Making a blu-ray disc

[blast05]

Hi,
I need an idiots guide to creating a blu-ray dics.

To start with I obviously need to purchase a blu-ray burner - any recommendations ? I know i could use a DVD burner but the videos they would fit would not be long enough (plus no DVD burner on my laptop !).
I also need a software package to give the video a professional look.
Any recommendations on either front ?

Re laptop spec to run the software .... any minimal spec ? I have video file sizes of up to 3 GB.
My file formats are "VLC media file (.mts)" with corresponding CPI files, VPL and MPL file. These corresponding files are just a few Kb in size. Not sure if this is a factor in determining the type of burner or software bundle.

Cheers.

[Christmas Lights]

Thinking of going into the pirate business eh?

We dont condone this sort of stuff on gaaboard.

[mylestheslasher]

http://www.dvd-guides.com/

Good place to start.

[turk]

Hi,
I need an idiots guide to creating a blu-ray dics.

To start with I obviously need to purchase a blu-ray burner - any recommendations ? I know i could use a DVD burner but the videos they would fit would not be long enough (plus no DVD burner on my laptop !).
I also need a software package to give the video a professional look.
Any recommendations on either front ?

Re laptop spec to run the software .... any minimal spec ? I have video file sizes of up to 3 GB.
My file formats are "VLC media file (.mts)" with corresponding CPI files, VPL and MPL file. These corresponding files are just a few Kb in size. Not sure if this is a factor in determining the type of burner or software bundle.

Cheers.

Well blast!!
Looks like no one here knows how to do this!!

[blast05]

Ah sure, trial and error it will have to be !
Why did I say 'yes' to my sister that I'd video her wedding....! Never bothered with discs up until now cos just stored everything on a media centre under the TV

[Ulick]

As the man said "I wouldn't start from here", in other words don't worry about the delivery format until you have the video completed. Optical media will be dead in a few years, so it shouldn't really be a concern. Once you have your video completed you can encode a copy into whatever quality and definition you want to give your sister and the rest of the family. Just make sure you store the original in your HD format on a hard drive somewhere to give them as well for future proofing.

The "file formats" you mention aren't formats as such, they're container files, most likely MPEG4 files. What you'll want to do is import these into a video editing program and then export them again straight away as raw uncompressed files. These raw files are the ones you will work with for your edit.

As far as editing programs go, it depends on your budget, level of expertise and operating system. There was a thread on here a few years ago discussing the ins and outs of various applications. There's a comparison list here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_video_editing_software

My personal preferences are Adobe Premiere Pro if I'm working on a PC or Final Cut Pro on a Mac. However these are fairly professional applications with a steep learning curve to get the best out of them. Might not be what your after if your not experienced. Expensive to buy as well, though you can get cracked versions from the torrents.

Regarding laptop spec, again it depends on the formats and video quality you are working with but you'll be looking something fairly recent with at least quad core processor, lots of RAM and shit loads of hard-drive space - the latter probably meaning a laptop isn't ideal for what you're doing. I've produced videos before using a laptop with an attached external hard drive, but they were standard definition video and was still a pain in the hole. If you are working with HD on a laptop, at the very least you're going to need an external drive connected either with Firewire of eSATA. If you are set on using a laptop you'll find having a second (or ideally a third) monitor extremely useful, at least 17" but better if you can get 19" or higher.

There's a few boys on here that are experienced in working with video editing, but I think t he lack of reply on this thread is that you're not asking the right questions just yet, so keep the thread updated and I'm sure plenty will chip in with advice.

[turk]

Ulick destroys everyone! Superb!!

[mylestheslasher]

Do you need a laptop? Why not get a desktop, nice big monitor and loads of ram. I do a lot of 3D cad design and I avoid laptops as they are more expensive, more difficult to use and are I flexible to future proofing.

[NetNitrate]

If you are working on a Mac, one of the easiest ways is to use Final Cut Pro X. You can get a free trial for 30 days. Fantastic program. Import your footage. Note, if you are making a blue-ray, I am assuming you have shot HD quality footage (ie 1920 x 1080, 1080i, etc). Edit your footage in FCP X and you can burn a blue-ray directly from here. However, FCP doesn't give you many bells and whistles for the look and feel of your disk. You can also export your HD footage after you've edited to your satisfaction and burn in a different program (make sure you are exporting 1920 x 1080, or else you could lose quality). Then Apple's iDVD software does a nice job, too - gives you a lot of professional looking templates to work with, or ability to customise your own - correction iDVD does not support blue ray. Compressor - apple's other software - does.

Don't know as much about PC, but for editing your footage Adobe Premiere Pro is a leader in the field.