What do I need to edit and burn DVDs?

[Buckaroo_Banzi]

Have Microsoft XP Media Center Edition (preloaded). Looking to buy USB
external dual-layer DVD writer and everything I need to edit and burn
movies (ones I can not purchase).

Two questions:

1) Which DVD writer? (looking at iomega)

2) List of everything else I will need.

 

[Arno Wagner]

Have Microsoft XP Media Center Edition (preloaded). Looking to buy USB
external dual-layer DVD writer and everything I need to edit and burn
movies (ones I can not purchase).

Two questions:

1) Which DVD writer? (looking at iomega)

I don't know about their writers, but everything else Iomega
at least used to be pretty unreliable. Also DL disks are
not the most reliable at the moment, even if you find a
disk/burner combination that works well together. And they
are expensive.

I would recomend USB HDDs (reliable if good HDDs are used and
cooled adequately) or professional tape (reliable for long-term
storage, but not too fast on access) instead, depending on whether
this is for archiving or easy access.

Arno

 

[For what it's worth.]

Actually want to be able to play the movie on my DVD player so the
whole family can watch.

 

[Jim]

This is important a part of the original question, your question remains
wide open for other left out details as well. Like what is the source of
the A/V data and its format.
A general reply to your question would make a full website, like
videohelp.com for instance.

In the future, keep your newsgroup screen name the same while in the same
thread.
.............
Jonny

 

[For what it's worth.]

I did state the source of the A/V: it's Media Center. Media Center uses
a new file format called DVR-MS. DVR-MS is an MPEG-2 file that includes
metadata about the recorded program to be stored.

The actual A/V device that the computer uses with Media Center is the
HP dual tuner (translate also to Adaptec AVC-3610). It would also
interest me to capture from this device circumventing Media Center and
its wacky format, which at last account couldn't be edited or
translated into anything usable for producing A/V that one can edit and
burn a DVD from. As far as I know, I can't split up the video onto
multiple DVD so that is why I am thinking of a dual layer DVD burner,
maybe I can get the whole thing, commercials and all, onto it.

I have tried video help areas but when I attempted to follow the advice
I ended up purchasing cables (in one instance, to get around Media
Center and connect to my cable box with a Fire Wire cable) and
attempting to hobble together shareware or freeware utilities for
editing and burning and ended up getting nowhere. I think the Fire Wire
route was a waste, as from what I see movies have the protection turned
on and I can't do anything with them.

I am looking for any real solution, including purchasing a different
video tuner or input device so I can finally get edited movies to DVD.
I just want something that is guaranteed to work.

As far as changing my screen name, that was an accident. I posted, and
then joined the group. When I joined the group I put in a new name
thinking that the first posting would pick it up and it didn't.

 

[Rod Speed]

I did state the source of the A/V: it's Media Center. Media Center
uses a new file format called DVR-MS. DVR-MS is an MPEG-2 file
that includes metadata about the recorded program to be stored.

The actual A/V device that the computer uses with Media Center
is the HP dual tuner (translate also to Adaptec AVC-3610). It would
also interest me to capture from this device circumventing Media
Center and its wacky format, which at last account couldn't be
edited or translated into anything usable for producing A/V that
one can edit and burn a DVD from.

That isnt true. There is quite a bit of dvr-ms support
in everything from Roxio EMC to VideoReDo Plus etc.

The main current lack is repairing a bad dvr-ms file that was the
result of say running out of hard drive space during the capture.
dvr-ms is worse than say ts in that the basic data needed to use
the file isnt written till its closed properly and that is a problem if
the capture crashes without it being written. ts keeps that data
in a separate file during the capture so its available for repair in
the event of a crash during the capture.

As far as I know, I can't split up the video onto multiple DVD

Yes you can. Any of the systems that can burn a DVD and can
use dvr-ms files can do that. Roxio EMC can produce multiple
DVDs from a single dvr-ms file that is too big to fit on a single
DVD too, tho its still a dvr-ms file so you need to restore it to
a hard drive to play it. Fine for offline storage, main downside
is that you cant put it in a DVD player and play it offline.

so that is why I am thinking of a dual layer DVD burner,
maybe I can get the whole thing, commercials and all, onto it.

I have tried video help areas but when I attempted to follow the
advice I ended up purchasing cables (in one instance, to get around
Media Center and connect to my cable box with a Fire Wire cable)
and attempting to hobble together shareware or freeware utilities
for editing and burning and ended up getting nowhere.

It can be done. I do it.

I think the Fire Wire route was a waste, as from what I see movies
have the protection turned on and I can't do anything with them.

I am looking for any real solution, including purchasing a different
video tuner or input device so I can finally get edited movies to
DVD. I just want something that is guaranteed to work.

You need quite a bit of computing horsepower to
transcode the dvr-ms file into say avi, but it works
fine with stuff like VideoReDo and Roxio EMC.

 

[Toshi1873]

This is important a part of the original question, your question remains
wide open for other left out details as well. Like what is the source of
the A/V data and its format.
A general reply to your question would make a full website, like
videohelp.com for instance.

Or alt.video.dvd.authoring or alt.video.dvd.software

 

[ggull]

I did state the source of the A/V: it's Media Center. Media Center uses
a new file format called DVR-MS. DVR-MS is an MPEG-2 file that includes
metadata about the recorded program to be stored.

Rod Speed's advice sounds good, but have you tried the newsgroup
microsoft.public.windows.mediacenter, I think it's called?
(not sure about the ".windows" part.)