how to make a VCD from a DivX

Tools required: Latest Virtual dub, TMPGEnc and Nero ( and the DivX codecs.)

Preparing:


Download all tools, Be sure to install DivX 3.11 DivX4 and the latest DivX5 codecs.

Extracting the audio : Start Virtualdub. Open your video File->Open video file.(if you get any warnings just ignore them because you won't edit the video just extract the audio)


Select File->File Information and note the fps as the video source fps because you will need it later.


Select under Audio->Full processing mode.


Select Audio->Compression and select <No compression (PCM)>


Select Audio->Conversion.


Change the the Sampling rate to 44100Hz if you are going to make VCD or SVCD MPEGs.


Save the wav by clicking on File->Save WAV...the wav will be a huge audio uncompressed video file(about 10 MB/minute.


Encoding:


Start TMPEnc. Press cancel if the Project Wizard comes.


Press Browse… and select the DivX file as Video source input.


Now you press the Browse button for choosing the Audio source input and use the saved wav file.


Press load and load the file which in the Template directory of TMPGenc.


If the video source fps is 29,970 load VideoCD (NTSC).mcf


If the video source fps is 23,970 load VideoCD (NTSCFilm).mcf


If the video source fps is 25,000 load VideoCD (PAL).mcf


If the video source fps is anything else else just load NTSC if you live in US or Japan and PAL if you live anywhere else.


Note if you live in US or Japan and get problem playing PAL, often causing black and white TV playback problems, then first check if you can change to PAL on your TV or DVD Player if not then instead convert it to NTSC by loading the VideoCD(NTSC) template.


Note if you live Europe and the rest of the world and get problem playing NTSC or NTSCFilm, often causing black and white TV playback problems, then first check if you can change to PAL on your TV or DVD Player if not convert it to PAL by loading the VideoCD(Pal) template.

Press Settings and choose Advanced.


Select Full screen (keep aspect ratio) under Video arrange method to keep the same aspect ratio(widescreen,fullscreen) as the video source(if you have a widescreen movie and you want it to be in fullscreen select No margin(keep aspect ratio).


Select Source range and double-click on it with the mouse.

In the next dialog you can choose the source range. This process depends on the DivX file. If the DivX file is less than 80min (for a 80min/700mb CDR) then you do not have to split the file to two CDs. Also if the DivX file is already in two parts you have just to convert the first file and then the second. But if there should be the case that the movie is in one file over 80minutes long then it is necessary to select the source range. In this new dialog you put the horizontal scrollbar to the middle of the selection so that you will get the same length on the first CD as on the second. After you selected the middle do you have press Set end frame. A new value should be under End Frame. This value you should notice somewhere for the encoding of the second part. Of course the start frame must be 0.

After pressing ok, you only have to select the output file name. I prefer the movie name with the CD number (e.g. Ghost in the Shell CD1) for the burning.


Now encode the file by pressing the Start-Button.


While encoding you can select File->Preview(it won't effect the encoding) to see how the output will be, it it looks wrong(widescreen or fullscreen) you can stop the encoding and start over and change especially the Settings->Advanced->Video arange method.)


If you only want to burn the movie on one CD jump to the burning guide else follow the next points.

Repeat the third, forth and fifth point. In the source range dialog you now use as Start frame the noticed value and move with the horizontal scrollbar to the end of the movie.


After pressing Set end frame, press two times OK.

Now select the output filename for the second file. (e.g. Ghost in the Shell CD2) and encode it.


After the encoding is done and you did all right, you should have for every CD a file.

Burning:


Launch Nero.Close the Wizard. Select File->New.


1. Select VideoCD


2. Select PAL or NTSC depending what format your source MPEG is in.


3. And hit New.

1. Locate your .mpg and drag it(see picture below). Remember that you can add several .mpgs also, each mpg will be a own track on the VCD and you can add data files also, just drag them to any folder.


2. Check the time. It should be the same as in the movie.

3. Rename the CD to anything you like by clicking F2 on NEW.

4. Select File->Write CD.

don't know about everyone else.. but the only options i choose on tmpgenc to make mpeg-1 files are either NTSC film 23.976, or NTSC video 29.97 fps..

i also live in the u.s. so i do all of mine accordingly.. why do you save the wave file with virtual dub.. or should i say, why do you even process the divx file with vdub.. yeah if it is your last resort and the divx for some reason doesn't open in tmpgenc.. i've got 180+ Divx movies, some downloaded mostly ripped, never had a problem encoding them with tmpgenc plus.

just seems like you are going from your a$$ to your elbow to do this.

