Creating Professional DVDs from DVD Recorder

[dambrogio]

I have just bougt a panasonic DMR-ES10 DVD recorder. I am interested in how I can create professional DVDs from this recorder. My first tasks are to create DVDs from my many VHS taps and video 8 camcorder tapes. Is it best to convert on the DVD recorder and import to the PC for editing?

If I can help it, I do not want to buy any expensive DVD editing software.

Also keen on knowing how best to split the titles and create menus - on DVD recorder or PC.

[DavidM]

Interesting post... I'm getting a dvd recorder myself soon, and would be interested in seeing how easy it is to change or edit a finalised disk to add menus and so on... via PC (of legally recorded material I must add!)

[eloquence]

The menus that all the DVD Recorders that I've tried create are not at all configurable - you've got a basic background with the manufacturers branding, and thumbnail images for each recording. It works as a menu, but nobody is going to call it professional.

If you want to create higher-quality DVD menus, then you will have to use a PC and use proper DVD creation software. There would still potentially be an advantage to using the DVD Recorder, as it will give a higher quality MPEG stream than some of the cheaper TV Capture cards would get you.
I've used Pinnacle Studio and a couple of others for DVD creation (not from DVD Recorder sources, but the principles the same), and its possible to get either a coverdisc or some OEM versions of software for less than £10, and that will look much better than the menu from the recorder. They will also give you timeline-based editing to allow you to cut recordings to exactly the right point - something that can be hard to do with linear editing.

It isn't hard to edit video recorded with a DVD Recorder using a PC, though - the actual recordings are just normal MPEG streams, so they should be able to be imported by various applications.

For splitting titles and creating menus, you need to pick the best editing package in your budget, and that will give you means to import the clips, view them, and then edit them, put on overlay and titles, and select menu templates for the actual menu creation. On a DVD recorder you can split a title (how depends on the recorder), but cutting and other editing is more tricky.

You say video 8 - if you're talking Hi-8 tapes, then the optimum way to transfer these is probably to get hold of a Digital-8 camcorder, and a firewire card, and you can then view that using the Digital-8 camcorder and transfer it digitally as DV, which will give you a high-quality transfer for editing. For VHS transfer, the simplest way to get a reasonable-quality transfer is probably to use a DVD-Recorder with integrated VHS player which has a specific function for transferring VHS to DVD, and then look at editing in the PC from that.

[harlequin]

Can your pc dvd-recorder read dvd-ram discs ?
If it can you would be best to record to dvd-ram on the standalone recorder , use something like ulead dvd movie factory ( approx 30.00 ) to edit the dvd-ram , and create a menu front end , then make an iso image for a final dvd.

Then burn that dvd iso to dvd-/+r with the burner.