DVD Quality Much Poorer Than iMovie Project Play-Back

Hi folks - I have run up against a problem that I haven't had before. Normally, playing iMovies is inferior to the finished product. But this time the finished DVD displays much more shimmering (especially of KB zooms).
Scrolled text sourced from Rolling Credits (which normally results in excellent quality) also displays this shimmering effect, and some of the stills are slighly artifacted.
A full-quality QT movie I made for test purposes is similarly flawed.
Because the stills originated from scanned slides, (though imported via KB), I would not expect absolute perfection, but as said above, the playback quality in iMovie is very acceptable with stable zooming and no shimmer effect. Most of the scrolled text was black on a nearly white background.
[Using iMovie 5.0.2, and iDVD 5 set to Best Quality. Dragged the iMovie package into iDVD.]
Any thoughts or suggestions would be much appreciated.

Hi Catspaw
I'm glad You addreesed this question. I to asked it about half a Year ago and
then was informed that the qualty was the same but as You see it isn't.
I made a long movie of RedBull FlugTag in Gothenburg Sweden and on the
same DVD i droped a short version from same original material.
Diff. Full movie was a drop of the QT ref movie in the project.
Short version was an export as full quality QT which I dropped into same
theme in iDVD. The short version was significantly more jaggied.
Let's hope for an explanation and if there is any settings in QT full qual that
has to be set to give same quality.
Yours most interested Bengt W

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DVD looks different/better than imovie

I did a quick search in this forum to see if this has been discussed before. I'm sorry if it has; I'm new in this forum. Anyways...
I'm trying to edit video that I dumped from a video camera and DVD onto my powerbook g4 1.33ghz w/1.25ghz ram. I'm not having any real issues with the editing process itself. My problem is that, when I burn a DVD of the movie (using iDVD) it looks entirely different than on the laptop. I've even tried using a secondary screen to do the editing on (regular computer monitor). The secondary computer monitor looks the same as the laptop. But, again the burned DVD looks totally different. On the computer, it looks kinda like it's in dropframe but I'm using 29 (or whatever that higher setting is). But when I burn the DVD and play it in a regular DVD player, it looks much crisper, smoother and less pixelated. Will it help if I max out my laptop RAM to 2ghz or is this just a problem inherent in the preinstalled 64MB video card? If it's the video card, I'm thinking about upgrading to a macbook. Will a macbook video card be powerful enough not to have this problem? Any help/suggestions would greatly be appreciated.

bobwex123 wrote:
I use DV tape (not HD), import to iMovie 09 and burn to DVD with iDVD....
... If I upgrade in FCE and spend some time with the interface, will the final DVD quality be better than iMovie 09?
definitively YES.
as widely known, iM08/09 has this little *skip-field problem* with interlaced sources (miniDV imports are always i, independently, what camcorder marketing says), plus a gamma-prob.
details on our website:
http://sites.google.com/site/theimovieoutputproject/
you avoid these probs by using a 'real' dv-editor, as iMHD6 or FCE ..
sidenote: settings in the editor, on transfer and iDVD have to be correct for best quality. as: sequence settings 'fit' to camcorder, NO 'Export using QT conversion', iDVD is set to same standard as camcorder (PAL vs NTSC); project length <60min (=for highest bitrate in iDVD).
+disclaimer: I may profit from linking to my site.+

DVD burner won't burn iMovie project

Hi, I've been trying to get an iMovie project onto a DVD for hours by
1. using the "share" in iMovie to iDVD. No luck. It says "There was an error in burning" No error number.
2. I tried it on my eMAc as well and it says the same thing.
3. I also ran it back onto my camera and tried OneStepDVD and it still didn't work.Same answer.
4. I've sent it by email to the client, but of course the compression made it fuzzy and I still need to hand him something more professional by Monday.
Any idea why this is happening? Also, is it possible to put the iMovie file onto a stick and if so, how would I do it?
I have never had this problem before and I've been producing video projects on a Mac of some kind
for over 10 years.
Thank you for any input at all. Frustrated, Kate

Hi Kate
1. First - Secure that there are enough space on Your Main (Start-Up) Hard Disk to do this !
• I never go less than 25GB free space - see bottom of the window frame when You open Your Hard Disk (double click it's icon - top to the right - most often named Macintosh HD)
2. In iMovie (I guess that You use iMovie'08 or 09 or 11)
- Select the movie Project - (Not Events - won't work)
- Share to Media Browser (NOT iDVD - as if working - result will be poor) and as MEDIUM or LARGE (Not HD or other resolution as this too degrade the finalDVD)
3. Close iMovie
4. Open iDVD
5. Start a NEW iDVD Project (top choice)
6. Select a nice theme - I use old one - "Brushed Metal" - No extra audio or animation (but that's me)
7. Import movie from - MEDIA Button (down to the right) / Movies
8. Save as a DiskImage - File menu and far down
9. Test this image file by playing it with DVD-tool
If OK
then burn this .img file by using Apple Disk Util-tool - or if You don't mind iDVD to recalculate - use iDVD - Click on the Burn button.
Good Luck
Yours Bengt W

Why is DVD quality as poor as imovie09?