1. take divx movie (120 minutes long for example).. open with vdub.. find a keyframe about halfway through the film, preferrably at a scene change.

choose "SET SELECTION START" from the EDIT menu.. scroll all the way to the end of the film, choose "SET SELECTION END"... hit DELETE or choose "DELETE SELECTION", all from the EDIT menu

2. Now you have 1 half of your movie. under the VIDEO menu, choose "DIRECT STREAM COPY", also make sure that under AUDIO is going to generate a "DIRECT STREAAM COPY". Then go to FILE and choose "SAVE as AVI..."

on a newer computer this will take less than 2 minutes..

3. When it is complete, the quickest way to proceed is to just click on FILE / "OPEN VIDEO FILE". at the beginning of the clip, choose "SET SELECTION START" again, snap back to the keyframe (half way through the film) which you cut half the film off at and choose "SET SELECTION END". DELETE... FILE / "SAVE AS AVI..." save as the other half of film..

once again, will usually take less than 2 minutes...

4. choose option accordingly, this next part can be important.. (i'm going to give the rest of the instructions as if you were making ntsc movie)

since you want to make a standard mpeg-1 file, choose NTSC FILM or NTSC VIDEO.. BROWSE for your file, then hit NEXT, then it OTHER SETTINGS / ADVANCED tab ... now there is an option that says "VIDEO ARRANGE METHOD".. if you are making a fullscreen movie, lleave on FULLSCREEN.. if you are encoding a widescreen movie, choose "FULL SCREEN (KEEP ASPECT RATIO).. OK / NEXT / NEXT (you get the point)

basically takes 1 step out of the tutorial above.. the instructions for nero appear to be correct.. but here's another tip..

dvd burners are becoming more and more popular and even i got one now, like many of you do. tired of old vcd's or wanna encode a VCD standard DVD with nearly 9 hours of video (but same quality as normal 80 minute VCD),

if this is the case, make sure you encode your DivX files as "NTSC VIDEO 29.97 FPS".. even if source is 23 fps... and once you have 3 or 4 movies, get yourself a proggy called TMPGENC DVD AUTHOR.. make a track for each movie.. and you got yourself a dvd with 3 or 4 average length movies on 1 dvd (with menus if you like) that is WAY MORE COMPATIBLE than a VCD..

do a search for the keyword VCD-DVD and i posted a more descriptive tutorial on how to do this..

how to make a new web site

how to make a new web site

WWW.blogger.com


easy and simple to make a web blog fast to try.......

http://www.make-a-web-site.com/


http://www.pagetutor.com/pagetutor/makapage/index.html


www.webmonkey.com

Colour Palletes


http://colormatch.dk

HTMLlock <---Need

http://www.devside.net


http://www.devside.net/download/crypto/disclaimer1.html

well, if you want text seperate from image, you could just do this:

<table width="100%" height="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">


<td><td>

your text here, it's totally fun, yeah yeah yeah

</td><td>

<img src="your picture here">

</td></tr>


</table>

if you want to have the image on the left side, and text on the right side, just reverse the code like so:

<table width="100%" height="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">


<td valign="bottom" align="left">

<img src="your picture here">

</td>

<td><td>

your text here, it's totally fun, yeah yeah yeah

</td></tr>


</table>

How To Make A Kvcd

how to make a kvcd or in other words how to get 700meg avi file down to about 450megs to make


a vcd without any picture loss

so youve download a movie its in avi format you want to watch it on your dvd player so


you reencode it it comes out to about 1100 maybe 1200 megs so you got to split it and save on


