How to Make DVD Movies from Any Video File

This article is a continuation of a previous article, "How to Convert VHS to DVD Format."

This article describes how to How to Make Any Video File play in a DVD Player using Ashampoo Movie Shrink and Burn, which is currently on sale through our web site at 35% off.

The steps below apply to virtually ANY video format -- including downloaded movies and video from the Internet, or your freshly ported VHS videos on the computer.

How to Convert Any Video file into DVD Format

With Movie Shrink and Burn (MSAB), converting any video file into DVD format is easy.

Here are the steps:

1. Launch MSAB. Select device movie is for (Internet, PC, DVD player, PDA). In this case, choose DVD Player (as seen in picture to the right).

2. On the next screen, choose "DVD files (Video_TS format)" and click Next.

3. Choose NTSC or PAL format (NTSC = North American, PAL = European).

4. Choose target size. Since DVD recordables are 4.7GB in size, type in "4700" in the "target" field as your target size.

5. Click the "Add" button and pick the files you want to add to DVD.

6. Click Next and set up your menus. Note you can click Next to skip this part and have MSAB do it for you.

7. Click the Next button and choose where to save your DVD file. Save it to a temporary directory (example c:\temp). If the name of your compilation is "My Movie", the folder location will be "c:\temp\My Movie". MSAB will then notify you when the conversion is complete. The resulting will have new folders containing "AUDIO_TS" and "VIDEO_TS".

8. Burn (copy) the contents of your compilation onto DVD recordable. IMPORTANT: only place the folders "AUDIO_TS" and "VIDEO_TS" into the root directory (the base directory) of the DVD, otherwise the DVD won't play. Click here to see an example picture of how to do it.

You can use any DVD burning program to record your DVD. We recommend you use Ashampoo Burning Studio 9 (choose "data DVD" when burning, not DVD disc as it's already been converted for you).

9. When the burn is done, eject the disc from your recorder. Re-insert the disc into your PC. It should play automatically because the PC should recognize it as a DVD. If this is the case, it should work with on your DVD player (if you have one attached to a TV). I tested all of the above steps myself and made my own DVD while writing this tutorial.

For more info on Movie Shrink and Burn 3, plus an exclusive 35% discount, see:

Ashampoo Movie Shrink and Burn 3 Review with 35% Discount

Note: 35% discount ends March 21st!

Movie Shrink and Burn 3 Works with Windows 7

MSAB works on Windows 7, even though Ashampoo hasn't yet confirmed it works with Windows 7 (their site currently says it's compatible with Windows XP and Vista only, but they're looking into Windows 7 compatibility at the time of this writing).

I have personally used Movie Shrink and Burn 3 extensively on two of my Windows 7 PCs and haven't had any errors or crashes since I've used it (and we use it often). If you're looking for any easy to use video conversion program, this program is definitely it. Once again, the review is here:

Ashampoo Movie Shrink and Burn 3 Review with 35% Discount

Note: 35% discount ends March 21st! All proceeds support our website.

Thanks for your support!