maren

I have an HP laptop and need to buy an external DVD drive. I am confused with all the options out there. DVD writer---reader/writer----USB 2.0----USB 3.0. I have watched over a hundred hours of family movies and I'm having Costco transfer them to DVD's. Need to edit them and make copies, as well as playing a DVD. Any help would be appreciated. Maren

twowindsbear

why don't ya do some editing first? why pay to copy movies that you'll delete? you'll need a writer to create the actual DVDs. as I understand it, USB 3 is faster than 2, IF your computer has it and can support it. good luck!

Rick-ws Loc: Seattle or North Idaho

USB 3 ports on you computer often have a blue tongue (My term). Or look at the computer's specifications sheet. I
You can't go wrong getting a usb3 DVD writer it will work fine on usb2 ports.

Morning Star Loc: West coast, North of the 49th N.

External DVD reader/writers are not very expensive any more: I bought a USB 3.0 one a few weeks ago for a mere CA$35.00. It is backwards compatible, meaning that if your computer has a USB 2.0 port, it will still play.

Maren, the editing is done on your computer, with a movie/video editing program.
Here's what I did with the "collected" videos taken by myself and a number of guests at the weddings of our sons:

The computer I was using did have a DVD drive built-in, but a number of the clips were sent to me as wav. or other video format files, by e-mail. Only three or four sent on DVD.
So, I started by copying ALL of them to a folder on the computer's hard drive.
Then edited each separate clip, mostly to content. Even managed to join two clips from two different cameras, and used the sound-track to join them seamlessly.
Finally, when I was happy with all the clips, I put them into chronological order in PSEPremiere and rendered the movie. Once that was done, I simply copied it to a DVDs to give to the bride and groom and guests. Time-consuming? Yes. Fun to do? Absolutely! Happy I did it? You bet!


If you haven't done much/any video work on the computer, may I suggest you have a look at www.muvipix.com
Twice now, I have bought their "Learning basic" plan - 2 months subscription for $19.95, and learned (and downloaded) a lot in those two months! Very well worth the price.

Here's to wishing you success with your editing! Have fun!

Steve DeMott Loc: St. Louis, Missouri (Oakville area)

Buy a Blu-ray external read/write (LG R/W around $120.00). If your computer has USB 3.0, all the better. Blu-Ray will record DVDs and CDs if needed. Blu-Ray holds 24 GB (50 pk Verbatin BD-R 6x $40.00) of information compared to DVD @ 4.7 GB (50 pk Verbatin DVD-R 16x $17.00) and CD .7 GB (50 pk Verbatin CD-R 52x $9.00).

You didn't say what medium your family movies were on, I'll assume it's VHS tape. Here's a couple of ways to transfer movies.

1. DVD Recorder/VHS VCR Combination Unit. https://www.lifewire.com/dvd-recorder-vhs-vcr-combination-1846611

2. Connect A VCR to a PC Via a Video Capture Device. https://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=video+capture+device&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=234331669346&hvpos=1t1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=18287314761128395303&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=e&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9052587&hvtargid=kwd-296636884690&ref=pd_sl_3j9allup36_e_p37

I've had some decent luck with these a few years back. I would do some research on these before buying. Some are way better then others.

3. Last would be to have it done professionally. Again do some research as to how they transfer videos. Might be using the equipment you can buy for half what they charge.

last is transferring the movie to disk. https://www.dvdfab.cn/tips/how-to-make-your-own-blu-ray-disc.htm

https://www.howtogeek.com/310705/how-to-burn-any-video-file-to-a-playable-blu-ray-disc/


Hope this helps and good luck.

---Steve

maren

Thanks. that answers my usb question.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

You want a drive that both reads and writes (burns), and the prices are much lower than they were years ago. 3.0 is better than 2.0, especially if your computer has 3.0. If not, buy 3.0 anyway, and your next computer will have it.

https://smile.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=dvd+burners&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Advd+burners

maren

Thanks jerryc41. Don't know how you can provide a website reference to any subject that is brought up. I love it. Thanks for your time. Maren

maren

Thanks Morning Star. Appreciate the website and your explanation. I am anxious to see what I can learn from the website. I will have fun when I can figure out what I am doing. Maren

tonybear

Thanks Maren. In general, it's best to edit your family movies before creating a DVD. DVD creation is considered the final step, where you want to share your final results with family and friends. That final DVD can either be a DVD,or a Blu-Ray, depending on what your computer is set up with. My recommendation is an external USB 3.-0 BluRay burner. Blu-ray players are fairly common these days, so whatever you create on your Blu-ray burner will be compatible with the universe of players out there. You will also need a good DVD/Blu-ray editing/authoring application for your PC. For editing, I recommend Cyberlink's Power Director series- the Ultimate Version. It's relatively easy enough to use. Now from the DVD transfers you are having made for you, you will have to extract the individual video files and import them into the Cyberlink Director application. From there you can further edit and create your final version, and then burn your release version DVD or BluRay DVD. I too would only recommend Verbatim DVD blank media or Blu-ray media. It's worth the price difference. Good luck on your journey, it's a worthwhile one.