Make a DVD

How to Make a DVD

The files you want to make a DVD from must be in formats that your DVD player can recognize. A decent DVD player recognizes many different file formats, but to be on the safe side you may want to stick with the universal standard MP3 format. So begin by converting all the AVI, WMA, and other file formats that you have downloaded into MP3 format.

There are commercial DVD authoring programs that will do the job, but why pay for one when you can download an open source DVD authoring program for free? DVD Flick is a simple yet versatile open source DVD authoring program for Windows 2000 Professional or any editions of Windows XP, Vista, or Windows 7.

DVD Flick does just about everything. It can convert 45 video file formats to one another and comes with 60 video and 40 audio codecs (software components that encode digital signals for compressed recording and decode them for playback). Here are some of the video editing features this software offers:

• Add on-screen menus to simply track selection through your remote control. Add your own subtitles to movies.
• Adjust the frame rate and resolution to make large files fit on a single DVD, or to speed up the encoding and burning process.
• Set the television signal format for your country: NSTC for the U. S., or PAL for most of Asia and Europe.

When you finish converting and editing your video files to your tastes, DVD Flick will burn them to DVD disk too.

One thing DVD Flick won't do is copy encrypted (copy-protected) DVD disks. This includes most commercial movie and game DVDs. A perfect storm of legal liability surrounds the question of whether you can make copies of DVDs that you have bought and own - or merely "licensed for personal, in-home use" as the movie and music industries insist on calling it. DVD Flick steers clear of this controversy, but other software will let you crack some forms of copy-protection and make backups of your DVDs.

Under "fair use" provisions of the U.S. copyright statute, consumers have the right to make backup copies of DVDs for which they have paid, even if they are copy-protected. However, it is illegal under the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DCMA) to circumvent (crack) copy-protection methods implemented by DVD producers.

One U.S. federal judge has ruled that consumers can make backups using software that circumvents copy protection, but it is illegal to sell or distribute programs that do it! So far, no higher U.S. court has ruled on this matter, and few other countries have such laws. So encryption-cracking backup software for copy-protected DVDs remains available although you won't find it at Wal Mart. DVD software such as SlySoft AnyDVD will do the job, and avoids legal issues because the company is located on the island of Antigua.

Do you have something to say about making a DVD? Post your comment or question below...