2 disks well the following tut will show you how to do it on one disk

first you are going to need some tools

virtualdub

CODE


http://heanet.dl.sourceforge.net/sourceforge/virtualdub/VirtualDub-1.5.10.zip

heada3che

CODE


http://mitglied.lycos.de/darkav/download/headac3he-0.23a.rar

and some dlls

CODE


http://mitglied.lycos.de/darkav2/download/MPAlib_MMX-1.00(1.50).rar


http://mitglied.lycos.de/darkav2/download/ssrc_MMX-1.01(1.28).rar


http://mitglied.lycos.de/darkav2/download/Vorbis_MMX-1.20(1.74).rar


http://mitglied.lycos.de/darkav2/download/Lame_enc_MMX-1.28(3.93).rar


http://mitglied.lycos.de/darkav2/download/MP2enc_MMX-1.15(1.13).rar

put the above dlls in the same folder as heada3che

besweet

CODE


http://dspguru.notrace.dk/BeSweetv1.4.zip


http://dspguru.notrace.dk/BeSweetGUIv0.6.zip

put these 2 in the same folder

you will have to have nero as well but im hoping you have that already if not it on this forum

tmpegnc

again its on this forum

you will need some templates

CODE


http://www.kvcd.net/dvd-models.html

right click all the pal templates if your dvd player is pal or ntsc if ntsc

save them to the template folder in the tmpegnc folder

so to begin

open virtualdub

goto file


open video file

locate the avi file you want to convert


if you get a warning ignore it


click the audio button at the top


make sure source audio and direct stream copy have a black dot next to it


goto file


save wav


now you have to call this with a .ac3 extension


for example view from the top.ac3


i would save this in the same file your avi is


so youve named it press save


box will open let it do its thing this is taking the sound from the film


now press audio and select no audio


you should have a black dot next to no audio and direct stream copy


goto video


select direct stream copy


goto file save as avi


save the file what you want again put in the same folder as the original avi


to make life easier i call mine the film title no sound ie viewfromthetopnosound


press save


this is now saving the film without sound

you can now close virtualdub

open besweet


scary looking box appears


dont worry heres what to do


at the besweet.exe locate the besweet folder it will show besweet.exe in the enter file name box


click on this and at the bottom it will say valid press ok


now goto input and find the ac3 file we just made you will need to change the enter file name from .Lst to .ac3


double click on the ac3 file you made and at the bottom it will say valid press ok


now looking at the gui make sure Use ac3 decoder is tick


downconvert sample rate is ticked


in the toolame dropdown box make sure it says mp2 leave the rest alone


now press copy command to clipboard


goto start


run


and right click paste


press ok


if all the settings are correct a black box will open and the ac3 will be transcoding to mp2


if not check the boxes are ticked


if ok leave it to do its thing


once the black box has disappered close besweet

open heada3che


hopefully you put all the dlls in the heada3che folder other wise you will get error messages


so make sure you do that


done it ok lets go


press source file


find the new mp2 file we just made


change the destination format to mp2


press start


thats it once its finished close headac3he

for your info


things are going to start looking messy inside your folder so if you want


you can delete some things


goto the folder where youre original avi file is


you can delete the ac3 file


and the mp2 file without the .2 in it


ie you will have two file names the same one with .2 on the end keep this one


this is so we dont get confused later

open tmpegnc


close the wizard if it opens


press the video source browse button


find the file we made with nosound on the end ie viewfromthetopnosound


now if you had gone to the kvcd page and downloaded all the templates this will help


if not go do that now


done it right lets go


now im afraid im not in front of your pc doing this for you so i hope i explain well


press load


you will see a load of files in front of you some starting with kvcd


right this is trial and error stuff now pick the first one begining with kvcd highlight it press open


now press start what will happen is the preview box in front of you will start encoding


now depending on the make up of the original avi file will effect the outcome of the finished film


so if you look at the box and all you see is a tiny box with film thats the size it will come out


if it looks weird press stop and reload a different template the best result is one that looks like widescreen


i hope that made sense

just press start and overwrite the file


any way let it do its thing depending on your pc specs depends how long this takes

so lets assume its done


press file mpeg tools the first box should be simple multiplex press the video input browse button


and find the new file we just made it will have a m1v extension


press the audio input browse button find the mp2 file with the .2 in the title the output


box will be automatically set to mpeg


press run


let it do its thing

close tmpgenc

open nero


select vcd


untick the create standard compliant cd


press new


find the new file we have made it will be in the original avi folder but will have a mpeg extension


now you have to drag this into the left box dont right click and copy to compliation


a box will appear and a blue line will go across if a warning comes up with not being a compliant vcd ignore carry on


press burn and burn at the speed you want


once finished press the ok box


press done the disk will come out and now to test


put it in your dvd player and hay presto the film kicks in

depending if your dvd player can play vcds that is

0NLY3DUC4T10N

How To Make 5cds, 10cds Or 2dvds From Official Dow, These are same as Mandrake PowerPack+

Download the full official tree. It comes in at over 5 gig. The full tree includes the usual mandrake, 3 gig of extra apps under contrib and 330meg of java apps under contrib/jpackage.

