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Recommended software

Provides a brief overview on the software I use for adding date/time to video, editing it and producing client-ready DVDs.

Real life scenarios / questions

Scenarios covering most of the things you might want to do with your surveillance video.  I've given a brief answer to each question as an overview. 

Using AVS Video Converter

AVS Video Converter converts almost all types of video files to DVD or any other video file format.  It also can bring up date/time on MTS files and will combine multiple files types of different aspect ratios (16:9 and 4:3 file types) into one DVD with the correct aspect ratio throughout.

Using SuperDvdate

SuperDvdate will add time/date to the following file types; MOD, MTS, M2TS, AVI, MP4, MOV, TOD.  It will also work with MP4 and 3GP, which have been taken on your mobile / cell phone.

Using AVS Video Remaker

AVS Remaker allows you to take multiple files of the same file type, edit them and then re-make them (without any re-encoding) thereby giving you no loss in quality.  Very accurate (by Key Frame) editing can be done, photos can be taken off the video and you can exclude audio on the DVD before burning.

Using AVS Disc Creator

Both AVS Video Converter and Remaker produce a full DVD structured file before giving you the option to burn a DVD.  That file is perfect for archiving your video on a PC.  AVS Disc Creator can then take that DVD file and re-burn additional DVD copies.

Using Freemake Video Converter

A quick, easy and free way to get date/time on your HiDef MTS video files and burn them to a DVD with no edits.

Comments / Feedback

A place to leave your comments / feedback

Freemake Video Converter is a free program that is useful for combining MTS video files with date/time, with each file either including or excluding audio, and then burning them straight to DVD.  It's main draw-card is that it is free, but if you plan on buying and using AVS Video Converter, then you can disregard this page. 

Download link

The following is a screenshot of the program with three (3) MTS video files added.

_1.    Add your video files by clicking on + Video and going to where the file/s are located.  You can also drag and drop them into the program.  Make sure they are in the correct time sequence.  Your MTS video files will be numbered sequentially. 

2.    Join the video files together on one DVD.

3.    This bar appears when you have selected to join the files.  You can select a transition effect between the files, but personally, I don't like to get too creative with my surveillance video.  I figure the more theatrical they look, the less professional from a surveillance aspect.

4.    Here is where you can add "Subtitles 1" which will bring up date/time.  Unfortunately, you will need to change this setting on each individual file - a somewhat tedious exercise if you have a lot of files.

5.    This allows you to exclude the audio from the finished DVD.

6.    Click the "To DVD" icon - see next screen shot for the options that come up then. 

NOTE:  You can also convert your video to a large number of other formats at various resolutions, but the date/time will appear disproportionately large at the bottom of the file - see Screenshot 4.  Freemake Video Converter is, in my opinion, only viable if you need a free program and want to get date/time onto your unedited MTS video and burn a DVD.
 
7.    Clicking this icon allows for some minor editing - see Screenshot 3.  Video can only be split at a Key Frame point and this program doesn't allow me to accurately see those (AVS Remaker does).  I would recommend against using this program to do any edits.  But, it's perfect for video that doesn't need any editing or backup DVDs of your original video files with date/time.

_1.    Give the DVD a title

2.    Choose a "No menu" option, or otherwise.  Caution:  The "Freemake" logo will appear on text menus.

3.    Select your DVD burner.  You can record to a DVD file on your PC, but the time/date will be unusually large, which is not really a viable option in my opinion - see screen shot No. 4.

4.    Choose the PAL (Aust and UK) or NTSC (USA) format.  The 16:9 aspect ratio should be automatically set for you, but this can be changed to 4:3, in which case there will be black bars top and bottom of the 4:3 screen to maintain the correct proportions.

_If you clicked on the scissors icon (7) after bringing up the "Subtitles 1" option in Screenshot 1, you will see the time and date has been added to the video and that it is in a respectable size and position.  This is how it will appear on the finished DVD.

Note:  The date is displayed as DD/MM/YYYY as this is how it is set on my camcorder for the Australia date format.  Had I set my camera to MM/DD/YYYY (for the US) that is the way it would display at this point.

My Panasonic camcorder also does not display seconds, only hours and minutes.  I would much prefer that it did display second, but its other features far outweigh that negative.  However, if your camcorder does show seconds, it will also show on your finished DVD. 


The following screenshot is how the date/time will appear if you use Freemake to convert your video to anything other than a straight burn to DVD.  Note the date/time is unusually large.