DVD camcorder

[Jase]

I have a sony camcorder which uses 8cm dvd's for recording. I have got double sided dvd's as you only get 30 mins per side. What would be the best way for me to join/merge the two sides and convert them to mpeg for playback on the mvp. I have tried different methods using different software but nothing seems to work very well.

Is there any way i can join/merge the two sides and then burn them back to a standard dvd with just one main menu and one video file as this seems to be inpossible?

Cheers Jase

[zaphod7501]

The standard method would be to:
Extract the program streams
Edit the programs
Author a new DVD
Burn a new disk.

Extracting is best done with a ripping program like DVDDecrypter in IFO mode. While Movie Studios hate this program for it's piracy potential, it is a great disk recovery utility (and burning engine). Straight file copying does not work well (or at all in some cases) for sources that are on a DVD disk.

Editing can be done with a number of programs. I use VideoReDo and love it ($50, don't try a hacked copy or it will delete all the source files).

Authoring is the process of putting the mpeg files into the proper structure for burning (and includes menus and the navigation info). Most digital camcorders come with something but I'm not sure about the DVD camcorders. There are various GUIs for dvdauthor that are all freeware for authoring also. Always save as DVD folders or ISO: don't burn from within the authoring program.

Burning requires an engine that controls the drive to burn properly on the different type and quality of disks. ImgBurn is one and there are many others.

The steps above cannot be skipped and can only be combined slightly. All-In-One solutions don't work very well. Once set up the process can go quickly and smoothly, however.