVD into my player and watch in my living room. But like you guys pointed out, physical media always ends up obsolete over a short period of time. So, that's a big disadvantage there.

With digital files, and any computer plugged onto your tv (even the most common of laptops) you can still sit on your couch and enjoy whichever movie you may like, without the need to shuffle/browse through who knows how many DVD's you may have.

Movies are always a click away, contrary to having to load a disc, wait for the player to read it, menus, play, etc...

[DaDude]

With digital files, and any computer plugged onto your tv (even the most common of laptops) you can still sit on your couch and enjoy whichever movie you may like, without the need to shuffle/browse through who knows how many DVD's you may have.

Movies are always a click away, contrary to having to load a disc, wait for the player to read it, menus, play, etc...

I guess this is where the PC port on the back of my LCD TV comes in handy. :)

I lose the ability to play movies with my remote, but it's better than nothing. I suppose I could get a wireless mouse.

[Guth]

I haven't read the whole topic

Doesn't Burning to DVD, ripping to computer, editing then burning to DVD again defeat the purpose of your DVD recorder.

You might as well have got a capture card and just cap straight from TV (in better quality) then edit and burn to dvd.

Would've been cheaper and saved on the DVDs and time :)

However, no point in going down that route now since you already have the burner, I use convertXtoDVD. Its the best software I've ever found for making DVDs. Its also really easy to make your own menus and everything. its quite neat.

edit: have read topic now, what I said has already been covered, many times :laugh: ignore me :)

[Brandon H Supervisor]

@DaDude could always buy an IR receiver with a media center remote too http://www.newegg.co...N82E16880101002

[LaP]

Thanks, Budman.

I always understood why people prefer video files. But the only reason why I never used them is because I can only play them on the computer.

Most of the good quality blu ray players these days can play back video files. I think some tvs can even play back video files from an external hdd. If your current tv or disc player can't play files your next one (let's say in 4-5 years) will be able to do it i'm 100% sure of that. It's future proof no doubt about it as long as you keep backup (one version of the file on the computer and a copie to an external hdd).

I lose the ability to play movies with my remote, but it's better than nothing. I suppose I could get a wireless mouse.

The logitech diNovo Mini is a really good option. It's expensive though. If you use your pc to watch video files don't forget the win key + p shortcut to switch between display quickly. [edit] Looks like Logitech doesn't make the diNovo mini anymore. Personally i recommend a small media wireless keyboard with a trackpad like this one http://www.logitech.com/en-us/product/Wireless-touch-keyboard-k400r?crid=26. Remotes are not really good to control a PC imo. I have not tested that kayboard so read reviews before buying.

You can always use your phone to control the pc too via wifi. Apps like TeamViewer let you do that.

[DaDude]

Yeah, my current Blu-ray player is the Sony BDP-S360. It's a great player I've owned for 3 years and had no problems whatsoever. However, it's only barebones, so no streaming or media playing. It just plays Blu-rays and DVDs.

Next time when I buy a new player (if this Sony one ever breaks down), I will probably invest in an Oppo. They're pricey, but they're durable and play pretty much every media file out there!

[+BudMan MVC]

Thought we already went over this watching on your couch thing?

Get yourself a player, they can range from anywhere from <100 to few hundred. I picked up my popcorn A110 many years ago.. (just looked up the info in my gmail, orded on 2/13/09 -- so going on 4 years I have had it, works like a Champ, has played everything I have thrown at it for $215. Such devices can be had for much cheaper these days.

Shoot you want a cheap way to do it - get yourself a raspberry pi for $35 - lots of options for a remote

http://lifehacker.co...35-raspberry-pi

I can watch any video file on my server on any of 3 tvs in the house. Using the 1 popcorn hour, simple wiring av rec and component switch that runs my many inputs to the other TVs. I can watch either of 2 dvrs, my popcorn or my vhs/dvd/recorder - which have never done actually - its outdated ;) etc on any TV in the house. Simple flip of switch to what I want to watch where.

