MPEG Videos

Paul,

I'll try to help. You don't say what programs you've tried, but if you've tried many and are still having problems, then maybe the best thing to do is to step back and start with the basics.

You're trying to make a CD-R disc that will play in a DVD player. If that's the case, then what you are looking to make is a VideoCD (VCD) or Super VideoCD (SVCD). VCDs and SVCDs are CDs that have been burned using a special format that will be recognized by many (but not all) DVD players. The difference between the two is that SVCD uses a format that doesn't compress the image as much, giving you better image quality, but you're limited to about an hour of video per disc. I would compare VCD quality to viewing a VHS tape. SVCD is better, but not quite DVD level.

The first thing you need to do is to make sure that your video clips are the right format for burning onto a VCD (or SVCD). They need to be MPEGs, and they need to be created at a very specific image size and data compression rate to be called a Video CD (VCD requires MPEG-1 and SVCD requires MPEG-2 compression).

To convert your files to the right format, you might try a software program you can download for free called Tsunami MPEG Encoder, or TMPGENC for short (just search for TMPGENC and you'll find it). This program converts from many different formats, is known to deliver the best quality compression, and you can't beat the price; but it's a little complicated to use the first time.

Fortunately, there's www.vcdhelp.com, which is a great site that provides step by step instructions on how to use TMPGEnc and other programs to make VCD-compatible MPEG files. Check it out.

Once your files are in the right format, you can't just copy them onto a CD-R and expect them to play on a DVD player. You need VCD authoring software, which will burn the files onto a CD-R disc. There are many out there, including the very popular Roxio Easy CD Creator (version 5 or higher). Many people prefer Nero Burning Rom, which burns pretty much flawless CDs and can be used for any of your CD copying or burning (and it's not expensive). That's my recommendation. There are also many DVD authoring programs out there now from a lot of different companies, and most of these programs also have menu commands for burning VideoCDs. vcdhelp.com has instructions on using many of these programs as well.

If you're doing your own digital video editing, some of the video editing programs (such as Pinnacle Studio 8) will do all the steps for you, from editing to encoding to burning.

Now Paul, it may be that you've tried all of these things already and are burning perfect VCDs and they still don't play in your DVD player. If that's the case, it may simply be that your DVD player doesn't recognize the brand of CD-R disc that you're using. That's right: certain players (particularly older ones) may claim to recognize VCDs, but don't recognize certain brands of discs! Again, here's where I love vcdhelp.com. You'll find a pretty good list of popular DVD players and brands of CD-R discs that are known to work in those players. If you're lucky, you'll find your player on their list.

I hope I've thrown out some nuggets that you might be able to grab onto and try. Good luck!