[Cyn]

I am running Vista and had a lot of trouble getting Easy Media Creator9 on my computer. After doing a clean install of EMC 9 at least a dozen times, I finally reinstalled the operating system from the system disks...which is important if you want to get Roxio to install correctly! At last I have EMC running without codec(s)/bad install errors. I spent months trying to get this problem resolved and this was the only method that worked.

Now I want to burn movies to disks which is why I bought the software. The movies on my computer where downloaded from cable directly onto my computer and are in a Windows Media Center format - DVR-MS. (They had to be moved to a backup drive in order when I reinstalled the operating system and then moved back.) I want to burn them to disks for use in my DVD players. I have tried several times and the disks Roxio creates take forever to burn and then don't work in the DVD players or my computer once completed. In fact, they are unreadable in my computer disk drive and sometimes lock up my computer. I used Video Wave which first changed the file to a mpg format. Then I select burn to disk which takes me to MyDVD Express. Fit to disk was selected and the disk format selected was DVD. Why is this so complicated?

I can see the movies in Roxio but, that's it. Can anyone advise me on how to burn these files to a usuable disk?

[grandpabruce]

I am running Vista and had a lot of trouble getting Easy Media Creator9 on my computer. After doing a clean install of EMC 9 at least a dozen times, I finally reinstalled the operating system from the system disks...which is important if you want to get Roxio to install correctly! At last I have EMC running without codec(s)/bad install errors. I spent months trying to get this problem resolved and this was the only method that worked.

Now I want to burn movies to disks which is why I bought the software. The movies on my computer where downloaded from cable directly onto my computer and are in a Windows Media Center format - DVR-MS. (They had to be moved to a backup drive in order when I reinstalled the operating system and then moved back.) I want to burn them to disks for use in my DVD players. I have tried several times and the disks Roxio creates take forever to burn and then don't work in the DVD players or my computer once completed. In fact, they are unreadable in my computer disk drive and sometimes lock up my computer. I used Video Wave which first changed the file to a mpg format. Then I select burn to disk which takes me to MyDVD Express. Fit to disk was selected and the disk format selected was DVD. Why is this so complicated?

I can see the movies in Roxio but, that's it. Can anyone advise me on how to burn these files to a usuable disk?

How much, time wise, are you trying to put on a disc? Reset to High Quality, and burn to an image (.iso) file, then burn that .iso file to a DVD using Disc Copier. Disc Copier will compress it to fit on a DVD, but if you are much over an hour, you may notice some quality loss.

[Cyn]

I am running Vista and had a lot of trouble getting Easy Media Creator9 on my computer. After doing a clean install of EMC 9 at least a dozen times, I finally reinstalled the operating system from the system disks...which is important if you want to get Roxio to install correctly! At last I have EMC running without codec(s)/bad install errors. I spent months trying to get this problem resolved and this was the only method that worked.

Now I want to burn movies to disks which is why I bought the software. The movies on my computer where downloaded from cable directly onto my computer and are in a Windows Media Center format - DVR-MS. (They had to be moved to a backup drive in order when I reinstalled the operating system and then moved back.) I want to burn them to disks for use in my DVD players. I have tried several times and the disks Roxio creates take forever to burn and then don't work in the DVD players or my computer once completed. In fact, they are unreadable in my computer disk drive and sometimes lock up my computer. I used Video Wave which first changed the file to a mpg format. Then I select burn to disk which takes me to MyDVD Express. Fit to disk was selected and the disk format selected was DVD. Why is this so complicated?

I can see the movies in Roxio but, that's it. Can anyone advise me on how to burn these files to a usuable disk?

I am trying to burn a 2 hour movie. I tried converting the mpg to an iso file and then using Disk Copier to make a disk. All I'm getting are junk disks that cannot be reinstalled in my computer without causing it to lock up. The most recent error code is 0x130c000a. I also tried not converting the mpg file and using Disk Copier to no avail. At this rate, I'm going to go through a whole box of blank disks with nothing to show for it. I have checked the firmware for the DVD burner and it is up to date. I really do appreciate your input so if you have any other ideas, please let me know. Thank you for responding.

[cdanteek]

Why is this so complicated?

A DVR-MS file can also be copy-protected by its creator. Copy-protected can only be played back on the Media Center PC used to record them.
If you want to remove commercials or do other editing, it is necessary to convert your DVR-MS files to another format (like AVI) which can be easily edited. (Note that you cannot convert copy-protected files into another format.)
Conversion of DVR-MS files usually takes a long time, since they are high resolution and very large.

cd

[myguggi]

I am trying to burn a 2 hour movie. I tried converting the mpg to an iso file and then using Disk Copier to make a disk. All I'm getting are junk disks that cannot be reinstalled in my computer without causing it to lock up. The most recent error code is 0x130c000a. I also tried not converting the mpg file and using Disk Copier to no avail. At this rate, I'm going to go through a whole box of blank disks with nothing to show for it. I have checked the firmware for the DVD burner and it is up to date. I really do appreciate your input so if you have any other ideas, please let me know. Thank you for responding.

First of all you should be using myDVD to burn to a DVD not myDVD Express.
Also a standard 4.7GB DVD will only hold 60 minutes of video at best quality. So you 2 hour movie will have to be highly compressed to fit on the DVD which of course will reduce quality. Many posters have stated that "Fit-to-Disc" gives poor quality when compressing to a DVD.

Were you able to convert the movie to mpeg2 using Videowave and play the file using Windows Media Player? If yes then you should be able to use myDVD to burn the movie to an iso file and then use DiscCopier to burn the iso file to a DVD. DiscCopier does a much better job of shrinking the video to fit on the DVD.

