# New way to make DVDs



## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

FYI we just released a public beta of VideoReDo TVSuite which includes our new DVD authoring feature. This feature will allow you to make DVDs from TiVo files without any transcoding. You can edit, publish to DVD and burn all from with-in VideoReDo and all with the same speed you get from the multi-software solution previously referred to as the "Dan203 Method".

Anyway just thought I'd give you guys a heads up so you could give it a try and see how it works for you. If you have any questions or problems it's best to post them over on the VRD forum but if you'd like to contact me directly via email or PM that's OK as well.

Edit: One thing I forgot to mention is that the DVD authoring feature is currently only available to registered users of VideoReDo Plus. Once we make sure the software is sound then we will offer a pre-release upgrade to those same users, followed shortly by an official release for all users. Sorry for any confusion.

Enjoy!
Dan


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## steve614 (May 1, 2006)

Allright! :up: 

I'll definately give it a try.
I'm about ready to ditch Nero (story for another thread).


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## greg_burns (May 22, 2004)

Nice!


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## jlb (Dec 13, 2001)

Dan,

For those that have purchased VideoRedo, is this a free upgrade, or do you guys consider this a major overhaul/alternative product which would require an additional fee?

Either way, I'm off to download my beta!

As always, thanks for all of your hard work!!!!!!!!!!


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## plaidmag (Sep 18, 2007)

Hello, Where can we go to try the beta version?
I would love to be able to the process in one step.
thank you!


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## windracer (Jan 3, 2003)

Here's where you can download it:

http://www.videoredo.net/msgBoard/showthread.php?t=3342

Looking forward to trying this out!


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## windracer (Jan 3, 2003)

jlb said:


> For those that have purchased VideoRedo, is this a free upgrade, or do you guys consider this a major overhaul/alternative product which would require an additional fee?


From the VRD forum:


> VideoReDo Plus users will be able to upgrade to TVSuite for a small fee, equivalent or less than the price difference between TVS and VRD+. Final prices have not been set yet.


But after I installed the beta, it said they were testing the upgrade feature and let me register the beta with my VRD Plus key. Not sure how long that will last, but ...

_edit:_ oh, wait, that upgraded my VRD Plus to 3.0 and I lost the TVSuite stuff.


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## David Platt (Dec 13, 2001)

Dan,

Any chance this new method is going to incorporate HD DVD buring for when Series 3 HD files are extractable via TTG?


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## s2kdave (Jan 28, 2005)

last I heard HD DVD burners were just announced at CES. And if they are out and you actually own one, you must have more money than Bill Gates himself.  

I've been quite out of the loop on HD burners since I won't buy a player until the format war is over.

David


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## David Platt (Dec 13, 2001)

HD DVD can be burned to a regular DVD and played on an HD DVD player, as long as the file is small enough to fit on a standard DVD. You can easily fit an hour long HD show onto a single DVD, as I just proved myself by doing it this morning.


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## s2kdave (Jan 28, 2005)

But you asked about HD DVD burning. When you take an HD show and put it on a regular DVD, it's no longer an HD quality show. It is scaled down to fit into DVD resolution which is 720×480 for 16x9 ratio. That's 480i. Yes it plays on an HD DVD player the same as a regular DVD would, but that isn't "HD" at that point.

David


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## steve614 (May 1, 2006)

windracer said:


> But after I installed the beta, it said they were testing the upgrade feature and let me register the beta with my VRD Plus key. Not sure how long that will last, but ...


I went through that stuff as well and now I have both VRD Plus _and_ VRD TVSuite on my system.

If this thread is also for feedback, here's mine.

Awhile back, using VRD Plus, I saved a week of Poker After Dark, edited, and then "joined" them to make a 3h 20m video saved as a Tivo file.
Using VRD TVSuite, I created a DVD with no menu and it works fine in my DVD player.

Next, I tried to make one with a menu and used files that were saved as mpeg.
I got a runtime error near the end of the 'remuxing DVD' stage.
Wondering whether or not using mpeg caused the error, I used VRD Plus and 'quick-fixed' the mpeg files over to Tivo files.
I retried creating DVD using the newly created Tivo files and SUCCESS!

So far... A :up: from me.

Question: Once this is released, it replaces VRD Plus, correct?

Comment: LOVE the "filmstrip" below the main screen.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

steve614 said:


> Question: Once this is released, it replaces VRD Plus, correct?


Actually I believe that we'll be offering both, at least for a while, as TVSuite will have a slightly higher price to offset the licenses involved with DVD authoring.



steve614 said:


> Comment: LOVE the "filmstrip" below the main screen.


That's always been an option, I think we just recently decided to turn it on by default.

Dan


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

David Platt said:


> Any chance this new method is going to incorporate HD DVD buring for when Series 3 HD files are extractable via TTG?


We're looking into it, but there are some licenses involved with HD-DVD/Blu-Ray that are very expensive. Plus we'll also need to support MPEG4/H.264 video, which we don't yet do.

