I am putting together a comprehensive montage of pictures and music of a
recent trip and have put together 14 segments ranging in length from 2 - 15
minutes. I am nearing completion and have been testing the waters. I first
tried "Video for local playback 2.1 mbps" and discovered that the quality was
quite sharp (wma file). However, I recently caught hold of Papa John's site
and saw that I should do DV-AVI format... but everything did not come out as
crisp... it was like I have a slight case of astigmatism!
BTW... I found a piece of software, Digital Media Converter 2.5 (trial
version first), that can change my wma file to MPEG2 and it appears to be
fine.
What should I do?
Kindest regards... Tim
PS: Don't let this cloud the above issue, but should I use Nero for my
Authoring software? Is it slick and easy to use?

If you are using stills then the best output can often be WMV. DV-avi is
best for video.
You might like to try photostory next time you do a video montage, as it is
designed for this sort of work whereas mm is for video.
I've never found a free mpeg converter to be good, you may have found one.
As the mpeg license has to be paid for it generally means you're going to
have to pay for the software.
As for nero, why njot do one with each and let us know what you think!!

--
Graham Hughes
MVP Digital Media
www.myvideoproblems.co.uk
www.dvds2treasure.com
www.simplydv.com


"Tim" <Tim@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:B63127DD-6ACA-4F4A-9636-EDDD006EE26A@microsoft.com...
>I am putting together a comprehensive montage of pictures and music of a
> recent trip and have put together 14 segments ranging in length from 2 -
> 15
> minutes. I am nearing completion and have been testing the waters. I first
> tried "Video for local playback 2.1 mbps" and discovered that the quality
> was
> quite sharp (wma file). However, I recently caught hold of Papa John's
> site
> and saw that I should do DV-AVI format... but everything did not come out
> as
> crisp... it was like I have a slight case of astigmatism!
> BTW... I found a piece of software, Digital Media Converter 2.5 (trial
> version first), that can change my wma file to MPEG2 and it appears to be
> fine.
> What should I do?
> Kindest regards... Tim
> PS: Don't let this cloud the above issue, but should I use Nero for my
> Authoring software? Is it slick and easy to use?

The DV-AVI format is the right choice, usually, when working mainly with
video clips when your final destination is going to be a DVD. But if working
mainly with still images it tends to not work as well, as you've noticed, so
then I use High Quality (NTSC) which creates a high quality WMV (Not WMA as
you said) file to burn to DVD. If you aren't planning to make a DVD out of
the movie then "Video for local playback" is fine.
Digital Media Converter will convert to MPEG2 just fine but I hope you don't
think that burning the MPEG2 video to a DVD is going to playback in your DVD
Player because it won't. MPEG2 is the format used in DVD Players but they
are converted to VOB files first so you still need a DVD Authoring program
to create your DVD or VCD. There's a list on my website of some of the most
popular programs and most of them do offer free trial downloads.
-Wojo
--
Wojo's Web:
http://www.remember-christopher.dostweb.com/Wojo's_web/
Also Please visit.....
http://www.remember-christopher.dost...m/christopher/

"Tim" <Tim@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:B63127DD-6ACA-4F4A-9636-EDDD006EE26A@microsoft.com...
>I am putting together a comprehensive montage of pictures and music of a
> recent trip and have put together 14 segments ranging in length from 2 -
> 15
> minutes. I am nearing completion and have been testing the waters. I first
> tried "Video for local playback 2.1 mbps" and discovered that the quality
> was
> quite sharp (wma file). However, I recently caught hold of Papa John's
> site
> and saw that I should do DV-AVI format... but everything did not come out
> as
> crisp... it was like I have a slight case of astigmatism!
> BTW... I found a piece of software, Digital Media Converter 2.5 (trial
> version first), that can change my wma file to MPEG2 and it appears to be
> fine.
> What should I do?
> Kindest regards... Tim
> PS: Don't let this cloud the above issue, but should I use Nero for my
> Authoring software? Is it slick and easy to use?

