Have you ever run into the situation where you have a desire to share your latest family vacation video with friends and family, but you can't do it because it's too big to email? Or would you simply like to watch it comfortably seated on the sofa using your new home theater system? If this is the case, the simplest solution is to burn the movie to a DVD. This is a very simple process that can be done by anyone.
Steps
Method 1 of 2: Windows systems
Step 1. Get a blank DVD
The first step is to buy a blank optical disc on which to burn the video in question. You can find one in any supermarket or electronics store for less than € 1 or you can choose to buy a pack of 10 units for less than € 10 (depending on the type and quality of construction).
You can choose between two types of discs in terms of capacity: 4GB or 8GB. The choice is obviously determined by the size of the video you want to burn. A 4GB DVD has enough capacity to accommodate an hour and a half long movie; if the duration is longer, you will have to use an 8 GB disk
Step 2. Insert the DVD into your computer's burner
If you are using a desktop system, the burner is usually installed in the upper front of the case. If you are using a laptop, you should find it along the right side of the case (the location can still vary depending on the make and model of the device in use). Press the button on the optical player to allow the ejection of the trolley and then be able to insert the DVD in its slot.
If your system does not have a DVD burner, as is the case with notebooks and some Mac models, you will need to purchase an external USB optical drive. You can do it in any computer and electronics store for a price of a few tens of euros. In this case you will not have to install any driver, simply connect it to a USB port on the computer so that the latter can start using it immediately without any problem
Step 3. Burn the files
After inserting the blank DVD into the player, the "Auto Play" window should appear on the screen listing some options related to the use you can make of it. Choose the "Burn files to disc" option. This will bring up the "Burn Disc" window.
Step 4. Type the name you want to assign to the DVD using the text field that appears
Now choose the "With a CD / DVD player" option. After the burn process is complete, the disc will be playable by most living room DVD players or installed on computers.
Press the "Next" button to continue. The contents of the DVD inserted into the burner will be displayed in a new window
Step 5. Navigate to the folder on your computer where the video you want to copy to optical media is stored
Locate the file, select it with the mouse and drag it into the DVD drive window on your computer. This way the file will be prepared for burning.
Step 6. Press the "Write to Disc" button located in the upper left corner of the DVD drive window
This will bring up the new "Write to Disc" window.
Step 7. Burn the files to DVD
Inside the "Write to disc" window you will find a text field in which you will have to re-type the name you want to assign to the disc.
- Do not change the default "Recording speed" as Windows chooses the optimal one based on the DVD inserted in the recorder and the performance of the recorder.
- Press the "Next" button to start the process of writing data to disk.
Step 8. Wait for the burning process to finish
At this point, press the "Finish" button to automatically eject the DVD from the player.
Method 2 of 2: Mac OS X systems
Step 1. Get a blank DVD
The first step to take is to purchase a blank optical disc on which to burn the video in question. You can buy one at any supermarket or electronics store for less than € 1, or you can choose a 10-unit pack for less than € 10 (depending on the type and build quality).
You can choose between two types of discs in terms of capacity: 4GB or 8GB. The choice is obviously determined by the size of the video you want to burn. A 4GB DVD has enough capacity to accommodate an hour and a half long movie; if the duration is longer, you will have to use an 8 GB disk
Step 2. Insert the DVD into your computer's burner
If you are using a desktop system, the burner is usually installed in the upper front of the case. If you are using a laptop, you should find it along the right side of the case. Press the button on the optical player to allow the ejection of the trolley and then be able to insert the DVD in its slot.
If your system does not have a DVD burner, you will need to purchase an external USB optical drive. You can do it in any computer and electronics store for a price of a few tens of euros. In this case you will not have to install any driver, simply connect it to a USB port on the computer so that the latter can start using it immediately without any problem
Step 3. Download the "Burn" application
This program allows you to copy files and documents on your Mac to a DVD disc.
- You can download the software from the following URL:
- After downloading and installing the program, select the "Burn" icon (characterized by a black and yellow circle) in the "Applications" folder to start it.
Step 4. Go to the "Video" tab (it is one of the four options shown at the top of the program window)
Type the name you want to assign to the disc using the appropriate text field. You can use a set of alphanumeric characters to compose the disc title.
Step 5. Select the drop-down menu next to the name text field
This way you will be able to choose the type of DVD you want to create. Choose the "DVD Video" option from the menu that appears, as this is exactly the type of media you want to generate.
Step 6. Enter the "Burn" menu
It is located at the top left of the menu bar, so choose "Preferences" from the drop-down menu that appeared.
Step 7. Choose the "DVD Video" tab, located at the top of the window, to view the configuration options relating to this type of optical media
Select the "Region" drop-down menu, then choose the "PAL" option (this is the video standard adopted by most European countries, including Italy).
These settings are used to configure the correct format that will be used by the program to create the DVD, so that it can be played by normal players marketed in areas where the PAL video standard is adopted. To close the program configuration options window, press the red button in the upper left corner
Step 8. Navigate to the folder on your computer where the video you want to copy to optical media is stored
Locate the file, select it with the mouse and drag it into the "Burn" application window. Wait a few moments to give the program time to load the file to burn.
If after uploading the video you see a message stating that the chosen file is not compatible, simply press the "Convert" button so that it is automatically converted to a format that the application can handle
Step 9. Press the "Burn" button located in the lower right corner of the window to continue the burning process
Within the screen that appears, you can select the writing speed with which the DVD will be burned. Use the "Speed" drop-down menu to select the "4x" option.
- This way you can be sure that the video is copied to the DVD using the correct writing speed and without compromising its quality. Press the "Burn" button again to start the burning process.
- When the disc creation phase is finished, a shortcut icon for the newly created DVD will appear on the desktop.
