Why doesn't my home movie work on my dvd player?

Question

I used windows xp movie maker to record home movie clips onto dvd so i could watch them on tv but when I put the dvd into the player, one player just ejects the dvd and the other player lets me get to the menu but will not play the movie. When I use my computer though it plays fine. What am I doing wrong? please help. Thank you.

Answer 1

Windows Movie Maker only produces wmv output files which most standard DVD players cannot read.
Therefore you need at least basic DVD creation software such as Nero or Ulead DVD Movie Factory. I'm not too sure about Nero, but Movie Factory will import the original wmv files direct into itself for editing and adding Menus etc. It can then create either a finsihed disc, a disc image or a DVD folder or any combination of the three. I've been using it for a couple of years and have had no significant problems. The added bonus is that you can produce both NTSC or PAL format DVDs. I've used the resulting DVDs both here and in the USA.

Answer 2

Putting movie files on a CD or DVD doesn't mean your DVD player will be able to read the files. I learned this the hard way after experimenting.

DVDs have their own special format that needs to be encoded by a certain program. There are many different choices to encode a DVD, I use Nero.

I would also suggest using a different program than Windows Movie Maker, because it is completely Windows Media biased and doesn't include any tools to encode a DVD straight from it. I would suggest you go out and buy a program such as Sony Vegas or Final Cut Pro, which both have DVD burning tools built in.

Answer 3

You should check the preferences on the Movie Maker - it should be set that you are creating a DVD to be played ona regular DVD player. Also check the resolution - it should be no higher than 640x480.

Answer 4

The DVD players can't read the file. There are several types of movie files including .AVI and .MOV. You will have to switch the file into a format those DVD players can read.