Burn to DVD - movie Not Clear

[Guest]

I've created several movies in MovieMaker with digital video streamed from my
Sony Handycam and still photos. When I burn the movie to DVD it always loses
quality. I'm looking for advice on the best practice for burning DVD's from
MovieMaker video's (including software applications, processes to follow for
streaming to PC and burning to DVD, etc). I'm really disappointed with the
quality of the movie from Windows MovieMaker so far.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[Wojo]

First are you saving your movie as a DV-AVI file?
This is the highest quality to save to and is recommended when you are
planning on creating a DVD with the videos. The only time you shouldn't use
DV-AVI is if your project is all still images because it tends to distort
them.
Second what are you using as a DVD Authoring program?
There is a list of the most popular ones on my website in the "DVD Creation"
section. Most of them offer free trial downloads that work.
-Wojo

 

[Guest]

Thanks, a few follow-up questions. How about the original stream from the
Sony HandyCam to the PC?? I'm using USB streaming right now and MovieMaker
is capturing it as a .wmv file. Is there a more optimal way to do this?
Should I use firewire? also, can i capture the video from the handycam to
movieMaker in another format than .wmv? I know I can save my finished movie
to a dv-avi, but can I bring the video over to the PC in a format other than
..wmv?

Thanks in advance.

 

[PapaJohn \(MVP\)]

Movie Maker will only capture it to a DV-AVI file if you connect by
firewire... WMV is its only other choice.
--
PapaJohn

Movie Maker 2 and Photo Story 3 website - http://www.papajohn.org
MM2 Tips and Tricks: http://www.simplydv.co.uk/simplyBB/viewtopic.php?t=4693
Online Newsletters: http://www.windowsmoviemakers.net/PapaJohn/Index.aspx

 

[Guest]

Is firewire recommended? Would that increase the quality (better than .wmv
via USB streaming)?

 

[Guest]

And, yes, you should use firewire. Using USB is probably the reason for the
reduction in your quality. If you are losing quality from the finished
movie to the dvd, then you should check the 'preferences' and 'settings' in
your authoring software. Set them to the highest category available to get
the most out of your vid. Good luck.

 

[Wojo]

Papajohn and dickmr got this one.
Firewire is definitely better to use and you will get a higher quality video
using it. Then save as a DV-AVI since your plan is to go to DVD. As Papajohn
said you can only save as DV-AVI if you use firewire.
-Wojo