Creating a disc Image

[happyhart]

I have been using MF4.0 and have been able to create a disc image, burning a one-hour edited TV show onto my hard drive. By doing this I can burn 4 one-hour TV shows onto one 4.7 DVD disc instead of only 3 shows if I burn directly to DVD. Once I up-graded to MF 5.0 plus I have been unable to create an image file that will play with windows media player. The file saves in the Disc Image file under the Roxio copy disc formate, it views with windows media but has no sound.

I need help: 1. To burn directly to Disc Image File with the window Media formate and/or 2. How to change the burn properties to save or burn to the Disc Image File to play with windows media. I'v been able to do this in MF 4.0 but not MF 5.0 plus. Can I Help?

[htchien]

Welcome to the forum. Since you are posting a question regarding DVDMF, I moved your post from DVD WorkShop forum to DVD MovieFactory.

For your questions, I do not understand well. In DVDMF (both 4 and 5), the disc image file format is either .IXB (the Ulead private format) or .ISO (which all disc burning software can recognize), and they cannot be played by Windows Media Player directly. Can you explain the steps you do to let WMP play the disc image file you burn in DVDMF 4?

H.T.

[happyhart]

Okay I'm abit novice to certain tech terms but some how when performing the final step to burning a DVD in MF4, after having checked "creat disc image" a one hour TV show Shrinks from 1.6 GB to 1.05 GB. The process also converts the video format from .iso to mpeg and therefore plays in windows media player. I can then add 4 one hour edited shows back into MF4 and burn them to DVD. If I edit 4 shows directly on MF4 and don't create disc image first each show remains at 1.6 GB and only 3 show will fit on a 4.7 DVD. (I also do not have the menu options and music options I need on MF4 that I have on MF5.)

Now with MF5 when I get to the final step and check "create disc image" the files does not convert to mpeg on my hard drive and when I try to open it in windows media player it will play without sound. My dilemma is, I need to be able to convert from .iso to mpeg using MF5 like I am able to do in MF4.

[heinz-oz]

I think you have certain things seriously confused. If you create an ISO image, the program generates the image from your mpeg files and the image file will not play in any media player. It needs an ISO conversion/burning tool to burn this image to a DVD disk in the customary VIDEO_TS and AUDIO_TS folders.

You cannot combine a number of ISO files to make another ISO file. I suspect you had mpeg files to start with and recoded these at a lower bitrate, hence the smaller file sizes.

The work flow you describe for MF 4 does not make sense at all. Where did the ISO file come from that you misteriously converted to a smaller mpeg file with MF 4.

If MF 4 does what you want to do, why do you insist on using MF 5 for it now?

[happyhart]

Okay, so as I said previously I'm a bit novice to certain tech terms and all I know is what has worked before with MF4. I would like to find out how to make them work in MF5. MF5 has update menu options and edit funtions that MF4 does not have and I would like to work in one program instead of two to make things work.

Unfortunately I could not figure out how to insert (copy and paste the screens from MF4 and MF5 and my HD files to give examples of what I'm trying to communicate, but on MF4 & MF5 there is and option to "create disc Image" and the file it saves to is C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\My Documents\Ulead DVD MovieFactory 4.0\Disc Image file\PRJ_061127.iso. Hence here is where I get the impression that .iso is converting to mpeg so yes I can now see how I must be confussed here about .iso converting to mpeg. Now to continue, when I go to my Documents, Ulead DVD MovieFactory 4.0, DMF_TEMP, Convert, and I find a file with the windows media Icon ~convert001 7,660 KB Movie File(mpeg). So yes I start with a Mpeg file as you can see from this example, but when I follow the same steps in MF5 and click "create disc Image" C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\My Documents\Ulead DVD MovieFactory\5.0 Plus\Disc Image file\PRJ_20061127.isoand go to My Documents, Ulead DVD MovieFactory 5.0, 5.0 Plus, Disc Image file, I get PRJ_20061127.iso. Then when I try to add media File to combine more than show I can not add this file back in to MF5 to burn on DVD.

[heinz-oz]

Okay, so as I said previously I'm a bit novice to certain tech terms and all I know is what has worked before with MF4. I would like to find out how to make them work in MF5. MF5 has update menu options and edit funtions that MF4 does not have and I would like to work in one program instead of two to make things work.

