Pinnacle Instant DVD Recorder User's Guide GB Instant DVD Recorder User's Guide GB/US August 2005 © Pinnacle Systems GmbH 2005 All rights reserved. No part of this manual may be reproduced or transferred to other media without explicit written permission from Pinnacle Systems GmbH, Braunschweig, Germany. All brand or product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. This manual is printed on chlorine-free, bleached paper using solvent-free ink. Pinnacle Systems GmbH has written this manual to the best of its knowledge, but does not guarantee that the programs/systems will fulfill the users' intended applications. No warranty is made as to the specifications of features. Pinnacle Systems GmbH retains the right to make alterations to the content of the manual without obligation to inform third parties. All quotes, sales, supply and manufacturing contracts from Pinnacle Systems GmbH, including consulting, installation and other contractual services are subject exclusively to the General Sales and Delivery Terms of Pinnacle Systems GmbH. Contents OVERVIEW WELCOME 1 1 INSTALLING AND STARTING DVD RECORDER INSTALLING THE INSTANT DVD RECORDER STARTING THE INSTANT DVD RECORDER 2 2 2 CREATING A DVD THE DIRECT-TO-DISC WIZARD The Start Window Window 1: Select video source Window 2: Select a burner and insert the DVD Window 3: Select menu style Window 4: Start recording ADVANCED MODE Advanced Mode 3 3 3 4 7 9 12 14 14 FINISH RECORDING FINISH RECORDING 16 16 LICENSE AGREEMENT Pinnacle End User License Agreement 17 17 User's Guide i ii Instant DVD Recorder Overview WELCOME The Instant DVD Recorder makes it possible for you to quickly and easily burn videos direct-to-disc, i.e. from your video source directly to a DVD ­ without complicated intermediate storage on your hard disk! You simply have to connect your video source, start Instant DVD Recorder and after just a few steps your burned DVD will be completed. Instant DVD Recorder makes it possible for you to burn videos to your DVD from various devices: whether its a TV card, a DV camcorder or an analog video source - the Instant DVD Recorder creates a DVD with the video you choose. In addition, you can decide whether you would like to be guided by the Direct-to-Disc Wizard through the individual settings in an easily understandable way or instead save even more time by performing all of the necessary settings directly in a single window. And now have lots of fun with your Instant DVD Recorder! User's Guide 1 Installing and Starting DVD Recorder INSTALLING THE INSTANT DVD RECORDER Instant DVD Recorder and Studio Plus 10/Studio MediaSuite If the Instant DVD Recorder is included in the Studio Plus 10/Studio MediaSuite, the program will be installed at the same time Studio Plus is installed. This installation is described in detail in the Pinnacle Studio MediaSuite manual. Instant DVD Recorder (stand-alone) The following steps explain how to install the Instant DVD Recorder as a stand-alone program: 1. Insert the Instant DVD Recorder CD into your CD drive. The setup program will start automatically. If it does not start automatically, manually start the installation by double-clicking the file autorun.exe. 2. Follow the instructions given by the installation program. During installation, you will be prompted to enter the serial number. The serial number is either on the Instant DVD Recorder CD, on the CD jewel case or you received the serial number after buying the program online. STARTING THE INSTANT DVD RECORDER There are different ways to start the Instant DVD Recorder depending on the variation of the product you bought. Instant DVD Recorder and Studio Plus 10 If you installed the Instant DVD Recorder with Studio Plus 10, the easiest way to start the Instant DVD Recorder is to click the Studio Launcher on your desktop or open the Start menu and go to Programs Studio 10 Studio Launcher. Instant DVD Recorder and Studio MediaSuite If the Studio MediaSuite has also been installed with Studio Plus 10, you can start the Studio MediaSuite by clicking the Studio Launcher on your desktop or opening the Start menu and go to Programs Studio 10 or Studio MediaSuite Studio Launcher. Instant DVD Recorder If you have bought the Instant DVD Recorder as a stand-alone program, you can start it by simply clicking the Instant DVD Recorder icon on your desktop or opening the Windows Start menu and going to Programs Instant DVD Recorder Instant DVD Recorder. 2 Instant DVD Recorder Creating a DVD THE DIRECT-TO-DISC WIZARD The Start Window The Start Window of the Direct-to-Disc Wizard opens after the Instant DVD Recorder has been started. Here you can decide whether you want to have the Wizard guide you through the various settings in an easily understandably way or whether you would prefer to perform all of the necessary settings directly in Advanced Mode. We recommend that let the Wizard guide you through the program at the beginning and only later perform the necessary settings in Advanced Mode after you have become familiar with the Instant DVD Recorder. User's Guide 3 If you want to be guided through the program by the Wizard, then click the option Let the Wizard Guide Me (recommended). If you prefer to switch directly to Advanced Mode, then click the option Go Directly to Advanced Mode. If you don't want to have the Start Window displayed the next time you call up Instant DVD Recorder and would prefer to have the Direct-to-Disc Wizard or Advanced Mode displayed directly - depending on your selection - then activate this option by clicking Don't Show This Screen Next Time. After you have made your selection click Next. Depending on your selection, you will now be guided to the next window of the Direct-to-Disc Wizard or to Advanced Mode. After the burning operation is completed you can specify whether you want to go directly to the Direct-to-Disc Wizard or to Advanced Mode the next time you start the Instant DVD Recorder. Window 1: Select video source If you selected Let the Wizard Guide Me (recommended) option in the Start window of the Direct-to-Disc Wizard, then the next step will be that the Wizard will guide you to Window 1: Select video source. In this window you can select the video source and prepare it for DVD recording. 