Home Video to DVD: I Have NO Idea What I'm Doing

GlennHadley

Newbie Joined: Mar 30, 2015 17:22 Messages: 4 Offline

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Mar 30, 2015 17:34

I have already transferred my home videos to digital files that are ready and waiting to be edited and turned into DVDs.

I purchased and downloaded PowerDirector 13 after reading the reviews and realizing that it is the perfect software to fulfill my needs.

The only problem is....I have NO idea what I am doing. The manual is written in English, but (to me) it's like reading a foreign language. I really just need someone to break it down for me and help to me to understand what I need to do from Point A to Z.

After placing all of the clips into the Easy Movie Wizard, I see that I have over 16 hours of footage. How do I break it down into smaller clips? How long should each DVD be? How do I create menus and separate chapters for each DVD?

Please. Help me! I can even pay an expert to help walk me through the process so that I can get this done the way that I want it...and hopefully learn a thing or two along the way.

tomasc

Senior Contributor Joined: Aug 25, 2011 12:33 Messages: 6464 Offline

Mar 30, 2015 19:30

The user guide is available in 10 different languages. Go to Cyberlink/Support/Software Updates/PowerDirector/User's Guide and Use the drop arrow to select another language. See the attached for the drop down box. You did not say what language you speak or what country you are in. Spend a day reading the manual and you should be all set.

Let us know if this helps.


Filename	manual.jpg	Download
Description	User Guide available in 10 different languages.
Filesize	66 Kbytes
Downloaded:	87 time(s)

James1

Senior Contributor Location: Surrey, B.C., Canada Joined: Jun 10, 2010 16:20 Messages: 1783 Offline

Mar 30, 2015 19:34

Hi,

When you open PowerDirector got to the 'Full editor' then import your video clips to the library. from the library you compose the final video. You can break project up into smaller productions and then when doing the final 'Create Disk" import these smaller files to compile the DVD's as requires.

That is a quick how to.

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garioch7

Senior Contributor Location: Port Hood, Nova Scotia, Canada Joined: Feb 07, 2011 06:45 Messages: 852 Offline

Mar 31, 2015 12:53

Welcome to the PD13 Forum. I would also recommend that you visit the PDTOOTS channel (Google it). Tony, Cranston, and many other pros have done an outstanding job creating tutorials that explain all aspects of PowerDirector, from the very basics to advanced editing. They are WELL worth viewing. You will, if you were like me when I started out, learn an incredible amount. I still refer to them when I am undertaking editing tasks that I have not done for awhile. The old brain is starting to get a bit fogged.

Have a great day, and happy editing.

Regards,

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Buckles

Member Location: Klamath Falls, OR Joined: Aug 26, 2014 17:04 Messages: 90 Offline

Apr 02, 2015 22:55

You mentioned 16 hours of video. When you break down the clips, remember that a single sided DVD will only hold approx. 4.7GB unless you use a more advanced DVD or Blue-R. Also, to begin with, try taking a short segment of the video and practice with that first. Remember, don't use the orginal files. Make copies and place them in a temporary working projects folder to work with.

James Dotson

Senior Contributor Location: Tennessee Joined: Aug 24, 2009 20:40 Messages: 3066 Offline

Apr 03, 2015 00:24

There are basically two ways to break it up. You probably need to go to the advanced editor. Then you can either split the video and remove the unneeded portions, or use the scrubber to highlight a section. Then right-click and choose to produce the selected area. Take the shorter produced video and create the dvd. That may sound confusing, but have a look and report back with questions.
Of course, you can always just start fresh and create shorter projects, but if you have done any editing you might not want to start over. __________________________________
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