Dan


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## David Platt (Dec 13, 2001)

s2kdave said:


> But you asked about HD DVD burning. When you take an HD show and put it on a regular DVD, it's no longer an HD quality show. It is scaled down to fit into DVD resolution which is 720×480 for 16x9 ratio. That's 480i. Yes it plays on an HD DVD player the same as a regular DVD would, but that isn't "HD" at that point.
> 
> David


You're not understanding what I'm saying: it is possible to burn an HD show to a regular DVD and retain the HD and play it on an HD DVD player. You take a 1080i show, author it as an HD DVD but make sure it is a small enough file to burn to a standard DVD, and then simply burn it to a regular DVD. It is still full 1080i (or 720p, depending on the original format of the show) and is identical to the original HD file. HD DVD players are capable of playing full HD from either HD DVDs or regular DVDs if they are authored properly.


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## s2kdave (Jan 28, 2005)

David Platt said:


> You're not understanding what I'm saying: it is possible to burn an HD show to a regular DVD and retain the HD and play it on an HD DVD player. You take a 1080i show, author it as an HD DVD but make sure it is a small enough file to burn to a standard DVD, and then simply burn it to a regular DVD. It is still full 1080i (or 720p, depending on the original format of the show) and is identical to the original HD file. HD DVD players are capable of playing full HD from either HD DVDs or regular DVDs if they are authored properly.


I stand corrected. I didn't know you could do that. I guess you learn something new every day.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=705146


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## morac (Mar 14, 2003)

Any possibility of adding closed captioning data from TiVo files to the DVD's subtitles or closed captioning area?

I know James Memmott found a way to extract the closed captioning data from TiVo files and then burn it to DVD. Maybe you could license his software (or whatever) and include it?


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

Unfortunately our current product does not allow subtitles of any kind. We are considering it for a future release and if that happens CC to subtitle support will definitely be one of the features we add as well.

Dan


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## jlb (Dec 13, 2001)

Dan,

This is a wonderful one-stop shop product.

I didn't have a lot of time to play last night, so I took the approach of "I'm a first time user of any VRD product and let's see what I Can do in 10 minutes before Big Brother starts".

I was able to end up at the DVD burning stage quite quickly.

A couple of minor, not a big deal thoughts........

- I loaded a single title and changed text and grabbed an image. I realized that I was in a 16x9 window. When I went back to select a different background for 4x3, I think I may have lost some of my selections. Not a big deal, as I will just make sure I select the proper background first when I begin the menu process. However, on that note, how difficult would it be to add another question on the setup wizard asking what ratio your TV is? I know there are not a ton of VRD users that still have 4x3 TVs like myself, but it would be neat if the default selected background was 4x3 for 4x3 owners.

- Is there any way to have finer granularity in the "grab an image" window when creating e menu? I think I have better control with the basic option off of the File (?) menu. It seemed hard to scroll in the little window for short increments. In the main window, you have your buttons which you can set the time jumps. Again, no big deal as I will just grab an image upfront after setting my background.

Dan, again, thanks for all of your hard work. VRD is the first software of its kind that I have purchased and it has been worth _every_ penny!!!!


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## steve614 (May 1, 2006)

Dan203 said:


> Actually I believe that we'll be offering both, at least for a while, as TVSuite will have a slightly higher price to offset the licenses involved with DVD authoring.
> 
> Dan


What I was asking: When we get a released version of TV Suite, we'll no longer need VRD Plus because TV Suite will still do everything that VRD Plus does, correct?


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## saramj (Feb 3, 2005)

windracer said:


> From the VRD forum:
> 
> But after I installed the beta, it said they were testing the upgrade feature and let me register the beta with my VRD Plus key. Not sure how long that will last, but ...
> 
> _edit:_ oh, wait, that upgraded my VRD Plus to 3.0 and I lost the TVSuite stuff.


I have been using VRD for years. Love the automatic commercial search.
Where do I find the TV Suite stuff and what can this do for me?


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

jlb said:


> - I loaded a single title and changed text and grabbed an image. I realized that I was in a 16x9 window. When I went back to select a different background for 4x3, I think I may have lost some of my selections. Not a big deal, as I will just make sure I select the proper background first when I begin the menu process. However, on that note, how difficult would it be to add another question on the setup wizard asking what ratio your TV is? I know there are not a ton of VRD users that still have 4x3 TVs like myself, but it would be neat if the default selected background was 4x3 for 4x3 owners.


What do you mean you realized you were in a 16:9 window? I don't quite understand what happened here. DVDs are animorphic, so if the original video is 4:3 then it will display full screen on your TV. If it's 16:9 then your TV will either display it full screen or letterboxed depending on the DVD players settings. The code should be smart enough to choose a menu template which is the same aspect ratio as the input video.



jlb said:


> - Is there any way to have finer granularity in the "grab an image" window when creating e menu? I think I have better control with the basic option off of the File (?) menu. It seemed hard to scroll in the little window for short increments. In the main window, you have your buttons which you can set the time jumps. Again, no big deal as I will just grab an image upfront after setting my background.


