Getting burnt with DVD Burning
For a pretty long time I have used Nero Recode to create DVDs from the movies I take with my video camera. The other day it decided to stop working and crashed whenever I added my avi files to it with a nice helpful "StackHash_1703" error. The solution given by Nero was to buy Nero 8 which quite frankly I was not prepared to do as I am really not a fan of the direction that the Nero software is going in (and, in my opinion, paid upgrades should be for new features, not just to fix bugs in the previous version). Then I remembered that Windows Vista has the tool Windows DVD Maker included for free, so I thought I would give that a try to see if I could create the DVDs, but without Nero.
Windows DVD Maker is an application that has surprisingly few options to configure, which I normally see as worrying because it means that it is trying to be 'idiot-proof' (I prefer to have every conceivable configuration option presented to me even though I probably would not have any idea what 99% of them meant). You pretty much just add your video files, select your DVD menu template and press burn. So, I added the same avi files that Nero didn't like and... it crashed with the same StackHash_1703 error. This made me think that the video files themselves were at fault and that it actually had nothing to do with Nero. However, after a very quick search on the web it turned out that plenty of people were having the same problem, and the solution was to simply uninstall Nero 7 completely. Before doing anything else after uninstalling Nero it is vital that you run their "CleanTool" as it seems that the Nero 7 installer does not actually uninstall everything, it seems to actually do a 'selective' uninstall and leave a whole bunch of stuff on your hard drive and in your registry (don't you just hate it when applications do that??).
Anyway, removing and then cleaning up Nero solved the problem completely and I was able to start the creation of a DVD with Windows DVD Maker. "Great" I thought. I have been able to remove a whole suite of applications from my computer and I can still create my DVDs using tools which come with the OS J. However, when the DVD creation process got to 99% up popped the extremely helpful error "The owner SID on per-user subscription doesn't exist", and when I use the word "helpful" I am being sarcastic. What on earth does that error message mean, and what does a SID have to do with DVD creation? Worst of all, the DVD disc that I was burning to was had now become a shiny coaster.
After a few more wasted DVDs I gave up with Windows DVD Maker and I decided that it was a terrible application. Then I had a brainwave, why not use Windows Movie Maker to create a new film based on the existing files, but then publish the new film to DVD! Fiendishly clever! Off I went to create the movie, I hit the publish button in Windows Movie Maker and I was told to my disgust that Windows DVD Maker is required to finish the process! I went along with it anyway even though I was not expecting anything other than a "The owner SID on per-user subscription doesn't exist" error.
However, to my disbelief the DVD was created and burnt to the blank disc! I tested the DVD on my TV and it played as well! Hmm, so why did Windows DVD Maker work via Windows Movie Maker, but not when I ran it directly? Who cares??? I now am able to create my DVD discs with 2 tools built into Windows that don't cost a penny! I am however a little curious as to why it worked when launched via Windows Movie Maker, if I find out the reason then I will post it here.
In conclusion, if you receive the "The owner SID on per-user subscription doesn't exist" error when trying to create a DVD with Windows DVD Maker, try the following steps to achieve the same goal:
- Create a new project in Windows Movie Maker - File -> New Project
- Import your video files into the collection folder - File -> Import Media Items
- Drag your video file(s) onto the timeline at the bottom of the window
- Publish the movie - File -> Publish Movie
- Select DVD then press Next
- Press OK on the window telling you that the movie will be created with Windows DVD Maker (you'll need to save your project at this point)
- Add a title to the disc, and press Next
- Customise your DVD menu and then press Burn.
A screenshot of Windows DVD Maker showing the menu templates that are included with it. Click the picture to enlarge it.
It does take a little longer to complete than Nero Recode did, but the end result is the same, if not better because the DVD menu templates are far more slick than what Nero had to offer. My only criticism of Windows DVD Maker is that it insists on burning directly to the disc, rather than create an ISO file which is always my preferred option as it means that if the process fails at any point I have not wasted a blank disc (this is a habit I got into when blank DVDs were expensive). To get around this problem, I am testing an application called Virtual CD 9 which creates a virtual DVD burner drive on the system. So, from Windows DVD Maker I simply select the virtual DVD burner drive rather than the physical one and an ISO file is created instead!
So I take back all those bad words and thoughts I had about Windows DVD Maker. It is a great tool to use, extremely simple but it produces high quality results and it is now my application of choice for making DVDs from my video files.
Finally, if you have any errors regarding missing codecs, try opening the video files in Windows Media Player as it will identify and download any missing codecs for you. Once completed, you should then be able to go back and use the video files. That is what I like to see, applications working in unison rather than trying to compete with each other and take over the system!