This post has been edited by myguggi: 29 January 2008 - 08:17 PM

[Beerman]

In my experiences, a 1 hour tv show captured in Vista MC (DVR-MS) and a 1 hour show captured in mpeg (using GBPVR) in Vista, I've noticed no more time in conversion. The only minor difference is the time it takes for MyDVD to 'fix' those files so that they can be used in MyDVD. This time has not been more than just a few minutes for me. Also, VideoReDo has no trouble working with DVR-MS files and is much quicker for removing commercials than VideoWave and can be kept in it's DVR-MS format or saved as mpeg, vob and other formats with no conversion needed.
I have found a few times that some of the programs I've recorded in Vista Media Center (SciFi Channel) could not be used. A friend who uses MC in XP and recorded the same program, had no problems leading me to further believe that Vista is DRM laden.

[Cyn]

In my experiences, a 1 hour tv show captured in Vista MC (DVR-MS) and a 1 hour show captured in mpeg (using GBPVR) in Vista, I've noticed no more time in conversion. The only minor difference is the time it takes for MyDVD to 'fix' those files so that they can be used in MyDVD. This time has not been more than just a few minutes for me. Also, VideoReDo has no trouble working with DVR-MS files and is much quicker for removing commercials than VideoWave and can be kept in it's DVR-MS format or saved as mpeg, vob and other formats with no conversion needed.
I have found a few times that some of the programs I've recorded in Vista Media Center (SciFi Channel) could not be used. A friend who uses MC in XP and recorded the same program, had no problems leading me to further believe that Vista is DRM laden.

Before Dell replaced the two broken PC's they sent me, I had Windows XP Media Center and EMC8. At that time, I was able to record a movie in Windows Media Center and then burn it to disk with EMC8 with no problem. At that time, I did not know what an iso file was or have to do this conversion. I was hoping to use easy software that did not require me to become an expert in video editing to use it. Now I have Vista and EMC9. It is hard for me to determine if I am dealing with copywrite issues since the software refuses to work correctly in Vista and I have gotten multiple error messages. I have just installed a patch from the Dell site that was supposed to fix Drag to Disk, which incidently also did not work correctly today. Now Drag to Disk does not launch at all but is on the computer as I can see it in Control Panel under remove/add software. After adding the patch, the codec(s) had to be reactivated in VideoWave so perhaps this is a good sign. (I also loaded a free mpeg2decoder onto the computer today and have no idea if this is helping my situation but, decided to leave it installed.) I am now burning a new iso file and will try to burn the file with Disk Copier again. I'll report back if it works. I thank all for their responses. You've really been great and I appreciate it! For anyone reading this, neither Dell, Roxio or Microsoft have been helpful in resolving these issues. After sinking $70 into the Roxio software, I invested way too many hours being stubborn trying to first get their software installed correctly and then secondly getting it to work correctly. I'm really fed up with the Vista OS, Dell and Roxio at this point. I have a 3 year old Apple laptop and love it so, if you don't need a PC, I recommend a Mac.....better hardware and better software IMO.

[Cyn]

First of all you should be using myDVD to burn to a DVD not myDVD Express.
Also a standard 4.7GB DVD will only hold 60 minutes of video at best quality. So you 2 hour movie will have to be highly compressed to fit on the DVD which of course will reduce quality. Many posters have stated that "Fit-to-Disc" gives poor quality when compressing to a DVD.

Were you able to convert the movie to mpeg2 using Videowave and play the file using Windows Media Player? If yes then you should be able to use myDVD to burn the movie to an iso file and then use DiscCopier to burn the iso file to a DVD. DiscCopier does a much better job of shrinking the video to fit on the DVD.

To answer your question, yes I was able to convert the file to an mpg in Videowave and watch it in Windows Media Player. I realize the program will be compressed and will look into purchasing the double layered disks if I can just get the software to work for me. Thanks again.

[Larry]

..............At this rate, I'm going to go through a whole box of blank disks with nothing to show for it...............

You may want to think about getting a couple of DVD RW discs to use for the burning until you get it sorted out. You can erase and reuse those as "testing" discs.

[Cyn]

You may want to think about getting a couple of DVD RW discs to use for the burning until you get it sorted out. You can erase and reuse those as "testing" discs.

Well Larry, that was excellent advice LOL. Sometimes we need another person to point out what is obvious! I went out and purchased some yesterday. At least that will alleviate my frustration of wasting disks. I still haven't figured out what is wrong with EMC though. I can see from other posts that I am not the only one experiencing this problem. I sure wish Roxio would pipe in and give some advice!

[Cyn]

How much, time wise, are you trying to put on a disc? Reset to High Quality, and burn to an image (.iso) file, then burn that .iso file to a DVD using Disc Copier. Disc Copier will compress it to fit on a DVD, but if you are much over an hour, you may notice some quality loss.

I finally got a dvd to burn that works in Windows Media Player, doesn't cause my operating system to lock up, works in one of my dvd players (sort of) and not the other one. I think I'm making progress LOL. I am assuming that the patch from Dell kind of fixed the software...hmmm, so assuming it is working correctly at least in for burning, then I have a problem with the file. In the old dvd player, the movie runs but I cannot use any of the controls on the remote to run it. I had to hit the eject button to get it to stop playing and out of the player. The other newer dvd player does not recognize it at all. I selected dvd as the output file format in Disk Copier and am wondering if mpg2 or something else works more universally. Any ideas on this? Thanks,

Cynthia aka "Cyn"