5 replies to this topic

[thedjchad]

I have been reading many of the post in this forum about EMC9, as I am curious of several things that I have not seen posted in the forums. I have EMC 7.5 currently and was a previously discouraged owner of EMC8 as I had MANY issues with the installation process and could not find those who were having the same issues. Luckily, the folks at Sonic refunded me fully, and I have read that EMC7.5 can co-habitat with EMC9.


However, I also own Sonic MyDVD v6.1 Studio Deluxe Suite which is far superior in my experience that the recently purchased and returned MyDVD v8. I mainly use MyDVD v6.1 to burn my TiVo programs to DVD and it is easy to use to cut out the commercials if I want. However, when using MyDVD v8, the simplicity I grew to love was gone and it took about an hour to import just one 60-minute show. I usually can put 7-8 60-minute shows on one DL disc with MyDVD v6.1 and it would take about 3 hours to encode and burn the disc. As I was finally able to find a posting regarding adding a file and then encoding it immediately functionality that was a disappointment however I was able to go back to v6.1. So mainly my question stems from this, as I do not want to get rid of v6.1 if I can avoid it, so I would like to know if anyone has this version of MyDVD and uses it and EMC9. Are there any issues I should be worried about running into?


Also on an added note, I noticed that some posted that EMC9 looked for you latest video drivers when installing. I have an ATI all-in-wonder x1800XL video card that when all is said and done, a pain to install since it has be installed because of Microsoft DAO, which causes a pain since I have to then Uninstall Sonic MyDVD and EMC7.5 using the Microsoft clean-uninstaller tool that is also not fun to use. Then I have to start over and install ATI, Sonic, EMC7.5, and then anything else I need. My media center is about as up to date as I can get it and do not feel up to spending yet another weekend restoring my computer back using the HP recovery software...


If any of you can help answer these questions, I would be grateful. I really liked a few of the features that EMC9 has to offer and do not mind spending the money on it. I just do not want to have to spend the time to remove it and suffer the wrath of doing so. Thanks!

[ggrussell]

If you didn't like EMC8, then you won't like EMC9.  Although there has been some enhancements, they are fairly much the same.

[thedjchad]

ggrussell, on Sep 17 2006, 08:43 PM, said:

If you didn't like EMC8, then you won't like EMC9. Although there has been some enhancements, they are fairly much the same.

I think I was more turned off by the lack support for both products and the installation was such a nightmare that I was turned off by the whole deal. And I am willing to try it all again, but only if I don't really have to uninstall Sonic MyDVD and EMC7.5. Also when I downloaded EMC8, it was only a couple of days after they really had released the software... So the installation process had not probably had time to gel. Also there are a couple of great features regarding music functionality that I would like to check out... To bad they don't have trial versions or something that gives you like 30 days to try it out and see if you like it. But thanks for the reply.

[gaper1]

If you buy it directly from Roxio, you can get full refund within 30 days... which is like a trial period... besides, you would get support on the product... trial software usually has no support...

[dlflannery]

thedjchad, on Sep 17 2006, 05:00 PM, said:

.... I also own Sonic MyDVD v6.1 Studio Deluxe Suite which is far superior in my experience that the recently purchased and returned MyDVD v8. I mainly use MyDVD v6.1 to burn my TiVo programs to DVD and it is easy to use to cut out the commercials if I want.  .....   As I was finally able to find a posting regarding adding a file and then encoding it immediately functionality that was a disappointment however I was able to go back to v6.1.  ......

Can you clarify that last sentence?  Either there is a grammar problem or I'm just dense.   You aren't saying there is a way to put TiVo files on DVD's that are compatible with most standalone players without waiting hours for re-encoding ... are you?  Medium quality TiVo files from non-DVD-recorder TiVo's are 352x480 which is supposed to be DVD compliant (called "half-D1") but in fact many standalone players will not play them unless you re-encode to full D1  (720x480).  I'm curious because this is an area where I've paid some dues.

I tried the non-deluxe version of Sonic MyDVD 6.1 but decided to get EMC8 non-deluxe version, which disappointed me so much I found other non-Roxio/Sonic methods for TiVo-to-DVD.  However these methods will not allow sound in the menu, and I haven't found any way to avoid re-encoding and get a DVD that will play in any player.   I've just purchased the EMC9 suite upgrade and plan to give it a try.

Edited by dlflannery, 22 September 2006 - 05:10 PM.

[ggrussell]

dlflannery, on Sep 22 2006, 09:08 PM, said:

352x480 which is supposed to be DVD compliant (called "half-D1") but in fact many standalone players will not play them unless you re-encode to full D1  (720x480).

Hasn't been my experience.  I have a LiteOn set top recorder that uses half D1 for the 4hr mode. I've played those discs on 4 different players just fine. Different brands and all purchased years apart.

Now the 6hr is different because it uses MPEG1 encoding which is NOT supported on all DVD players.  If your Tivo is using half D1 with MPEG1 encoding, I can see why the files would always be re-encoded.