I just want to burn DVDs

[cheryl girl]

Sorry, I'm a novice at this. I captured videos from my sister's video cam, and I just want to burn them on DVDs. No editing. No frills. I try to use "create disk" and get funky backgrounds and music. I try to save the file and then use the disk image burner, but apparently it's in the wrong format. with all the do dads, there MUST be a simple way for me to just burn files to DVD. Help!

[sjj1805]

The simplest way with no editing and to put what you have onto DVD is to use the DV to DVD Wizard.

[cheryl girl]

No video appears in the window, and the controls don't respond

[Trevor Andrew]

Hi

How are you connecting the camera to the PC
Are you using Firewire

Trevor

[cheryl girl]

It's connect through USB with one of those analog to USB converters

[cheryl girl]

It's connect through USB with one of those analog to USB converters

[cheryl girl]

... it's connect via an analog to digital converter.

I managed to go through the long proceduce to burn a CD, but I don't seem to be offered just a plain way to burn the file. There are four options for framing the video -- one with a Tulip and soundtrack. Puh-leeeze. Is there just a plain option?

[Ken Berry]

What is the brand and exact model of the camera? That way we can work out if it is a digital camera, and more to the point what system it uses. If it is a mini DV one, then you should use the third option on the opening screen which Steve has usefully included above -- the one that says 'DV to DVD Wizard'.

But for that, you need to have the camera connected correctly, and that is not via a USB cable. That will only give you low quality streaming video (unless that camera is a high end, rather expensive one). What you have to do is -- if it is a mini-DV camera -- buy a Firewire cable if you don't have one, and make sure the computer has a firewire card you can plug it into. Luckily, firewire cards are cheap these days and usually come with the cable -- though you may have to pay to have it installed. You just have to make sure the cable is the correct one -- usually a small 4 pin plug at one end for the camera and a larger 6 pin one for the computer.

And if indeed it is a mini-DV camera, the camera's manual should tell you where the firewire connection is. Depending on the brand, it could also be called an i-Link connection or an IEEE1394 connection.

[cheryl girl]

It's an old Sony 8mm. I can capture video fine in the capture function. I just want to know how to take those files and burn them to a DVD without any special framing, effects, etc.

[Ken Berry]

In that case, I think you have to use the Movie Wizard. However, in my five years of using Ulead products, I have to confess I have never used this so am not sure how it works.

The way I would do it is to make sure I am capturing video files from the USB device which are already DVD-compliant mpeg-2 files. I assume the capture device has a setting for that as most do.

Then you simply open Video Studio using the Editor mode (top choice in Steve's picture above). Do not put any of the captured files into the timeline if you don't intend to edit them. Instead, with an empty timeline, simply click on Share > Create Disc > DVD. Then in the next page which comes up, which is the burning module, use Add Media to insert your captured files. And the important step on that page is to make sure the little box beside 'Create Menu' is not/not ticked. Click Next after you have inserted all your clips if they are less than a totally full disc (there is a coloured bar along the bottom of screen which will tell you if you have too many files -- red will show if you have exceeded the space on the disc).

If you don't want to see a preview, then click Next again, and the final page will allow you to actually Burn the disc.