Don't worry about that, everybody has to start somewhere, nobody is fortunate enough to start at the top.

Unfortunately I could not figure out how to insert (copy and paste the screens from MF4 and MF5 and my HD files to give examples of what I'm trying to communicate, but on MF4 & MF5 there is and option to "create disc Image" and the file it saves to is C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\My Documents\Ulead DVD MovieFactory 4.0\Disc Image file\PRJ_061127.iso.

You are spot on so far, both programs can create ISO files and both, AFAIK, work identically. However, this is where the confusion sets in. In order to create an ISO file, MF needs to have DVD compliant mpeg2 files to do that. Any other format would need to be converted into mpeg2 first in order to create the ISO. You cannot, neither in MF 4 nor in MF 5 nor any other DVD authoring package, combine several ISO files. The ISO file is the image of a completed DVD and can only be read and burned to a DVD disk by a program that is set up to do that. No media player can play this.

Hence here is where I get the impression that .iso is converting to mpeg so yes I can now see how I must be confussed here about .iso converting to mpeg. Now to continue, when I go to my Documents, Ulead DVD MovieFactory 4.0, DMF_TEMP, Convert, and I find a file with the windows media Icon ~convert001 7,660 KB Movie File(mpeg). So yes I start with a Mpeg file as you can see from this example, but when I follow the same steps in MF5 and click "create disc Image" C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\My Documents\Ulead DVD MovieFactory\5.0 Plus\Disc Image file\PRJ_20061127.isoand go to My Documents, Ulead DVD MovieFactory 5.0, 5.0 Plus, Disc Image file, I get PRJ_20061127.iso. Then when I try to add media File to combine more than show I can not add this file back in to MF5 to burn on DVD.

So you understand that you have an mpeg2 file to start with. You can combine several mpeg2 files and then create the ISO image but you cannot combine several ISO images.

Above, you stated this: ...file with the windows media Icon ~convert001 7,660 KB Movie File(mpeg). Where did that file come from? Is that the result of some conversion done with MF on the original TV show capture?

One last question: Can you list the complete version detail of your MF 4 and Mf 5. Did you have MF 4 Disk Creator? Do you now have MF 5 Plus?

The normal versions of both, AFAIK, do not have the capability to burn a disk image to DVD, only the Disk Creator version of MF 4 or the Plus version of MF 5 do. You can also burn the ISO image with any other burning program which understands the ISO format.

[happyhart]

First off I don't know what AFAIK means and I must have the Disk creator version of MF4 because I have had the capability to burn a disk image to DVD, and I do have MF5 Plus.

Here has been my process with MF4.

I first record a TV show using Hauppauge WinTV. It stores the as:

Example:
Name
_Cable-4_20061123_093619
Size
1,273,134 KB
Type
Movie file (mpeg)
Date and Time
11/23/06 10:30 am

I then open MF4 and click "CREATE VIDEO DVD".
Then click DVD-Video or DVD+VR.
The next window opens and I click "Add Video Files"
When the menu comes up I click on "My Computer", The "C Drive", "My Videos" Find the video file I want to edit in this case I click on" _Cable-4_20061123_093619" then click open (If I want more than one file I click 2 or 3 then open).
The File then appears on the bar at the bottom of the screen.
I click on "Multi-trim Video".
Edit out the commercials.
Click next (I normally bypass the Template menu and click next. I bypass the preview section and click next.)
Then proceed to the disc burner Menu.
I uncheck record to disc and check "create a disc image file. C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\My Documents\Ulead DVD MovieFactory 4.0\Disc Image file\PRJ_061128.iso".
Then click the burn button.
When this process is completed I find that the file has been stored in:
My Documents:
Ulead DVD MovieFactory 4.0:
DMF_TEMP:
Convert:
and appears with the windows media
"Icon"~convert000 7,660 KB Movie File(mpeg). (at this point I may rename file ex: Oprah-Tim Mcgraw & Faith Hill.
I then go back into MF4 and add upto 4 shows for DVD or decide to put a concert on VCD and proceed to the Template Menu and then burn onto DVD.
Okay this is the MF4 process.
The problem I'm having is when I want to use MF5 which has better editing funtions and Template menu options I have been unsucessful getting MF5 to do the following.

uncheck record to disc and check "create a disc image file. When this is attempted the file that burns onto the HD goes to: (I click on)
My Documents:
Ulead DVD MovieFactory:
5.0 Plus:
Disc Image File: and looks like or stores as follows-
Name:
PRJ_20061127
Size:
14,080 KB
Type:
ISO File:
Date and Time:
11/23/06 10:30 am

This file will not open back up in MF5 to creat a DVD or VCD
and this is what I am asking for help on, How do I get the mpeg File to burn back to my HD in Mpeg format to be burned on DVD or VCD with MF5?