After downloading I have successfully created 4 versions including the Hard Drive Installation.

1) Hard Drive/Network/FTP Install (same thing)


2) 10 CD version including everything


3) 5 CD Version (use to be 4 CDs. This will eventually be the ISO download)


4) 2 DVD Version which includes everything int the 10 CD Version.

Additionally I have discovered that Mandrake is stressing everyone for no apparent reason. The much talked about 8 meg boot.iso file that is needed to be able to boot and chose your method of installation, is no different from the regular boot files that come on CD1 of any version.

The only thing you have to do is to edit the file "isolinux.cfg" in the isolinux folder. Inside the file, remove all instances of "automatic=method:cdrom" and save the file. Then create the images for whichever "version" of mdk10 that you choose. To create the different versions that I have listed above you have to do 2 things first:

1) edit the "hdlist" file in the "Mandrake/base" folder. In this file you will find a list of all the hdlist.cz files needed to build a particular version. Remove the 3 lines for "SRPM" files. Now depending on which version you want to create, the 10CD and the DVD versions will have 3 lines.


a) hdlist.cz Mandrake/RPMS Installation CD


hdlist2.cz Mandrake/RPMS2 Contrib CD


c) hdlist3.cz Mandrake/RPMS3 Jpackage.org


take note of the paths above. if you downloaded the whole tree like I did, you will have these folders. The RPMS folder is the standard 4 or 5 CD download version. The RPMS2 and RPMS3 folders added to the RPMS folder make the 10CD and DVD version. So to make the 5CD version, remove the last two lines. Dont forget to backup the original "hdlists" file.

2) To make the 10 CD or 2 DVD version, use the "mkcd"command below. Use 716800000 discsize for the 10CD version and 4000000000 for the 2 DVD version. When the command finishes, the images will be in the directory you specified after the -t option.

To make the 5CD version, move the folders "RPMS2" and RPMS3" someplace safe and don't forget to remove the last two lines in the "hdlists" file as described above. The RPMS2 and RPMS3 folders are only links so it should take no time at all to move them. Then use 716800000 discsize and run the "mkcd" command. Don't forget to move the RPMS2 and RPMS3 folders back to their original location when you finish your 5CD images.

Also rememeber that you will need plenty of disc space if you wantto keep all the images for all version on your hard drive. I have the 10CD, 5CD, 2 DVD and the HD install files all on my hard rive and they take up 23GIG.

mkcd --discsize 716800000 -t ./5CD-Version -a -s ./hdinstall

--discsize is the size of the image you want to make in bytes. the above figure is for a 700M CD. I used 4000000000 (9 zeroes) to make 2 DVDs.

-t <path to where yu want to make the images>

-a means automatic creation based on the hdlist files and the downloaded directory structure. It keeps you from having to use many other ugly options on the command line.

-s <source directory of mdk10> this is the top fodler not thr RPM folder. This top folder will have the "Mandrake" folder in it.

original Link


CODE


http://linuxiso.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=18140

How to Install and run Windows CE on your USB Stick

How to: Install and run Windows CE on your USB Stick

Portable Windows CE is a 'launcher' for the Windows CE device emulator that can run an emulator-based image from a USB keychain.

Download the Windows CE 5.0 Device Emulator.


Code:


http://www.Mcft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=A120E012-CA31-4BE9-A3BF-B9BF4F64CE72&displaylang=en

Change "Mcft" in link to what it is supposed to be icon_wink.gif

Extract the emulator to a folder on your hard drive by running "setup /a". The installer will prompt you to specify a directory to extract to . For example: D:\PortableCE

Download this launcher script:


Code:


http://www.furrygoat.com/Software/launchce.cmd.txt

Copy the following launcher script to the directory you extracted the setup to. You'll need to rename the file from launchce.cmd.txt to launchce.cmd


Once you have that set up, just copy the entire D:\PortableCE folder over to your USB keychain.