If you highlight the slider control you can use the arrow keys to nudge the video forward and backwards one frame at a time.

Dan


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

steve614 said:


> What I was asking: When we get a released version of TV Suite, we'll no longer need VRD Plus because TV Suite will still do everything that VRD Plus does, correct?


Correct. TVSuite does everything Plus does and more.

Dan


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## bmgoodman (Dec 20, 2000)

Dan203 said:


> Correct. TVSuite does everything Plus does and more.
> 
> Dan


Suite! 
Can't wait for this to come out!


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## jlb (Dec 13, 2001)

Dan203 said:


> What do you mean you realized you were in a 16:9 window? I don't quite understand what happened here. DVDs are animorphic, so if the original video is 4:3 then it will display full screen on your TV. If it's 16:9 then your TV will either display it full screen or letterboxed depending on the DVD players settings. The code should be smart enough to choose a menu template which is the same aspect ratio as the input video.
> 
> If you highlight the slider control you can use the arrow keys to nudge the video forward and backwards one frame at a time.
> 
> Dan


Dan, let me try and explain my first point more clearly, now that I am awake. After opening a .tivo file, I went to the functions to create a dvd menu. When I first did that, the little window that shows you your progress as you are building your menu seemed like it defaulted to a 16x9 space (as the default background chosen when I first ran the program was a 16x9 background). It was the 16x9 basic blueish background. Since my source material is all 4x3 analog TV, I needed to select a 4x3 background when I opened VRDTS, as opposed to having the basic 4x3 background be preselected.

Alternatively, is there a way to tell VRDTS what your "preferred" background template is?

Did I make this clearer?

If I have time tonight, I'll try and grab some screen images.


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## usnret (Nov 25, 2003)

I own the VDR program now. If I download the Beta version, will it booger up my present program or does it run separately?? Am not that "computer inclined" so I don't want to screw up my present setup. Thanks Dan for all of your hard work and you help in the past.


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## steve614 (May 1, 2006)

usnret said:


> I own the VDR program now. If I download the Beta version, will it booger up my present program or does it run separately?? Am not that "computer inclined" so I don't want to screw up my present setup. Thanks Dan for all of your hard work and you help in the past.


I've got both versions on my system, and have used both (not at the same time).

@ jlb,

I noticed what you're talking about as well (I think). For me, TV Suite remembers that I last used 4 x 3 format for the menu, as I just opened it and checked and the 4 x 3 selection is still in place.

I still had to go into 'edit template' to get the menu exactly how I wanted it.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

jlb said:


> Dan, let me try and explain my first point more clearly, now that I am awake. After opening a .tivo file, I went to the functions to create a dvd menu. When I first did that, the little window that shows you your progress as you are building your menu seemed like it defaulted to a 16x9 space (as the default background chosen when I first ran the program was a 16x9 background). It was the 16x9 basic blueish background. Since my source material is all 4x3 analog TV, I needed to select a 4x3 background when I opened VRDTS, as opposed to having the basic 4x3 background be preselected.


This is a bug actually. I'm working on a fix which will more intelligently select a proper template based on the aspect ratio of the input video. I thought this had already been done, but apparently not.  Should be fixed in the next build.

Dan


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## windracer (Jan 3, 2003)

I edited and saved my first .tivo file with the new TVSuite last night. I didn't have a chance to play with the DVD functionality, but I did notice the little "fanfare" music and dialog at the end of a save has been removed.


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## CuriousMark (Jan 13, 2005)

I tried it too. There was a little confusion with the upgrade dialog opening when I started it. I chose automatic and let it do its thing. I then removed commercials from a show and chose save. I was told it would limit it to 15 minutes since I had a trial version. Ok, so I went to the website and asked for a key, got the email, and pasted the email key into the upgrade (probably wrong name there) dialog box. It didn't like it, and so I let it do the automatic thing again. It then shut down rather unceremoniously (at least I was taken by surprise, there may have been a warning I missed). When I restarted it I opened the first file and pushed the new DVD button at the bottom. I poked around and saw that the DVD had lots of room left so I opened two more tivo files and removed commercials from them and saved them. I heard the fanfare at the end of each one. Next, I pushed the DVD button and saw all three files listed and set up the menu screen and burned the DVD without incident. When I played the DVD back on my TiVo I saw that the first file was only 15 minutes long, I should have expected that.

Overall, I liked it.

Comments:
It isn't obvious that the thing to do after marking commercials is to save. I feel like I should have a cut the commercials now option. I think it is just a matter of getting used to it. Having the cut occur during the save makes sense.

I felt like I needed to save and cut before authoring the DVD, but I am guessing that step really wasn't required. I probably could have just gone to the DVD button with all three files open and marked, is this true?

Earlier in this thread someone mentioned tabs, I don't recall seeing tabs, I will go back and look.

If I wanted to have a TiVo Style menu, could I do it? Are there instructions on how somewhere?

Nice product, I want to buy the official version at the upgrade price to my VideoRedo Plus as soon as it comes out officially.

