Cannot select the option to create an ISO file, grayed out.

[ptbpilot]

Greetings,

Last night I successfully burned an AVCHD disc using MF7SE. I then went back and tried to create an ISO file of the same project but I could not. The box to place a check mark in to enable the iso option is grayed out, along with the entire line. I see the destination folder, and the filename at the end, but I am not able to get there.

I unchecked Burn to disc, unchecked make AVCHD folders options, but there is no change. How can I enable the create ISO option?

Also, let me ask if ISO's are the way to go. Here is what I am trying to do. I burn my project as a AVCHD DVD to watch. Now I want to create an ISO of the project. What I will do is use that as a backup in case I or someone else wants another DVD. I film a lot of airshow, and occasionally a year or so later someone will ask if I have a particular airshow and can they have a DVD of it. The ISO has the entire project, menu's and all saved and ready to go so I just burn a disc from ISO. The ISO is backed up to an external drive for safe keeping, and eventually, the project files and original video will be deleted to save space. Are ISO the best way to do this?

There is a create folders option. Would this have the same result for what I want to do?

Pete

[Ken Berry]

First, I want to clear up a little confusion in my mind about your longer term intentions with the ISO. I realise that you are burning an AVCHD hybrid disc. But as you are probably also aware, they take on a Blu-Ray folder structure on the disc, and can only be played in a Blu-Ray player rated to play such discs.

But then you say you are often asked by friends for DVDs of the same video. This is where my confusion arises. Are they asking for a standard definition video DVD (which is what I assume is the case) or just a copy of the AVCHD hybrid disc in its Blu-Ray format?

As you have found, you cannot burn an AVCHD .iso with MF 7 SE. But even if you could, it would be of a hybrid disc, and would not contain the standard def DVD structure of a Video_TS folder filled with .vob, .bup and .ifo files.

If you are after the latter, then you would have to go back to the first page of MF 7 and select 'DVD' as the output option, rather than AVCHD (or Blu-Ray). Then insert the AVCHD files. But this time, they would be converted to DVD-compatible mpeg-2. But at least you could then select to burn an .iso file.

In any case, I might add I never use the .iso option, but prefer the 'DVD Folder' option. These, like the iso, contain the full DVD structure, but they can also be played directly -- and thus tested -- on software media players, unlike ISOs, which have to be first mounted on a virtual drive before they can be played by most players.

[BrianCee]

Like Ken I gave up on iso files a long long time ago - asking myself "Why create an iso ?" - DVD folders are so much easier - can be played on your PC to test them and can be burnt to blank DVD's without any special programme - even Windows itself will copy a DVD Folder to a DVD to make more copies.

Just one little word of advice though - every Video_TS folder is identical to every other one with regard to file names etc.- just more of them in longer videos , so do make sure you store each DVD folder inside a meaningfully named folder of it's own - or else you will soon become confused as to which DVD folder is which

[ptbpilot]

OK, thanks guys. I think I have a better understanding now.

In the end this is what I want to do. I burn and AVCHD DVD ( or later BD disc) of a project. I then burn again but this time create the folder option. I must specifically CREATE a NEW FOLDER for each project, otherwise it will prompt me to overwrite the old one. I then copy that folder to my external job for safe keeping. Later I can delete all the project files and MTS files from my drive to free up space.

Later if my disc got scratched, or someone with a BD player wants a copy of the AVCHD or BD disc, I point MF7SE at the folder on my external drive and open the project and burn the disc. (If they have SD DVD I point to the folder after specifying DVD and MF7SE will compress and burn as SD DVD?) Do I have the correct picture now for what I want to do?

Previously with my Sony miniDV cam, I created SD DVD using Roxio, burned a DVD and then burned as iso. MY external drive has a folder full of ISO files of past projects (menu's and all) that can be turned into DVD's if needed. The avi's and project files have been deleted. So all this is mainly for backup.

Pete

[BrianCee]

Almost - having created DVD folders you do not use MF7 again - you cannot open the project again (especially if you have deleted all your original files) - you just copy the Video_TS DVD folder direct to a blank DVD using any programme which has a 'copy' function - even windows will do that for you just using drag and drop.

Also I never use a 'double burn' procedure to create disc and folders - after I have finished editing and go into the burn module I un-check burn disc and check 'Create DVD Folder' this gives a quite quick convert and 'burn' - I then exit VideoStudio - use WinDVD to play the folder to check it out - then copy the DVD folders to as many DVDs as I wish to create.

[Ken Berry]

Later I can delete all the project files and MTS files from my drive to free up space.

Later if my disc got scratched, or someone with a BD player wants a copy of the AVCHD or BD disc, I point MF7SE at the folder on my external drive and open the project and burn the disc. (If they have SD DVD I point to the folder after specifying DVD and MF7SE will compress and burn as SD DVD?)

Just to correct another conceptual error, you have already deleted the project and input files. So it is impossible to "point MF7SE at the folder ... and open the project and burn the disc". As Brian has pointed out, you can't even insert the Folder into MF, and it does not contain the project file in any case.

If the Folder is an AVCHD hybrid disc folder, it does, however, contain the edited sequence of AVCHD videos. The folder structure is a Blu-Ray type structure with a BDMV (or BDAV) folder, and below that a number of sub-folders, one of which is STREAM. The edited videos are all there numbered sequentially upwards from 00000.m2ts. If your intention is to convert these for burning to SD DVD, then these individual files would have to be inserted into the MF timeline and converted and burned. But of course if the hybrid disc contained a menu, that would have been converted to video too when the hybrid disc was made and would probably be the 00000.m2ts file. But it would no longer function as a menu on an SD DVD. You would need to discard it and start all over again with a new menu.

