How to author & burn a DVD using only freeware tools

How to author & burn a DVD using only freeware tools

Updated 19 May 2003! Please ONLY use Ifoedit for testing, it does not create 100% compliant dvds!

Updated 23 April 2003! Added how to add chapters and updated the burning with imgtool classic 0.9.

This guide will explain how to author and burn a DVD-Video using only free software. Note that currently does this method not support any DVD menus so if you like that you must use another DVD Authoring method.

Tools required:
Ifoedit
ImgTool Classic 0.9
DVDDecrypter

The basic steps to create a DVD:
(0. Capture the video. Read here how to capture.)
1. Encode the video to DVD MPEG standard using any encoder.
2. Author the DVD MPEG video, like adding menus,chapters and the author tool also make the DVD structure(vob files and such).
3. Burn the authored image to DVD±R/W.

Step 1 - Encoding
Read under the DVD Convert section here how to convert your video to DVD. If you have captured directly to DVD MPEG standard like with a WinTV PVR(as I have made in this tutorial) you don't have to encode to DVD. If you have encoded the video to one mpg/mpeg file be sure to demultiplex the mpg to a video file and audio file(s). Read here how to demultiplex. Rename the audio file to anything.mpa if it is named anything.mp2.

Step 2 - Authoring

Ifoedit supports basic DVD Authoring with several selectable audio tracks in all audio formats(pcm/wav,mpeg1 layer2, dd and dts audio), several selectable subtitles and chapters but no menus.
Note that this new author function in Ifoedit 0.9.5/0.9.4 may be a bit buggy so use it only for testing.

Start Ifoedit.

1. Select DVD Author->Author New DVD in the menu.
2. Add the video m2v video files.
3. Add th audio source(s)(if you can't find the audio file, be sure that you have rename the audio to mpa if is name mp2.
(Optional - 4. If you want chapters, just run notepad and type the chapter point on each row and save the file as celltimes.txt that you open under chapter in Ifoedit. The chapter point is in frames, so if your source is 25 fps and want chapters every 10 minute then it will be 25 x 60 s x 10 min =
15000
30000
45000
...until the end of the movie)
5. Select a destination, any drive root with the folder name VIDEO_TS. Be sure that you have enough hd space, if your mpeg and audio files are 4.37 GB it requires same free space.
6. Click OK and ifoedit will start making the dvd structure(vob and ifo files), it will take some time if you are making a full DVD.

Close ifoedit.

Step 3 - Burning
Note!!!You can skip this and burn the created VIDEO_TS folder with InstantDVD or some other DVD Burning app and your are done, read more here how to burn to DVD-Video standard.

Make DVD Image
First we will make DVD Image that you later can burn with DVD Decrypter.

You need the dvd imgtool classic 0.90 to be able to make a dvd image that you can burn later. doom9s download here.
You find imgtool classic 0.9 under

Extract imgtool to a folder and start imgtool.
1. Select the partition or folder where you have the VIDEO_TS folder. For example, if you have the VIDEO_TS in F: you choose F: or if you have the VIDEO_TS in F:dvdVIDEO_TS you choose F:dvd.
2. Select where to save the image.
3. Set the label on the DVD
4. Click create to build the img file(that you later will burn)

Before you burn you can test this image using Virtual Daemon, open the .iso file with Virtual Dameon and you will get a emulated DVD Drive on your computer that you can test with any software DVD Player.

Burning

DVDDecrypter will burn your dvd image to standard DVD-Video. If you would have any problem burning be sure that you have installed ASPI.

Start DVDDecrypter
Select Mode->Iso-Write
Set the source to the .iso file
Select your DVD Writer under destination
Be sure to use MODE1/2048 under Data type
And last hit Write to burn the DVD-Video.

(note select your dvd writer and not you cd writer as I did...)

Done. First test the burned DVD on your DVD-ROM/DVD Writer to see that if works fine and then test it on your DVD Player.

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