Convert DMSD to MP4

Phones, browsers, and many editing apps play MP4 files but cannot open a Roxio DVD-authoring project. To share or edit the finished movie as one file, render the project to MP4; renaming .dmsd does not convert it.

What the DMSD format is

.dmsd is a Roxio MyDVD project file used to author DVD videos. It stores project structure, such as the movie sequence and DVD menus, and may refer to source video and audio files stored separately. MyDVD users need the project and its referenced media to reopen and render it.

What the MP4 format is

MP4 is a container format commonly used with H.264 video and AAC audio. Those codecs are widely supported by phones, browsers, TVs, and editing software. An MP4 is a playable video file, not a DVD project: it does not retain DVD menus or interactive navigation.

How to convert the project

1. Open the .dmsd file in Roxio MyDVD. If MyDVD reports missing files, relink the original clips and audio; a project may store their locations rather than copies of the media.
2. If your Roxio edition includes VideoWave, use MyDVD’s movie-editing option to open the project there. In VideoWave, choose its video output or export function, select MP4 if available, and render the file. Menu names and export formats vary by version.
3. If VideoWave cannot export MP4, render to a supported video file and convert that file with HandBrake: open the rendered video, choose the MP4 format, select an H.264 video encoder and AAC audio, then start the encode. HandBrake cannot open a .dmsd project directly.
4. If the installed Roxio version cannot render a video file, use MyDVD to create a DVD folder or disc, then open the unencrypted DVD source in HandBrake and encode the desired title as MP4. This fallback re-encodes DVD-quality video and does not preserve menus. Alternatively, assemble the original source clips in a video editor that can export MP4.

Quality and compatibility

Use the original source clips for the best image quality. Rendering from a DVD can reduce quality because DVD video is lower-resolution and the MP4 encode adds another compression step. Check the rendered file from beginning to end and keep the project and source media until it is verified. Online converters generally cannot render a DMSD project, and uploading the project alone will not supply media files it references.