On reading this answer, Wojo, my mind just clicked.... ha ha ha I just made
a slideshow/video and following my normal sop, I saved it to DV-AVI for
burning to multiple dvd's, and then I saved it to one of PapaJohn's high
definition profiles (using the 960x720 one). I put the HD on cd as image
files (not burned) so that they are playable and copyable on computers....the
HD video is awesome, and the DVD one is only adequate. But I guess I should
probably burn a dvd to see if the 'high def' profile makes a better dvd than
the dv-avi huh?


"Wojo" wrote:

> The DV-AVI format is the right choice, usually, when working mainly with
> video clips when your final destination is going to be a DVD. But if working
> mainly with still images it tends to not work as well, as you've noticed, so
> then I use High Quality (NTSC) which creates a high quality WMV (Not WMA as
> you said) file to burn to DVD. If you aren't planning to make a DVD out of
> the movie then "Video for local playback" is fine.
> Digital Media Converter will convert to MPEG2 just fine but I hope you don't
> think that burning the MPEG2 video to a DVD is going to playback in your DVD
> Player because it won't. MPEG2 is the format used in DVD Players but they
> are converted to VOB files first so you still need a DVD Authoring program
> to create your DVD or VCD. There's a list on my website of some of the most
> popular programs and most of them do offer free trial downloads.
> -Wojo
> --
> Wojo's Web:
> http://www.remember-christopher.dostweb.com/Wojo's_web/
> Also Please visit.....
> http://www.remember-christopher.dost...m/christopher/
>
> "Tim" <Tim@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:B63127DD-6ACA-4F4A-9636-EDDD006EE26A@microsoft.com...
> >I am putting together a comprehensive montage of pictures and music of a
> > recent trip and have put together 14 segments ranging in length from 2 -
> > 15
> > minutes. I am nearing completion and have been testing the waters. I first
> > tried "Video for local playback 2.1 mbps" and discovered that the quality
> > was
> > quite sharp (wma file). However, I recently caught hold of Papa John's
> > site
> > and saw that I should do DV-AVI format... but everything did not come out
> > as
> > crisp... it was like I have a slight case of astigmatism!
> > BTW... I found a piece of software, Digital Media Converter 2.5 (trial
> > version first), that can change my wma file to MPEG2 and it appears to be
> > fine.
> > What should I do?
> > Kindest regards... Tim
> > PS: Don't let this cloud the above issue, but should I use Nero for my
> > Authoring software? Is it slick and easy to use?
>
>
>

You can use total video converter convert the file to DVD mpeg directly.

I just finished using the high def profile video to make a dvd. I couldn't
get Movie Factory to 'transcode' the files, so I imported it into Sonic, and
set the preferences to 'Superior Quality VBR'......and made my dvd's. As I
mentioned before that the dvd's made from DV-AVI were only adequate when
compared to the HD file played on a media player on my computer....but holy
smokes....using the HD file rather than DV-AVI has made a far superior dvd
video of my slideshow/movie. I project this on my 8 foot home theatre
screen and the pictures are stunning (as is my video of course...ha ha).
Wojo, glad I read your comment about DV-AVI not always being the best format
from Movie Maker. I have found out again, that experimenting provides
surprises!

I know about PhotoStory and used it for a while, but now am really into
using all of my effects and transitions. I know, too much time on my
hands..ha ha. But I am into mixing titles, effects, overlays, and
transitions and analyzing the results. Hard to explain, but just think of
it like this....the picture is zooming in with a mag zoom at the same time it
is sliding slowly to the left and rotating....sorta like that.
So, i'm glad to find that using Movie Maker itself and saving in the high
def profile provides for such a high quality stunning video of pictures on
dvd.
"dickmr" wrote:

