2 replies to this topic

[operaq]

From struggling with EMC8 for the past week
and MyDVD, this is what I have experienced, so far.  
(It is a good thing I was on vacation for the week.)
I am "burning" to an image on my DVD PC as I type
on this one and decided to share my experiences
while waiting...

Don't try to do editing in MyDVD.

If you have a video clip and you don't want parts
of it, take it into VideoWave, trim it and save new
files with the parts of the video you want.  Then
save the trimmed segments for later cobbling into
video in MyDVD.  Chapter marking seems to be fine
IF you are NOT working with panels you have Split
IN MyDVD if you have deleted the panels you don't
want.

If you try to work with panels in MyDVD that you
have split and edited IN MyDVD, the program
becomes unbearably slow.  Click, wait 2 minutes,
click again, ...you get the idea.  Before you say it,
I am running a P4-2.4MHz, and 1.25GB of RAM and
lots of available HD space with updated Video Card
driver and the latest DirectX.

My example project of the above:

I took a videotape with two programs.  One is
75 minutes and the other is 40.  I wanted to lay
them out in MyDVD as a double-bill and trim out
the excess on either end and between them.

When I did that in MyDVD, marking chapters and
navigating in the video became unbearably slow.
So, I decided to try a different approach.

I tried trimming out the second part and re-adding
the original video after the first panel- which was
not so bad to work with - though slow, too.

I trimmed the second panel of the video and
trimed off the first part. This time, I experienced a
new painful anomaly:  When I played the second
segment or tried to chapter-mark it or preview it,
the audio would play at the correct speed, but the
video seemed to play at half-speed, so the sound
left the video behind quickly and kept advancing.

I have gone through four or five 2-4-hour iterations
of trying to do this DVD.

So, I tried trimming the two segments into two
completely new files using VideoWave with just
what I wanted in them.  I brought these in as two
separate movies.  The chapter-marking and menu-
titling worked so much faster than it did in the above
interations.

Almost every problem I have encountered seems
to stem from using the Trim and Delete mechanism
in MyDVD rather than trimming the video and saving
the files externally using VideoWave before cobbling
them together in MyDVD.

When I tried to burn it to an image, I got the
8007000e error while encoding the menu.  <sigh>

However, reading other experiences, I see I should
have disconnected my internet and turned off my
anti-virus and firewall.  I am trying to burn another
image as I type.  I'll follow-up if there the issue
persists.  I burned this image to a DVD for grins
and it plays just fine, BUT with no menus.  When
you hit the MENU button, it toggles between the
starting chapter of each "movie".  The chapters
are in the video because I can jump from one to
the others using the chapter-advance button.

If I can determine a path that works to my goal
in EMC8, I will be happy.  I think I am close, but
hate to get my hopes up at this point.

Regards,
Gene

[james_hardin]

Some things that may help you along.

Whenever possible use AVI files instead of mpeg. The are much larger but since they use less compression you will find that your PC will work faster with them.

You are correct that VW is the place to do all of your editing.

However you do not need to waste your time outputting a file from VW. All you need to do is save the VW Project (dmsm) and use that in MyDVD when you add a Title.

Example – one AVI that I want to add 3 parts of it as separate Titles. Edit in VW and after splitting at 3 points, save as Master.

Load Master and delete the last 2 parts. Save as Title1.

Load Master and delete parts 1 and 3. Save as Title2.

Load Master and delete parts 1 and 2. Save as Title3.

Go into MyDVD and add Title1, then Title2 and lastly Title3.

[operaq]

Thanks, Mr. Hardin!  That suggestion was just what
I needed to greatly improve my experience of MyDVD.

Cobbling the segments together in VideoWave was no
worse than it was in MyDVD.  However, the chaptering,
thumbnailing, and resulting DVD was a MUCH less
painful process in MyDVD.  Since my source was an
MPEG already, I didn't try the AVI route yet.  But I
will.

I did still have the Chapter-1 thumbnail bug because
the clip was trimmed in VW.  But adding a black .tif
as the first panel cures the problem, so I am not
choosing the thumbnail from the first chapter and it
works properly.

Cheers,
Gene