CuriousMark


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

You can add an edited file to a DVD without saving it first. Just make your cuts and click "Add to DVD". Then open the next file and do the same.

A TiVo style menu is somewhat possible. Although at the moment we're limited to using a single outline style for highlighting menu items, so it wouldn't be quite as close as the style used by the DVD/TiVo units.

In fact I just threw one together real quick and posted it on my personal website here...

http://www.3wdesigns.net/VRD_TiVoStyleMenu.zip

If you want to use it simply extract the file from the ZIP and drop it into "My Doucments\VideoReDo\DVDTemplates" (create the folder if it doesn't exist) When you launch the DVD dialog in VRD it will show up in the list of menu templates.

Dan


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## CuriousMark (Jan 13, 2005)

Cool!
Thanks :up:


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## windracer (Jan 3, 2003)

windracer said:


> I did notice the little "fanfare" music and dialog at the end of a save has been removed.


Huh, it's still there ... saw it tonight. Not sure how/why I missed this yesterday.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

If you don't like the music you can tun it off in the Options dialog under "Audio Alerts"

Dan


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## ilkeston guy (May 10, 2007)

Dan,

Is the Beta version of TVSuite available to those of us who downloaded the trial version of VRD? I'm guessing not . . . would love to try the beta version before making the full purchase.


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## windracer (Jan 3, 2003)

Look at post #6 in this thread. I posted the direct link to the VRD forum where you can download the beta release.


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## jlb (Dec 13, 2001)

Dan203 said:


> You can add an edited file to a DVD without saving it first. Just make your cuts and click "Add to DVD". Then open the next file and do the same.
> 
> A TiVo style menu is somewhat possible. Although at the moment we're limited to using a single outline style for highlighting menu items, so it wouldn't be quite as close as the style used by the DVD/TiVo units.
> 
> ...


Dan,

I used this template over the weekend. Works very nicely. Thanks!!!!


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

Glad it worked out for you. 

Dan


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## BarryD99 (Mar 30, 2002)

OK, I'm a novice for all this.

I see that an hour tivo file is a little over a gb and an mpeg file is about the same size.

I don't mind spending the $50 for this software but have a few questions:

1. My dvdwriter in the computer is about 3 years old and a virgin. What will be the largest file that I will be able to burn (ie 1hr, 2 hr, 4hr tivo recording)?
2. Will the format be VOB? I don't see that option in the trial copy of videoredo
3. Would a newer dvd burner have a higher capacity?

Thanks


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## morac (Mar 14, 2003)

A single layer DVD can hold 5.6 GB of data. The amount of hours a DVD can hold depends on the quality you pick when you burn the show. So you can make a DVD that can only hold a 1 hour program or make one that holds 4 (or possible more) hours.


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## jlb (Dec 13, 2001)

Dan,

A few "problems". I did not write things down step by step, so I could be way off, but I will do my best to fill you in properly.

I had success with single files, with a minor hiccup. For instance, last night I opened an epiosde of Prison Break, went right to "create DVD" and went on my way. Seemed to be working fine. It looked like it was "hung" during the verify process. The green progress bar was all the way to the right, with some number still showing for the "time remaining". But it looked like nothing was happening. I "aborted", got the fanfare, but still ended up with a working DVD.

I tried to make a disc with two episodes. I opened two TiVo files and for each one, said "add to dvd". I then made my selections for background and "shrink button text to fit", etc. I did a "create dvd" and off it went. I ended up as above with the process seeming like it was stuck. This time, when I aborted, it looks like the files were never burned to disc. I had a larger dialog box (I cannot remember what it was exactly called) that look like it was asking me to "burn to disc". I would hit "burn to disc" and it would say "error writing to disc". I dropped back to Explorer and saw that the Audio and Video TS folders were there and populated.

The only thing I remember noticing on the 2 file attempt was that when prompted for filename, I had the path a few folders higher than the initially proposed (default?) path. Could the write process be looking for a specific (default?) location and then when it tried, it didn't see the files since they may have been in a higher location in the tree?

I will be going on vacation tomorrow so I may not be able to try anything specific for you or get screen grabs until next week. But if you do want me to try anything, post and also send me a PM.

[ETA] Is there a way to turn off the verify at the end of burning? I could not find the option.


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## steve614 (May 1, 2006)

jlb said:


> ...I tried to make a disc with two episodes. I opened two TiVo files and for each one, said "add to dvd". I then made my selections for background and "shrink button text to fit", etc. I did a "create dvd" and off it went. I ended up as above with the process seeming like it was stuck. This time, *when I aborted*, it looks like the files were never burned to disc. I had a larger dialog box (I cannot remember what it was exactly called) that look like it was asking me to "burn to disc". I would hit "burn to disc" and it would say "error writing to disc". I dropped back to Explorer and saw that the Audio and Video TS folders were there and populated...
> 
> [ETA] ...Is there a way to turn off the verify at the end of burning? I could not find the option.


