Topic: burning a DVD from mp4/m4v files

[JasonSobel]

I've got a couple of m4v/mp4 files that I would like to burn to a regular DVD.  I'd like to do this to be able to watch using a regular DVD player.

Any good software recommendations for this?  The m4v/mp4 files have chapters, and while it would be nice to keep them on the DVD, it's not really necessary.

Thanks.

[beatkilla]

The spec for a DVD to be played in a DVD player is standard definition video only 720 x 480 (not HD)and also must be an Mpeg-2 with either PCM audio or dolby digital(Ac3).You'll have to convert your files to mpeg-2 with proper audio.You can do this with the freeware.MPEGSTREAMCLIP,You can get it here.

http://www.squared5.com/

[JasonSobel]

will that software create a VIDEO_TS folder with VOB files (and all other files needed)?  Or is the output just an mpeg-2 file?  If so, how do I then burn the mpeg-2 file to DVD?

thanks for the suggestion.

[page]

windows or mac?

[beatkilla]

Just tried sone mp4 files in mpeg streamclip and it doesnt like them so forget i mentioned it.

[JasonSobel]

windows or mac?

Windows.

[OFOTD]

TMPGEnc 4.0 XPress. 

It will do everything you need to do.

[tonebloke]

Try convertXTODVD. May work.

[keytohwy]

Before you burn a DVD *VIDEO* disc, see if your DVD player will read a mp4 or m4v file from a DVD *DATA* disc.  Mine does. 

[JasonSobel]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone, though through my own searching, I came across DVD Flick:
http://www.dvdflick.net/

It seems to do everything I need, and it's freeware.  I'm encoding the first one as I write this.

Before you burn a DVD *VIDEO* disc, see if your DVD player will read a mp4 or m4v file from a DVD *DATA* disc.  Mine does.

That's good to know that some regular DVD players will play a mp4/m4v files from a DVD data disc.  However, it's not something I can test.  I don't even have a regular DVD player hooked up anymore.  instead, I have a small Dell Zino computer, hooked up to my TV via HDMI.  Most of the time, I just watch/listen to files stored on my 7.5 TB's of hard drives hooked up to it (or stream online).  sometimes, though I use the DVD drive to watch movies.  anyway, because it's a computer, of course it will read/play from a DVD data disc.  But I'd like to burn DVD-Video discs for a friend, who is less tech savvy.

I'll report back with how DVD Flick works out.

[JasonSobel]

in case anyone else is interested, "DVD Flick" worked, but with 2 issues.

1)  The video files I am starting with are widescreen, and the DVD made with DVD Flick is 4:3.  Thus, everything is distorted (i.e. people look very skinny), because the screen proportations were changed.  I can't find any option to change from 4:3 to the 16:9 widescreen, so I'm out of luck.

2)  It took 11 and a half hours on my computer at home to convert the mp4 file to a set a files in a VIDEO_TS folder that was ready to burn.  This is most likely not a fault of the program, however, and more of a result of my 8 year old desktop at home.

So, after a bit more looking around, I came across "DVDStyler".  I put this on my work computer (quad core Xeon W3530 with 12gigs of RAM), and I can convert the same mp4 file to a DVD image (.ISO file) in about 20-25 minutes.  Also, it lets me choose 16:9, so the end result looks much better as well.

[todd e]

So, after a bit more looking around, I came across "DVDStyler".  I put this on my work computer (quad core Xeon W3530 with 12gigs of RAM), and I can convert the same mp4 file to a DVD image (.ISO file) in about 20-25 minutes.  Also, it lets me choose 16:9, so the end result looks much better as well.

I just read this, thanks for the tip.  Encoding some mp4s now, thanks again.