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Will, It sound like your computer is equipped with firewire and you know how to do 'data transfer' via firewire to your computer. I think you are on the right track of using FW to transfer video to your computer. It will be the easiest way to do a project. You do need a 'bridge' between your FW card and your VCR. You have two choices: (1) buy a Sony D8 that has the pass-through feature (so that you don't have to record) and use the camcorder as the analog to DV converter; (2) buy an analog to DV converter to get your VCR video into your computer. Good luck.

Ronnie, I have tried the Proshow Gold before for making SVCD and liked it. If you don't want and care about having the control and features of PTE, the Proshow Gold is 10X better in the VCD/SVCD creating process (i.e. very user friendly). Yes, there are still mountains to climb in the DVD making process. Until the DVD format is standardized (both software and hardware), we the end users still have to be concern about compatibility issue. To make matters worse, one process works for me, may not work for you as there are so many varibales in between. Anyway, may be I should go back and take another look at Proshow Gold again for creating DVD. Another advise for home made VCD/SVCD/DVD: if YOUR home made disk does not play smoothly on YOUR DVD player, please don't blame PTE, DVD player, the disk or whatever, as there can be due to a lot of factores: software in creating the slideshow and/or the avi file, the encoding process to turn the avi to mpeg file, the DVD authoring software, the burning software, the CD/DVD disk, the DVD player, and of course your computer. Any one of those not working 'properly' will give you problem and a lot of times the problem is due to a combination of the above factors. Yes, Ronnie, ther are MOUNTIANS to climb. My advise is if you don't care about climbing the mountain, try to follow one guy's success and see if it works for your own setup. If it does, stop trying and stick by the same process right to the last bit of details (e.g. use the SAME brand of disk). Good luck.

I agree that the NeoDVDPlus5 renders very fast for DVD MPEG2 and the quality of the clip is not bad at all. It is a lot better than the mpeg2 encoder with my Ulead MSP6.5. For comparision with my favorite software: TMPGEnc+, I have rendered the same AVI file using TMPGEnc+ (2 Pass VBR, Sharpen edges, Normal). The DVD looks better with TMPGEnc+, less artifact and sharper. However, it takes a long time to render the avi file to mpeg2 using TMPGEnc (I think it is about 4X real time with my P4 1.8 PC running W2K). For quick-and-dirty project, I will use neoDVD5. I will still use TMPGEnc to encode the MPEG2 file when I prefer quality over time/effort.

Hi Eric, The only reason that I know about square and non-square pixels is because I have been doing video editing for years. But, from reading my message, you know that I am still not sure about the image size 'should' be used for generating NTSC DVD. The reason we have been using/recommending image resolution of 800X??? for PTE slideshow is ONLY because of some viewers still have set thier computer monitor to low resolution like 800X600. It has NOTHING to do with the video format. Also, the recommendation of using file size ~ 100KB may not be appropriate any more for simialr reason. Should I be using 300MB files if my computer can handle the PTE process to generate .AVI? That is why I am asking the question like: Is there any benefit to go higher resolution than 800X??? or 720X??? if my final product is NTSC (or PAL) DVD movie? My experience in using still images in video is that the resolution can definitely be a lot higher than 720X480 (e.g. when you are planning to do a zoom-in effect) and it is only important to keep the aspect ratio. But I cannot remember can one see the difference in the final product. Also, how much do we gain from using larger file size (i.e. less jpeg compression--> better image quality)? Can we see the difference after all kind of rendering? I am just hoping someone here has already done the test and can save me hours of testing myself. Well, I will wait a bit before I jump right in.

Eric, I just posted a similar message regarding the optimum image resolution for DVD. I have some experience in video editing but have no idea in the PTE process to create the avi file. Hopefully we can get some good answer from knowledge people here. Otherwise, the other option is learn from trial-and-error (I hate this process as it takes SO MUCH TIME and can be very frustrating).

I am wondering what will be the optimium image resolution (i.e. 720X480) of PTE images if the targeted final product is for NTSC DVD . When I was doing video with Ulead MSP6.5, I stretched the still image from 640X480 to 704X480 (please don't ask me why as this was from trial-and-error) before I dropped them on the timeline, which seems to avoid or minimize distortion (square pixel in computer vs non-sqaure pixel in video). As I have no idea what PTE does when it creates the intermediate .AVI file, does anyone know whether there is any adjustment during the avi file creation process? I am attaching part of the message from the Ulead site regarding Image Distortion (http://www.ulead.com/learning/video5/page1.htm): Image distortion Images are always displayed on a PC screen using square pixels. All image file formats also use square pixels. This means that if an image is for example 640 x 480 pixels, it will display at an aspect ratio of 4:3. The same is not always true of video frames. For example the DV format is 720 x 480 for NTSC and 720 x 576 for PAL, but in both cases the final image when rendered on a TV is 4:3. When these frames are displayed on a computer (e.g. in a preview windows while editing) they are usually slightly distorted - NTSC is horizontally stretched, and PAL is horizontally squashed. When a still image with square pixels is incorporated the different pixel shape must be allowed for, otherwise the image will be distorted the opposite way when shown on a TV. Some editors are smart enough to compensate automatically, others require you to do it manually. One way of doing the latter is to save copies of all your images "pre-distorted" to the equivalent of your video format. Use an image editor to stretch or squash the images horizontally, and use these copies to import into the video. Stretch by a ratio of 720/640 if working in NTSC, or squash by 720/768 if using PAL.