I just made a DVD with the first two episodes of Heroes.
After creating the menu and hitting the button, TV Suite starts doing its transcoding and eventually the "larger dialog box" comes up.
That box has the options for which burner to use, etc., and also has the "verify" checkbox.
At the bottom is the big "burn DVD" button.
After hitting that button, that's when the DVD starts burning.

You say you aborted the process at some point, so that is probably why you got the error.


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## saramj (Feb 3, 2005)

I have been using VideoReDo for years and love that it can find most of the commercials for me. I have been saving the file as an mpeg and then burning the disk from Nero or Sonic. 
I downloaded the new beta and followed the same procedure I always do, however I became very lost when it came to burning the DVD once I had a program that I liked. Do I need to continue to to do the save as and save the file as an mpeg? I would like to cut out the middle man and be able to burn the disk directly in VideoReDo.
Is there a list of steps to get the video file from VideoReDo to burning?


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## jlb (Dec 13, 2001)

steve614 said:


> I just made a DVD with the first two episodes of Heroes.
> After creating the menu and hitting the button, TV Suite starts doing its transcoding and eventually the "larger dialog box" comes up.
> That box has the options for which burner to use, etc., and also has the "verify" checkbox.
> At the bottom is the big "burn DVD" button.
> ...


 I wasn't seeing that dialog box...or at least it took forever to come up. From your post it sounds like it was coming up right away for you. It did not for me. I'll try again when I am back from my vacation....I'll try it with the The Way episodes from PBS.


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## steve614 (May 1, 2006)

saramj said:


> I have been using VideoReDo for years and love that it can find most of the commercials for me. I have been saving the file as an mpeg and then burning the disk from Nero or Sonic.
> I downloaded the new beta and followed the same procedure I always do, however I became very lost when it came to burning the DVD once I had a program that I liked. Do I need to continue to to do the save as and save the file as an mpeg? I would like to cut out the middle man and be able to burn the disk directly in VideoReDo.
> Is there a list of steps to get the video file from VideoReDo to burning?


In TV Suite, you should be able to edit your show as you would in VideoReDo, and then click the "create DVD" button in the lower right corner.
This takes you to the menu creation dialog box, and from there, a burned DVD.
(See post below)


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## steve614 (May 1, 2006)

jlb said:


> I wasn't seeing that dialog box...or at least it took forever to come up. From your post it sounds like it was coming up right away for you. It did not for me. I'll try again when I am back from my vacation....I'll try it with the The Way episodes from PBS.


For me, the dialog box didn't come up right away.
I don't really know how long it took to come up because when I got to that point, I figured TV Suite had some transcoding to do so I stepped away and watched some Tivo.  But I want to say it was within 30 - 40 min.

I think the order of things for me seemed to be:
Open and edit video
"Add title to DVD"
Open and edit video
"Add title to DVD"
"Create DVD" (from the add title to DVD dialog box)
Create menu and click OK
Here, TV Suite starts transcoding process
Eventually, dialog box appears
Choose which DVD burner to use, check/uncheck 'verify' box and other options
Click "Burn DVD"
That's it ( as far as I can remember ).


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## lizellis (Jan 22, 2005)

I can't tell you how glad I am to have found this thread. I've been burning TiVo files for the past few years using Sonic MyDVD. I liked the results but the process was painfully slow and frequently exasperating. Sonic isn't compatible with my new computer running Vista, so I was looking around for a replacement when I read Dan's post. I downloaded a demo, liked it and bought it last week and now I'm using the Beta TV Suite. I'm somewhat technically challenged but so far, I've had spectacular results and I'm absolutely delirious. Thank you, Dan, et al. I've been raving about VideoReDo to anyone who will listen.


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## windracer (Jan 3, 2003)

I finally got around to trying the DVD-side of things in TVSuite and I have to admit it's very cool ... and the quality is pretty good. I like having the options to auto-crop, customize the title menus, etc. Dan's TiVo theme is perfect.


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## steve614 (May 1, 2006)

OK, _now_ I have a problem and I don't know if it's similar to jlb's.

I've tried different videos from different drives (all .Tivo files) that have been previously edited with VRD Plus.
All I'm doing is opening the file, then clicking "add title to DVD".
Once I have 3 or 4 loaded, I click "create DVD".
TV Suite then starts the process, and eventually the burn DVD dialog box comes up.
When I select which burner to use and click burn DVD, it says error writing to disk.

One thing I noticed -- the temp folder that had been created has files in it, but they all say "0 bytes".

Dan, I don't know that it will help, but I'll PM you my log file if you want to take a look at it.

ETA: Another thing I noticed -- In the "create DVD box", under the VIDEO_TS location at the top, everytime I try to make a DVD, TV Suite wants to add a folder each time.
For example, on first try, folder in this list is "C:\Documents and Settings\My Documents\DVD_Volume.dvd.
By the fourth try, the folder in this list is "C:\Documents and Settings\My Documents\DVD_Volume.dvd\DVD_Volume.dvd\DVD_Volume.dvd\DVD_Volume.dvd"

If that makes any sense.


