Although Avi2Dvd is still a bit buggy, I found it an easy-to-use app to create DVDs.
Although Avi2Dvd is still a bit buggy, I found it an easy-to-use app to create DVDs.
Really good free CD/DVD/HD-DVD/Blu-Ray/Whatever burner. Made by the same guy who made DVD Decrypter until dumb Macrovision killed it.
As most of you know, I usually use avi.NET for encoding MPEG/VOB files to AVI. However, I had heard about another tool called Auto Gordian Knot (or AutoGK for short), and decided to give it a try.
It works pretty great — and one feature I like is the option to select the output size (either a predefined size, a custom size, or a target quality).
I’ve been authoring a few DVDs, and I can tell you it can be a waste of discs to burn one and then find out you have to make one tiny adjustment, such as moving a button a half-inch to the left. (I can turn into a perfectionist when it comes to these things.) I read there were ways to test them before burning, but most people recommended commercial DVD players which I didn’t need.
I did a bit of testing, by opening the Video_TS.ifo with a few different media players. Neither Windows Media Player (which I despise) or Winamp would open them. Neither would VLC Media Player. However, Media Player Classic did!
What tool do you use for DVD authoring?
I’ve used DVDStyler and DVDFlick — both with good results. There’s also a nice list of free tools here. If you want a bigger list, including commercial programs, check out Wikipedia. The top-end, studio-professional, and corporate professional may be a tad bit too much for some people, but there’s a good list of programs for home users too.
Okay, so I had this DVD, and the chapters were a bit messed up. So I didn’t feel like ripping a whole buncha chapters for one little clip. So I checked out a few freeware sites and found AIV DVD Cutter, which works beautifully — it saves the clips into VOB, so I use avi.NET to make an AVI out of it.
Here’s my backup solution. Note that I have a computer for personal use, and there’s no sensitive files. If you adapt it, may be useful. As my USB port is broken and I haven’t gotten around to fixing it, I use rewritable DVD’s. You can substitute CD-RWs or USB drives.
Documents — Google Documents, although sometimes I use a DVD-RW.
Pictures — DVD-RW. I also have a bunch on ImageShack, but as I have several thousand (don’t even ask) it takes a while to upload.
Music and Videos — DVD-RW, as usual. Sometimes if I’m sharing them, I keep them on MediaFire.
Installers — I always keep backups of freeware installers — the websites often go down. I put them onto a DVD-RW. (You’re probably wondering why I’m not running out of them by now. I have about 10, and each of them holds almost 5 gigabytes. Currently, only 3 or 4 are in use, and none of them are completely full.)
Bookmarks & Firefox Addons — Here’s the neat part. I use Firefox, so I use Foxmarks to backup my bookmarks. Within my bookmarks, I have a folder called “Addons,” where I keep all the addons I use (or interested in). So if I have to format my HDD, at least I can reinstall the addons!
Other — Either DVD-RW or MediaFire. Depends on if I’m gonna share it or not.
Hasn’t been updated in a while, but DVD Decrypter works great for when SmartRipper doesn’t cooperate.
If you want to make a (playable) DVD, you may want to check otu DVD Flick.
