Maximum PC

I've just recorded a video, and put multiple pieces together using Windows Live Movie Maker. It has outputted a .wmv movie. Now, i need to make so that it is playable in a DVD player, because I have to show it to someone whose computer might not be able to play it. How should I do this. Should I use DVD+R or DVD-R? What program should I use to burn it so that it plays on a DVD player? Do I need to convert it to a specific video format before burning? Also, are there any other steps that I should take? Thank you for your help (beforehand)!

Daniel

I don't think it matters which type of disk you use (I've used both and haven't seen a difference).

The main problem you are going to run in to is the type of file you are using. Most DVD players are not going to be able to play this type of file.

If it were me, I would use something like DVD Flick to help convert/burn the movie. If you end up using this program, just click Add Title and select the appropriate file and then select Create DVD (you might want to change the pathway to one you remember at the bottom of the screen).

On a computer it should not make a difference but for a standalone DVD player DVD+R is the most compatible.

Looking at WMM when you save movie, it saves it as a WMV then converts/writes it as a DVD movie.

I've tried DVD-flick and it says it cannot burn to the root level of the DVD.
Also, I have some DVD+Rs now, I don't need to exchange them for DVD-Rs, do I? Some websites -Rs are more compatible than +Rs.
What format should I convert the video to, and how do I do that within DVD-flick?

DVD-R's are more compatible, but most DVD players can play both. If you already have DVD+R, I'd try those first.

I use AVStoDVD for this task; I've never used DVD Flick.

AVStoDVD: http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=126647

Winmaster is correct. DVD-R is the most compatible. While most consoles should be up to date and both matter, even 3 year old equipment can puke up +R. DVD+R is good for fast writes, but not compatibility.

The format of what is in your house rules all. You could make a .WMV data DVD and be fine, but only if your DVD player supports .WMV. If you make it into DVD format on a DVD-R disc, that fixes a lot.

I suggest investing in Nero. $75 spent now covers DVD stuff very well, and Blu-Ray as well. I don't see a format change, so it's a great investment if you do this more. Windows Movie Maker sucks IMO. It's limited, I'm lost in it's interface, and just doesn't do anything but allow you to suck something from a camera and add a cheap effect. If you want to start editing clips, DL the trial of TMPEnc and go from there ($100). That will do most of your edits you do daily, and then think about the huge expense of Adobe when you want more. You pay dearly for the hardware to do this stuff, software to actually do it should be a given.

Thanks for the replies. I agree, wmv is horrible.
Few Questions:
1. What format should I convert to? AVS? Or does it automatically convert when burning?
2. What Adobe Software handles DVD burning? I can download a trial because I don't do this everyday, just once.
3. Are there instructions for converting and burning my wmv to another format and burning it do DVD?

I returned my DVD+Rs and switched them for DVD-Rs today. Sorry for so many questions, I am fairly inexperienced when it comes to DVD and media.

Thanks agaiN@

If you're looking at burning DVD's on a fairly regular basis, Adobe Premiere Elements is pretty decent & will automatically convert your file to standard DVD format.

+R Vs -R doesn't matter for 95% of the modern DVD players, where you run into problems is when you get DVD players that are more than about 3 or 4 years old, in which case you can run into problems with both formats.

I have an 8 year old Samsung DVD player that I use to double check compatibility on newly burned disc's. Since moving to Premiere Elements 8, I haven't had any problems with +R or -R disc's in that old player. Previously, I had been using Cyberlink Power Producer which often would turn out coasters in both formats, but especially on the +R's.

You don't want to edit / convert your file to many times, each edit/convert will reduce your quality.

I already have a copy of Premiere Pro CS5, so can I use that to burn? If so, what are the steps to burn to a DVD-R? I don't use Premiere much so I am not that familiar with it.

Before I burn, what program should I use convert the video, and to what format? Thanks.

[drool] Premiere Pro CS5 [/drool]

Yes, you can do pretty much anything within your imagination with Premiere Pro, Elements is simply a dumbed down version of Pro with some of the professional level stuff removed.

Basicly, what you need to do is:
> Start new project
> Import your edited WMV
> Move the clip to the timeline
> Add DVD menu if desired
> Export to "DVD"
> Burn DVD

It's been about 6 months since I made a DVD so there may be another step or two somewhere in there.

Alternatively, you can Import your original clips and re-edit in Premiere Pro.

As for converting the format, I've seen "video pro's" recommend converting to AVI before editing, but I've not found any advantage to doing this, and IIRC Premiere Pro can do any converting that you might want to do.

I've downloaded the CS5 trial edition & will be using it to edit my vacation video together, so if you don't get around to it soon, I may be able to supply more detailed instructions in a few days.

Crap... I can't burn a DVD from the trial version at all and it appears that you have to use Adobe Encore to add DVD menus if you want them, and to actually burn DVD's... definitely not the Premiere Pro that I remember Of course that was like 4 years ago...

Assuming you're running Win 7, I don't see why you just couldn't use Windows DVD Maker... which shouldn't have a need to convert the file either.

DVD Flick is very good at detecting corrupted video files. I use DVD Styler myself, but when DVD Styler begins creating ‘coasters’, I turn to DVD Flick to see if there are errors.

Once DVD Flick has confirmed an error, I re-introduce the video back into WMM. WMM has never failed to prove DVD Flick’s confirmation. However, I’m using WinXP Pro… our situation, it would seem, is different.

The reason I bring this up is that I have a similar situation. I used to burn multiple DVD’s (well over 200), but have recently made dozens of coasters. I know I can’t blame the software… there is something much darker, more sinister going on… but that’s a different topic... for me.

I didn't know Windows DVD maker was there. I will play around with it and see what it does.
[thanks for the suggestion!]

Makes two of us...

??

When I try to import my finished video that is 33 min 14 sec, it says it is not "indexed". What does this mean? I tried putting everything in separately, but I can get it to play a .wma at the same time as a photo is on the screen. This might not be for me... I will try again after Win7 "indexes" everything.

Well... I haven't got a clue on the 'not indexed' thing.... & it tells my that my file type is not supported .m4v... but I did encode to burn to Blu-Ray, not DVD... I own Premiere Elements 8, so I don't need Windows DVD Maker, but still nice to try different things & perhaps it'll save time??? One can hope! So, I'm re-encoding project to WMV NTSC 720p 24 Maximum Quality settings with Premiere Pro, then will try Windows DVD Maker again since myself & my best friend are they only ones that I want to share the video with who actually own a Blu-Ray player, everyone else just has a standard DVD player.

Well, at least encoding to WMV doesn't take anywhere near as long as encoding for Blu-Ray... 25 minutes of content took 7hrs to encode to Blu-Ray... 8 minutes in & it's already at 36% for encoding to WMV... which = 23 minutes to encode a 25 minute video Thank you 6-core CPU!!!

Well, it ended up taking 38 minutes to encode the WMV file, which is pretty good considering I was also playing Wold of Warcraft at the same time...

Didn't have any problem importing the file into Windows DVD Maker, or setting up menu's, but just like Premiere Elements, it's re-encoding before burning, but it is only using about 20-30% of available CPU resorces At least Premiere Elements 8 used 95-99% of all 6 cores. Of course the final product will tell the real story, & I like the menu creation options in Windows DVD Maker!