4 Instant DVD Recorder Video source device display The video sources that are available and suitable for recording are displayed in the upper section of the window. If more than one video source device is available, then open the list of corresponding video sources by clicking and select the desired device. If only one video source is found by the Instant DVD Recorder, then it will be used automatically for creating the DVD. Now the video that is imported from the video source is displayed in the preview window. This allows you to make certain that the video source device is properly connected. In addition, you can correct the settings of the video source for the DVD recording (for example, to set the right channel or to look for the position intended for recording on the video). In the event that no device is shown in the video source device display or no video appears in the preview window, then check whether a suitable video source is included on your system and whether it has been properly connected and started. Please note that DVD recording is not possible without a properly connected video source. You can make additional driver settings for your video source device by clicking on Options. For this please consult the documentation for your video equipment. Preparing the video source Make sure that your video source was installed using its original installation program. Also make sure that the video source works with the original recording application without any problems Below the preview window there are several functions available for preparing the recording: If the volume of your video source is adjustable, a slide control will appear under the preview window. You can use this to adjust both the volume and the recording level. The other control elements vary depending on the selected video source device. User's Guide 5 TV Card If your video source is a TV card, then you can start a station search under Options. Instant DVD Recorder displays any channels found after the station search has been completed. Now you can adjust the station desired for recording with the and buttons. The program of the channel which you selected will be subsequently burned on the DVD. DV Camcorder If your video source is a DV Camcorder, then you can start the video by using the button, fast forward or rewind the video with the and buttons or jump and buttons. back and forth to individual frames with the Thus you can precisely position the video played by the camcorder from exactly where you want to burn the video on the DVD. Analog Video Source No other setting options are available if your video source is an analog video source device. Click Next and the Direct-to-Disc Wizard will guide you to Window 2: Select Burner. 6 Instant DVD Recorder Window 2: Select a burner and insert the DVD If you selected Let the Wizard Guide Me (recommended) option in the Start window of the Direct-to-Disc Wizard, then the next step will be that the Wizard will guide you to Window 2: Select Burner. DVD burner display Any DVD burners available on your system that are suitable for recording will be displayed in the upper section of the window. If more than one burner is available, then open the list of burners by clicking and select the device you want. If only one burner is found by the Instant DVD Recorder, then this will be used automatically for creating the DVD. If no device is displayed in the DVD burner display, check whether a suitable DVD burner is included on your system and whether it is properly connected. If you want to store your video on the hard disk and you have selected your hard disk in the DVD burner display, then you can choose the destination folder for your video by clicking on Browse. User's Guide 7 Output media display Underneath the DVD burner display the Wizard tells you which output medium is supported by the DVD burner which you selected (for example, DVD-R and DVD-RW). Please insert an appropriate DVD into your burner. You can use an empty DVD or you can also reuse a DVD if it is rewritable. The Instant DVD Recorder now automatically checks whether the inserted DVD is suitable for the burning operation and if so prepares it for recording. In this case, you will be asked in a dialog window to agree to the operations for preparing the DVD for example, deletion of already existing data. Please note that this may take several minutes before the Instant DVD Recorder displays a corresponding message. Please follow the instructions provided by the Wizard in case the inserted DVD is not yet ready for the actual burning operation and further operations are necessary, e.g. deletion of old data. Please note that the next steps for successful DVD recording are only possible if a suitable DVD has been inserted at this stage of the Wizard. Click Next and the Direct-to-Disc Wizard will guide you to Window 3: Select menu style. 8 Instant DVD Recorder Window 3: Select menu style In this window you can decide whether you want to create a menu and thus divide your DVD into individual chapters or whether you would like to burn your video film to the DVD as a single movie file with no menu. If you choose a menu, then this window also provides you with the possibility of selecting and/or modifying a menu design. In this case a thumbnail of the first scene of each chapter is shown before a background picture. Later on, when watching the DVD, you can start the respective scene by selecting a thumbnail. Would you like your DVD to include menus? If you prefer not to have your video divided into individual sections, then please select No. No any other settings will be required in this window. However, if you wish to have your video partitioned into individual chapters, then please select Yes, create a new chapter every x minutes and enter the time interval into the open field in minutes according to which a new chapter should begin in each case. The Instant DVD Recorder automatically determines how many chapters will result from the chapter length which you indicated. Since partitioning into more than 99 chapters is not possible, you may be required to increase the minutes for the length of the individual chapters, thus automatically reducing the number of chapters. User's Guide 9 Selecting a menu design Selecting a menu design for your DVD is quick and easy once you have decided to create a menu and to partition it into chapters. The Instant DVD Recorder offers numerous background pictures to choose from: At the center of the window you can find menu design templates which you can view by clicking and . To select a particular menu simply click it. If you ...