Contents 1 Terse process summary 2 Dirty details 2.1 Convert to .mpg 2.2 Make a menu 2.3 Write the DVD xml 2.4 Author and burn the DVD

Terse process summary Edit

Convert three home movies and put them on a DVD:

tovid mpg -in ski_trip.mov -out ski_trip
tovid mpg -in florida.mov -out florida
tovid mpg -in recital.mov -out recital
tovid menu "Steamboat Ski Weekend" "Florida Beach Vacation" "My Piano Recital" -out main_menu
tovid xml -menu main_menu.mpg ski_trip.mpg florida.mpg recital.mpg -out my_dvd
tovid dvd -burn my_dvd.xml

When everything finishes, you'll have a DVD with a simple text menu. More appealing menus are possible.

Dirty details Edit

Say you've just bought a shiny new miniDV camcorder and you want to make DVDs from your footage. Well, miniDV video is not compatible with DVD players, so you'll need to convert your videos. Plus, you may want a menu to choose from the videos you've recorded and put on the DVD. And then you'll need to program the DVD's behavior and burn it to a DVD. tovid can help you!

After you capture your video (Kino is a good way), you'll have some .mov files.

Convert to .mpgEdit

Use tovid mpg to convert to DVD:

tovid mpg -in ski_trip.mov -out ski_trip
tovid mpg -in florida.mov -out florida
tovid mpg -in recital.mov -out recital

Afterward, you'll have three DVD-compatible videos: ski_trip.mpg, florida.mpg, and recital.mpg.

Make a menuEdit

Use tovid menu to make a main menu:

tovid menu "Steamboat Ski Weekend" "Florida Beach Vacation" "My Piano Recital" -out main_menu

With one command, you've just made a simple text menu called main_menu.mpg. Notice how you can use spaces and longer titles.

Write the DVD xmlEdit

Use tovid xml to describe the DVD's behavior:

tovid xml -menu main_menu.mpg ski_trip.mpg florida.mpg recital.mpg -out my_dvd

Afterward, you'll have an xml file called my_dvd.xml. Notice that the videos were given in the same order as their titles in tovid menu.

Author and burn the DVDEdit

Use tovid dvd to make the DVD filesystem and burn the disc:

tovid dvd -burn my_dvd.xml

And there you go -- a simple DVD with your home videos done in four commands! If you want better menus, they're only a few more options away.