Computer: Dell Latitude D630
Burner: Built-in HL-DT-ST DVD +-RW GSA T11N
Software: DVDFlick
Stand-alone DVD Player: Pioneer (not HD, not sure of model - can check if important)
Camcorder: Sony DCR-HC-96 Handycam - DV Cassette media

I'm new to all the video stuff. Trying to get videos from camcorder to DVD so that I can send videos of my son to his great grandparents. Able to bring video from Handycam into computer in AVI format using supplied Sony PicturePackage software, but that software doesn't recognize my DVD burner. Also able to bring video in WMV format using Windows Movie Maker, for whatever that might be worth. Found DVDFlick software and tried it - able to burn DVD that plays fine (good quality) on my computer, but when I put it in my stand-alone entertainment center DVD player the sound is awful (also like it is playing in slow motion a little, with alot of background noise - really bad). Video may also be in a little slow motion, but this is not as noticeable. I didn't have any DVD-R discs, so I burned it to a CD-R 700 MB - not sure if that makes a difference.

Trying to figure out what to try next. Different software? Burn to DVD-R? A compatibility problem with my DVD burner/DVD player?

Options for troubleshooting seem endless...looking for some guidance on what to try. Willing to buy new software if I can get some confidence it would work, but don't want to just keep buying new software is that's not the problem.

Thanks to anyone that takes the time to try and help me!

How many hours is the video or what is the file size once transfered from the cam? If the size was much larger than what a CDR could hold then the program had to "shrink" it to fit on the CDR which could me quality loss if the program does a poor job of transcoding.

It was just a short video (3-5 minutes) that I was using to test the process. Thinking along the same lines, I even tried to change the bitrate or whatever it's called from "Auto" setting to the highest quality and it made no difference.

What recording setting do you have on the cam? SP, EP, LP, ....

I was using SP. Which setting works best?

SP is your best setting.
Why do not you try to get DVD. If you buy DVD-R, they are most compatible with DVD players.
Get good brand, like Verbatim or Sony.
If you burn to a CD, it is not going to be DVD format, it will be either Video-CD or DivX. Both of those formats are not compatible with majority of older stand alone players.
You can play your imported file on computer player to see if your import is a good quality.

The import quality is good - I checked that. I figured that it might be the fact that I was writing to a CD-R and not a DVD-R. It's definitely the thing to try next. Now I just need to find time to stop by Best Buy and pick up some DVD-Rs and try them.

SP is probably the best as said before but there is another quality setting called XP on some cams that is better but sacrifices record time/disc.

Try using another disc, preferably good media if not already using good media. Also, use another program and see if you get better results. What file format do you plan on choosing to use to play back in your home player or someone elses? DVD, SVCD,...

Might be able to use a free program to get what you need done.