I've been using imovieHD 5.x for years. I never bothered to upgrade to 6.x. I recently purchased a new intel imac and FCE 4.x along with imovie09.
Most of my video has motion and either I see artifacts or jagged rendering of the clips. My camera is a Canon Vixia HV30 so my source video should be fine. I would love to get FCE to be my editing program of choice but for some reason, the quality was as poor as the imovie09 quality.
Here are the methods I've tried with results.
1] final cut express 4.x > iDVD
Exported both contained and not-contained quicktime. (Didn't see any extensive options for export settings)
Imported video from camcorder via "Capture" in FCE
Burned BP and PQ and didn't seem to make much difference
rather poor quality
2] imovie09 > iDVD
Exported directly to iDVD which I read is not the way to go...
Burned both Best Performance and Pro Quality
rather poor quality
3] imovieHD 5 > iDVD
Dragged imovie project file into iDVD project
Burned BP
seems to be the best quality so far...
Final Notes:
I'm watching the DVDs on a 41" LCD Samsung.
I understand and am NOT expecting HD quality but as an experienced designer, I know when things have been compressed too much. That's what it looks like with my tests. There is a ton of data in these video clips and it seems like it's being tossed away.
Please help...

I discovered the instability problem when I bought an HV20 eighteen months ago.
I spent months testing and it appears there is a problem when HDV is made into standard def DVDs in iDVD using QuickTime Movie.
I eventually discovered a couple of workarounds that produce (almost) perfect results.
Both these methods may sound incredibly complex as you read them but they are really quite simple. The only problem is that the first method takes a long time to render.
1. Edit your HDV/AIC in the timeline. Then create a new DV-PAL (NTSC) Anamorphic sequence. Copy your edited HDV/AIC to the new sequence. Do not alter anything. Render the sequence ..... this will take a long time - up to twice the length of the project. Then File>Export>QuickTime Movie (Not Self-contained).
However, if you use the QT Movie in iDVD you will get a squashed 4:3 movie, so first of all you must make QT stretch it out to its proper 16:9 dimensions like this:-
a. Open the exported movie file in the QT Pro player.
b. Go to Window>Show Movie Properties.
c. Select the "Video Track" and in the "Visual Settings" panel uncheck "Preserve Aspect Ratio".
d. In the "Scaled Size" box set the width to 1024 pixels for PAL.
e. The "Video Track" will have turned grey, so click it to make it blue again.
f. The opened movie file will jump to 16:9.
g. Close it with the red button and click Save.
2. This method is fast. Set your HV20 to "Locked DV" which means that FCE/FCP will capture it as anamorphic DV and edit it as standard definition anamorphic DV. (Use Easy Setup ... DV-PAL (NTSC) Anamorphic).
You can then Export>QuickTime Movie to be used in iDVD and use the stretching technique mentioned above.

Where can I find how much space an IMovie project takes up?

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Movies folder>iMovie Projects.

Video quality is less than expected when playing inside Flash

iam using flv video. i played it back in many ways , with flv player that comes with flash ,as embedded in the time line and using external class that use NetStream ,the video quality was less than playing the same video outside the flash invironment using any stand alone video player like media player classic .
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can't I just change the "Easy Setup" settings so it would work without degrading the input and subsequently the output? Sorry, I don't quite grasp "fixed-resolution" yet so may be asking something that doesn't have an answer.
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Toast isn't Apple software (neither is Premiere). You'll likely get more targeted answers on forums dedicated to that software.
Having said that, you are double compressing. Unless your material is in H.264, do not export from Premiere in that format. Export it in the native format in which you edited the material.
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I noticed that the recently added images in iphoto when I click the camera icon have a green check mark in the corner. What does that mean and is that stopping them from showing in the playback?
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- There are were two files "Cache.mov" and "Cache.plist", I deleted both.
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@ Bengt Wärleby
I appreciate you taking the time to post a reply, but please try to read the question before you do so in the future. I had said that files imported from the same camera work correctly (i.e. the same file type/codec), so the problem is obviously not a codec issue. Furthermore, .mov is the extension for the QuickTime File Format (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.mov).

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Select vidoes in iMovie '09 won't play back for me. All I get is a black box, no audio, no video. The issue appears to be confined to videos from one particular event. The preview shows up just fine, but no actual video.
The videos were taken and imported from the same Sony camera as the videos that do work. They also play back fine in Quicktime. The format is .mov. Any ideas?

