# Putting show episodes on a DVD



## PC person (Feb 2, 2006)

I have several files which are episodes on a show I want to put on DVD to watch on my DVD player, I know I may have to convert them to MPEG4 format and do so, easy enough.......but

I want this done right, so that the first thing comes up will be the introduction screen with the menu to all the episodes. I don't know what order I should burn them to the dvd. Should I combine all the episodes and then make them into an ISO.file to be put on the dvd, or should I keep them MPEG format, etc? 

When you start playing a dvd, where does the laser or whatever start reading from on the disk? That's where I need the menu's to go. And I'm guessing somewhere in that part of the disk are the instructions to move the ray to the other parts depending on what you choose.

Is MPEG the most common format? Suppose I bought a pure video dvd at the store and popped it in, what format would it most likely be in on the disk?


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## zuluclayman (Dec 16, 2005)

If you want to make a playable DVD from files you have on your computer with a menu all you need to do is open whatever software (Nero, Cyberlink etc.) you have that came with your DVD burner (or computer- already loaded). It will allow you to burn a DVD with a menu that has the buttons for different chapters (episodes can go there). You don't need to convert files - the burning software will do this for you. Most software has fairly easy to follow prompts.
If you are unsure of any part of the process post back with the DVD burning software you have on your computer (we can recommend some if you don't have any) and we can advise you further.


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## PC person (Feb 2, 2006)

zuluclayman said:


> If you want to make a playable DVD from files you have on your computer with a menu all you need to do is open whatever software (Nero, Cyberlink etc.) you have that came with your DVD burner (or computer- already loaded). It will allow you to burn a DVD with a menu that has the buttons for different chapters (episodes can go there). You don't need to convert files - the burning software will do this for you. Most software has fairly easy to follow prompts.
> If you are unsure of any part of the process post back with the DVD burning software you have on your computer (we can recommend some if you don't have any) and we can advise you further.


I turned an episode of a show I have as an avi into vob format, with it's accompanying files, if I put all those files onto a dvd, it works fine. And it gives me (for some reason) a menu interface, with 6 different choices, but it won't let me put more than one episode on the same DVD.


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## zuluclayman (Dec 16, 2005)

As I said in my earlier post you should not have to convert the files from avi to anything - the burning software should do that for you. In most DVD burning software interfaces you can drag multiple files (mpeg's, avi's etc) to the add file list and the software will automatically create a new chapter for each file, you then choose your menu style etc and hit the burn button and there you have it.
If your avi files are very large you may not get many episodes on a standard 4.7Gb disc as the authoring process actually adds more size to the files. 
What DVD software are you using? How big are your avi files?
Post back with this information and we'll take it from there.


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## koala (Mar 27, 2005)

If you use the freeware *DVDFlick* to create the VOBs, it automatically changes the bitrate settings to allow you to fit as many episodes as you want into the available 4.3GB with menu screen, chapters, etc.

I find that 6 half-hour videos on 1 DVD gives good image quality. If you want more than 6 episodes, the quality starts to drop as the bitrate is decreased. It's very easy to use and takes about 2 hours to encode the VOBs, then you use a burner like Nero to burn the VOBs to DVD.


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## PC person (Feb 2, 2006)

koala said:


> If you use the freeware *DVDFlick* to create the VOBs, it automatically changes the bitrate settings to allow you to fit as many episodes as you want into the available 4.3GB with menu screen, chapters, etc.
> 
> I find that 6 half-hour videos on 1 DVD gives good image quality. If you want more than 6 episodes, the quality starts to drop as the bitrate is decreased. It's very easy to use and takes about 2 hours to encode the VOBs, then you use a burner like Nero to burn the VOBs to DVD.


These are from a DVD set I have, the one I put on DVD is the first episode of the series, so perhaps that could be the "keystone" episode, if you would. That is- it has the menu to all the other episodes that came on the disk. But, I'll try what you're asking.



> I find that 6 half-hour videos on 1 DVD gives good image quality. If you want more than 6 episodes, the quality starts to drop as the bitrate is decreased.


Shucks, guess I'll have to wait blue-ray burners, I wanted to see if I could put 30 on a disk.

And, what do you think is beyond blue ray disks? Violet rays disks? Then X-ray/Gamma rays disks? I'm going by the shorter and shorter forms of EM radiation.


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## PC person (Feb 2, 2006)

As I said in my earlier post you should not have to convert the files from avi to anything - the burning software should do that for you. In most DVD burning software interfaces you can drag multiple files (mpeg's, avi's etc) to the add file list and the software will automatically create a new chapter for each file, you then choose your menu style etc and hit the burn button and there you have it.
If your avi files are very large you may not get many episodes on a standard 4.7Gb disc as the authoring process actually adds more size to the files. 



> What DVD software are you using? How big are your avi files?


I've been using winavi to convert them to VOB's, the avi episodes average 128MB to 132MB each. I used nero to put the the vob and accompanying support files of one episode I converted with winavi to a disk.


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## PC person (Feb 2, 2006)

> zuluclayman said:
> 
> 
> > As I said in my earlier post you should not have to convert the files from avi to anything - the burning software should do that for you.
> ...