Now the wife won't me spend the money on super remote I would like to get. But just using simple RF extender that is size of battery you put in your remote as battery I can control my popcorn from any room in the house, same goes for my dvrs.

No need to put any sort of disk in anything.. Be it I want to watch movie or video of my grand daughter - click click there you go menu driven listing of every video I have, every picture and my full music library. All from the comfort of my couch ;)

I know you don't want to buy a new TV, or might not even want to spend the money on a player -- but hey get yourself a raspberry pi for $35 and there you go.. Your in this century for how to watch video ;)

[hckngrtfakt]

Thought we already went over this watching on your couch thing?

Get yourself a player, they can range from anywhere from <100 to few hundred. I picked up my popcorn A110 many years ago.. (just looked up the info in my gmail, orded on 2/13/09 -- so going on 4 years I have had it, works like a Champ, has played everything I have thrown at it for $215. Such devices can be had for much cheaper these days.

Shoot you want a cheap way to do it - get yourself a raspberry pi for $35 - lots of options for a remote

http://lifehacker.co...35-raspberry-pi

I can watch any video file on my server on any of 3 tvs in the house. Using the 1 popcorn hour, simple wiring av rec and component switch that runs my many inputs to the other TVs. I can watch either of 2 dvrs, my popcorn or my vhs/dvd/recorder - which have never done actually - its outdated ;) etc on any TV in the house. Simple flip of switch to what I want to watch where.

Now the wife won't me spend the money on super remote I would like to get. But just using simple RF extender that is size of battery you put in your remote as battery I can control my popcorn from any room in the house, same goes for my dvrs.

No need to put any sort of disk in anything.. Be it I want to watch movie or video of my grand daughter - click click there you go menu driven listing of every video I have, every picture and my full music library. All from the comfort of my couch ;)

I know you don't want to buy a new TV, or might not even want to spend the money on a player -- but hey get yourself a raspberry pi for $35 and there you go.. Your in this century for how to watch video ;)

While a great suggestion, is definitely leaning towards the pricey/tech-savy side.

He could easily get a cheap upgrade for "everything"

http://www.frys.com/product/7275763

:punk:

(plug to TV, stream from PC ... done)

[DaDude]

While a great suggestion, is definitely leaning towards the pricey/tech-savy side.

He could easily get a cheap upgrade for "everything"

http://www.frys.com/product/7275763

:punk:

(plug to TV, stream from PC ... done)

Whoa! Are they THAT cheap?? Where have I been?

[The Dark Knight]

Ok, here is what I would recommend. I myself do almost all of it. :)

1. Convert all your videos and movies using a program called Handbrake. Some of the options in it can seem a bit daunting at first, but they are actually very easy to master. There are numerous guides online as well.
   
2. Either get a network player like Roku, WD, Popcorn Hour etc, or build your own HTPC (home theatre pc) using old parts and run something like XBMC (xbox media center) on it.
   
3. For backups, burn all your files to DVD / Blu-ray or just dump them on to a hard disk. Either way, I would recommend you keep an offsite copy of it as well.
   
4. If you have a high speed internet connection, upload all your videos to the cloud. I would suggest Amazon Glacier. The pricing is dirt cheap even if you have tons of data. You can also send them your HDD full of stuff and they will put on their servers. Another option for cloud backup is Carbonite which charges $59 a year for unlimited storage
   

[hckngrtfakt]

Whoa! Are they THAT cheap?? Where have I been?

plus look at the formats it plays :)

you'll be saving that extra mp4 encoding time/work and play your files directly as MPG2

[+BudMan MVC]

He could easily get a cheap upgrade for "everything"

http://www.frys.com/product/7275763

(plug to TV, stream from PC ... done)

Exactly!!! Which was my listing player <100 - but yeah that is even cheaper than pi.. There you go, that is in the budget for pretty much anyone - cheaper than even a cheap dvd player ;)