Previously had this problem using version 6. Now I have installed version 7.5

I have made a copy of some home movies on a Panasonic E75H set top box to DVD
Used that to make an ISO image on computer.
Used disc copier to make a disc and it doesn't work in my player.
I have tried just copying the files from the DVD to computer and then back to a DVD but that won't work either.

Nothing will work except, my new Dell came with MYDVD LE. I used this and it did make a usable DVD on my Player. Although it had its own menu instead of the one the set top recorder made.

All I want to do is keep a digital copy of my home movies on my hard drive and then know that I can burn DVD's in the future. Can anyone help please??

Thanks,
David

46 views on this post and not 1 bit of advice??? Hmmm

I have a Pioneer set top DVD recorder and have used it to make DVD's a lot of times.I record tv shows and then cut the commercials and use MyDVD to make new DVD's.I use +R's and you have to make sure that they are finalized in the recorder before trying to use them elsewheres.That's about all I can help with.

I appreciate the input.

I have found something that works for me (in case someone else runs into the same problem). I use the disc copier and first copy from the ISO on hard drive to DVD-Video folder (also on the hard drive). Then I use disc copier to burn that folder to a DVD and it played fine on set top box.

I feel your pain because for some reason, many geeks in these damned DVD making forums just don't want to help noobies. I'm a noobie myself with a Dell computer and the bundled MyDVd LE and I've been making DVDs using the bundled softwares that came with my computer.

I assume you also have Roxio's RecordNow Copy on your Dell computer. If so, making an exact duplicate of your home movie that is already on a DVD is as easy as adding 2 and 2.

Open RecordNow Copy, insert your homemade movie's DVD in the drive, click on "disc copy", then click the red button that says "Disc Copy", then follows the direction. What the program is gonna do next is transfer everything on your DVd to a temporary folder on your computer, then it will prompt you to remove your movie dvd and insert a blank DVD disc into the DVd drive. It then transfers the content in the temp folder to your rewritable DVD, bit by bit. After it's done, you'll have an exact duplicate of your original DVD. Making an ISO image of your original DVd then somehow try to put it on a blank DVD without using an ISO image burning software won't work and is totally unnecessary.

That aside, if you want to save a digital copy of your home movie, you need VLC Player. it's a free open-sourced software that will play almost anything, including the VOB files on your DVd movie disc. Click on the link below for a description.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VLC_media_player

Click the link below to go to its official website for download
http://www.videolan.org/vlc/

To transfer your homemade movie that is already on a DVd to your computer, open VLC Player, click File -> Open Disc. In the "Disc Type" box, select DVD (not DVD Menu). Under the "Advanced Options", make sure the Stream/Save box is checked, then click on "Settings". Make sure the box labeled File is checked. Click Browse to select the place to place your file. Put it on desktop. In the File Name, enter filename.mpg then click Save. It will take you back to the VLC window. By now, the text area with the label Filename should show the path where your new file is gonna be saved.

In the "Encapsulation method" box, make sure MPEG-PS is checked. The default is MPEG-TS. Click OK. This will close the current window and take you back to the Open Disc window. Click OK again. VLC player will now transfer your movie on DVD to your computer. Depending on the length of your movie, it will take around 20 minutes to transfer a two-hour movie.

Once the transfer is complete, you can view your movie on your computer by opening the file with VLC player. Windows Media Player is unlikely to recognize files that were transfered from a DVD made from a set top recorder. It has something to do with the video codec that the set top recorder use. Opening the file with Windows Media Player will give you sound but no picture.

Here's another tip to make your own DVD containing TV shows
Record TV shows using your set top recorder and DVD-+RW disc. Transfer to your computer using the method I just describe. Then use MYDVD Le to make DVd by adding the mpg files to it. With luck, MyDVD LE will not do any transcoding of those mpg files.

Disclaimer
I am in no way telling you to use the exact method to transfer copyrighted movies to your computer then put them on rewritable DVd using MyDVD LE because that is against the law. Have fun!

#$^@ that's long.

FWIW, Windows Media Player as well as Sonic CinePlayer have no difficulty reading DVDs created on my set top recorder whether from the original disk or from capture.

I take back what I said about WMP. My Dell computer has the bundled Dell Cineplayer software which only plays pre-recorded DVDs and DVD-R disc while my GoVideo recorder uses DVD+RW/R disc. That's why WMP on my computer can't read mpg files that came from my DVD+RW disc.

You need to use a program specifically made to play DVDs on a computer...... like Cineplayer.

If it will play on Cineplayer then there is nothing wrong with the DVD.

I've found that if I burn DVDs from an 'image file'(.iso) using Disk Copier, the DVDs seem to be compatable with more DVD Players. ( I burn for members of a club and they all seem to have different DVD players. If their DVD players won't play DVD + R, I swap it for a DVD - R and that will usually play.)

You also need to check to make certain that you have the latest updates from Dell for your DVD burner. Even brand new computers frequently need updates to burn properly.

Like I said, my computer came with the bundled Dell Cineplayer software which only plays pre-recorded DVDs and DVD-R discs. My Dell Cineplayer won't play DVD+R discs that were recorded on my GoVideo set top recorder but it plays DVD+R disc that I burn using MyDVD LE, the bare-bone version.

Put the +R disc back in GoVideo and close the disc.

cdanteek

My bare-bone Dell Cineplayer on my six-month old Dimension E510 does not play FINALIZED DVD+R discs that were recorded on my GoVideo set top recorder, period. So, a combination of finalized GoVideo DVD+R discs + bare-bone Dell Cineplayer-whose docs indicate it only plays pre-recorded DVDs and DVD-R discs-equals "no play". Research has shown that only about 85-90% of DVD players can play DVD+R discs, finalized. .I wish you guys could have been more helpful to David when he started this thread instead of trying to help with my nonexistent problem.

That's not really a fair judgment of the very helpful people on this board. Since I don't use MyDVD, I really couldn't offer any advice. I use a boxed retail version of EMC 7.5 as do many others here. That can be quite different from the altered versions that come installed on many cookie cutter computers. FWIW, it makes no difference whether disks are + or - or R or RW to CinePlayer or Windows Media Player on my custom built system which is going on two years old.

sisterscape.

This seems to be a GoVideo, or a codec problem. Go read all 22 posts.
Both seem to have the same pc, Dimension E510 !

http://forums.support.roxio.com/index.php?showtopic=9786#

cdanteek

Well, I have no idea what GoVideo is so haven't followed the thread that closely. I jumped in when the territory got more familiar (although off-topic).