wrote:
> I would like to download some movies to burn to
> disk. They will be
> shown on a twenty inch LCD TV\monitor from the
> built-in DVD.
Is this a computer monitor, or a "real" TV ? (Might
possibly make a difference . . . )
> I have Audio-Data CD\DVD, Nero, and DVD Shrink;
> which I use to burn
> ripped movies.
>
> Can anyone recommend a DL source?
If you happen to be a Netflix subscriber, a certain
(at the moment relatively small) percentage of their
offerings are available to view as online streaming
video. That does not automatically mean you can
*record* it, but there are ways and there are ways.
(Earlier, I told you about Orbit Downloader -- which
is free -- but there are several others. Some online
video content can hide from you, but there are various
tools like this one, with which you can usually
uncover where it *actually* resides, and pry it
loose.)
> What format(s) are DL movies?
Various formats: WMV, QuickTime (*.MOV), even Real
Media sometimes (*.RM). FLV (Flash Video) seems to be
becoming predominant online, perhaps due to higher
compression and smaller file size. It may be the only
format on YouTube now (?) Unfortunately, the quality
of FLV is pretty bad, too much of the time. I'm told
this is not inherently a product of the codec, but has
more to do with things like the bitrate of the
encoding.
> What is DivX?
Going from memory here -- you may need to check
Wikipedia or somewhere to confirm this -- but I
believe it is another MPEG variant, as is its
analogue, XVID. That is, another popular codec that
seeks to offer decent quality with good compression
for file xfers.
In terms of quality that might compete with a
commercial DVD, I think we are talking about the
Sorenson codec that was used in earlier QuickTime
versions, or H.264, which is being used now. A lot of
stuff you could download off the 'Net today --
particularly if it happens to be FLV, DivX, Xvid, or
even .AVI -- will need to be converted first with
something like FFMPEG (free) or ConvertX2DVD (not
free), before it will play on most standalone DVD
players.
Nero is fine for making data DVDs, much less than fine
for many other tasks. (I do think its Copy DVD
feature is convenient and o.k. though, but it won't
work on any copy protected material.) The best
burning solution available now is IMGBURN, which is
versatile and free.
> What is the typical process for burning a DL movie.
First, you have to capture it to your hard drive.
(Better have good broadband for that.) Where you will
get it from may be a problem, as a lot of this stuff
is still in the illegal warez category, and strictly a
P2P proposition. Some broadcast networks are making
certain shows available online (for streaming /
viewing, not intended for recording), for brief
periods of time. For full-length movies, I'm not so
sure . . . although there are emerging services like
HULU that likely have designs in this area. AtomFilms
is a very good source for shorts, frequently in much
better quality than you're likely to find on YouTube.
Depending on the format, you *may* have to do some
conversion along the lines mentioned above. (Quality
is frequently lost, in this step.) Or, if you're just
going to watch it on your computer monitor via your
computer, the demands are far less; there are various
Dark Side players that will play all sorts of things,
even unconverted. If you intend to play it on a
standalone DVD player, connected to a tv, the disc
content must meet the DVD spec. That means you must
have .VOB, .TS, .IFO, and .BUP files, arrayed in a
particular structure. (Let's cross that bridge a bit
later, if it applies.) Exception: *a few* standalone
players can play *some* WMV, AVI, or Divx files *just
as they are.* But you are apt to find this rather hit
or miss.
Once you have appropriate contents in an appropriate
structure, you would burn your DVD. If you had to
convert your material, and were using a one-stop-shop
tool like ConvertX, it would handle all this for you.
Feel free to ask more questions. Maybe Jerry will
have other comment on this.
Jordan
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