[heinz-oz]

Sorry about the geek speak, AFAIK is a commonly used accronym for "as far as I know"

You have me puzzled. The work flow you describe for MF 4 Disk Creator should give you a DVD image (ISO) file. Indeed, you claim that's what you got. How on earth you accessed this as an mpeg file is beyond me. The ISO file is a specially coded file that contains all the files and folders that go on a DVD, there is no mpeg file named as such, there are only two folders, VIDEO_TS and AUDIO_TS on a DVD. Not that you could make them visible in an ISO image though, but they are there, coded in a way that a burning program with the right capabilities can read and burn to a DVD blank in the correct format. Inside the VIDEO_TS folder you would find files with the extensions .IFO; .BUP; .VOB but no mpeg at all. The AUDIO_TS folder is always empty.

The work flow you describe for MF 5 Plus is also correct and it behaves exactly as I would have expected.

In between the lines of your work flow for MF 4 I can read that at the end of the step of creating (as you call it) an ISO image, you have in fact an mpeg file. That indicates to me that you did not create a disk image but instead created a new video file by rendering the original again, hence it became smaller in file size too.

MF 5 should work in the same way if you, instead of creating an ISO image, create another video file. The output of that you can then combine with others and when you are done, create your ISO image for burning to the HDD.

Unfortunately I'm at work right now and only have access to MF 4 Disk Creator here. When I get home tonight I'll have a look at the differences in the user interface of both. Maybe I can work out where your confusion originates.

Can you burn an image (ISO) with MF 5 Plus or is that option not available? If not, how do you start up MF 5 Plus? There are two ways to go about it. Use the launcher program rather than the exe file for MF 5. You should then get a screen which allows you to start any of the different modules of MF 5, including the options to copy a disk, create or burn ISO image etc.

[GeorgeW]

happyhart,

You appear to be creating a DVD IMAGE file, and then in MF4 you are navigating to the TEMP folders (work folders for DMF4) that will store the converted files as *.mpg format (these are the converted files that will be used to build the DVD Image file).

In MF5, look for a folder called CvtedTitle (your converted mpegs should be there -- if MF5 actually converted them). Hit F6 to show where you "Working Folder" is located...

Regards,
George

[happyhart]

heinz-oz:
In response to this question:

Above, you stated this: ...file with the windows media Icon ~convert001 7,660 KB Movie File(mpeg). Where did that file come from? Is that the result of some conversion done with MF on the original TV show capture?

This is the Information and the Name, Type and file size that appears on the HD after MF4 burns file to HD from create disc image file command.

[happyhart]

George

Your said:
In MF5, look for a folder called CvtedTitle (your converted mpegs should be there -- if MF5 actually converted them). Hit F6 to show where you "Working Folder" is located...
I have looked in the "CVTEDTitle" file and only once a Mpeg file showed up there. Do I have to move it out of that file before another one is stored there? and at what point do I hit F6 to show where the "Working Folder" is? Once I'm in MF5 (My Documents)?

Happyhart

[happyhart]

George:

I hit F6 from the MF5 and found the working folder. I moved the previous video file out of the CvtedTitle folder and burned a small file to see if it stored there and it did not. I am in the same boat. Nothings working.

Happyhart

[heinz-oz]

I agree, nothing in front of that PC of yours is working, over and out.

[maddrummer3301]

.

[GeorgeW]

The reason you can't find that temp file is MF5 uses a different method to compile, it's different code.
Even at that it's supposed to be erased after the burn is complete.

I thought that AFAIK was the insurance duck
.

Madrummer has it right -- it clears out that temp folder if you close down MF5. I think if you keep MF5 open after you burn the image, you might still find the mpeg file in that folder. But I would agree with MD's workflow on using the EXPORT function to create the file.

@madrummer, took me a little bit, but I finally got your reference on the insurance duck -- AFLAC

Regards,
George