Ken, I think it is a 'special edition' of NeoDVDplus5, which has taken away some features of the regular neoDVDplus5. But it is good enough for me to author/burn DVD. I am still not happy about Nero5.5 does not support this LG drive. I have tried a few times with the "Autodetect CDROM" feature in Nero but no luck. May be the drive is too new??

Hi Bill, It is good to know that Beechbrook.com is alive and well. Even I haven't been very active lately here, I can speak for myself, and probably for most of the pte users, that your generous contirbution to this PTE community is greatly appreciated. I believe that most of us will gladly provide some assistance to maintain the Beechbrook site. Please let know how can we help. Have a better 2004, Bill.

Hi Ken, With DVD disk, not only what format is important (i.e. DVD-R, DVD+R, ETC), sometime the maufactuer makes a difference too. One brand of DVD-R may work perfectly but any brand of same format disk may not be 100% compatible. I have been following the development of the DVD writers since the first 'consumer' model hit the market. And, I have been refraining myself to buy one until now and it has been tough for a high tech equipment junky like myself >. Also, I believe that the manufactuers of both DVD disk and players make continuouely minor modification (i.e. firmware) to their product. That can be very confusing and frustrating for consumers. The only advise is to try different brand/format of disk, and find one or two that work GOOD with your DVD player and stock up on the disks before their change the manufacturing process May be one of these days things (for DVD making) can be a lot more easier for regular consumers. We can only hope....

If you miss my post regarding NeoDVD, you should know that the NeoDVD is another option and a very straight forward one. It may be the program for people who does not care or want to know the video side of technology used to creat a VCD/SVCD/DVD. The interface of the program is kind of sucky though. I have beening editing movies and making VCD/SVCD for at least 5-6 years, with the TMPGEnc/Nero combination. Over the years I have also tried other software/hardware options to create VCD/SVCD. The best option for ME is to use Ulead MSP to edit and create the AVI, encode to MEG with TMPGEnc and then finally burn to VCD/SVCD with Nero. I have experienced in capturing video in either analogy and mini DV format. Life is a lot eaiser now with the power of new computer, DV format and Firewire technology. What I am trying to say is: unless you REALLY want to explore the video side of the technology, don't bother as video is a complicated area that requires a lot more than most would like to offer. Also, the qulaity of the final product, which not too many users seem to talk about in this forum, can be very widely different depends on the intermediate process. With the PTE .Avi, I can go directly to burn VCD/SVCD/DVD in one step. The encoding process of the avi file is almost transparent to users. Quality is very decent in DVD and definitely a lot better than my SVCD. Now, with the (low) price of the DVD Writer and DVD Disk, I don't know why anoyone wants to bother with VCS/SVCD? VCD/SVCD serves their purposes when DVD writer/Disk is too expensive and not too many DVD players are compatible with home made DVD disks. But, I think we are at the stage now that if anyone wants to try this 'new' technology, he/she may consider go directly to DVD. That will be my recommendation for any new user wanting to make disk that can play on thier relatively new DVD player. BTW, I noticed that there is a new codec "PTE codec" in my system. I have tried to use the PTE Codec to create a .AVi file with Ulead MSP but none of my programs can play that .avi file. Have anyone been able to use the PTE codec for anything?

UPDATE - NeoDVD Burned a few DVD-R (Pine 4X 4.7 Gb) which are more compatible than the DVD-RW with my Pioneer DV-333. The whole moive (home made, mini DV) is about 1 hour 15 minute. The DVD-RW has some problem at the end of the movie. I am not sure that if the movie is too long for a 4.7 MB disk or there is problem with the DVD-RW (I have tried two DVD-RWs and they behaved the same at the end). The DVD-R has no problem from the beginning to the end. Next step is to find out how compatibable this home made DVD-R disks are with other DVD players. When are we going to have a 'standard' for DVD players? Or, we still have to wait a few more years for the technology to mature as in the case of Beta vs VHS?