If you absolutely have to have an exactly identical back-up for possible later burning to SD DVD, you would need to make a separate DVD Folder or ISO at the time you made the original AVCHD or Folder.

[ptbpilot]

Brian,

OK...now just to make sure I have this down. To accomplish the backup I do the following:

1. Burn the project as AVCHD folders option. I click on the folder icon and make a new folder to point at otherwise it will overwrite.

2. I copy that created folder that contains the burned project to a DVD which will create the AVCHD DVD automatically? Or JUST the TS_DVD portion of it? (Rather than double burn)

3. Later I copy that created folder that contains the burned project to my external hard drive for safe keeping.

4. After time I delete the original video and project files from the pc.

5. If I desire a new AVCHD in the future, I go to the external hard drive, to the AVCHD project folder, find the TS_DVD folder and copy that to a DVD to burn the new AVCHD disc.

Do I have the concept now?

Ken,

Thanks for the clarification on SD DVD or ISO. I understand that has to be done at the beginning if I want that option.

[Black Lab]

3. Later I copy that created folder that contains the burned project to my external hard drive for safe keeping.

Why not skip this step by burning to a DVD folder located on the final destination drive?

[ptbpilot]

Can someone just confirm this step then:

"2. I copy that created folder that contains the burned project to a DVD which will create the AVCHD DVD automatically? Or JUST the TS_DVD portion of it? (Rather than double burn)"

Also, I am using Windows 7. Is there a native program on 7 that I use to do this to create the disk? Drag and drop? Or will I need software?

Thanks in advance.

Peter

[Ken Berry]

First, in Windows 7, if you right click on the folder, you then choose "Send To" and then your burner drive letter, the burner drive should open and you should get a message to insert a disc. This will then burn the disc.

If your intention is to burn an AVCHD hybrid disc, and you have correctly prepared and stored an AVCHD folder, then that folder should contain two sub-folders: a BDMV (or BDAV) folder which contains a number of further sub-folders; and a CERTIFICATE folder. Both need to be burned to the DVD. But remember that if you are after quality, then the highest quality bitrate permissible on such a disc is 18 Mbps and that in turn will only allow about 20 minutes of video, with menu, to be burned to a single layer DVD.

If you intend to burn an SD DVD, and have prepared a proper DVD Folder, it will contain a Video_TS folder, and again you can use the Right Click > Send To method outlined above. Personally, with SD DVDs, I prefer to use Nero and select Video DVD as the putput format, then insert that Video_TS folder for burning.

In this regard, I am assuming that by "TS_DVD folder" you actually mean Video_TS...

[robspa48]

Hi Ken,
I do everything you suggest, but at the end I only get an AVCHD folder which only includes a BDMV subfolder (and all the other subsubfolders) and never get a Certificate folder. Any idea why, and what´s exactly the function of the Certificate folder?
When I copy the whole AVCHD folder to the disc, it can´t play on my recent Samsung Blue-Ray player, whereas it plays fine if I burn my disc directly.
Any suggestion?
Thanks
Roberto

[Ken Berry]

Hmmm... I've just been running a series of tests and see what you mean! And I have no idea what is causing it. As you say, MF 7SE does not produce a CERTIFICATE sub-folder as part of the AVCHD Folder. That sub-folder in effect identifies the disc ("certifies" that it is what it claims to be). Often, the only things in it will be a small file calling itself "id.bdmv" and a couple of security files, plus a BACKUP subfolder containing the same files. And it is of course necessary to have a CERTIFICATE folder and that file to be able to play the disc on a Blu-Ray player.

I also tried 'burning' a Blu-Ray folder in MF 7SE, and this time it produced a CERTIFICATE sub-folder, but it was empty! And the same thing occurs with Video Studio X4.

Even more curious, using the same AVCHD file (and indeed others files) in VS X2 -- which I always used to use successfully before to create AVCHD folders -- I cannot even select 'Create AVCHD Folders' as the option is greyed out. So something has obviously occurred on my computer to rule out this option. I am wondering if a recent Windows update might have been the cause...

But that still does not explain why MF 7SE and VS X4 cannot produce as CERTIFICATE sub-folder. I have also opened another computer where I have the full MF 7 Pro, and it too fails to produce a CERTIFICATE sub-folder.

I will try raising this with Corel, and will report back if I get anything from them...

[robspa48]

So Ken, in summary: using VS X4, and the associated MF which opens up when one asks to burn a disc,(starting from a .m2t file) it´s neither possible to create an iso file since the option is grayed out, nor is possible to create a "good" AVCHD folder. We are only left with the "Burn a disc" option if we want to get an hybrid AVCHD disc. If one wants to get also a backup copy on the PC so to be able to burn multiple copies or in case of any problems with the DVD, may be we could prepare an image file from the DVD disc using ImgBurn. Do you suggest any better strategy to get multiple copies and backup copy of an AVCHD hybrid disc?
Thanks

[Ken Berry]

I can't think of one... I have been thinking about trying Nero, but ImgBurn has the advantage of being free!

[Ken Berry]

I have been doing some further investigation, and found to my intense embarrassment, that an AVCHD hybrid disc or folder does NOT have a CERTIFICATE sub-folder. First, I checked my own AVCHD discs which play perfectly in my PlayStation 3. And they don't have such a folder. Then in fact in reading about ImgBurn as a possible burner, there is a specific reference to NOT including such a folder on an AVCHD hybrid disc as it would only confuse a Blu-Ray player!

So that's one mystery cleared up. But I still don't know anything more substantive about the empty CERTIFICATE folder for a Blu-Ray... except for the fact that a Blu-Ray disc does indeed required a CERTIFICATE folder. Back to my reading, I suppose...