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CREATING A DVD
OK - You have your album running just like you want it to. Now, how are you going to share it with
your friends and family? If you want to create a DVD, VCD, SVCD, or even just a .mpeg
file that you copy to CD then keep reading this tutorial.
If you just want to create a CD containing your album, then check the Problems, Tips, and Solutions
section and look for Sharing Your Album on a CD.
CONVERT YOUR ALBUM TO A MOVIE/VIDEO FILE.
To create something that will run on a TV using a DVD player, you will have to convert your
application to a movie file. To do this, you need to use the CAPTURE tab/feature.
Note: You're not really converting your album. Running CAPTURE will not change your album in any way.
What it will do is to create a video file (mpeg, wmv, avi, etc.) of your album. You can then take
that video file and create a DVD with it, or upload it to YouTube.
Using CAPTURE is really easy. In one sense, you just have to tell it three things:
A. What type movie file do I want to create? You can choose from a drop down box that contains things
like AVI, WMV, MPEG, MPEG2, DVD, VCD, etc. This is the MOVIE TYPE. If you want to end up with a DVD,
then choose DVD NTSC or DVD PAL, depending on what country you live in. Why? Because the movie file
that you create with CAPTURE must be in the right format for DVDs (must have the right dimensions
width-height, and must have the right frames per second). If you choose the DVD NTSC or DVD PAL format,
then this will be done for you. You should choose the DVD NTSC format if you live in the US. Some people
prefer to create DV AVI movie files. I recommend starting with DVD NTSC/PAL first. You can then create a
DV AVI later to compare for yourself. Be prepared for DV AVI's much bigger file size. I created
a 28 second test. DVD NTSC was about 22mb. DV AVI was about 855mb. DV AVI does have two advantages over
DVD NTSC: First, the capture process is much faster. Second, the quality is higher. If you plan to
edit your final product using a video editor, then you will probably want to use DV AVI.
B. What 3D-Album file am I converting? This is the input or SOURCE FILE. Set this to the .vexe file t
hat you created in step 1D. Staying with my example (found in Step 1's tutorial), you would set this
to .../MYALBUM/WEDDING/Sequencer_1.vexe. If you type the name in, and if you get it wrong, you will get
an error message that says "xxxx.vexe is an invalid file, please try again". To avoid this, use the
magnifying glass icon which will let you browse though your folders and click on the correct vexe file
(that you created in the final BUILD).
C. Where do I want the new file to go and what should its name be? This is the output or MOVIE FILE.
CAPTURE will create a single file when it is run. I usually get really creative at this point in time,
and I name it .../MYALBUM/WEDDING/movie.mpg. In theory, you should be able to click the START button
and start to capture. (Be sure to move the cursor out of the window while the capture is running, and
don't have any other programs running that would write to the screen/monitor). You'll notice a PREVIEW
button right next to the START button. This is to view the video file you create and it will only work
after the capture is finished. MAKE SURE YOU WRITE THIS FILE TO YOUR HARD DRIVE, AND NOT TO YOUR CD/DVD
BURNER (that comes later).
D. Other options and settings: Leave the START and STOP FRAME NUMBER set to zero. For more information
on this, and a discussion of other options and settings, see the Problems, Tips, and Solutions Section.
BTW, I find it a good practice to choose the "High Quality Encoder for DVD File" in the Options dialog box.
Burn DVD using 3rd party DVD authoring tool.