DVD Burners, DL DVDs, and Authoring Software

[Strazos]

Just got a new Pioneer DVR-112D for my PC, along with a bunch of DL DVDs to archive a boatload of stuff to.

Now, the drive is OEM, so it didn't come with software or anything. Do I need any specific software to burn DVDs, DL DVDs at that? I have an (somewhat) older version of Nero that came with my Samsung CD Burner drive.

Will that work, or do I need something that's specific for burning DVDs? If I need a new software solution, is there anything free out there that will work?

(Also, I went with Verbatim for the blank media. From Singapore, so it should be the good stuff.)

[Cheddar]

Bumpity bump, bump, bump, bump bump!  We see and love you, Strazos! 


As far as DVD software, I can check what I have.  I never bothered burning DVD's; I do have some ripping software, but that is for backup purposes.  Heh.  And does not burn DVD's, regardless.

I am feeling much more hoppity today, obviously!  The last week or so has been touch and go.  Of course, this is off topic, and as usual I assume every thread is about me!

[Strazos]

I'm not trying to copy anything, if that is what you are getting at. I just have tons of data that I need to get off my HDD and onto the blank discs I bought. I don't need to make fancy menus or anything like that - something as simple as drag-and-drop would probably be best.

[Cheddar]

I'm not trying to copy anything, if that is what you are getting at. I just have tons of data that I need to get off my HDD and onto the blank discs I bought. I don't need to make fancy menus or anything like that - something as simple as drag-and-drop would probably be best.

Check IRC.

[Trippy]

I'm not trying to copy anything, if that is what you are getting at. I just have tons of data that I need to get off my HDD and onto the blank discs I bought. I don't need to make fancy menus or anything like that - something as simple as drag-and-drop would probably be best.

I just use Nero so I don't have anything to suggest. I'm sure there must be some free stuff out there to make ISOs and then you can use something like DVD Decrypter to burn the ISOs but I don't know any specific packages.

[HaemishM]

If you are just trying to make data DVD's, Nero 6 should do you fine. It's what I use for Data DVD's. If you are trying to make DVD's from existing ISO files, I'm pretty sure it does that too, but not positive. If you are trying to take downloaded TV shows and make DVD's of them from avi files, you'll need something like TMPEncoder to render the files to the correct size and format, and something like Encore or some other DVD authoring software for the menus and the like. Although you said you didn't need menus, so I'm just giving you extra knowledge.

[Yegolev]

I use Cheetah and love it.  Not free, but you know what they say.

[Trippy]

If you are just trying to make data DVD's, Nero 6 should do you fine. It's what I use for Data DVD's. If you are trying to make DVD's from existing ISO files, I'm pretty sure it does that too, but not positive.

Nero can burn ISOs, but if you already have an ISO, you can use something else that's free to burn it.

[Big Gulp]

I use DVDShrink in conjunction with AnyDVD for ripping rental movies.  Downloaded TV shows and movies get converted with TMPGEnc 4 XPress, and I turn the resulting streams into DVD format (menus optional) with DVD-Lab Pro.  To burn it, Nero.

There are all-in-one solutions out there, but they suck.  Trust me on this.

[Strazos]

That's not what I am talking about, at all. I have zero interest in ripping and copying DVDs. Or ISOs, for that mater. Hell, I don't even know what they are, or what they're used for quite honestly. I am guessing I don't have an actual use for that sort of file format, but I digress...

I have a metric fuckton of anime and such on my system (140GB+). I just want to burn all the files, as is, to my blank media. I am hoping that whatever version of Nero I have sitting around somewhere will work.

[Trippy]

An "ISO" in this context is a disc image of an ISO 9660 file system which is what CDs and DVDs use. When you burn a write once disc from files on your hard drive, what the software in effect does is compile those files into the ISO 9660 file format (i.e. an ISO image) and then burn that to burner. So you can skip the compile into ISO format step if you already have an ISO, like from one you downloaded on the Internet. E.g. most Linux distributions are distributed as ISOs since it makes them easier to burn to disc and there are programs out there that let you "mount" an ISO as if it was a another disc drive in case you actually need to pull individual files out of the image. And we know you weren't asking about copying DVD movies, Big Gulp just likes to tell people that he does it.

[OcellotJenkins]

If you run Windows XP, I'm pretty sure you can just:

1)  Insert blank DVD

2)  Drag files and drop them on the DVD Drive

3)  Click the "Burn files to disc" link on the left panel

[Strazos]

You're a fucking genius if it works.

[Bunk]

Unfortunately, from my experience it won't. Xp works fine for CD's but usually can't do dvds.

For what you want, you just need a basic dvd burning program that will handle dual layer dvds. Essentially any newer version of Nero or even Nero express should be fine. Most people have at least one Nero Xpress cd lying around from a software bundle...

Essentially tell Nero you want to make a data dvd, turn off multi session, drag your files over, burn. Probably not a bad idea to test it.

You don't have Nero, there are plenty of free or free trial  burning programs out there. I'm using Ashampoo and found it really easy to use.
link: http://www.softpedia.com/get/CD-DVD-Tools/Data-CD-DVD-Burning/Ashampoo-Burning-Studio.shtml

[Strazos]

Yeah, Nero5 evidentally doesn't recognize blank DVD media. I tried the XP solution on blank CD-Rs with both drives, but I'll take your word for it that I wouldn't fare as well with DL DVDs.

Thanks for the link. Hopefully it'll work for me. I have a lot of burning to do...



PS: Fucking Jumpers.

[Big Gulp]

That's not what I am talking about, at all. I have zero interest in ripping and copying DVDs. Or ISOs, for that mater. Hell, I don't even know what they are, or what they're used for quite honestly. I am guessing I don't have an actual use for that sort of file format, but I digress...

I have a metric fuckton of anime and such on my system (140GB+). I just want to burn all the files, as is, to my blank media. I am hoping that whatever version of Nero I have sitting around somewhere will work.

So you don't care whether it'll play in a DVD player or not?  Just burn it with Nero, already.  Is this really something you're having problems with?

ETA:  Whatever software came with your DVD burner should be sufficient for this, whether it be Nero or whatever.

[Strazos]

So you don't care whether it'll play in a DVD player or not?  Just burn it with Nero, already.  Is this really something you're having problems with?

ETA:  Whatever software came with your DVD burner should be sufficient for this, whether it be Nero or whatever.

Ahem:

Now, the drive is OEM, so it didn't come with software or anything. Do I need any specific software to burn DVDs, DL DVDs at that? I have an (somewhat) older version of Nero that came with my Samsung CD Burner drive.

Thankfully, Bunk easily answered my question; Ashampoo is much better than Nero anyway.