I want to buy a new computer and I want to use it for working with video files. Converting DVD to avi, mpeg, etc., and vice versa (converting avi, mpeg to DVD). Plus I want to burn DVDs with these files. I want to know what type of system I need. How fast a processor, how much RAM, how much hard drive space, etc. The current laptop I have (1.8 processor, 512 RAM and 60gig HD) is very slow and takes hours to convert files. I also want to know if I need to get a desktop to work effectively with video, or if I can still get away with a laptop. My old laptop is an IBM thinkpad but I know IBM no longer makes them. Is Lenovo's product as good as the old IBM product, or should I consider a Dell? I have both Nero and Roxio. Is there a better (as in faster) software package out there to do this stuff? And one more question, I have a D-Link DSM-320RD media player. I have noticed it will play some avi files and not others. A freind gave me a DVD with 3 avi files and I had no problem playing them. When I tried using either Roxio or Nero to convert a DVD into avi and then subsequently burned the avi files onto a DVD, the player woudl not read them. Also some avi files I downloaded from the internet would not play in the DSM player either. Does anyone know if there is a special type of avi file that this player requires?
You seem o have a few questions so lets start with the easiest. To get a better result from your laptop, i.e faster times when encoding and burning (1hr for the encoding of a 700meg file +15 mins for the burning)you will need to get a faster chipset for your laptop and more ram will also help. You could increase your times marginally if you leave the process to do its thing and not surf the net, or have heaps of processors running except for the most basic that keep your pc functioning. Are these 2 software packages on your laptop at the same time? Its preferable that you have one or the other not both.You will need to uninstall both, use roxio zapper to clean up the residual roxio files and the use nero clean tools for the version you are running to clean up its residual files.Once that is accomplished reinstall the one you preferr.These 2 programs are known to conflict with each other and roxio also likes to cause havoc with your other software as well.Its happiest when it rules the roost. What have you used to convert your avi' files to mpeg2 ?
Faster chipset means faster processor? Should I be looking for the fastest processor I can afford? Can you give me an example of what I should be looking for when I compare the specs of differnt computers? Decode the jargon a little for me maybe? Yes I have both Nero and Roxio on the same laptop. Nero came with my DVD burner and I had Roxio already. In your opinion which is the better program? I have another laptop, I suppose I could have Nero on one and Roxio on the other. I have not converted my avi files to mpeg. What I did was use Roxio to make an avi file out of a DVD movie. I then took that avi file and burned it onto another DVD and put it in my media player. The files would not play. But I have another DVD with 3 avi files on it that a freind gave me and they play fine on my media player. So I am wondering if the avi files were encoded differently and what I would need to do to convert the avi files my player won't play, into the type it will. An avi to avi converter if you will. I want to try to store movies as avi files since I am running out of hard drive space. I figured I could convert all the regular DVD's to avi files and then I could burn several avi files onto 1 DVD, again to save space to and to "store" them somewhere. Also avi files that I download from the internt, I could burn those avi files onto DVDs to store them. Since of course just burning the avi file itself onto DVD take much less time than going through the process of converting avi to the actual DVD format itself. I thought I could get away with not having to convert the avi files to DVD format since my media player is supposed to be able to play avi files. At this point since I am a newbie I am not neccesarily concerned with the best quality of video. What I am sort of trying to do is amass a large collection of MST3K (mystery science theater 3000) movies that I can play on my media player which is hooked up to my large screen TV as a backdrop for parties. Very nerdy parties. So between MST3K DVDs I have borrowed and MST3K avi files I have downlowded from the internet my hard drive is rapidly running out of space. I was trying to avoid having to buy a new hard drive. But I might have to.
a new hard drive ios probably going to be the most inexpensive part.10 CENTS per meg if that these days, so a 80 gig would probably cost you around $60 aus.Compared to the time its going to take to burn all those files off. However you could consider burning all the files as raw data to a dual layered disc and just use that as storage until a better solution comes up.A dual layered disc can hold about 8.4 gig of data As to a faster chipset maybe look at a pentium 4 3.2gig chipset with 2gig of DDR2 RAM.That will probably require you to upgrade your existing motherboard to accomodate the changes in specs
