Fig

This subject has probably been covered to the nth degree, but search did not uncover anything.

Now that I've got a shiny new iMac with DVD burner, I'm thinking of transferring my video collection onto DVDs.

What hardware/software do I need, bearing in mind it hardware needs to be external connected via USB or Firewire? Are there different formats/specs to watch out for or anything to avoid?

Also, what's the difference between -R and +R.? Is one better than the other? Will either type play in a normal DVD player?

Cheers

Fig

Can't believe that no one has done this

ozzy

Don't know the techie differences between the DVD formats, but I've been told that -R is about 90% compatible with standalone players whereas +R is around 75%.

Haven't put any video on DVD yet, but I've used Pinnacle Studio on my PC (don't know about Mac software). Basically a digital video will be captured in AVI format and for 60min tape, it'll be around 15-20GB of data. You obviously can't write that straight to a DVD, so it needs to be converted - probably into some MPEG format.

You can use video editing software to add sountrack, voice overs and create a menu system for replaying your collection.

There's loads of this stuff on the net. I'd recommened the DV Forums

Stefan