I bought my first DVD Writer yesterday: the LG GSA-4081B, which is supposedly to be compatible with ALL DVD formats. There are a few prgrams included in the package. I had to try the new DVD authoring program as Nero 5.5 does not support (or see) my new LG writer. The neoDVD program by MediodStream works good to burn a DVD-RW (Memorex 1X 4.7 GB), directly with the PTE generated .AVI file, and my Pioneer DV-333 has no problem playing the DVD-RW, even with menu. Quality is not bad either...at least better than my SVCD generated with TMPGEnc+ & Nero5.5 combination. Before I bought this LG writer, I haven't even heard about MedioStream. Here is the link to the neoDVD: http://www.mediostream.com/neodvd/index.html Well, my next step is to find out if my Pioneer DV-333 can play the Pine DVD-R (4X 4.7GB) disk which is relatively inexpensive (CAD$ 1.5/disk).

I like the idea of having a GOOD quality mpeg2 decoder, hopefylly it will be as good as or better than the TMPGEnc's. But be aware that PTE may end up having to pay a 'royalty' in order to use the MPEG2 format (as in the case of TMPGEnc). In that case, PTE may consider to spin off a by-product for VCD/SVCD/DVD making for a fee to cover the 'royalty'. I am more than happy to support PTE MPEG2 financially if I can get the quality I like. There are lots of MPEG2 encoders/converters but there are only a few good ones (for consumers) at reasonable price. Hopefully I can add PTE MPEG2 encoder to my tool box, in addition to TMPGEnc.

Hi Truelight, Have you compared the quality of the MPEG 1/2 created with the AVI-MPEG Converter and TMPEGenc Plus? I have tried quite a few software conversion programs and none of them give me the MPEG video quality as good as the TMPGEnc. The last program I tried was the Nero6. The speed of the Nero6 rendering is very good but the quality of the VCD/SVCD is horrible. There must be some good MPEG encoder out there now at a reasonable price. Anyone?

Unless you have a DVD burner, SVCD provides the best quality, next to DVD, on common CDs. You don't need a 'special' player to play SVCD, just a 'smart' one. I won't be surprises that most new players can play anything nowadays. My 3 year old Pioneer DV-333 players play all my VCD/SVCD/DVD disks, either they are commercially made or home made. Look for the $100 Apex models. If one DVD player can play VCD, the chance is very good that it plays SVCD. Don't forget that not every DVD player can play all HOME MADE DVD disks either. The compatibility issue has been around and is still around. Try the player before you buy it.

I agree with Dana that DVD burning/playing is like opening another can of worms. There are too many variables that may create a problem that results in failing to play on your DVD player. If you are really serious about this, you may want to consider buying a very inexpensive DVD player that is made in Asia (i.e. Taiwan or China), and you current DVD player may be the problem, as not all DVD players can play the home made VCD/SVCD/DVD disk. Bring your home made DVD disc to your local store and see which player can play it. Apex seems to be a 'good' DVD player that can play anything (type of files, media, etc.) and very inexpensive. Use rewriteable to test your creation process to minimize waste and learn from other's mistake (from reading on other DVD forums). Good luck.

I have used Nero6 to successfully create VCD/SVCD from a .AVI source file, although I don't like the quality of the mpeg2 decoder Nero used. The encoding process to either MPEG1 or MPEG2 is very fast compared to TMPGENc. For better qulaity, I am still using TMPGEnc Plus to encode the .AVI file to MPEG file first and then use Nero only to burn the VCD/SVCD disk. The VCD or SVCD plays well on my 'old' Pioneer DV-333 DVD player. Also, I have successfully created VCD/SVCD from the PTE created AVI, Using TMPGENc for encoding and Nero6 for burning. No problem to play on my Pioneer. I just have to figure out how to improve the quality of the VCD/SVCD (i.e. maximize the slide area with minimal backgorund).

Dana has already given very good advise on digitizing old video footage. Let me add that DV is so much easier to work with compared to the analogy version. One thing you should consider if you decide to go DV route: make sure your computer OS is either XP or W2K, so that you can take full advantage of the NTFS format (without having the 2 or 4 GB limit in file size). Actually high quality editing in DV format is a lot less demanding on your computer than the analogy format. Some people who has lots of 8mm or H8 tape invest in one of those Sony D8 camcorders that has the 'pass-through' (convert directly from H8 to DV using the D8 camcorder as a converter) feature. The D8 may be the best if you have lots of 8 or H8 footage, and would like to venture in DV world. You end up with a back-up camcorder that is capable to paly old tapes but is also capable to record in digital format. BTW, the 1394 card is cheap and usually includes some decent editing software. I like the Pyro package myself but others will do well too. Have fun.

Bill, you can remove all my presentations too. Thank you.

It is good to see the forum is back on. Better, it is good to see the familiar 'faces' popping up here and there. I was quite lost during the last few days not being able to visist the forum.