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## gchu (Jul 28, 2007)

I am hoping this question does not sound as dumb as I think it will but:

Will this program allow me to burn the downloaded TIVO program onto a DVD so it will play on a DVD player (not a computer, but a standalone) in my car?


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## jlb (Dec 13, 2001)

steve614 said:


> OK, _now_ I have a problem and I don't know if it's similar to jlb's.
> 
> I've tried different videos from different drives (all .Tivo files) that have been previously edited with VRD Plus.
> All I'm doing is opening the file, then clicking "add title to DVD".
> ...


Yeah, that sort of sounds like some of the issues I Was having. Now that I am back from vacation, I will try making a multiple title disc from some of the "The War" episodes from PBS. I should be able to get around to it in a day or two. I'll try and keep notes and screen shots as things progress.


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## slashalot (Oct 8, 2007)

will this program save a file type that i can play on my treo palm OS? i know i need a 3rd party player.

i am sooo new to all this that my TiVo isn't even active yet. (they said 7 business days  )


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## windracer (Jan 3, 2003)

Yes and no.

It creates MPEG files, which can be played on your Treo using something like TCMP. However, the files will be very large since they're full resolution.

What you probably want to do is transcode the video into a smaller resolution better matched for the Treo screen, which also results in smaller file sizes (but it's still an MPEG file). TiVo Desktop Plus does this.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

Converting files to MPEG4 based formats is on our list of features for a future update, however the current version does not yet support it. For now you'll have to use VRD for editing and then convert the edited file to MPEG4 using another program.

Dan


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## gchu (Jul 28, 2007)

gchu said:


> I am hoping this question does not sound as dumb as I think it will but:
> 
> Will this program allow me to burn the downloaded TIVO program onto a DVD so it will play on a DVD player (not a computer, but a standalone) in my car?


Is it that obvious of an answer to my question that I don't even get an answer???


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## CuriousMark (Jan 13, 2005)

gchu said:


> Will this program allow me to burn the downloaded TIVO program onto a DVD so it will play on a DVD player (not a computer, but a standalone) in my car?


Yes, it works well.


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## Laserfan (Apr 25, 2000)

VRD-TVSuite makes DVDs for DVD players, so if your car has a DVD player in it, well... it should work.


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## jlb (Dec 13, 2001)

Hi Dan,

I noticed that you posted a newsletter over on the VRD forum that the TVSuite has technically gone live. Congrats!

http://www.videoredo-newsletter.com/newsletter/upgradenewsletter.htm

I'm still testing things out.....but I will keep you posted if I can't get + results.

As always, thanks for your hard work.

FYI, my beta/trial version says it expires in 2 days. Do I need to upgrade this weekend, or can I wait and do it later (but before the 1st of November as mentioned in the newsletter)?


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## jlb (Dec 13, 2001)

steve614 said:


> .........
> I think the order of things for me seemed to be:
> Open and edit video
> "Add title to DVD"
> ...


So I tried making a disc with two eps of The Way. No edits. The menu creation screen seemed like the file sizes were ok.

I have been sitting here now for about 15 minutes and the HD no longer seems like it is being written to.

My dialog box is sitting at the following with no sign of change:










Here is my log info from today:



> 2007-10-13 16:03:53 VideoReDo started. Licensed to: [REMOVED], Version: 3. 0. 1. 533 - Sep 14 2007 (00cf0077FYDRA9}
> 2007-10-13 16:10:22
> 
> ***** Loading: G:\My Documents\My TiVo Recordings\The War\The War - ''A World Without War'' (Recorded Oct 7, 2007, WGBH).TiVo
> ...


I hope I can figure things out as I would love to upgrade, but if I can't make it work, I'll stick with Plus and use DVDStyler and IMGBurn if necessary.

Thanks ahead of time.


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## morac (Mar 14, 2003)

> As a user of VideoReDo Plus we are offering to you a limited time upgrade* to a pre-release version of VideoReDo TVSuite for $20 (regular price is $30) a savings of over 30%.


If I purchase the pre-release version is the upgrade to the actual release version free?


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## Laserfan (Apr 25, 2000)

morac said:


> If I purchase the pre-release version is the upgrade to the actual release version free?


If you purchase the pre-release version of TVSuite, yes then you will be a TVSuite owner and eligible for future updates.

It's my understanding that the TVSuite currently available ("pre-release") is only lacking in some Help files and such, that's all.


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## windracer (Jan 3, 2003)

Purchased my upgrade last night!


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

jlb said:


> So I tried making a disc with two eps of The Way. No edits. The menu creation screen seemed like the file sizes were ok.
> 
> I have been sitting here now for about 15 minutes and the HD no longer seems like it is being written to.
> 
> ...


It looks like your output is being transcoded for some reason. If these are TiVo files make sure you have the "Accept non-compliant settings" box checked. Also check the list for anything marked with a yellow exclamation point. Those denote aspects of the project which going to force a transcode.

