How to burn a video DVD from VIDEO_TS file structure

If you have a DVD VIDEO file structure (a.k.a. VIDEO_TS), you can use SwiftDisc Burning Wizard to burn the VIDEO_TS folder to a blank DVD.  The result DVD will be playable on set-top DVD players. The steps described here are for SwiftDisc Burning Wizard 2.30. For other SwiftDisc versions some of the steps may be different.

1. Install SwiftDisc Burning Wizard.

SwiftDisc Burning Wizard can be downloaded and installed from www.swiftdisc.com. The program has two editions: Standard and Premium and for this tutorial, we will use the SwiftDisc Burning Wizard Standard. Once you have set up SwiftDisc Burning Wizard, you can proceed to creating a Video DVD.

2. Prepare the DVD-Video files.

In order for stand-alone DVD players to recognize and play a video DVD, they require a specific file structure to be present on the disc. The structure usually consists of a folder named VIDEO_TS and one or more files in it named: VIDEO_TS.BUP; VIDEO_TS.IFO; VIDEO_TS.VOB; VTS_01_0.BUP; VTS_01_0.IFO; VTS_01_0.VOB and so on. This guide assumes that you already have the DVD-Video file structure prepared with a third-party DVD authoring software and stored on your PC. 

3. Start SwiftDisc Burning Wizard.

When you install SwiftDisc the installation process creates icon on your desktop. To start SwiftDisc simply double-click the "SwiftDisc Burning Wizard Standard 2.30" icon.

4. Choose Video Project.

After starting SwiftDisc, you will initially see "About SwiftDisc Burning Wizard" screen. Press the "Continue" button to close the "About ..." window. This will lead you to the project selection screen:

Click the “Video Project” button. SwiftDisc will move to the next screen. On the next screen click "Burn VIDEO_TS Folder"

5. Choose a device

The following screen will let you to select a burner device. When you are ready, press the "Next >" button.

Note: If you are using SwiftDisc Burning Wizard Premium, you can burn the same content to multiple discs by selecting multiple devices here.

6. Select the VIDEO_TS folder.

Select a VIDEO_TS folder (containing the files specified in Step 2).

Note: Make sure that the size of source VIDEO_TS folder is the same or smaller than the capacity of the DVD inserted in your burner device.

7. Change image settings.

The next screen “Data Image Settings” screen allows you to specify the volume label for the disc. The volume label setting does not affect the DVD playback in any way. However it is good practice to change set the volume label to something meaningful, so you can recognize the disc easily when you load it in a computer. When ready, press the “Next” button to continue to the next screen.

8. Configure the burning settings.

The “Burning settings” screen allows you to set additional parameters such as burning speed and whether you want to do a simulation or not. SwiftDisc already chooses the optimal settings for your device and disc. If in doubt, you can leave the default burning settings (and skip the next step).

9. Burn the DVD

To start the burning, press the “Finish” button. This will start the actual burning process and you will be redirected to the "Progress" screen. The DVD burning will take some time depending on your hardware and the amount of data that has to be recorded.

10. Burn again or start a new project.

Once the burning has finished, you can burn more copies of your compilation immediately by inserting a new blank DVD and clicking the “Burn This Project Again” button.