The error message you are seeing is not produced by Digital Media Converter. It is probably coming from a third-party MPEG decoder installed on your computer. To fix this problem, click on the Tools menu and choose Settings. Switch to the Compatibility tab and uncheck all MPEG decoders. (The free MPEG 2 decoder you downloaded from our web site cannot be disabled and will still work.) Try the conversion again and the problem should be eliminated.

Region Error doesn't refer to PAL vs. NTSC. DVDs can be marked by the manufacturer with a "Region Number". Region 1 is the United States, Canada, and some smaller nations. Europe is Region 2. A DVD player for Region 1 will not play DVDs from any other region. When you converted your NTSC video to PAL, you also put them on a new DVD that didn't have a Region 2 code, so your Region 1 DVD player was able to play them.

Oh, OK. That's good to know. I have noticed that while even though, a lot of resources were being used, I have been able to do most anything else simultaneously. Thanks for the help! eric

Upgrading Windows Media Player may solve the problem. All Windows upgrades are free from Microsoft. Upgrade your Windows Media Player to the latest version that exists for your version of Windows. For Windows XP, 2003, and Vista, Windows Media Player 11: https://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=1d224714-e238-4e45-8668-5166114010ca&displaylang=en For older versions of Windows, Windows Media Player 9: https://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/9series/default.aspx

In order to edit the commercials out of a recorded show, it must first be converted to another format. I would recommend you use the All Media Bundle. This includes both Digital Media Converter and Video Edit Magic at a discounted price. Use Digital Media Converter to convert the DVR-MS file to AVI format for editing. Remove the commercials in Video Edit Magic. Video Edit Magic can then create a new file in Windows Media Video (WMV) format.

Compression rates vary a great deal depending on the details of a particular movie. The two MPEG files could have been created using very different settings, which would mean that recompressing them to AVI would not necessarily give exactly the same improvement in file size. Also, even when using the same compression settings, different movies will compress differently because the compression ratio depends on the actual contents of the movie, for instance how many scene changes there are.

To obtain the highest quality when converting, we recommend not converting the DVD to AVI format first. Instead, copy the video files from the DVD to your hard disk and convert them directly. The video files are named VTS_##_#.VOB, where the "#" symbols mean a number from 0-9. For instance, "VTS_01_1.VOB". Copy the *.VOB files to your hard disk, then add them to the Digital Media Converter conversion list directly. You should have no difficulties converting these files from NTSC to PAL format. The resulting MPEG 2 files can then be burned to a DVD by any DVD authoring program. You may need to download and install the Free MPEG-2 Decoder to work with VOB files.

That error message indicates that the VOB file has been damaged. I would suggest copying it from your DVD to the hard drive again.

It is very likely that the first AVI file you created used MJPEG video encoding and no audio compression. While files made this way have extremely high quality, they are also very large. If you have not already done so, we recommend installing the Xvid video compressor, which you can download here: https://www.xvidmovies.com/codec/ When making an AVI, click on Properties, and set the video compression to Xvid, and the audio compression to MP3 or CCITT u-law, and the final AVI file will be much smaller.

Please download and install this updated Digital Media Converter. ftp://Deskshare.com/dmc/dmc.exe Also, please download this updated GPL MPEG 2 decoder: https://www.deskshare.com/download/mpeg2decoder.exe You may also need to disable other MPEG decoders. You can accomplish this by going to Setting ] Compatibility. Uncheck all MPEG decoders.

If you purchase the software using the link from within the Purchase Reminder window, the program is automatically registered. You don't need to do anything further. You can check whether Digital Media Converter is activated by clicking the Help menu and choosing "About Digital Media Converter". If your serial number and name are displayed, the program is fully activated.

MPEG 2 files include a setting telling the player what aspect ratio to use -- that is, the shape of the image during playback. WMV files do not. Your MPEG file is probably meant to play back at the 4:3 ratio of most TV sets and computer monitors. When the video is converted into a 720x480 WMV, it plays back at a different ratio and looks stretched, as you say. To fix this, convert the files using the "WMV - for desktop viewing" setting, and click the Properties button. On the Properties tab, select "DVD Quality Video (2 MBPS CBR)". For the "Encoded BitRate" select "2000 kbps 640x480". Converting to a 640x480 image will produce a WMV file that plays back without stretching, and the very high quality setting should eliminate any choppiness.

The best format is Windows Media Video (WMV). This is the default video format in Digital Media Converter. WMV gives the highest quality and a very reasonable file size. Select "WMV - for Desktop Viewing" from the Convert to format drop-down list in the Settings.

I have this same issue BUT the total chapters are not combined and coverted to one file. DMC is only seeing the first chapter and then only converting the first chapter. I can Extract teh chapters and it will convert them individually but it is literally splitting scenes and there is no facility to join the resulting files back together. I have examined the help files and the FAQs and the forum. If I can't solve this issue then DMC will not work for me and I'll need a refund. Pls give me your advice. Thanks

Digital Media Converter can convert your video from NTSC to PAL format. Our recommended procedure for creating PAL DVDs would be: Convert the VOB files to PAL MPEG 2 files (.mpg extension) as you have already done. Use your own DVD burning program to create a new DVD using the Video DVD in PAL format. The program will create new BUP and IFO files which will match the video files.

Digital Media Converter places the converted files in a single folder which you specify in the program's Settings window. It is not possible to save the converted files back to the original folders. This avoids any chance of overwriting the original file.

HBO and some other content providers do copy-protect certain shows and movies. Digital Media Converter will not convert these copy-protected recordings.

Video Edit Magic can extract snapshots (still pictures) from a video file. We have published an article on how to do this: https://www.deskshare.com/resources/articles/vem_Createphotosfromvideos.aspx

If you are going to be making a video DVD, the files will be converted to MPEG 2 in any case, because that's what DVDs use. You will need to burn the MPEG 2 files to the DVD using your own DVD-burning software, which came with your DVD drive. Be sure you select "Video DVD" and not "Data DVD" before burning. We have published an article on DVD formats that explains DVD formats and file types.

Digital Media Converter now supports Vista. If you are using an older version, use the "Check for Upgrade" command on the Help menu. This will automatically upgrade your copy of the program to the newest version.