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## zuluclayman (Dec 16, 2005)

in Startsmart go to DVD tab (top right) > photo and video > make your own dvd-video
this will open a window that allows you to add your video (avi etc) files
go to add video files > locate the files you wish to add > click open (the file should now appear in the window) - do this until you have the all files you want on your dvd (or to select multiple files use ctrl click) - at the bottom of the window it will show you how much space you have used on a standard dvd of 4.7GB. if it goes into the yellow or red they won't all fit.
click next - the window that opens next will allow you to choose menu options - you can put your own backgrounds etc - just use the settings shown on the right side of the panel. 
click next - this will allow you to preview your dvd
click next - this will allow you to determine burn settings etc
click burn - sit back, relax, get a cuppa (or whatever floats your boat) and let Nero work its magic.

hope this is clearer


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## PC person (Feb 2, 2006)

zuluclayman said:


> in Startsmart go to DVD tab (top right) > photo and video > make your own dvd-video


What DVD tab? There is a tab at the top where I can select DVD/CD, DVD or CD, and there is the icon for photo and video, but no matter what option it is set to under the tab there is no option for make your own dvd-video.




> this will open a window that allows you to add your video (avi etc) files
> go to add video files > locate the files you wish to add > click open (the file should now appear in the window) - do this until you have the all files you want on your dvd (or to select multiple files use ctrl click) - at the bottom of the window it will show you how much space you have used on a standard dvd of 4.7GB. if it goes into the yellow or red they won't all fit.
> click next - the window that opens next will allow you to choose menu options - you can put your own backgrounds etc - just use the settings shown on the right side of the panel.
> click next - this will allow you to preview your dvd
> ...


Guess I can't any further till we clear the above issue up.


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## Inactive (Apr 11, 2005)

the first 3 clicks zulu was referring to 










if you are getting this











then you are not starting nero startsmart. it should be under start\programs\nero


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## PC person (Feb 2, 2006)

freddyhard said:


> the first 3 clicks zulu was referring to
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Maybe it's my Nero version, that may be the reason I don't have that icon. I have Nero version 6.6.0.14 and my Smartstart looks different. And yes, I am getting to it via the start menu. Specifically. Start-All Programs-Nero-Nero Smartstart. And I don't have the number 3 and the number 1. If you want I can post a screenshot.


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## koala (Mar 27, 2005)

My version of StartSmart has all the icons shown above, except for the important DVD-Video one.

Try this way, using Nero Burning ROM instead of Nero StartSmart. In freddyhard's second screenshot, the menu on the left of the 'New Compilation' window allows you to select CD or DVD from the dropdown menu. Select DVD, then scroll down and select DVD-Video. Click the New button, then drag your VOBs into the red Video folder and click the Burn button.

btw, if your DVD drive supports dual-layer discs (over 8gb), you can fit about 15 episodes on one DVD, maybe up to 25 if you drop the image/sound quality.


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## PC person (Feb 2, 2006)

koala said:


> My version of StartSmart has all the icons shown above, except for the important DVD-Video one.
> 
> Try this way, using Nero Burning ROM instead of Nero StartSmart. In freddyhard's second screenshot, the menu on the left of the 'New Compilation' window allows you to select CD or DVD from the dropdown menu. Select DVD, then scroll down and select DVD-Video. Click the New button, then drag your VOBs into the red Video folder and click the Burn button.
> 
> btw, if your DVD drive supports dual-layer discs (over 8gb), you can fit about 15 episodes on one DVD, maybe up to 25 if you drop the image/sound quality.


Guess I may have to wait for blue-ray and possible UV ray burners. The main reason I want to put them on discs is to get them off my hard drive, as they absolutely huge.



> Try this way, using Nero Burning ROM instead of Nero StartSmart. In freddyhard's second screenshot, the menu on the left of the 'New Compilation' window allows you to select CD or DVD from the dropdown menu.


But what are the steps to get there?



> Select DVD, then scroll down and select DVD-Video. Click the New button, then drag your VOBs into the red Video folder and click the Burn button.


I want to burn from avi's, and it would do it for me.



> btw, if your DVD drive supports dual-layer discs (over 8gb), you can fit about 15 episodes on one DVD, maybe up to 25 if you drop the image/sound quality.


Not sure if it does. I would have to check.

Here's what mine looks like


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## Inactive (Apr 11, 2005)

PC person said:


> Guess I may have to wait for blue-ray and possible UV ray burners. The main reason I want to put them on discs is to get them off my hard drive, as they absolutely huge.
> ...
> I want to burn from avi's, and it would do it for me.


just an note on these comments. if you just want to remove them from the HD, i'd suggest just burning them as data. firstly you'll get a lot more on a disc, plus you save the time of conversion from .avi to .vob

if you do want to create a DVD disc, then i'd use nero vision express to convert the .avi and to setup a menu ready to play in a DVD player. i see nero express was on the menu of your version of nero. a time consuming process though.


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## PC person (Feb 2, 2006)

Well, I emailed Nero and asked them about this. They asked me if I bought Nero seperately or if it came as a software package. I honestly don't remember. I'm leaning towards the latter though. I'm guessing those kinds don't have the option I'm looking for. I still haven't gotten a reply though.


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## koala (Mar 27, 2005)

If you've got Nero Burning ROM, go to File > New to bring up the New Compilation window (as in freddyhard's 2nd screenshot), then select DVD from the top-left drop-down menu, then select DVD-Video and click the New button. Drag your VOBS into the red Video folder and click Burn. I've been doing it this way for years.


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## PC person (Feb 2, 2006)

I found out the version of Nero I had was an incomplete one. I now have the full version of Nero 6.

Still, I want to wait for a version that can burn Blue ray discs. I have roughly, I'd estimate 50 or 60 gigs or episodes of shows I want to burn to discs.


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