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DVD Duplication: A Do-It-Yourself Primer
Creating DVD's is not rocket science, however it is a bit of an art. First you will need to get the debit card out and make sure your computer has the following for simply copying tapes to DVD:
- A Pentium 4 class computer running Windows 98SE (or higher!)
- 128 MB
- 15 Gigabyte of free space on the hard drive
- Sound card
- Firewire port
- Video capture (for non-firewire devices like VCRs)
- Vanilla DV player (for duplicating DVDs)
- and the all important DVD burner
Digital Video editting requires the following (minimum recommendations)
- A Pentium 4 class computer running Windows 98SE (or higher!)
- with at least 256 MB
- 60 Gigabytes of free space on the hard drive
A couple of alternatives to the firewire port and video capture board are the Dazzle product line (specifically the Hollywood-DV Bridge at $420), or ADS Pyro line of products. I still like the ATI 8500DV All-in-Wonder video card but it is almost extinct. ATI dropped it because they weren't making enough profit.
Then there is the software. For the most basic dump from tape to DVD the software that comes with the hardware is good enough. However if you want to create masterpieces and become a video editor there is another world:
And lastly there are the blank DVD-Rs. Purchase some DVD-RWs too, so you can make mistakes without creating coasters (i.e. useless DVDs). DVD-R range from $5 to $20 without going into volume purchases and double that for the DVD-RWs. Not all blanks work equally well in all drives. Do your research!
After you get all of this up and running, mastering the art of DVDs is next, good luck.
Step 1:Getting Ready
- Update your BIOS
- Update your Chipset
- Free up 15 Gigabytes of storage space
- Defrag the drive
- Clean boot Windows with a minimum software in memory (SYSTRAY and Explorer would be the absolute minimum).
- Turn off your screen saver and any power saving features like turning off your hard disk!
- Clean the heads on your VCR or Camcorder (regularly!)
Step 2:Capturing Video(assuming everything is hooked up properly)
- Pick your capture rate for MPEG-2:
- 2Mbits per second = recommend it only for incredibly boring videos = 6 hrs per DVD*
- 4Mbits per second = better, may see blurring on fast action = 3 hours per DVD*
- 6Mbits per second = almost perfect -capturing at this rate means your hard disk is writing about 1MB every second = 2 hours per DVD*
- 8Mbits per second = DVD quality = 1 hour video per DVD*
*approximate times
- If capturing several videos make sure all parameters are the same (i.e. resolution and speed)
- Check the audio levels, very important to get a good finished DVD
- Disable on-screen preview to reduce the computer's workload during capture
Tips:
1. Better to get several mini captures vs. one long one. Some software has trouble synchronizing audio-visual after camera stops and starts (or between TV programmes ).
2. Grab some video samples for menus.
3. DVD audio standard is 48mHz not the CD quality 44mHz.
Step 3:DVD authoring
This is really a function of the software used, but here are some tips:
- DVD authoring, many recommend Ulead's DVDMovieFactory or DVD Workshop (better)
- Avoid putting titles and text near the screen borders since TV cuts 10% off of DVD images
- dark buttons/text - DVD player highlighting can get confusing if too light
- 'Back' or 'Home' buttons are a must, no one wants to eject a DVD to start over
Warning: On a 700mHz Celeron it will take 3 hours to encode the files and two hours to write 2 hours of video onto the DVD-R.
- Test (use WinDVD or PowerDVD not MS Player!) before burning.
- Rookies and special projects may benefit from a test burn to a DVD-RW before making the final copy.
Advice: Always check before burning to a DVD-R disc. Remove dust and also clean it radially (if necessary) with an appropriate disc-wipe.
Some Final Advice...
Don't buy cheap hardware
Check for software patches/fixes/updates regularly
Never throw away your source material
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