Hi there. I apologise in advance if this topic has already been discussed although I had a search and couldn't find anything similar. I was wondering if anyone else has a DVD burner on their computer and has had problems in actually burning a DVD. I have a desktop PC and recently added a DVD burner. I had previously been using a DVD player and CD/VCD burner with Nero and had no problems whatsoever. When purchasing the DVD burner, I was under the impression that burning DVDs would be just as simple. Not so... After searching on the internew for 'how to's and 'idiots guide to DVD burning' I came up with a lot of very difficult methods to burn/rip etc. DVDs but none of them were particularly suitable for this idiot! I just can't figure it out and was wondering if I'm missing something. Does a single program exist which can fulfil all my needs? I just can't believe that the DVD burner is increasingly being sold as part of a standard PC yet it is so difficult to use. Any ideas?

I recently got a DVD-Rewriter and used it as a replacement for the CD-Rewriter. The new drive handles both sorts of disks. I left in place the DVD read-only drive the computer already had.

This means copies of our home video tapes (that have now been transferred to DVD) can easily be copied from one DVD to another for giving to family members. Then they can bore their friends with family videos played in the DVD player.

I was going to upgrade Nero to cope with the DVD drive but bought a program called 1Click instead. It's very easy to use. DVDs can be copied in 1 click, as the name suggests.

It comes with an additional program that puts a 'Copy to DVD' option in the right-click menu. Just right-click on any files you want to copy to DVD. This doesn't work when you have a CD-R in the DVD drive but if you have Windows XP, the 'Send To' option can be used to copy files to CD. This does work OK.

Type 1click into any search engine to read about the program.

EDIT: Typo

Thanks very much for that. I shall try it. At the moment I'm tearing my hair out so it's worth the money! What about things you have downloaded? Do you transfer them to DVD?

Martin, you just mentioned transferring some videos to DVD, would you know if there are companies which will do this? I have a couple of graduation videos which I want transferred to DVD as I assume DVDs won't decay as fast as video. I should hate for them to get spoilt with age.

I know there are companies that do this, perhaps some local photographic shops offer the service.

We did the VHS tape to DVD part using our new DVD video recorder that sits under the TV. Only the copying from DVD to DVD gets done on the computer.

If you know anyone local that has made the switch from VHS to DVD television program recording, it might be worth asking if they could do it. If not, then feel free to send the tapes to me. I'll do them for the small price of a cup of tea and a slice of cake next time we see you Postage wouldn't be too great between Jersey and England.

Thanks Martin, I will make enquiries. There could be a slight problem, the videos were produced by a professional company and therefore are likely to be subject to copyright. I will play them to check to see if they give contact information so that I can either give them the option of converting them themselves or giving me a release.

What a great idea to save those memories of weddings and other family events! I recently got married but was lucky enough to have our memories on both DVD and VHS.
Are you transferring/backing up your downloaded material with 1click too? Is there a need to change the format of programs before the DVD burning software will recognise them? Sorry for all the questions. I'm just not ready to admit defeat yet!

That really sounds like the program for me! Thanks for your help. I'm off shopping!

Before you spend money on software to copy DVDs you should have a look at this site

http://www.doom9.org/

This site has information about free programs that you use to make a backup copy of a DVD movie. Note that legality of making a backup copy of a DVD movie varies from country to country.

I have used a program called DVDShrink. It is free and is fairly easy to use as well.

Cheers

Craig