quickest way to make DVDs

[Slim]

I was given the task of pulling videos off a high definition camcorder and putting them on DVD. they are currently .MOD files. What is the quickest way to put them on DVDs?

I'm currently converting them to mpegs and putting them on DVDs but each one hour plus DVD is taking me nearly 6 hours to do. Is there a quicker and easier way to do this?

[Ken Berry]

Welcome to the forums!

You don't say whether you are doing any editing. And you also don't tell us which version of Video Studio you are using. It was my understanding, anyway, that the current version 11/11.5+, and I think version 10, could recognise JVC's .mod extension without conversion. (I also thought the high definition equivalent was .tod rather than .mod, but I am happy to admit ignorance in that regard! And certainly VS11.5+ is supposed to be able to deal with even .tod files natively.)

What program are you using for the conversion to mpeg? How long does it take? Does the version of VS you are using refuse to 'see' them in their native format? Have you tried merely changing the extension from .mod to .mpg, since that is really are they are anyway?

Finally, you don't say if you are merely wanting to store them on DVD as archive files (i.e. making a data disc -- which VS does not do), or whether they are designed to be video DVDs which people can put in stand-alone DVD players and watch the original files with no editing. If the latter, then if the files started out with high definition properties, you are down-converting them either to standard definition mpeg-2 in the conversion process you mention. Or else you are converting them in that process into high definition mpeg-2 format (HDV). And if you put those files into the burning module to produce a standard definition DVD, then the down-convrsion will take place as part of the burning process. Whatever the case, that down-conversion will always take a long time and, depending on your computer resources, it could be a very long time...

But you don't tell us anything about your computer either! If you think you might be coming back to this forum in the future, it would save time if you filled in the details of your computer in the Profile button at the top of this web page.

[Slim]

Welcome to the forums!

You don't say whether you are doing any editing. And you also don't tell us which version of Video Studio you are using. It was my understanding, anyway, that the current version 11/11.5+, and I think version 10, could recognise JVC's .mod extension without conversion. (I also thought the high definition equivalent was .tod rather than .mod, but I am happy to admit ignorance in that regard! And certainly VS11.5+ is supposed to be able to deal with even .tod files natively.)

What program are you using for the conversion to mpeg? How long does it take? Does the version of VS you are using refuse to 'see' them in their native format? Have you tried merely changing the extension from .mod to .mpg, since that is really are they are anyway?

Finally, you don't say if you are merely wanting to store them on DVD as archive files (i.e. making a data disc -- which VS does not do), or whether they are designed to be video DVDs which people can put in stand-alone DVD players and watch the original files with no editing. If the latter, then if the files started out with high definition properties, you are down-converting them either to standard definition mpeg-2 in the conversion process you mention. Or else you are converting them in that process into high definition mpeg-2 format (HDV). And if you put those files into the burning module to produce a standard definition DVD, then the down-convrsion will take place as part of the burning process. Whatever the case, that down-conversion will always take a long time and, depending on your computer resources, it could be a very long time...

But you don't tell us anything about your computer either! If you think you might be coming back to this forum in the future, it would save time if you filled in the details of your computer in the Profile button at the top of this web page.

Sorry about that I updated my computer information to the best of my knowledge.

I'm currently using VideoStudio 11. I was using the video wizard, taking enough files to fill a DVD and burning them. I extracted the video files off a high def camcorder, I believe it was a Panasonic. I just want the quickest way to take these files and put them on a DVD so they can be viewed in a DVD player. I don't care if they're in high definition format or not. Thanks for any help you can give me.

[Ken Berry]

Thanks for filling in the details...

As I said, though, downconverting from high definition to standard definition mpeg-2 is always going to take time. And the down-conversion has to take place regardless of where it is carried out -- whether it is in the Editing module or in the burning process.

I confess I have never used the wizard in the 6 years I have been using Video Studio. But the same rule applies -- it is all going to take time. First, capturing the video from the camera, then converting it, then the burning process itself -- which normally would add about half an hour to the overall process since it involves multiplexing video and audio and the actual burn time. (That figure is for a full, single layer DVD being burned at 4x speed.)

You also don't indicate whether you convert from .mod to .mpg in another step, or merely insert the .mod into the Wizard direct. But if (as I got the impression) you use another program or even do it separately in VS, it is still going to add time to the overall tally...

I am afraid you are just beginning to learn the hardest lesson of any aspect of video editing: it's a slow process, even using the speediest of tools... !!

[Slim]

Thanks for filling in the details...

As I said, though, downconverting from high definition to standard definition mpeg-2 is always going to take time. And the down-conversion has to take place regardless of where it is carried out -- whether it is in the Editing module or in the burning process.

I confess I have never used the wizard in the 6 years I have been using Video Studio. But the same rule applies -- it is all going to take time. First, capturing the video from the camera, then converting it, then the burning process itself -- which normally would add about half an hour to the overall process since it involves multiplexing video and audio and the actual burn time. (That figure is for a full, single layer DVD being burned at 4x speed.)

You also don't indicate whether you convert from .mod to .mpg in another step, or merely insert the .mod into the Wizard direct. But if (as I got the impression) you use another program or even do it separately in VS, it is still going to add time to the overall tally...

I am afraid you are just beginning to learn the hardest lesson of any aspect of video editing: it's a slow process, even using the speediest of tools... !!

So check this out:

I finished burning a batch of the files then it spits the DVD out. I put it back in and watch it to make sure it worked (which it did). Instead of starting a new project I click the back button until the screen that allows me to lay out the files. I delete the files then add new ones. I continue clicking the next arrow until I come up on the burn screen. I click burn and it writes the files to the DVD in about 20 minutes. I eject the DVD, give it a preview, and it works exactly the same.

Very strange but I'll take it...

[Ken Berry]

When you put the second lot of files in, are they still in .mod format, or already converted to .mpg?

Mind you, I am happy that you have found a quick work-around that seems to work. But I am mystified as to why it should...

[Slim]

they're still in .MOD format. But I couldn't tell you what they're being written as...

[Ken Berry]

If they're being written to a video DVD and it plays as a video DVD, then they are being written as DVD-compatible mpeg-2... If it walks like a duck, and talks like a duck...