Fixed the issue myself. Here's a step-by-step because I what found online pertaining to this issue were not clear on how to fix it. (Note that this is what I did to fix the problems, some of the steps might not be strictly necessary.)
How to get movies to start playing back again in iMovie '09:
1.) Close iMovie.
2.) Delete contents of the "iMovie Cache" folder for the event that is not playing back correctly.
- There are were two files "Cache.mov" and "Cache.plist", I deleted both.
3.) Restart iMovie
This appeared to force the program to generate new files and start working correctly. From what I read on other postings it was probably caused by the program not closing properly, which I seem to recall it crashing on me or my wife a while ago.
@ Bengt Wärleby
I appreciate you taking the time to post a reply, but please try to read the question before you do so in the future. I had said that files imported from the same camera work correctly (i.e. the same file type/codec), so the problem is obviously not a codec issue. Furthermore, .mov is the extension for the QuickTime File Format (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.mov).

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Cgulls
Unfortunately iMovie will downgrade the quality of any HD home movie capture due to Apples codec, AIC. I have spent a lot of time researching this and have come to the conclusion (like many others) that iMovie is rubbish. The way I found to produce HD footage, either by saving to DVD or .mts files is to create a Windows 7 partition on your loveable Mac, using Boot Camp and a copy of Windows 7. I then have just trialled Corel VideoStudio Pro X5 and I will say it is fantastic and does what you want iMovie to do....HD.
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Ok, so this is not quite an ATV question (since I see the darker image when playing directly on iTunes on the Mac) but a lot of people are talking about this topic on this forum...
I've tried everything (or almost everything):
I tried Mac The Ripper + VisualHub (with the "go nuts" option)
I tried Handbrake (up to 8000kps)
I tried MediaFork (up to 8000kps)
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Julian
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Dual 2.7 GHz PowerPC G5 Mac OS X (10.4.8) 2.5 Gb RAM

Would you mind sharing the settings you use (or would use) to rip a movie with the highest quality possible (i.e. quality as close to as what you see in the original DVD) but still playable by Apple TV?
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720p24 (1280 x 720 @ 23.98/24 fps or 25 fps.): 5.0 Mbps
540p30 (960 x 540 @ 23.98/24 fps, 29.97/30 fps): 3.8 Mbps
480p30 (854 x 480 @ 23,98/24 fps, 29.97/30 fps): 3.0 Mbps
405p30 (720 x 405 @ 23.98/24 fps, 29,97/30 fps): 2250 Kbps
360p30 (640 x 360 @ 23.98/24 fps, 29.97/30 fps): 1850 Kbps
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When new audio material is imported into Premiere it converts the audio to 32bit and saves the new audio file in the Media cache. This new file is then used when editing. What I expect is happening in your case is that the 2nd dvd has the same file names as the first, Premiere thinks the audio is the same so does not redo the conversion to 32bit. To get round this problem delete all the .pek and .cfa files in your Media Cache Files folder. You can find the location of this file by looking under Edit-Preferences-Media in Premiere. I'm on a PC but there will be something similar for a Mac. When you then import your second dvd the audio should be reconformed.

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I guess this is the right place to post for FCP 7?
I have a video project in which I've imported high quality video files (1280x1024 screen capture, AVI). I've made sure that my sequence settings match the same dimensions as the source clips and that compression is set to "None." The clip settings can't be modified, and there's no pop-up when I import a clip to the timeline asking if I want to change my sequence settings. I've removed all the attributes to the clips, but there's none applied. I do have to render, though.
When I preview the source video in the viewer it looks great, but in the canvas it looks like it's at half the quality or worse. The render comes out the same - horrible quality, despite being the right dimensions.
I have no idea what I'm missing. Why would it appear fine in the viewer but not in the canvas? Especially if my sequence settings aren't any lower?
I used the default settings when I created the project. If it wasn't set to "use settings from first clip," and somehow that's the issue, how can I change the project's settings without having to redo my whole film? Going to project properties in the edit menu doesn't give me any options for quality, size, etc.

Here's something else for comparison...one of the clips makes me select to change the sequence settings, the other does not. This is a screenshot of the viewer of that clip, next to the sequence with that clip for which it's been set to the exact same settings. Yet you can see a clear quality difference in the full size version...this is what it's like throughout the whole project, whether it's text, image, or video.
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DVD quality looks poor...please help!

Here is my question: I shot a live teaching seminar using the EX1 & Canon 5D, 1080, 30p...jib shots, steadicam...so lots of movement of the speaker. What is the best way to edit this. I formatted in Compressor the footage to ProRes LT, edited in FCP, then exported to to a self contained movie. From there I dropped the movie in Compressor, compressed to best quality 90min DVD. And burned to disc in DVDSP. When I look at the DVD on an 40" HDTV, it does not look good. Seems there is digitizing in camera movements, and doesn't look very sharp. Any advice?

You are aware that DVDs are standard definition? That your footage is being downgraded to 720x440?

DVD Quality Much Poorer Than iMovie Project Play-Back

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