When I go into WMM, I find many of the functions unavailable (AVI capture, Framerate setting, and others), even though it's a free program. I have Windows Automatic Updates running, so I should have the latest version.

Also, I can't find an option for burning to DVD, only to CD or saving to HD. Any help?

BTW, I just bought Nero 9 but didn't open the box. Would that be a better editing program?

Is your device plugged in and recognized? Until the device is recognized many of those options won't always appear.

I plugged it in, and the AVI capture works, but the input level and framerate setting still aren't available.

Regarding Windows Movie Maker, I recall trying to burn to DVD without any success. It seems to be a very limited program.. Like using notepad instead of MS Office for text documentation.

Re NERO:
I have version 7 and find it extremely easy to use. I burned around 100 DVDs so far. I transcoded various formats including DivX to DVD and the finalized disks work on every DVD player I tried so far!.

If you decide to open Nero and have any questions - start a Nero thread and I’ll try to help you the best I can. Remember though I only have version 7 and only burn SD formats but I’m sure other members will chime in with help.

Regarding Windows Movie Maker, I recall trying to burn to DVD without any success. It seems to be a very limited program.. Like using notepad instead of MS Office for text documentation.

But why would some of the fuctions be unavailabe?


Re NERO:
I have version 7 and find it extremely easy to use. I burned around 100 DVDs so far. I transcoded various formats including DivX to DVD and the finalized disks work on every DVD player I tried so far!.

Did you ever burn from an analog source and solve the digital conversion-exaggerated camera pan/motion blur issue?

why would some of the fuctions be unavailabe?

Some functions could be dependant on the hardware you’re using? I don’t know, I gave up a long time ago trying to figure out Windows Movie Maker.

ever burn from an analog source and solve the digital conversion-exaggerated camera pan/motion blur issue?

I imported some analog tapes at work using a direct to DVD recorder (XP speed) then taking the DVD-RW disc to PC, using Nero to make menus and burn to DVD-R. Looks good. I did try a Dazzle DVD Recorder USB video capture devise but took it back the next day because the video looked very choppy, I may purchase a Hauppauge capture card as I hear they work good with Nero.

Your exaggerated camera pan/motion blur issue sounds like a hardware capture card problem. I know some of the lower end capture cards tend to be very, very choppy.

Also could be caused by using a low bit rate. Importing analog footage of fast pans requires a high bit rate as the pixels; the actual data is changing fast, making (P) prediction frames and or (B) Bidirectional frames almost useless for efficient compression. Since the Analog to Digital conversion is on the fly, in real time, two pass VBR for more efficient compression may not be possible – another reason to use a high bit rate.

I find the codecs in Nero to do a very reasonable job with any SD transcoding I have thrown at it.

Few quick tips I learned using Nero=7

1))) In video options choose “NTSC”, not NTSC-Canada.

2))) Disable “Nero Smart Encoding” as this could cause sync issues.

3))) Encoding Mode - Always use 2-pass-VBR, it’s slower but better quality. May not be possible for on the fly analog capture.

4))) Don’t use “fit to disc” bit rate setting, as it doesn’t always calculate properly. Use “custom” and calculate bit-rate ratio to fit into 4.35 GB.