External DVD Burners

[awsmith4]

Can any one enlighten me on what to buy?

I have a bunch of kids movies on Itunes that my kids can watch on the computer or linked to the tv but I want to take them in the car as well. I am looking for the best for the lowest price. The quality of the picture does not have to be over the top as long as the thing works when I want it to.

[RGD.]

The majority of them run anywhere from $30 to $50 or so. I bought a LITE-ON from Newegg for around $35 as I remember. Most all of them will be about 8x on the DVD burning side so apart from looks and the name plate there really isn't a whole lot of difference in them.

Pretty much just pick one on price and go with it.


Ron

[awsmith4]

Originally Posted by RGD.

The majority of them run anywhere from $30 to $50 or so. I bought a LITE-ON from Newegg for around $35 as I remember. Most all of them will be about 8x on the DVD burning side so apart from looks and the name plate there really isn't a whole lot of difference in them.

Pretty much just pick one on price and go with it.


Ron

Thank you Ron, that is what I needed to hear. I kept seeing a swing in price but features seemed the same, I was making sure I wasn't overlooking some important feature.

[rack04]

If these were purchased from iTunes then the format is likely MP4 with H.264 video and AAC audio. You will need to convert these files to a format that is compatible with DVD standards, i.e. VOB/IFO with MPEG2 video and AC3 audio.

[awsmith4]

Originally Posted by rack04

If these were purchased from iTunes then the format is likely MP4 with H.264 video and AAC audio. You will need to convert these files to a format that is compatible with DVD standards, i.e. VOB/IFO with MPEG2 video and AC3 audio.

Ok so how does one convert a file?

[RGD.]

Originally Posted by awsmith4

Ok so how does one convert a file?

I use DVDFab but it's a bit pricey. You might try the AVS4YOU.com software but what ever you do - try before you buy any of them. And oh yeah - Xilisoft Video Converter - is what I used before DVDFab and it worked well.


Ron

[rack04]

Originally Posted by awsmith4

Ok so how does one convert a file?

I use all free software so I can control everything. I use MP4Box to demux the audio and video from the MP4 container, AviSynth to frame serve the audio and video, HCEnc for the MPEG2 encoding, AFTEN for the AC3 encoding, MuxMan for the DVD authoring, and ImgBurn for the burning.

[RGD.]

Was thinking about all of this and I have a question: as you have iTunes what type of iPod do you have? If you have say an iTouch it seems it may be easier just to transfer the movies to the iTouch and then connect it using an A/V cable to your input (TV?) in your car. May not be the best picture quality but should be okay for the kids. That way you won't have to worry about all the converting problems that come with iTunes. Just a thought.


Ron

[kgoings]

Originally Posted by RGD.

Was thinking about all of this and I have a question: as you have iTunes what type of iPod do you have? If you have say an iTouch it seems it may be easier just to transfer the movies to the iTouch and then connect it using an A/V cable to your input (TV?) in your car. May not be the best picture quality but should be okay for the kids. That way you won't have to worry about all the converting problems that come with iTunes. Just a thought.


Ron