To launch the emulator, just plug in your USB keychain, navigate to the PortableCE folder, and run launchce.cmd. You should (hopefully) have the emulator fire up.

How to hack-change your Windows XP Boot Screen

How to hack/change your Windows XP Boot Screen

HACKING THE XP BOOT SCREEN

This is a very simple trick to do if you have done the same for the logon screen and the start button. There are 2 ways to do this trick that I know about one is doing it manually and the other is using a program called bootxp. I am going to tell you the manual way to do it, but if you want to know the other way just let me know, so I can do an update to the guide. Now once you have downloaded your ntoskrnl.exe file save it a general location so that you will have easy access to it, like my folder.

Once you have ntoskrnl.exe file in an easy access folder, restart your pc into safe mode. Once into safe mode go to the folder where your files are located.

Now that you are there copy the file that you want to change your boot screen too. Once you have copied that file, hit the window key + r or type %windir%\system32 in the run command, so that folder as follows.

Once there paste your new file into the folder and overwrite the existing folder.

Now that you have your new file in the folder restart your pc as you normally would and your new boot screen should appear. You can download this bootscreen here.

ALWAYS BACKUP EVERYTHING YOU EDIT OR DELETE. I'M NOT RESPONSIBLE IF YOU MESS YOUR COMPUTER UP BY DOING THIS HACK OR ANY TYPE OF HACK. DO IT AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Image and ntoskrnl.exe files provided by www.themexp.org

or


u can go to

code:

http://www.overclockersclub.com/guides/hackxpbootscreen.php

onlyeducation

How To Hack Windows Xp Admin Passwords

How to hack Windows XP Admin Passwords the easy way by Estyle, Jaoibh


and Azrael.


------------------------------------------------------------------------------


This hack will only work if the person that owns the machine


has no intelligence. This is how it works:


When you or anyone installs Windows XP for the first time your


asked to put in your username and up to five others.


Now, unknownst to a lot of other people this is the only place in


Windows XP that you can password the default Administrator Diagnostic


Account. This means that to by pass most administrators accounts


on Windows XP all you have to do is boot to safe mode by pressing F8


during boot up and choosing it. Log into the Administrator Account


and create your own or change the password on the current Account.


This only works if the user on setup specified a password for the


Administrator Account.

This has worked for me on both Windows XP Home and Pro.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------


Now this one seems to be machine dependant, it works randomly(don't know why)

If you log into a limited account on your target machine and open up a dos prompt


then enter this set of commands Exactly:


(this appeared on www.astalavista.com a few days ago but i found that it wouldn't work


on the welcome screen of a normal booted machine)


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------


cd\ *drops to root


cd\windows\system32 *directs to the system32 dir


mkdir temphack *creates the folder temphack


copy logon.scr temphack\logon.scr *backsup logon.scr


copy cmd.exe temphack\cmd.exe *backsup cmd.exe


del logon.scr *deletes original logon.scr


rename cmd.exe logon.scr *renames cmd.exe to logon.scr


exit *quits dos


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------


Now what you have just done is told the computer to backup the command program


and the screen saver file, then edits the settings so when the machine boots the


screen saver you will get an unprotected dos prompt with out logging into XP.


Once this happens if you enter this command minus the quotes


"net user <admin account name here> password"


If the Administrator Account is called Frank and you want the password blah enter this


"net user Frank blah"


and this changes the password on franks machine to blah and your in.

Have fun


p.s: dont forget to copy the contents of temphack back into the system32 dir to cover tracks


Any updates, Errors, Suggestions or just general comments mail them to either

goodluck...only education

Get the Most Out of Your DVD Recorder

Get the Most Out of Your DVD Recorder

I admit it: I'm a former tape-a-holic. When I began using a VCR some 20 years ago (I ended up teaching Mom and Dad how to program the darn thing back then), I got hooked on the idea of creating my own video library, replete with everything from "Star Trek" episodes to gymnastics competitions.

Recently, however, I stopped recording video on tape and switched to DVD--and I haven't looked back. But after using several DVD recorders, I've identified some quirks and frustrations that are specific to frequent users like myself. Recording to DVD is very different from recording to tape; you encounter new types of hassles ranging from pesky so-called disc preparation times to annoying delays in ejecting discs and the challenge of creating visually appealing menus. The tips that follow are geared towards hardcore videophiles (you know who you are), but they're also applicable to the most casual user.

