Recording MPEG 2 to DVD Questions

[clevo]

I am using a Hauppauge PRV-350 to record television, then burn to DVD. I have a couple of questions about this.

A couple of times I think i have read that MPEG 2 can be burned straight to DVD, then played in a stand-alone DVD player. Is that correct? If it is possible, what is involved? My DVD burner, a Sony DRU-700, came with Nero, but I don's see how I can burn an MPEG 2 file to a DVD and have it be playable.

Second question is how much programming can I fit on a 4.7 gb DVD and still have DVD quality video? What are suggested methods for making the most of a blank DVD's space?

Thanks in advance for any help on this.

[dvd_maniac]

A couple of times I think i have read that MPEG 2 can be burned straight to DVD

Yes you can just create a DATA DVD and burn the mpeg-2 files onto it and most of the NEW dvd players will play it. You can check the manufacture's website for compliance.

Second question is how much programming can I fit on a 4.7 gb DVD and still have DVD quality video?

4.38GB of data can fit onto a 4.7GB blank disc. as far as having dvd "QUALITY" video, just because you take a 30 year old Three Stooges VHS tape and capture it with your 350 and burn it on a blank dvd, doesn't make it DVD quality.

My reccomendation is to record some video in sage for about five minutes on each of the DVD quality settings, then burn them to a blank and fire them up in your dvd player. Then use the Record Quality that gives you the smallest file size at your level of satisfactory quality.

[stanger89]

If you want a DVD playable in any STB, then you need to author it. NeroVision Express can do that.

[robertmcox]

This is my objective.

I got a deal for $100/month for cable/internet (time warner/road runner 5mbps) with ALL the channels. After 12 months, they jacked me to $125/month. I burn any good movies from the pay channels to DVD (for my personal fair-use enjoyment). This allows the equipment/software to pay for itself.

Using Sage, I record everything with "DVD Long Play" off digital cable with a 250 and quality is not an issue - you can't really say it's any different than from the set-top.

As for burning, you must first author the .mpeg file to a dvd file structure. Nero Vision does this, but it sucks! It works for maybe 2/5 of the .mpegs I record -- it seems to choke on some videos and then crash. I am speaking re the "express" v6 that comes with the DVD recorder patched to the current level.

Ulead "Video Studio 7" gets my plug. I purchased (maybe $50 at Best Buy) for my camcorder and has never-ever failed to author although the interface is a little clumsier than Nero's. Ulead also can author Sage "DVD" .mpeg recordings to DVD without transcoding which is a real time saver (ex. 2 hour movie = 20mins to author on AthalonThunderbird/1GHz). The Ulead software is really meant to take firewire input and let you drag/drop clips into home DVD movies.

Once the show is authored, check the size. If it's larger than a single-layer DVD, you have 2 choices, 'shrink' or 'split'. I use DVDShrink for both! I have found that with the "DVD Long Play" the shrink threshold is at about 80%. Read the documentation and etc. to learn all the features. This software is most excellent (especially for free)!

Once you have the DVD video structure, burning using your favorite cd/dvd burning software.

[Kanati]

My personal choice for dvd authoring (quickly for tv shows and such) would be Sonic MyDVD. It is easy to just drop videos into a pre built menu and if you need to remove commercials you just hit "edit" and edit them out... click burn and it's off to burn your dvd.

[dvd_maniac]

I think the most easiest to use is TEMPGenc DVDauthor.