[Five]

Originally Posted by AAR.oner

always use Nero Burning ROM...*not* nero express, etc...

to burn a "watchable" copy [i.e. on yer home dvd player]:
--open Nero Burning ROM
--select "DVD-Video" as yer project type
--drag *all* of the files in the show's Video_TS folder [.ifo, .bup, & .vob files] to the RED Video_TS folder in the project window.
--burn

to burn a "data disc" [which is what you'll want to use for archiving & trading]:
--open Nero Burning ROM
--select "DVD-ROM [ISO/UDF]" as yer project type
--drag the entire show's folder to the project window [including the Video_TS folder, info text, the .md5 checksum, artwork, etc]
--burn

also wanted to support Nero Express, since it also works well and some DVD burners come bundled with it (and not the full "Burning ROM" version). I found a nice little guide here:
http://members.dodo.com.au/~jimmalenko/NeroExpress.htm

I don't want to link that in tb since it is a very small site and we don't want to hammer his bandwidth with our traffic.

I also wanted to make a guide for burning "hybrid" (is that a good word?) discs which are playable in a standalone and also contain artwork (if any) info and checksums which can be run directly from the disc to test the files. From the checksums guide:

Originally Posted by Five

Advanced: Another possibility is to burn a standalone-playable data DVD which contains info, artwork (if any) and .md5 checksums inside a folder called EXTRAS_TS. To do this, create three folders in your compilation:

AUDIO_TS
EXTRAS_TS
VIDEO_TS

The VIDEO_TS folder contains the obvious, the AUDIO_TS folder must be there and remain absolutely empty, and the EXTRAS_TS with the art/info/checksums inside. When the .md5 file is placed inside of an EXTRAS_TS folder, the path must be formatted as:

8d50cba158b40a75dd32cada8964aef7 *../VIDEO_TS/VIDEO_TS.BUP
8d50cba158b40a75dd32cada8964aef7 *../VIDEO_TS/VIDEO_TS.IFO
e40bd45c55f783d519c2a5c9aa088e98 *../VIDEO_TS/VIDEO_TS.VOB
e11aaf0c14501bbf15d776a34218c205 *../VIDEO_TS/VTS_01_0.BUP
e11aaf0c14501bbf15d776a34218c205 *../VIDEO_TS/VTS_01_0.IFO
da29301176f55de40d79be5cba560d06 *../VIDEO_TS/VTS_01_0.VOB
99ba41ff0fec88e3def109b6cb824dcb *../VIDEO_TS/VTS_01_1.VOB
6c20fa2d2232106310d61dce30cd3e29 *../VIDEO_TS/VTS_01_2.VOB

If you wish you can substitute \ for /. The end result is a DVD which is playable in most standalones & also includes all the stuff which is normally included in a trade. Another big advantage is that you can double-click the .md5 which is inside the EXTRAS_TS folder and TLH will test all of the files on that DVD. Just be very careful that you get everything correct the same way I explained it above or it will not work.

thanks to fatoldpig and yoho for suggesting this stuff!

also wondering about a freeware prog that can do data. anybody ever use one? as it stands, everything hinges on nero. I think most ppl have it but would be good to have another option which is completely free software/freeware. Or at least a link where you can download shareware nero with fully functioning nero express which doesn't expire (like came with my DVD burner when I bought it.

after this, we will also need a guide to burning audio cdrs with EAC & maybe nero too for ppl who's burners aren't supported by EAC.

comments, etc are appreciated!