NeroVision

[neumannu47]

Presently I am downloaded MPG files from my ReplayTV, editing them in VRD (including QSF), and buring them to DVD with NeroVision Express. Since I'm new at this, maybe I just don't understand, but as an example, I just told NVE to "burn" a 30-minute clip to the hard drive instead of to the DVD disk. The MPG is recorded at medium speed, which is supposed to mean that no transcoding is necessary. As NVE is burning the file, the images on the preview screen crawl by. It takes 2 hours to convert one 30-minute program.

Smart Encoding is checked. The quality is good. The file size on the DVD disk appears to be the same size as the MPG file on the hard drive. So, is the file being transcoded? If so, why? If not, which is it taking 2 hours to convert a 30-minute clip?

As a user of VRD, if you were going to buy a reasonably priced DVD authoring package today, what would you buy? Or, would you learn better how to use NVE?

I'm totally confused.

[phd]

It sounds like its reencoding.

What version of NVE are you using?

NVE3 has a "Details" button on the last screen that will tell you if it is going to smartencode the video and audio. They are listed separately.

For NTSC, Nero does not seem to officially recognize MPEG audio. If you select the audio options, only AC3 (2.0) and LPCM are listed.

[neumannu47]

NVE Version 3.1.0.16. It came with Nero 6 Ultra. If you were going to get an authoring program today, which one would you buy?

[laserfan]

Dunno what to say about the 2-hour time; does the end result look identical to the input file? I have used NVE to re-encode HD ts files to DVD and it takes a LONG time, maybe 5 hours for a one-hour show. So maybe 2 hours is "normal".

Regarding authoring programs, "depends" on what you want to do; whether you want to create commercial-style DVDs w/motion menus & whatnot, or if you just want to get your home movies or TV recordings onto DVD for posterity.

I'm in the latter camp: I use NVE to make DVDs from HD streams, TyTool to make simple menued DVDs of TV show recordings, IfoEdit to make IFOs when I only have a VOB file, etc. Honestly I've looked at DVD Workshop, SpruceUp, DVD Maestro, I own DVDit SE (or something), neoDVD, Pinnacle Expression, and some other cheap-o programs that escape me at the moment, all of which are pretty much junk. You should probably Google on DVDauthor (freeware) & the companion gui (Styler I think) and try those cuz they're free, and they can help you figure-out what you think you need.

[wwjd]

I have tried a variety of authoring programs and the best I have found is TMPGenc DVD Author but it is an authoring program only! It is bullit proof and will not re encode no matter what. You can add chapters and make menus but you can not add transitions.

An excellent site for information concerning video is videohelp.com. Go to the tools section and look for authoring apps.

Personally I would rate NVE very low. DVD Author GUI may do the trick but I have not used it before.

I totally recommend VRD!

[neumannu47]

Hmmm...so DVDAuthor is not the same as TMPGenc DVDAuthor. That's certainly a good reason for confusion. I tried the TMPGenc version, and it seems to work, although the menus look cheesey. I'll have to play around with it a little more, although $68 is expensive for a program with such limited capability.