I recently bought DVD201. Yesterday I tried to record some footings to test the recording. I was able to finalize. I have 2 problems.

Problem 1:
But when I tried to put the mini DVD-R in to my DVD-ROM( Compaq SD-612B), it did not recognise it and windows explorer( Win XP) does not show the disk. It keeps telling me "please insert a disk."

I tried to access the DVD-ROM ( with the mini disk inside) with PowerDVD, Ulead Media studio. None of them can read the disk in my DVD-ROM.
But if I put a VCD in to my DVD-ROM, Power DVD will play the VCD.


Problem 2:
I tried Imagemixer( 1.5). I uploaded file from camcorder, saved it to my hard disk. Then when I used "Edit mode" to combine all the frames to a single movie file, it asked me for format and I selected MPEG2(NTSC) and clicked OK. It created a single MPEG file. But when I opened it with Media player, I did not hear any sound? Any ideas?

I'm so close to returning this hardware. ANY HELP WOULD BE REALLY APPRECIATED.

Problem 1: You said your hardware/software would play VCD's. But that's not the right test - does it play regular full-size DVD's?

Problem 2: Your Sony 201 uses Dolby Digital AC3 audio, which PowerDVD can play but Windows Media may not. Can you play the MPEG clips in PowerDVD?

Problem 1: I do not own any DVD's. I will be trying it out today.
Also I tried to play the mini DVD-R in a standalone compatible DVD player and it plays well. No problems.

Problem 2: That may be true. But when I select individual files, right click and say convert to MPEG2. IT creates a file. When I play this file in Media player( 9 series), it plays. The problem is only when I merge all the files in to one and try to make a single movie file.

Any ideas?

Aha, the great mystery of ImageMixer that few realize: When you select an individual file in ImageMixer and convert it to MPEG2, it CHANGES THE AUDIO to MPEG 1 Layer 2, a non-DVD compliant audio that all PC programs can play. If you just put a mini-DVD file into an ImageMixer album (thereby copying it to your PC), the Dolby Digital AC3 audio is left unchanged. If you edit your mini-DVD files in ImageMixer, it converts the Dolby Digital AC3 audio from 256 Kbps to 384 Kbps, but leaves it in the AC3 format. So you could still have an AC3 problem.

If the mini-DVD plays in a standalone DVD player, than your PC is incorrectly configured in some way. For some reason, it may not be able to play DVD's even though you have the hardware and software to do so.

You were right in telling me that the DVD does not recognise the media.

I bought a new DVD burner and tried on it. I used Ulead Media Studio Pro 7 and it WORKED like charm!!

I guess it's my DVD-ROM. It is an old one ( 4 years old) and I guess old ones do not support mini DVD's eventhough they have the "slots" for it in the drive.

Now I'm happy. Thanks a lot for your replies.

Hi, I have a Sony DSC-DVD 201, and have been looking for information as I also have some problems! I read what happened to u and thought may be u could give me some advice. The problem I have right now is that I made a mistake and filmed 5 min of movie in a DVD-RW disc and then left the camera on in my rucksack for the rest 25 min. So then I used a new disc and continue recording, so i have 5 min of good movie in one and 20 in the other, what i am trying to do is put all this together, but when I merge all the files in to one using the pixela image mixer software and try to make a single movie file, it does it but when i play it, i am not happy with it as it seems to stop for a sec or two in between every shot, it isn;t like u see it in the original film. I have tried the movie maker and everything available in this software, but this movie thing that puts it together in one shot, then only allows me to save it to the pc and not back to the disc in the camera. I am very disapointed that i can;t manage to do such a simple thing. Could u give me some advice?

I got some questions for you, before I proceed.

* Did you burn your "whole" file to a DVD+R/RW OR DVD-R/RW?
Copies burnt on "+" media with ImageMixer do not work properly.
If you have not burn to a "-" media, try that.
Also I faced problems while erasing with Imagemixer. So I use, nowadays, TMPGEnc DVD Author 1.6.

* Did you try using other software like Ulead Moviefactory 3 Disc creator or TMPEnc DVD Author 1.6?
They have the capability to add on additional files.

I may be wrong, but as far as I know, only ImageMixer can write to DCR-DVD201 through the USB, direct. If there are then I would like to know that.

Andrea_Caine,

Nargc is right - don't use ImageMixer for anything but getting the video clips onto your PC. If you finalize the discs in the camcorder, you don't need ImageMixer for even that. Either Ulead DVD Movie Factory 3 Disc Creator (only Disc Creator has support for your Sony's AC3 audio) or TMPGEnc DVD Author with the Dolby Digital AC3 add-on will import your video files correctly and allow you to burn a new, full-size DVD in a DVD writer.

Many thanks for your reply, I recorded the file to a Sony DVD-R disc, directly to the camera. I think that may be the problem is that I don;t have a dvd writer in my pc, and so when i used DVD MovieFactory 3 it wouldn;t allow me to send the movie to the camera, I can;t find where the camera is, like when I put a memory stick in the pc, it would recognize it as removable I:, but this doesn't happen with the camcorder. Do u think that is the problem? but then i don;t think this sony image mixer is a very good thing if doens't do well sth so basic like what I am trying to do!

Try the above mentioned tools and see if you still face any problems.
As I told you, I do not know of any tool, other than Imagemixer, that can write to Sony DVD camcorders. It must be something that Pixela and Sony tied up.

So try the other tools and see if it works.

I forgot to mention one thing. TMPGEnc DVD author, like ImageMixer, requires "-" media. I tried on + media and the movie was freezing at places where I zoomed fast. But with "-" media, the movie was fantastice.

With Imagemixer, I would say, I was lucky only 50% of the chance.

So go with Ulead or TMPGEnc. They are the way better.

I've been burning with TMPGEnc DVD author to DVD+R and DVD+RW (Memorex) with no problems on the four standalone DVD players. They even play on a $38 Hitachi standalone player which doesn't list DVD+R and DVD+RW compatibility. Go figure, this media compatibility issue is a bit unnerving.

Rich

Yes, media compatibility is a big issue. I burn DVD+R with TMPGEnc DVD Author with no problems (my discs are distributed to sports teams and bands so I get quite a cross-section of DVD players to try them on). It's impossible to say what media will work well with a particular DVD writer/DVD software combination - keep trying until you get a brand that works with yours.

Hey I read ur reply but I was'nt able to find where in "ImageMixer" I could convert the videos on my mini DVD to MPEG2. That would help me so much cause I edit in Final Cut Pro. MPEG2 would save me alot of convetion time, as it is i can't connect my 201 to the mac Boooo!

Any suggestions on how i cant convert to mpeg2 in imagemixer?

Please follow these steps to upload your DVD in to your computer in MPEG2 format.

* Connect your DVD-201 to Computer using USB.
* Start Imagemixer
* On the first screeen, click the Left most button. This button is for uploading the DVD in to your computer.
* Once you click this button, the system will automatically detect your camcorder and will upload your DVDs.

You can get your mpegs from this folder on your pc -
\program files\pixela\imagemixer\capture


Hope this helps.