Stupid things in software



  • Okay, so I am currently encoding some content from a .avi source into a mpeg2 dvd compliant disk using a product by Nero, called Nerovision. Basically you throw it the files and create a menu etc, and it generates a dvd disk that will play in a standard player, assuming you can read those disks in your unit.

    All very well and good.

    Now, this encode is taking a while, and i've got a considerable amount of content to encode - so I thought, why don't I install the software on my flatmates machine, his machine is similarly spec'ed - 2x the cpu, I can encode 2 lots of content at once and it should only take half as long (total time).

    Wrong. He doesn't have a dvd burner in his machine, so when I start nerovision, it doesn't allow me to create a dvd project, for the purposes of creating a .iso file I can then flick across the network and burn (the encode is what takes the time, not the burn - I could have screeds of machines creating iso files)

    Here's the problem.

    I've done a bit of looking on the net for virtual dvd drives etc, and wasn't able to find anything. I found ONE virtual cdrw drive, which does exactly what I just described above, but for cds, but NOTHING for dvd.

    Anyone got any other suggestions?
    I have 3+ machines that could be encoding right now, and only one with a dvd burner, which is currently the only one that can do the crunching.
    All the machines are running windows xp.



  • Is there no other DVD encoding software around? By my reckoning,

    this is a Nero WTF - it assumes all users are idiots who don't even

    know what an .iso file is. Does it let you burn one, at least?



    A quick look on the net returned an open source DivX encoder, if it

    helps (see http://labs.divx.com/DrDivX). I gather Mpeg2 encoders are

    normally very expensive, but check out http://www.doom9.org/ - it

    looks like a pretty comprehensive resource.



    Hope this helps,

    Felix




  • Normal Nero has the Image Recorder which shows up under 'Choose
    Recorder' - I was able to install Nero and create .nrg or .iso files on
    a machine without a real burner with no problems in the past.



    I'm surprised Nerovision doesn't have the same - check if the setting is hiding somewhere.




  • The image recorder was available but not for DVD modes because the machine in question didn't have a dvd writer installed.

    Upon thinking this problem through logically, I went into the options for nerovision and discovered a "enable all supported formats for the image writer" and low-and-behold, the DVD options appeared in the software.

    I don't know why I didn't look there earlier, but you know.. that's why this is a WTF.

    Yes, Nero itself has an "image writer" virtual drive, but you can only write to the formats which your physical writers support (or cd if you have none) unless you enable this option which is off by default.

    Makes sense for the less-technical users out there I guess.



  • @agrath said:

    The image recorder was available but not for DVD modes because the machine in question didn't have a dvd writer installed.

    Upon thinking this problem through logically, I went into the options for nerovision and discovered a "enable all supported formats for the image writer" and low-and-behold, the DVD options appeared in the software.

    I don't know why I didn't look there earlier, but you know.. that's why this is a WTF.

    Yes, Nero itself has an "image writer" virtual drive, but you can only write to the formats which your physical writers support (or cd if you have none) unless you enable this option which is off by default.

    Makes sense for the less-technical users out there I guess.



    Ah - yes I'd forgotten about that switch too. But Nero doesn't enable DVD compilation by default when installing it on a machine even with a DVD writer. I remember fumbling around in the settings trying to figure out why I couldn't create a DVD compilation when there was clearly a drive installed. doh!.

    Admittedly, it was an older copy of Nero... *cough*


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