How to burn any video to a DVD (in case you need reminding)

By Heather Hamilton, contributing writer

Because many people stream movies, having a hard-copy DVD is something of a rarity. Occasionally though, it is nice to have a physical movie in your hands. If you’re hoping to make a backup copy of a movie that you have online or turn your own footage into a DVD, there’s a simple solution for you.

As long as you’ve got a DVD burner (internal or external), a blank DVD, and a video, you’re pretty much set up. Make sure the size of your movie doesn’t exceed the size of your disc, and, if your DVD burner is older, make sure your discs are compatible. If you have a Windows machine, download DVD Flick and ImgBurn — which are both free. If you have a macOS, download Burn, which is also free.

For Windows
Open DVD Flick and go to Add Title, choosing the video you’d like to put on a DVD. This program supports almost any conceivable audio format, so you’re probably covered. You’ll need some space on your hard drive (plan for 8.5 GB, just in case). Click Browse to choose where you’ll temporarily store converted audio files.

Then click Project Settings and General to give your DVD a title. Click Target Size and select the appropriate one. On the video tab, set Target format to NTSC if your DVD player is distributed in North America and PAL if it was distributed in Europe and Asia.

On the Burning tab, check Burn project to disc, and label it if you’d like. Select the speed (4−6x is a safe bet). Verify the disc if you’re worried about potential problems. Click Accept.

DVD Flick adds a menu, and at this step, you can tweak it if you’re so inclined. Click Menu Settings and make your selection by clicking one and choosing Accept. Click Create DVD, acknowledge the window that tells you that burning will happen once the conversion is complete, and sit back for a little while.

ImgBurn will automatically open once DVD Flick is done, asking you to verify a few things. Confirm your DVD label, review the summary of what will be burned to the disc and click OK. After your video is finalized, you’ll receive an “Operation Completed Successfully!” message, and your DVD will be ready to play.

For a Mac
Once you’ve installed Burn, open up the app and click on the Video tab along the top. Name your disc and choose DVD-Video from the right-hand drop-down menu. At the bottom of the window, add a video file to your project by clicking the plus button. A window will pop up, allowing you to choose the movie you want to burn. Click Open. Burn will offer to convert your files if they aren’t in the VIDEO_TS and AUDIO_TS folder format. Click Convert and select a place on your hard drive to temporarily store files, making sure you’ve got appropriate space.

After the conversion is done, the movie will appear in the list of files waiting to be burned. This screen also shows you the file size, letting you know what type of DVD you need. Put your blank DVD in and press Burn.

You’ll see a window that allows you to choose which disc drive to burn to and what speed you wish to burn at. Stick with the recommended settings, and click Burn again. Once it has finished, your disc will be ready to play, though the menu may not line up properly — this shouldn’t impact the ability to play.

Sources: How to Geek, Lifehacker, Easy Tech Guides, DVD Flick, ImgBurn, Burn
Image Source: Pixabay