If there are no yellow exclamation points and the video is being transcoded anyway then let me know and I may have you upload a smaple so I can check it out.

Dan


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## ilkeston guy (May 10, 2007)

Dan,

I just tried the new version . . . . OUTSTANDING! I am "now" a former Nero user burning TIVO recorded shows with VRD.

Two questions . . . (and please forgive me if you have already answered these questions). First, is there a way to determine in VRD how much room is left when burning a TIVO show onto a 4.7 GB DVD? In other words, if I could burn two TIVO shows instead of one onto a DVD, that would be cost effective. I tend to record TIVO shows at 'Best" quality, and they can be 1 - 2 hours long. I"m using VRD to cut out the commercials with ad-detector. 

Second ... about sound. Seems like I need to turn the volume up fairly high on the television after the DVD is burned.

THANK YOU so much for this excellent product!!!


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## bobfrank (Mar 17, 2005)

I've been using VRD+ for a while to prepare TIVO files for burning on DVD with DVDStyler. I find that by using "High" quality instead of "Best" I can easily fit 2 hours on one DVD. I wasn't able to get 2 hours of "Best" quality to fit without transcoding to a lower bit rate.

Just be sure to leave the file at 480x480 instead of transcoding it to normal DVD standards.

I haven't tried the new VRD, but it should do the same.


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## ilkeston guy (May 10, 2007)

After burning to DVD, the video_TS files . . . do I need to delete them manually? I know you can set the software to do it. But if I manually burn, do I need to manually delete the files to get ready for the next projet? I'm afraid if I don't delete the video_TS files myself, the next time I burn, I'll have multiple videos burning, instead of just the new one.


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## dlfl (Jul 6, 2006)

Dan,

What kind of COM interface does TV Suite have? Should my program TiVo-VideoReDo-AutoProcessor (TVAP) work with TV Suite?

Is there a COM interface for DVD creation? If so, would it make sense to add DVD creation to TVAP? A basic issue is that loading media into DVD drives cannot be automated. Can TV Suite just generate ISO files? Would it be a useful TVAP function to automate generation of ISO images? The user would have to come along every now and then and burn the ISO's to media.


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## jlb (Dec 13, 2001)

Dan203 said:


> It looks like your output is being transcoded for some reason. If these are TiVo files make sure you have the "Accept non-compliant settings" box checked. Also check the list for anything marked with a yellow exclamation point. Those denote aspects of the project which going to force a transcode.
> 
> If there are no yellow exclamation points and the video is being transcoded anyway then let me know and I may have you upload a smaple so I can check it out.
> 
> Dan


Dan,

GOod idea. It's weird. I record at Medium quality and my understanding has been that the specs for Medium quality result in not having to trascode (IIRC), or something similar related to the quality of the TiVo file and the DVD specs.

I'll try and take a look the next night or two and report back to you as soon as I can.

Also, what should I do regarding my trial/beta version (which over the weekend said "expires in 2 days")? If I am still "testing" things out with you, do I need to do my upgrade in the next two days (or for that matter, before Nov. 1 when you have the cutoff set for the "pre-release" price)? I intend to purchase the upgrade, but I would like to try and nail down whatever is going on with my testing/beta copy before the formal upgrade. Is this ok?


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## jlb (Dec 13, 2001)

ilkeston guy said:


> ........is there a way to determine in VRD how much room is left when burning a TIVO show onto a 4.7 GB DVD? ............


What I sometimes do, is use VRD to create an ISO image and then use DVDShrink to get the ISO image to just under the 4.7 GB threshold.

Dan, for that matter, have you guys thought about including functionality to allow for shrinking the image size first to allow more data onto a SL DVD? That would be cool. Maybe it is already there and I am not seeing it.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

If you set the DVD size to "folder only" it will tell you how big the DVD will be without any transcoding. If it's over 4.7GB then it will not fit onto a single layer DVD which means you either need to but more out of the video or sit through the transcoding.

As for the audio... TiVo files have inherently low audio volumes, especially when the TiVo is connected to a cable box. That's why the TiVo desktop software has an "audio boost" setting. Unfortunately that setting only applies to playback, so VRD gets the original, low volume version. There is an option in VRD to increase the volume of a video's audio, however it requires a transcode of the audio which adds a little extra time to the creation process.

jib - We have looked at adding "shrink" functionally, also know as requantization, to VRD. However if we can get it working, it probably wont become part of the project until we add the ability to transcode to other formats such as MPEG4.

Dan


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

jlb said:


> Dan,
> 
> GOod idea. It's weird. I record at Medium quality and my understanding has been that the specs for Medium quality result in not having to trascode (IIRC), or something similar related to the quality of the TiVo file and the DVD specs.
> 
> ...


Medium TiVo files should be 352x480, which is DVD compliant. Not sure what would cause the transcode in that case. Are there any yellow exclamation points in the Output options list?

As for the trial... Did you get the recent email sent out to registered users of VRD Plus? If so then download the program from the link in that email and you'll have another 15 days to try it out. After that you'll have to pay for the upgrade to keep going.

