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Mastering DVDs

Homemade DVDs don't have to look homemade. Here's how to create slick discs that hold more than video and that work in any player.

Edward B. Driscoll, Jr.

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The Living-Room Option: Use a DVD Recorder

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Photograph: Marc Simon
PCs are great tools for editing and preparing video for inclusion on a DVD, but component-style DVD burners can be mighty convenient. Some burners can do double duty: archiving TV shows off the cable or satellite set-top box (or TiVo), as well as importing, editing, and archiving camcorder footage.

Many home-theater DVD recorders have front audio and video inputs for quickly attaching an analog camcorder; and some newer models, like Pioneer's DVR-533H-S, also include a FireWire DV input, which--like Premiere Elements on a FireWire-equipped PC--lets you make a digital copy of your footage, thus maintaining its pristine digital quality.

The DVR-533H-S's 80GB hard drive allows you to store and edit down multiple DV tapes for burning onto a single disc.

The $400 recorder includes a few editing functions, too: You can delete scenes and tighten up the timing of shots via the Disc Navigator Screen. But don't expect the level of flexibility you'd have with the PC. You can't customize menus as extensively as with Premiere Elements--or make them as pretty or graphics-rich--and you can't include documents with your video. Also, setting the text of the titles and menus by pressing the Up and Down buttons on the handheld remote is much more laborious than typing the same text on a keyboard.

Edward B. Driscoll, Jr., has been writing about technology for more than a decade. Visit his Web site at www.eddriscoll.com.

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