1. Choosing the Best Recorder for TV

If you've already bought your DVD recorder, skip to tip 2. But if you haven't, be prepared to be confused by a torrent of acronyms and options. DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD-RAM, EPGs ... and you thought buying an HDTV would be confusing.

When you walk into a store, chances are you won't be able to tell the differences between the slim DVD recorders gracing the shelves--at least, not at a glance. On the outside, they look virtually identical. And the only additional information you might get from the price tag or label is what format the recorder supports and whether it has a hard drive.

Don't stress so much about the formats. No single manufacturer supports all of the formats available; a couple of makers come close (Lite-On, Sony), supporting all but DVD-RAM. The - and + formats are quite similar, and either will get the recording job done.

I've personally observed that the - format discs tend to take longer to initialize and finalize. By longer, I'm talking about anywhere from 5 to 120 seconds, depending upon the unit--enough to be incredibly annoying when you're sitting in front of the TV, your finger eagerly hovering over the record button to start a recording, or the eject button so you can swap discs without missing any action.

If your goal is to record a lot of TV shows, then I can't recommend highly enough a DVD recorder with integrated TiVo service. Humax, Pioneer, and Toshiba all offer such recorders, which combine a hard drive of 80GB or greater with a DVD burner, and, of course, the TiVo service. The full-blown TiVo service costs extra ($299 for the lifetime of the unit, on top of the cost of the recorder) and adds two-week's worth of program guides, a season-pass feature that records all episodes of a show so you never miss your favorites, and artificial intelligence that finds and records programs you might enjoy. (A free limited version of TiVo's software that downloads electronic programming information for the next three days is integrated into these units at no added cost.)

I don't make this recommendation just because of TiVo's personalized recording features and friendly graphical interface. The reason I suggest going this route is that these recorders have an amazing capacity to automatically create navigational menus. All of the program data in TiVo's electronic program guide--as well as TiVo's visual menu navigation structure--conveniently transfers over to any disc you burn.

DVD recorders are typically limited in what they can do to label menus. When you record a disc, you end up with a generically labeled index, with thumbnails for each recording or "title" on the disc, and boring and uninformative labels like "Title 01" (with, perhaps, the time and date added for good measure). TiVo-enabled recorders, in contrast, provide disc menus with the series name, episode title, and even a program summary as well as the date and time of the recording. If you're recording to cheap write-once media, this feature is invaluable. If you're recording to rewritable media--which means you could conceivably edit the menu titles at some point--this capability is still a huge time-saver.

Avid videophiles who don't want to spring for TiVo should look for a DVD set-top unit with a high-capacity hard drive of 80GB or more and high-speed dubbing of at least 8X. So far, I've seen only one recorder with both high-speed dubbing capability and a high-capacity hard drive, but I imagine that more such units will be forthcoming--eventually.

Beware of units that bill themselves as having "high-speed" dubbing: In most cases, the manufacturer is using the term to denote recording speeds of 2X or 4X from the hard drive to DVD. Furthermore, some vendors are coming up with absurd-sounding dubbing speeds--for example, 32X, a number they derive based on how many hours' worth of recordings you can fit on a disc (8 hours at the lowest-quality recording mode), and the speed of the burner (4X in my example).

Where to start your search? I recommend browsing PC World's latest "Top 10 DVD Drives" chart:

http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,118249,tk,box,00.asp

2. Allow Extra Time

If you're preparing to record a program, budget a few extra minutes to get the unit ready. Believe me, the seconds add up--as I learned during my recording marathon of the Athens Olympiad. You need to factor in up to 30 seconds for the recorder to boot, about 10 to 20 seconds for the disc to spin up, and at least another 30 to 45 seconds for the recorder to prepare the disc for recording (your unit might say "initialize" or "format"). That's all before you can hit Record.

And when you're through recording, expect to wait 30 to 60 seconds to regain control of the recorder after you hit Stop. With some models, the delay occurs after you hit Eject. Either way, that delay could mean you'll miss the beginning of the next gymnast's routine--and none of this takes into account disc finalization, which can take another 30 seconds to 3 minutes, depending upon the disc's format and how much of it you've used.

3. Finalize, Finalize, Finalize

Disc finalization is the process that closes the disc so it can be read in other devices, such as a DVD player, DVD recorder, or DVD-ROM drive. It's also a process that bites. There, I've said it.

