Nero DVD Burning MadDog

Hi, Fellow Newbies! Happy New Year! My New Year’s Resolution is “I WILL LEARN HOW TO BURN DVDs!!!”

The above Subject Line contains the keywords to my question. I have seen a few threads containing the topic but have yet to find something helpful. Also, my question is multi-faceted since I tried to go ahead and see if I could figure things on my own and came across other problems.

So, the story goes that I had bought and had CompUSA install a MadDog MegaStor 6-in-1 Double Layer DVD Burner in my HP Pavilion 750n. Nero6 Ultra Edition was included and installed. Later on, in hopes of fixing the situation, I also downloaded, installed and currently run Nero 6.6.01 and VisionExpress 3 SE 3.0.1.4 from the Nero website.

When I tried to burn video that I had captured from a Panasonic DV Camcorder, Nero 6 (under the "Photo and Video" option) DID NOT have the following options as specified in the manual:
"Make a DVD Slide Show"
"Make your own DVD-Video"
"Make or modify DVD+VR"

Although it had a "Burn DVD-Video files" option that was not mentioned in the manual.
And when I did try this option, NeroExpress checked in the “CapturedVideo” folder for the file but did not recognize the *.avi file that Nero had captured from my DV camcorder. I re-checked the capturing process and Nero only allows me to burn captured video onto my hard drive either as a *.avi-1 or 2, and not the file types NeroExpress was looking for (*.bup,*.vob, *.ifo).

Another piece of information is that when I either try to burn a DVD, it only seems to allow me to burn VCDs, not DVDs. Instead, I would get a message saying that I need to get “Video-DVD” plug-in for $30. I get the same message when I try to play a DVD using Nero.

So, one question that could address all my issues is: Did the Nero 6 version that came with the MadDog DVD Burner come with DVD functionality? And if it did not, then I do have to buy this “Video-DVD” plug-in. Can anyone confirm this? A couple of clues that would lead me to think this are that (1) the manual says a DVD-Video plug-in was “optional” and (2) the jacket that cmae with the Nero 6 Ultra Edition says that it contained special versions of VisionExpress 2 SE and Showtime that do not support SVCD and DVD-Video. What irks me, if this is true, is that the whole point of getting a DVD burner was so I could burn DVDs! Why would Nero provide a program that fails to do this?!? I guess it could just be a teaser and I would really need to buy the DVD burning program separately from the burner. CompUSA was telling me that I should be able to burn DVDs with the program I got but I think they do not know what they’re talking about, especially since this is just one of several programs on several hardware of several brands they sell, that I think the guy was just talking nonsense.

Well, I do hope I gave you enough specifics here to understand my situation. Hope you could help. Thanks.

 

I did preface my other post with an apology. I just could not let that opportunity pass, being that the individual who started the other thread had the exact same problem I had. I would refrain multi-posting again. Sorry about that.

 

Well, that answers my question. Thanks for enlightening me. What does OEM stand for?

Since I am buying the full program, is Nero 6 the best choice for DVD burning? And where does Shrink come in? I see that Shrink is pretty popular here.

 

Thanks, flip.
I realized now that you suggested I "upgrade" from OEM to full Nero, rather than buying Nero outright. Where do I buy an upgrade? And does this count as an actual upgrade since I am moving from OEM to 6 and not, say, 5 to 6?

 

OK, flip. So, I bought the upgrade. How exactly do I use this seial number to upgrade my OEM to a 6 Ultra Edition? It was telling me about unlocking a demo, but I do not have a demo. I was going to download a demo and it sent me to the download of 6.6.03. But I seem to remember downloading an earlier version (6.6.01) that did not have DVD-Video capabilities. Am I doing this right?

 

That's the site they sent me to. Anyway, I am downloading 6.6.03 as we speak. Then, when do I get to use the serial number I just purchased?
Thanks.

 

flip,
Well, I went ahead and installed Nero 6.6.3, still not knowing when I would use the upgrade code I had bought. But, lo and behold, Installation Wizard prompted me for the code, the most recent code in the box being the one off of the OEM CD. And it worked! Thanks for the help! I just wanted to report back to finish this thread with an informative ending, so folks would know what to do if they had the same problem with Nero and MadDog. I'll try using the program soon so the plot thickens.

 

EbolaZ there is an other software you may want to pick up it's DVD43,it will help you when you start backing up your dvd.This program runs in the background and overrides copy-protection mechanisms found on DVDs.

the link here is for the freewareversion: http://www.dvd43.com/
you may also want to check out DVD Shrink andDVD Decrypter (Bouth also Freeware).

Good Luck Burning.

 

Red Ant, What did the Pink Panther say when he saw an ant?

I still haven't burnt a DVD. I got distracted by work. What does DVD Shrink and Decrypter do now? Also, what does DVD43 do exactly?
BTW, I am getting this message on Nero 6 saying that I am working on a video that does not fit a standard DVD, and do I want to switch to DVD 9 or something. What does that mean exactly? I am assuming it means the size of the file? Since I am still streamlining the video (breaking it down into chapter, cutting out video, etc) won't the final video be eventually smaller and could then fit a regular DVD? Am I in err here?