Beginner needing a little help from the Pros

[ALJ]

I got in to the Videostudio 10+ from 7.0 ver that came with my 1394 board. So I upgraded to 10+, down loaded my DV video as AVI files, created my master piece and of course it will not burn.

I have read several posts and looked at websites now that i am knee deep in my first project and realized that I have made some major mistakes.

I have tried "create video file" selected NTSC DVD (16:9) it did its thing and created mpeg file. So I next did the open new project, put it in the time line said yes to the question, deleted the file, saved as my burner template, create disk, inserted file, did the menu thing, clicked burn, it started rendering then i got the dreaded error 257 " got some problems".

Then after reading one of the websites it told me to create a video file and select custom. So I did and filled in everything it told me to and I got a mpeg encoder error, bummer.

Is there any hope for this project or am I going to have to start completely over and capture from DV to mpeg format with the required settings? Also, some of my filming is in 4:3 and some 16:9, is that a problem, mixing them? I wouldn't think so but who knows at this point.

I have found this software very frustrating, the documentation sucks, there is very little support besides users, no error code discriptions, and I could go on and on, but no more whining.

Any suggestions to save this project? I am working on a Dell 9100 with 2.8 dual core 820 2.8ghz ram, 1 gb ram, 160gb hd and xp Pro

Thank you,

[ALJ]

I am also getting font errors, that i click ok to about ten times, could this be my problem?

[sjj1805]

.......I have tried "create video file" selected NTSC DVD (16:9) it did its thing and created mpeg file. So I next did the open new project, put it in the time line said yes to the question, deleted the file, saved as my burner template, create disk, inserted file, did the menu thing, clicked burn, it started rendering then i got the dreaded error 257 " got some problems".......

I think you got a bit stuck at this point.
Please view Authoring a DVD

[heinz-oz]

I think, the thing is that you should not be doing too many things at once on that thing of yours without thinking about the thing you want to do first.

BTW, when I do my thing, of course it does work. Why is it so natural for you to state

...created my master piece and of course it will not burn.

Are you that insecure about yourself and your abilities or are you convinced already that it won't work because it didn't for some others?

[ALJ]

Steve, thank you for your advise. This is a very complicated, powerful piece of software. With my lack of time and understanding of video, so far, it is over my head at this point. I will continue to read and learn.

Interestingly, I was a able to get one of my created mpeg files to burn after lots of attempts and by removing the menu. I am still wondering why it worked that time and it did not so many times before, that is the frustrating part! It would be great if the error messages were more helpful. Also, I use the little remote control do-dad and everything works fine? At one point, I was thinking it was an I-tune audio file in the menu was the problem, so I loaded it from the CD, still no luck.

Mr. Oz, I was a little overwhelmed with this today, while trying to work, learn this software, and getting errors with no explaination. Your reply sucks!

[Ken Berry]

If it starts rendering during the burning process, then clearly something is not matching up. It should not render, but instead should just build the menus you have created, multiplex the video and audio components and burn.

OK, you have created your mpeg-2 file from the DV/AVI captures, and the mpeg-2 has NTSC DVD properties. But you need to carefully note what those properties are. Right click on the mpeg-2 and perhaps even copy them down. Pay particular attention to the bitrate, Field Order and audio format.

Then do your thing. (I simply close my existing project, and open a new one but leave the timeline empty. Then go to Share > Create Disc > DVD. And then I insert my mpeg-2.)

Anyway, here is the important bit. You need to ensure that the burning properties are exactly the same as the properties of your mpeg-2. To check and adjust this, click on the middle of the three icons in the bottom left of the burning screen. At the top, it will show what the properties are that the program will use to burn your DVD. If they do not match your mpeg-2 properties (and they often don't), then click on the button underneath the properties in the burning module which says 'Adjust MPEG settings'. And do as it says: adjust them till they are exactly the same as the mpeg-2 file you intend burning. On the same page, make sure the little box which says "Do not convert compliant MPEG video' is checked.

Then, if your menus are ready, go to the final page, and burn. I usually don't burn straight to disc, but burn a DVD Folder (Video_TS) file. You can, as an alternative, burn a Disc Image file (.ISO). Either way will let you first check whether everything has worked out correctly by playing these back in software DVD players on your computer. It will also allow you to make multiple copies of your DVD for friends and family. And last but not least, it will avoid wasting another blank disc if things still go wrong!

[ALJ]

Ken, thank you for your reply. I did get this to burn and work. I had an audio incompatibility in my mpeg files that was causing the problem with the project properties audio settings.

I now understand how this works!