Creating a basic DVD from a video file, with DVDStyler 2.2 on Windows
Introduction
This tutorial is fully tested and covers making a simple DVD of a home movie. It was tested on Windows, with DVDStyler 2.2, and a single video clip, which was a Quicktime ".mov" file, containing a DV format file from a standard definition camcorder.
Conventions
-The symbol "->" is meant to show a sequence of menu actions, for example, File->New means to click the File Menu, then choose the New sub-menu.
Organizing
In this tutorial we will be creating a number of files related to our project. It would be good to put them all in one place, so create a new folder for this work, and use it in the steps below.
Creating a New Project
-Run DVDStyler
-Immediately, a Welcome panel shows, asking you to create a new project.
This panel may not show if you've previously used the program, and turned off the Welcome screen. In that case, choose File->New.
Disc label-This won't appear anywhere in your video, but will show when inserting the final DVD in your computer. We will use "Home Movie".
Disc capacity-The common type is called single-layer DVD or DVD-5. You can leave the default. If you have bought DVD-DL (-r, +r) type, then choose DVD-9.
The single layer type holds about an hour, the dual- layer type holds about 2 hours.
Video Quality-As it says, this affects quality. You need to pick a smaller number if you're trying to fit more time on the DVD. We'll leave this at the default, Auto.
Video Format-If you live in US, Canada, Mexico, Japan, or a few other places, choose NTSC (otherwise choose PAL).
Aspect Ratio-If your home movie is a transfer of 8mm film or VHS, use 4:3. If it's from a modern widescreen camcorder, choose 16:9.
Audio Format-There is a slight difference in quality and added filesize between the two choices, but in most cases, it's fine to use the default of AC3 48KHz.
Selecting a Template
-Create a title for your project. This title will show in the resulting video, in the DVD menu which first plays upon inserting the final DVD. We will use "My Home Movie" here.
-Pick the first template and click OK.
Overview of the Project Window
-There are 3 aspects to our template:
Background - in our template, there is a wavey blue background.
Text Object - There is one text object, in our case it reads "My Home Movie"
Buttons - There are two buttons. In the final DVD, they will be highlighted as you press the arrow buttons on your remote control. Pressing the middle button on your remote activates the button. In our case, the buttons are "Play all" and "Select title"
Each object can be changed. Click the object to select it, then right click and select properties.
On the left hand side, is a list of objects you can use to add to the project. There are background, buttons, and files.
On the bottom, is a list of menu screens in your project. In our case we have two; the main menu is Menu 1 and a sub-menu is Menu 2.
Modifying Your Project Menus
In this tutorial we will simplify the template to play just one video, and return to the main menu. It's very simple with only 3 steps!
Click "Menu 2" at the bottom, right click, and choose Delete. It asks if you really want to delete Menu 2. Click Yes.
Click the "Select title" button in the project window to select it. Delete it (right-click, Delete).
click the "Play all" button to select it. Right- click and choose Properties. Under Look, Label, change "Play all" to "Play". Click OK.
Adding Your Video to the Project
In this step we will add our home movie to the DVD.
-Click File browser on the left-hand side. Find the folder where your movie is stored and click on it.
Another column will show a list of files in the folder. Choose your movie file - do not double- click! (if you do, use Edit->Undo). Drag the file down to the bottom, next to "Menu 1".
-Use File-Save As, and enter a name for your project. We will use "Home Movie.dvds". Saving the project at this point will allow us to edit our DVD later. Our project can also be a good starting point for another project.
-We're almost done. We are going to save the final DVD in a format which is ready to copy to a DVD. I suggest this so that if soemthing goes wrong in burning, you can use the file to try again. Finally, it gives you a final file that you can test before burning.
File->Burn DVD. Choose the option "create iso image", and use the Save to button to select your project directory. Call the file "home movie.iso".
-Click Start. A "Generate DVD" status screen comes up, showing a lot of information which is not relevant. Finally it should say "Generating was successful.". Click Close.
Checking your DVD Before Burning
-You can test your DVD before committing to burning it to disk. One way to do this is by using VLC. First, install VLC from
www.videolan.org. Next, find your iso file (or "home movie" with a disc icon). Right click and choose "Open with..." and pick VLC as the program. Otherwise you can start VLC itself, and browse for your ISO file. In either case, the VLC player will play the DVD.
Please see more information under "Testing Your DVD"
Burning the DVD
-Find your home movie.iso file (you may not see the ".iso" part in the filename, but there should be some kind of icon that looks like a disk. For example if you have
ImgBurn installed, there will be a flaming disc icon).
-Burn the disc. You probably already have a program for this, but I would recommend
ImgBurn, it's free, and can be obtained from
www.imgburn.com
Testing Your DVD
-Put the disc back into your computer and try playing it. If you don't have a particular program installed, you can use a player called VLC which supports playing DVD's. It can be found at
www.videolan.org.
-The main menu should show, with the Play button highlighted (with a little blue dot to the left of the button). In a computer player, you usually press the Enter key to activate it. Your home movie should play, and then return to the main menu.
Congratulations on making your first home movie DVD!
Some further things you can do with the program, is change the background, and add buttons to play different clips within the same DVD.
See the DVDStyler manual for more information.
Links
ImgBurn
www.imgburn.com
DVDStyler
www.dvdstyler.org
VLC
www.videolan.org