Step by Step -- Producing

Betty15765

Member Joined: May 25, 2014 17:48 Messages: 99 Offline

Solved by

May 27, 2014 08:36

I am not into the technical aspect of making DVDs and so I need a step by step lesson in exactly how to Produce a short video that will be burned to a DVD. I use DVD Flick and then burn with ImgBurn. But the Producing in PowerDirector is my problem.

I am using a Canon PowerShot SX130 (have camcorders available but this serves the purpose) which gets great clips: 1280X720, 30 fps. I want best quality as I am not interested in YouTube, etc. Size of files is of no concern. I first produced to AVI, then to MPG4.....
not sure if that was what I should have done.

I am using the trial version. Bought the paid version yesterday, but afraid of losing what I have done so far by uninstalling and installing full version.

Should I continue using 1280x720.....can I get that quality in my end results?

As you can see, I am floundering............When I go to Produce in PowerDirector, I see several options and not sure which to use. As I said, step by step, please.

I notice several senior contributors online often, fast responses, I commend you. We really appreciate your help.

Betty...........

Carl312

Senior Contributor Location: Texas, USA Joined: Mar 16, 2010 20:11 Messages: 9090 Offline

May 27, 2014 09:35

Quote: I am not into the technical aspect of making DVDs and so I need a step by step lesson in exactly how to Produce a short video that will be burned to a DVD. I use DVD Flick and then burn with ImgBurn. But the Producing in PowerDirector is my problem.

I am using a Canon PowerShot SX130 (have camcorders available but this serves the purpose) which gets great clips: 1280X720, 30 fps. I want best quality as I am not interested in YouTube, etc. Size of files is of no concern. I first produced to AVI, then to MPG4.....
not sure if that was what I should have done.

I am using the trial version. Bought the paid version yesterday, but afraid of losing what I have done so far by uninstalling and installing full version.

Should I continue using 1280x720.....can I get that quality in my end results?

As you can see, I am floundering............When I go to Produce in PowerDirector, I see several options and not sure which to use. As I said, step by step, please.

I notice several senior contributors online often, fast responses, I commend you. We really appreciate your help.

Betty...........

You can safely uninstall the Trial version. You can use the Project file made in the Trial in the Paid version.

The Trial has very poor support for HD video (I.E. none on some platforms).

You should copy the files from the Camera to a folder on your computer. (that gets the same file as on the camera).
Your Powershot SX130 IS camera has a USB connection that allows a File transfer from the camera to the computer.

Then use Import of bring that video into Powerdirector's library.

Put the file on the Timeline, edit. Output in any format you chose.

Tutorials:
http://forum.cyberlink.com/forum/posts/list/30026.page

Carl312: Windows 10 64-bit 8 GB RAM,AMD Phenom II X4 965 3.4 GHz,ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB,240GB SSD,two 1TB HDs.

Betty15765

Member Joined: May 25, 2014 17:48 Messages: 99 Offline

May 27, 2014 09:49

Right! I know how to import, etc. Have done all that with no problem. Have produced and burned a couple of my projects using AVI and MPG4. But not sure which I should use or if there is a better option.

My question is what options do I select when I click on Produce. That's what I'm ignorant about.

I just downloaded Nvidia GeForce driver... # 337.88 so drive up-to-date.

Sorry I know so little about some areas. So I need some direction. Have no idea what format to use for best results.

My deepest gratitude for the help I receive.

Betty...........

optodata

Senior Contributor Location: California, USA Joined: Sep 16, 2011 16:04 Messages: 8630 Offline

May 27, 2014 13:21

Hello Betty

You can produce to whatever format you think looks good to your eyes. There's no need to convert to multiple formats. I'm not sure if you noticed the link at the bottom of Carl's response, but there are many excellent tutorials there.

Back to your main question: which format should you use? Since you're not interested in uploading the clip and you just want to end up with your video on DVD, you may want to produce to that directly from PD. Instead of the Produce tab, use the Create Disc tab instead. That's where you'll create any menus and playback options for the DVD.

