Choosing Your Tools

Let's look at the three types of DVDs you can create, and talk about the software tools you'll need to get the job done.

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Although most Media Center systems include a DVD writer as either standard or optional equipment, you may choose to burn CDs instead of DVDseither because you want to save money on the blank media, or because your system doesn't have a DVD burner installed. For a general discussion of burning recordable CDs, see the section on using the CD Writing Wizard in Chapter 19. For more information on creating video CDs, see the section "What About the Cost?" later in this chapter.


Creating Data DVDs

Data DVDs can be created using Windows XP, without the need to buy additional software. In general, XP supports the capability to copy files to a recordable DVD disc so that you can access them on another PC. DVDs recorded in this way will not allow you to pop them into a standard DVD video player, however, because they contain only computer data. The main benefit of using a DVD in this manner, versus using a recordable CD, is the size: A typical DVD-R disc will hold 4.7GB of data, compared to the measly 700MB capacity of a CD-R disc. If you want to store large files, or even lots and lots of small ones, there's no contest.

To create a data DVD using Windows XP, do the following:

  1. Minimize or exit Media Center.

  2. Insert a blank DVD disc into your PC. If XP opens a dialog box, select Take no Action.

  3. Click on Start, then on My Computer.

  4. Right-click on the recordable DVD drive icon (see Figure 12.1), and then select Format.

    Figure 12.1. This view of My Computer shows the icon for a shared DVD/ CD-RW drive, which supports rewritable disc media.

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  5. Follow the onscreen instructions to format the disc.

  6. Copy, move, or drag and drop files onto the formatted DVD disc using My Computer.

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Although the standard size for a DVD is 4.7GB, some formats go even higher. Rewritable DVD-RAM discs, for example, are available in a two-sided variety that will store up to 9.4GB of data!


Creating a DVD from Video Files

To create a basic video DVD disc that can be played back on a PC or in a typical video DVD player, you'll need some specialized DVD editing software and recording software. Check and see whether your Media Center PC came with any bundled DVD authoring software. Some typical ones that PC manufacturers bundle include the following:

  • ShowBiz from ArcSoft

  • Expression from Pinnacle

  • VideoStudio from Ulead

  • VideoWave from Roxio

  • Sonic MyDVD

tip

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For details on how to edit your video and prepare it for burning to a DVD disc, see the section "Using Windows Movie Maker" in Chapter 10, "Capturing and Creating Videos with Media Center."


There are many others as well. Most of these programs allow you to edit your video, create a DVD menu system, and record the video to a DVD disc. Another software package you may want to considerprimarily because at the time of this writing, it is being offered freeis Microsoft's Windows Movie Maker. This program may come already installed on your Media Center Machine.

If you need to download a copy, visit the Web site www.microsoft.com/windowsXP/moviemaker and look for the "Download Windows Movie Maker 2" link (see Figure 12.2).

Figure 12.2. This section of the Movie Maker home page contains two links to download the free software: one at the center of the screen and one to the right.

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Windows Movie Maker has one major drawback, at least as far as this chapter is concerned : It does not support recording your finished movie to a DVD disc. Instead, you can choose to create a Video CD (VCD), which provides many features similar to a true DVD disc. But because it records using a blank CD instead of a DVD, the finished disc is limited in terms of the quality and size of the video you can store. In addition, the interactivity features you can add for use in a DVD player device are limited.

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Like Windows Movie Maker, ArcSoft ShowBiz doesn't directly support the capability to burn a DVD-R disc. The program is integrated with Sonic's MyDVD, however, so you can edit your video project in ShowBiz and then turn it over to MyDVD for the actual creation of the DVD disc (see Figure 12.3).

Figure 12.3. To create a DVD-R from a movie you edited in ShowBiz, click on Create, and then select MyDVD Project.

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Creating a DVD from Recorded TV Programs

This is probably the most interesting, and least supported, DVD recording project available to owners of Media Center PCs. As of this writing, the only company that fully supports the capability to create DVDs from programs and movies you recorded from your TV signal in Media Center is Sonic. The company offers two products with this capability: MyDVD and PrimeTime.

MyDVD

Sonic's MyDVD was the first DVD recorder software to support Microsoft's proprietary DVR-MS file format. This allows Media Center users to create DVDs from shows they have recorded on their Media Center, providing one of the easiest methods for transferring TV content onto a removable disc. The discs you create can be played not only in a PC, but also in most consumer DVD players.

To create a DVD from TV shows you recorded in My TV, follow these steps:

  1. Close or minimize Media Center.

  2. Insert a blank DVD disc that is compatible with your DVD burner.

  3. Open the MyDVD program from the Windows Start menu.

  4. Click on Get Recorded TV Shows. MyDVD will display a list of programs you previously recorded using the My TV interface in Media Center (see Figure 12.4). Media Center stores all recorded programs as .DVR-MS video files.

    Figure 12.4. When you select Get Recorded TV Shows, MyDVD displays a list of files in your C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\Recorded TV directory.

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  5. Select the program (or programs) you want to add to the disc, and click OK. MyDVD will display an Importing Media window with a progress bar that will gradually turn green as the file is prepared for use in the DVD project you are creating. Be patientthis can be a lengthy process.

  6. Edit the text on the title screen.

  7. Click the red Burn button. MyDVD will display the Make Disc Setup window (see Figure 12.5). Make any necessary changes to the settings displayed, and click OK.

    Figure 12.5. The Make Disc Setup window allows you to select the recording device, number of discs, and write speed (if you are recording a VCD).

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  8. MyDVD will create the disc and eject the disc when it's finished.

PrimeTime

For Media Center users, PrimeTime takes the DVD burning experience one step further by actually integrating it within the Media Center My TV interface. Instead of making you exit Media Center and mouse around in a completely separate desktop software application, PrimeTime enables you to record programs onto removable DVD discs with remote-control ease.

To use PrimeTime, install it from the CD in Windows XP. Reboot your machine and launch Media Center. PrimeTime will have been added to your Media Center main menu (see Figure 12.6).

Figure 12.6. The Create DVD option has been added to the Media Center main menu, indicating that PrimeTime has been installed.

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Recording a DVD with PrimeTime is simple. Select the Create DVD option from the Media Center menu to launch PrimeTime. After a setup screen is displayed, while PrimeTime identifies your DVD recording device, the main PrimeTime screen will be displayed (see Figure 12.7). From here you can choose the recorded program you want to use and then select Burn DVD to complete the process.

Figure 12.7. A feature of PrimeTime is that the interface has been designed to preserve the Media Center look and feel.

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Absolute Beginner's Guide to Microsoft Windows XP Media Center
Absolute Beginners Guide to Windows XP Media Center
ISBN: 0789730030
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2002
Pages: 159
Authors: Steve Kovsky

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