Dan


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## jlb (Dec 13, 2001)

Dan,

I'll try and check tonight regarding what options were/are listed.

Regarding the beta/trial, I never did get an e-mail. It's no real biggie, but I do want to confirm a successful burn before upgrading, but I also don't want to lose out on the $20 pre-release price.


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## saramj (Feb 3, 2005)

My beta copy states it is no longer valid. Is there another beta version to download or do I need to purchase the software since it looks loke according to the newletter it has been released?


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## jlb (Dec 13, 2001)

Dan,

I wanted to try and finish my testing/solving with your suggestions, but my copy of the beta is now expired also and I never got the e-mail you spoke of.

I would really like to make sure I can make it work before purchasing my full upgrade. Thanks for your help!

*** ETA: Dan, sort of a never-mind. I found the newsletter link and "re"downloaded the beta trial and it installed and loaded up fine.

I checked the accept non-compliant and then it fixed my minor recode mark, GOP length. I also had one exclamation requiring major recoding....Output Quality. I had to manuall change that. But then I realized since my disc image size would be over 4.7 that I had to just do an ISO anyways (and then I'll shrink it down to SL disc size). 

I will kick the image creation off before heading to bed and report back tomorrow on progress.


*** Tuesday morning update

Last night I started the process and pretty quickly I got an updating dialog with an estimated time remaining of about 70 minutes. I thought that seemed pretty good and let it go and went off to bed. I awoke this morning with 2 dialog boxes, one saying "DVD Authoring Complete" and a "Burn DVD" window. Being that it was 5:30am, I said, no, I don't want to burn a DVD since I made an ISO, so I cancelled that window. Silly me, though it said "Burn DVD", I assume that was where I should have said yes to create my ISO that I had selected as my output option. 

But, all was not lost, I had told VRD-TS to keep the audio and video files, so I opened up DVDshrink to make an ISO from the files. Curiously, it looks like the file size was under 4.7gb, even though I had about 6 hours of video (at medium quality). This must be what you previously referred to as the first release of VRD-TS overcompressing. Anyways, I made the ISO before I had to leave and kicked off the IMGBurn process as I left. I will check when I get home tonight. I am thinking very positively at this point.

A question.............can VRD-TS be set up to not issue dialog boxes and continue on based on selections you have made? Then it would truly be a one press product. I recognize that not every situation would work in that scenario, but I would love it if it was doable.


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## jlb (Dec 13, 2001)

Final update for now.....

My disc burned just fine. I can notice where the over compression is showing itself a bit, but I eagerly await the updated algorithm (sp?).

I will probably purchase my full upgrade after the weekend.

As always, thanks Dan for your hard work on a great product!


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## jlb (Dec 13, 2001)

Hi Dan,

I purchased my Upgrade last night and a 1-file burn worked flawlessly. 

One possible "bug" I did notice is this......If I check off "Delete the Video_TS files after burn", I cannot unselect the "Verify". I can unselect both, but I cannot do a delete without doing a verify.


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## windracer (Jan 3, 2003)

Just wanted to say I gave Ad-Detective another shot in TVSuite and was impressed this time ... it was actually spot on with the commercials except for one instance.

I still think I can scroll through and pick out the commercial breaks myself faster, but it's nice having the unattended option like that.


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## greg_burns (May 22, 2004)

windracer said:


> Purchased my upgrade last night!


Pulled the trigger on the upgrade myself just tonight.

There is a sale until Nov. 1. Only $20 to upgrade (normally $30 it looks like). :up: 

http://www.videoredo.com/PurchaseUpgradePlusToTVSuite.htm


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## yunlin12 (Mar 15, 2003)

Thanks for the software, it's working great!


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## BarryD99 (Mar 30, 2002)

Any idea when this will be released for sale to new users?


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## TerryTT (Aug 8, 2007)

I just found out about this; about 24hrs after paying for redo+... there doesnt seem to be anything on their website about this product!


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## steve614 (May 1, 2006)

It must not be "officially" released, yet.

But now that you have a VRD license now, you can upgrade here.

Hurry, only 3 more days!


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## lmacneill (Jan 21, 2003)

I downloaded the trial-version of this software, and all I can say is WOW!!

It's SO EASY!!! And it WORKS!!!

I'm trying to get a refund for the awful Roxio MediaCreator 9 that Tivo told me would work, but didn't work at all with my Series-3 Tivo... Not one show could I burn to DVD with MediaCreator... Kept telling me "file is not editable, and was not added to your DVD project." VideoReDo worked PERFECTLY, and edited the files with no problems -- the very same files that MediaCreator 9 told me were not editable. And burned a DVD with no problems whatsoever.

I've just purchased the full version -- well worth the price, even though it's more expensive than the Roxio software. I'm SOOO HAPPY that I finally found something that's so EASY and just plain WORKS! Thanks so much for creating it!!


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## steve614 (May 1, 2006)

Welcome to the forum!

Sorta... 

VideoReDo TVSuite released!


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