> On reading this answer, Wojo, my mind just clicked.... ha ha ha I just made
> a slideshow/video and following my normal sop, I saved it to DV-AVI for
> burning to multiple dvd's, and then I saved it to one of PapaJohn's high
> definition profiles (using the 960x720 one). I put the HD on cd as image
> files (not burned) so that they are playable and copyable on computers....the
> HD video is awesome, and the DVD one is only adequate. But I guess I should
> probably burn a dvd to see if the 'high def' profile makes a better dvd than
> the dv-avi huh?
>
>
> "Wojo" wrote:
>
> > The DV-AVI format is the right choice, usually, when working mainly with
> > video clips when your final destination is going to be a DVD. But if working
> > mainly with still images it tends to not work as well, as you've noticed, so
> > then I use High Quality (NTSC) which creates a high quality WMV (Not WMA as
> > you said) file to burn to DVD. If you aren't planning to make a DVD out of
> > the movie then "Video for local playback" is fine.
> > Digital Media Converter will convert to MPEG2 just fine but I hope you don't
> > think that burning the MPEG2 video to a DVD is going to playback in your DVD
> > Player because it won't. MPEG2 is the format used in DVD Players but they
> > are converted to VOB files first so you still need a DVD Authoring program
> > to create your DVD or VCD. There's a list on my website of some of the most
> > popular programs and most of them do offer free trial downloads.
> > -Wojo
> > --
> > Wojo's Web:
> > http://www.remember-christopher.dostweb.com/Wojo's_web/
> > Also Please visit.....
> > http://www.remember-christopher.dost...m/christopher/
> >
> > "Tim" <Tim@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> > news:B63127DD-6ACA-4F4A-9636-EDDD006EE26A@microsoft.com...
> > >I am putting together a comprehensive montage of pictures and music of a
> > > recent trip and have put together 14 segments ranging in length from 2 -
> > > 15
> > > minutes. I am nearing completion and have been testing the waters. I first
> > > tried "Video for local playback 2.1 mbps" and discovered that the quality
> > > was
> > > quite sharp (wma file). However, I recently caught hold of Papa John's
> > > site
> > > and saw that I should do DV-AVI format... but everything did not come out
> > > as
> > > crisp... it was like I have a slight case of astigmatism!
> > > BTW... I found a piece of software, Digital Media Converter 2.5 (trial
> > > version first), that can change my wma file to MPEG2 and it appears to be
> > > fine.
> > > What should I do?
> > > Kindest regards... Tim
> > > PS: Don't let this cloud the above issue, but should I use Nero for my
> > > Authoring software? Is it slick and easy to use?
> >
> >
> >

I've only done my work on the computer so far... but when I use the Video for
local playback, it too, is much crisper than the High Quality (NTSC). Any
thoughts?

Tim

Unless you are anal, like we are, and want a nice professional looking DVD
menu system.
-Wojo

<neseho@163.com> wrote in message
news:1135094225.575421.21590@g43g2000cwa.googlegro ups.com...
> You can use total video converter convert the file to DVD mpeg directly.
>

When watching it on my computer I really don't see much difference between
the two except when I view full screen and it is a fast paced video. But try
using "High Quality (NTSC)" and "DV-AVI" and "Video for Local Playback" and
burn them all to a DVD and see the results. You will likely see a very
noticeable problem with the Local playback one, they tend to turn out very
pixilated and jumpy during fast scenes plus the video quality just isn't as
good. As far as what you see between the High Quality and the DV-AVI it
pretty much depends on the content of the project to begin with (Still
images or video).
-Wojo

"Tim" <Tim@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:A1490CAC-349D-48D1-88D2-86713E850E6C@microsoft.com...
> I've only done my work on the computer so far... but when I use the Video
> for
> local playback, it too, is much crisper than the High Quality (NTSC). Any
> thoughts?
>
> Tim
>
>

Thanks Wojo,

I'll try the WMV save on HQ (NTSC).

I your honest opinion... which step would you take next after you have put
together your movie in this format? (I have saved several of movie "pieces"
in the above format and am now compiling this into the complete movie).

Which authorware would you use that would do chapter points and play DVD.
Something simple and especially non-time consuming!!! I'm a pretty fast
learner but am limited by a Dec. 24th deadline. ...I know... leaving it till
the last minute.

Finally, any problems with certain DVD media that I should be aware of in
advance? Brands (Sony, Memorex, etc..), Types (DVD +RW, -RW, +R, -R, dual
layer, etc..)

Thanks for your insight!

Tim