i taped a band a few months ago on a camcorder. i would like to transfer it on to a dvd with a menu and chapters. i want to make it look good so that it would be acceptable to trade amongst the fans of this band. is there a software program that i could use that is computer dummy friendly. sorry if this is a repost topic i looked but did not find it. please put a link if this has already been addressed.

There are some simple programs (that will still take you a day or two to master), but you will not get professional looking autoring or anything like that. You will probably end up with generic menus,etc. Also, you probably want to use an audience audio recording, not your camcorder audio, so that is additional work. Something like Pinnacle Studio 9 can do all this, but it is pretty simplified and is full of bugs. Most DVDs are edited/mixed in Adobe Premiere or the Apple professional video program, and the DVDs are authored in DVD Maestro ( a pro-level authoring suit that used to cost $5000, it no longer is updated).


I suggest that you send your tapes to someone who is good with these things unless you are willing to put in the time and effort to learn these programs and make a good DVD, but that's just my opinion.



By the way, what band is it that you taped?

will hoge

a great live band if you haven't heard them.

do you know of a person that i could send the tape to that could look at it and see if it is worth distribution? the band has a community like pj but much smaller. their message board would love for the show i have taped be distributed in a dvd form.

edit: thanks again eric for the b+p offer. if you ever need anything i hope i can help.

Well, if you don't mind the person not being a Will Hoge fan, you could probably make a post in the trading forum and see if anyone is interested. I know the main PJ DVD-authors (like Leehro) have a bunch of shows waiting around to be transferred and authored, so I doubt they could do it, but you can probably find someone. If not here, make a post at the Will Hoge BBS.

If you're getting a non-Will Hoge fan to do it you'll need:
-The master tape (what format is it? Minidv? hi8?)
-An audience audio recording (unless you plan to use the camera audio which is a bad idea)
-Setlist info


That's all I can think of right now. I think you can tell on your own wheteher it is worth distributing, look at what other vids are available for the band, or look at the quality of your PJ vids and compare.

will hoge is great live.

i saw him last year and met him after the show; he's also a great guy.

i shook his hand and he was like, "I'm Will;" and I was like, "yeah, I know."

how come it's not a good idea for people to use the sound from the original tape? i've heard a couple people say this before. i understand finding a soundboard or better quality ver. of the audio and mixinng it in. just wondering.

i'm still learning the ropes on makeing DVDs so dont mind me

i have a minidv camera. i am leaving now for a show. does it matter if i tape it on sp or lp. thanks.