Finalization is the dirty little secret of DVD recorders: It's a time-consuming extra step that users of the venerable VCR don't expect. And it requires more effort than it should, due to poor menu design on DVD recorders. I've yet to see a recorder that makes this step truly easy--all of them bury it under a setup or menu item, and all of them require far too many clicks and layers considering this is a N-E-C-E-S-S-A-R-Y step for every write-once DVD-R or DVD+R you burn.

I recommend finalizing your disc as soon you're through recording. Due to quality issues, you'll likely record only a maximum of 2 hours of television per disc, which means that no more than two weeks will pass between finalization sessions. This way, when you go back to a recorded disc, it will be ready to play in any DVD player--whether it's the $30 Costco special in your bedroom or your laptop's DVD-ROM drive.

Caution: You might think you don't need to finalize if you don't have more than one DVD player or drive, and you plan on playing your DVD on your own recorder only. But what happens when, inevitably, you upgrade your recorder to a swankier, newer model? Or, even worse, when the model you're using now isn't working five years down the line? Then what? You'll be left with a library full of unreadable discs. Although you might be able to recover the raw video data from an unfinalized disc using a program like Infinadyne's CD/DVD Diagnostic, the process is tedious and time-consuming. Also, don't count on scavenging a backup unit off EBay in a few years: As I've learned, discs may not be interchangeable, even between two recorder decks bearing the same model number from the same manufacturer.

4. Don't Abuse Your Discs

It's easy to leave discs out of their cases, lying around or stacking up as you swap 'em out for a new one. But avoid that temptation--the dust will damage your discs, and you increase the chances of accidental scratches and scuffs.

Also, avoid leaving your recorded DVDs near a sunny window. The disc's dye layer is susceptible to light and heat; if either affects the disc, its data may become unreadable.

Finally, clean your discs carefully. Use a lint-free cloth, compressed air, or a liquid cleanser intended for use with DVD media. Dust and other airborne particles can scratch your disc, which could result in data loss. When cleaning with a lint-free cloth, stroke from the inside of the hub to the outside of the disc. Never use a circular motion from the inside out; and never use a tissue, paper towel, or other random rag.

For more on how to treat your discs, read


"Ten Tips for Durable DVDs":

http://www.pcworld.com/howto/article/0,aid,113716,tk,box,00.asp

5. Choose Your Media--and Labels--Wisely

A cheap spindle of media is tempting, but then you have to buy cases separately. And what cases to buy? Small plastic jewel cases? DVD movie-size cases? The combinations can be frustrating, at best.

Spindles are indeed affordable, but don't buy them without buying cases, too--and keep both stashed near your TV and DVD recorder setup, so you can easily grab a disc from the recorder and place it into its case. Otherwise, it's way too easy for stacks of discs to pile up--a no-no, as I note in tip 4.

Also, consider buying discs that come in oversized movie-style plastic cases. You'll pay a little more, but the convenience is worth it. Plus, you'll get a cardstock insert that you can use to create handwritten labels. If you get a high-speed dubbing unit, make sure you buy media that matches the recorder's speed.

If you do buy spindle media, keep in mind that the cases you buy in bulk may not have an insert on which you can scribble. If the case lack inserts, improvise with a piece of letter-size paper, folded over or cut up to fit accordingly. Spend a little more money, and you can get cardstock inserts.

There are a host of labeling software options out there to help you craft your labels. Read the following two "Burning Questions" columns for a comprehensive review of the subject:

"The Joy of Labeling":

http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,114423,tk,box,00.asp

"Is Labeling Software Worth the Hassle?":

http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,114848,tk,box,00.asp

But all of these options are going to require you to move your labeling operation over to the PC--something that may not work into your recording work flow.

Other PC-based labeling options include printable media that you can use with an inkjet printer. I'd stay away from adhesive labels, though: They're difficult to apply evenly, and could cause problems if the disc is poorly manufactured.

If you're trying to keep your labeling efforts nearer to your TV, I'd suggest using water-based pens to write on the discs, and on the label inserts, too, while you're at it. Another possibility: If your handwriting is barely better than chicken scrawl, then it's worth buying a battery-operated labeler, such as those offered by Brother or Casio. Both companies offer half-inch-wide labels that fit well along the spine of a DVD movie case.