If you'd prefer to use DVD Flick and ImgBurn to actually make the DVD, then the easiest approach is to produce the video in a DVD-ready format, which would be MPEG-2. Click on the Profile name/Quality: and choose MPEG-2, 1280x720/30p (20Mbps), because that will give you the same quality as your source clips. After you hit Start, the video will be ready to burn and you won't have to do any further transcoding to get it to play correctly.

I hope this helps!

YouTube/optodata

DS365 | Win11 Pro | Ryzen 9 3950X | RTX 4070 Ti | 32GB RAM | 10TB SSDs | 5K+4K HDR monitors

Canon Vixia GX10 (4K 60p) | HF G30 (HD 60p) | Yi Action+ 4K | 360Fly 4K 360°

Betty15765

Member Joined: May 25, 2014 17:48 Messages: 99 Offline

May 27, 2014 14:45

To Optodate:

Thank you! Thank you! You told me exactly what I was looking for.

Yes, I looked at the link...........but still didn't find what I wanted. Maybe I didn't look long enough. Or didn't understand what I was reading. Needed your brief instructions.

Previously, I did the Create Disc and it did not turn out very well. Must have done something wrong. I do not want to create menus, playback options, etc. Want to be able to stick DVD in player and have it play.

Now I will do what you suggest........Not sure, do I still encode with DVD Flick or can I skip that step and go straight to ImgBurn?

My appreciation,
Betty.............

optodata

Senior Contributor Location: California, USA Joined: Sep 16, 2011 16:04 Messages: 8630 Offline

May 27, 2014 15:01

The quickest way for you is to produce the file to MPEG-2, then use that as the source for DVD Flick because you'll need to convert the .mpg into the actual DVD .ts files and folders so that ImgBurn can do it's job. Since you've done all that before, it should be very easy

In the future, you can skip the 2 external programs and burn the DVD straight from the Create Disc tab, but you'll need to spend a little time getting used to the menus and turning on (or off) features that you'd like (or wouldn't like) to appear in the DVD.

YouTube/optodata

DS365 | Win11 Pro | Ryzen 9 3950X | RTX 4070 Ti | 32GB RAM | 10TB SSDs | 5K+4K HDR monitors

Canon Vixia GX10 (4K 60p) | HF G30 (HD 60p) | Yi Action+ 4K | 360Fly 4K 360°

Betty15765

Member Joined: May 25, 2014 17:48 Messages: 99 Offline

May 27, 2014 16:04

Am going to try it later this afternoon, when I have time.

Then will experiment with burning DVD from Create Disc tab. May have some more questions, but not for a few days, I don't think.

Thanks again.

Betty.............

Carl312

Senior Contributor Location: Texas, USA Joined: Mar 16, 2010 20:11 Messages: 9090 Offline

May 27, 2014 17:19

Quote: Yes, I looked at the link...........but still didn't find what I wanted. Maybe I didn't look long enough. Or didn't understand what I was reading. Needed your brief instructions.

There are several Tutorials at that link, If you try the ones Under General and Workflow (the first three) You will see the basics of PowerDirector.

Previously, I did the Create Disc and it did not turn out very well. Must have done something wrong. I do not want to create menus, playback options, etc. Want to be able to stick DVD in player and have it play.

Now I will do what you suggest........Not sure, do I still encode with DVD Flick or can I skip that step and go straight to ImgBurn?

My appreciation,
Betty.............

If you want a DVD to start playing as soon as you insert it in the DVD Player.

In Create Disk Module, on the Menu Preferences tab, Scroll to the very bottom and select "No Menu", Apply to all.

Burn your disk. With No Menu, the disk will play when inserted, then repeat until you stop it.

Carl312: Windows 10 64-bit 8 GB RAM,AMD Phenom II X4 965 3.4 GHz,ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB,240GB SSD,two 1TB HDs.