Okay...Now I've got another problem!

[Tuffcookie]

I finally got the videos I recorded from the S5 downloaded but the files are too large to burn to a cd. Now what do I do? (And I want something super easy )


Boy, I'm sure glad I got this camera now so I can have it figured out by Nov's trip!

TC

 

[webshark3]

I finally got the videos I recorded from the S5 downloaded but the files are too large to burn to a cd. Now what do I do? (And I want something super easy )

TC

Burn them to a DVD. Easy enough? How large are the files?

 

[Tuffcookie]

Well, I don't have a dvd burner so I guess I'll have to put that on my "to get" list!

The file I just recorded is about 1.3 GB but if I video the parade at MK in Nov. I'm sure it will be at least twice that so a dvd burner I'll get!

Thanks for your help!

TC, who is a newbie to video recording!

 

[AndrewWG]

DVD burners are quite cheap these days. They have come down alot since my first Plextor that cost about $300 and I got a 50 pack of DVD's for $120!

Now the burners are maybe $50 if I remember this correctly and the DVD's are about 25 cents each?

Gotta love those new technology prices that I always seem to pay!

Now let me tell you about the first computer I bought..... Nah, I'll save that story for another day!

 

[jfulcer]

You have to remember, anything that you do to that video as it is now will cause it lose quality, unless you keep it at the resolution you recorded it at. If you compress it to fit on a CD, you will lose quality. if you compress it to upload to the internet, you will lose quality. Here's what I do:

Have a decent backup scheme. Make sure you have backups of each set of files and videos. I have 3 copies of each high resolution file. One on the drive, one on a DVD (here at home), and one on a DVD at my parents house in case something happens 'here'. Those videos do take up much more space than the pictures do, but I figure it's good to have them now as blackmail for when the kids get married.

For $69 you can get a burner that is high capacity, but can also write labels on the top side of the disc. It's a HP from Best Buy. (Link) At that low price, just consider it a 'camera accessory' so you don't lose your data.

On top of that, instead of taking the chance with cheap on sale media from local stores which have a pretty high failure rate, I'd suggest getting high quality blank media from www.neato.com which is manufactured by Taiyo-Yuden. They are a little more expensive, but as a person who burns multiple DVDS for use at my church on a weekly basis I swear by them. It's not worth taking a chance and losing your memories for 20-30 cents. Get on their emailing list to get coupons for saving even more.

Finally you can compress for sharing on a hosting site. There are lots of tools out there that will do this for you. My favorite cheap product for this is Ulead Videostudio. You can make so many different kinds of video formats with this it's not even funny. It's like $70, but also a good deal.

Please ask me if you have any questions about all of this.

There. I've spent about $200 more of your cash. Wooo hoo!!!

 

[Tuffcookie]

Thanks, Andy & Jeff!

I really appreciate all your suggestions!

TC

 

[webshark3]

Yep, easiest, get a DVD burner.

Second easiest, Import it into Microsoft MovieMaker (if you have Windows XP) and tell it to "save as" a file under 700MB so it fits on a cd. But you may loos quality with the compression.

 

[jfulcer]

Thanks, Andy & Jeff!

I really appreciate all your suggestions!

TC

No problem. Glad to help.

I had to laugh typing about the blank DVD media because I'm going through the reliability issue with our church secretary right now. She bought a different brand on sale at Office Max recently and emailed me to ask why she was having trouble copying my master DVDs. My first question was "Are they Taiyo-Uden you are using?" even though I knew the answer. She said she'd try something else and I was really surprised when she emailed me back saying the Taiyo-Uden ones she had left over from a previous order were now working just fine.

 

[donaldduck1967]

When you do go to buy a DVD burner make sure you get one that has the right type of interface for your computer. Either EIDE or SATA.

 

[Tuffcookie]

DonaldDuck1967,

Thanks, I'll make a note of that!

 

[webshark3]

easier than EIDE or SATA, because I know you like easy buy a external DVD burner. This way you don't need to open the PC.

 

[Tuffcookie]

Well, I don't plan to do anything...That's why I have sons!

TC

 

[Groucho]

Head to NewEgg... you can get your choice of DVD burners for around $30. And yeah, blank DVDs are usually around 22-23 cents when bought in spindles of 50 to 100.

You'll have to do something to the videos if you want to play them in a DVD player, though, as most DVD players won't play them unless they're converted to DVD Video format.

 

[Tuffcookie]

Thanks Groucho!

 

[Dan Murphy]

...On top of that, instead of taking the chance with cheap on sale media from local stores which have a pretty high failure rate, I'd suggest getting high quality blank media from www.neato.com which is manufactured by Taiyo-Yuden. They are a little more expensive, but as a person who burns multiple DVDS for use at my church on a weekly basis I swear by them. It's not worth taking a chance and losing your memories for 20-30 cents. Get on their emailing list to get coupons for saving even more....

Are al DVD disks 'lightscribable'??

 

[webshark3]

Are al DVD disks 'lightscribable'??

Nope. They'll say it on the box/cover if they are.

 

[TwingleMum]

I feel like I walked in a foreign film w/o subtitles. I have sooo much to learn.

 

[Groucho]

Lightscribe is really a personal decision - I find it a thorough waste of time/money but if you're going to be handing out DVDs to others, you might like having a more "professional" look. I'm perfectly content with Sharpies though, much faster and easier.

As for DVD brands, Ritek is pretty well-regarded, as are other lines. The one spindle of Taiyo Yuden I've gotten was junk, I had more problems that any other blank I've tried (and I've tried several trousand). Enough people like them that I can guess that I may have gotten a rare bad batch, but I won't pay extra for them. Riteks are often available from NewEgg for $20-23 for 100. I will also occasionally use a local on-sale brand, like Fuji or Philips, which are often rebadged ones from another less-known manufacturer.