IDVD and playback quality

So I have pulled together a 30min movie in iMovieHD6 using my CanonHF200 HD camera, and I have retained max quality through the process. However, exporting as a full quality QT (.DV) and then dropping into iDVD results in a seemingly interlaced-looking ("striped") result that can also appear grainy at times (on computer screen or TV). TV is a 720p Plasma and DVD player is a 480->720 converter. Perhaps the current result would look better on an SD TV, but I dont have one.
QUESTION: WHAT EXACTLY ARE OPTIMAL SETTINGS FOR iDVD PRODUCT ON AN HDTV?

You might want to export out of iMovie HD in the following way because it gives you some quality options you can set.
Use this path:
Share>Share Compress movie for export settings push Share
Movie to QuickTime Movie Options
Settings AIC (you can adjust several quality settings)
I hope the above makes sense.

Similar Messages

After creating a new slideshow I export it with the setting HD 1080p it is then saved as a .mov i then create a dvd in idvd and the quality is not as good as the original photo's when viewed on the monitor or a TV, am i doing something wrong?

After creating a new slideshow I export it with the setting HD 1080p it is then saved as a .mov i then create a dvd in idvd and the quality is not as good as the original photo's when viewed on the monitor or a TV, am i doing something wrong?

DVD's are only 640 x 480 (interlaced), so yes, the quality is not nearly as good. You should probably create your .mov in DV format to best match the DVD format

Import iMovie '08 into iDVD '08 Movie Quality

In iLife '06 there were ways to import movies into iDVD to get a good quality movie. Like instead of using the export menu in iMovie I would just open iDVD and click and drag the .mov file straight into iDVD and the quality was great. I guess there was a bug in the exporting method. Now to get a good quality movie on a single layer dvd coming from iMovie '08 are there things I need to know?
PS. I would prefer HighDef with my Sony HDR-SR12. Yeah Yeah I know I need Blu-Ray but until that that comes only what is the best I can get?
Carlos

Use: http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/imovieHD6.html

Idvd / imovie movie quality is very poor on my hd tv

I have a sony cx700 hd camera, which will shoot in 1080p, but in order to import into imovie 11 I had to change it to 720p on the camera. I just finished my movie, added transitions, music and stills, burned it with idvd and the quality when played on my hd tv is terrible. Is there any way to import 1080p into imovie 11, would that solve my problem of poor quality on my tv? I am doing my video editing on a mac book pro that was upgraded to lion.
Thanks,
Tricia

Hi
Yes there are several layers to this question.
• HD TV and Your Mac Screen has very high resolution
• iDVD (and other DVD Authoring programs) can only do DVD Standard -
and it is interlaced SD-Video in PAL (25fps) or NTSC (29.97fps)
• Using a Video editor that can not deliver this but just 50% (every second line in the picture) will not help at all
and they are iMovie'08 or 09 or 11. I use iMovie HD6 or FinalCut as they deliver 100%
• Using "Share to iDVD" in any version of iMovie has a BAD effect on my movies so I do instead
a. iMovie'08 to 11 - Share to Media Browser - and as LARGE - not HD or other resolutions as this too makes result suffer. In iDVD I import these movies from Media button/Movies down to the right.
b. Movie HD6 - Just close it and drop the Movie icon into iDVD
Now iMovie can not render - and iDVD does this so much better.
In iDVD - Save as a DiskImage and test this first to see if result got any better.
If You need HD - then Roxio Toast™ including BD-component can be a way but You need a Blu-Ray Player to be able to view.
+ BD on standard DVDs (max 20-30 minutes) - Still un-playable on standard DVD-players
+ Blu-Ray Disk and BD-Burner (also extra cost)
I play back my BD-DVDs on a PlayStation 3 - They look as good as it can be.
Yours Bengt W

IDVD and poor image quality on TV

I imported old VHS/VHS-C tapes into iMovie via Elgato Video Capture, using standard 4:3. I then edited my project iMovie and "shared" it to iDVD. However, on TV, image quality is horrid. What am I doing wrong?

As Old Toad writes BUT
• Share to Media Browser - AND as Large - not HD or the other resolutions as quality will degrade.
• burn on high quality media - I only use Verbatim DVD-R (as they play on more DVD-players)
• Set down burn speed to x4 = Less burn errors
• Encoding quality matters - I use Pro Quality most
else read my long long list on this.
DVD quality
1. iDVD 08, 09 & 11 has three levels of qualities. (version 7.0.1, 7,0.4 & 7.1.1) and iDVD 6 has the two last ones
• Professional Quality
(movies + menus up to 120 min.) - BEST (but not always for short movies e.g. up to 45 minutes in total)
• Best Performances
(movies + menus less than 60 min.) - High quality on final DVD (Can be best for short movies)
• High Quality (in iDVD08 or 09) / Best Quality (in iDVD6)
(movies + menus up to 120 min.) - slightly lower quality than above
Menu can take 15 minutes or even more - I use a very simple one with no audsio or animation like ”Brushed Metal” in old Themes.
About double on DL DVDs.
2. Video from
• FCE/P - Export out as full quality QuickTime.mov (not self-containing, no conversion)
• iMovie x-6 - Don't use ”Share/Export to iDVD” = destructive even to movie project and especially so
when the movie includes photos and the Ken Burns effect NOT is used. Instead just drop or import the iMovie movie project icon (with a Star on it) into iDVD theme window.
• iMovie’08 or 09 or 11 are not meant to go to iDVD. Go via Media Browser or rather use iMovie HD 6 from start.
3. I use Roxio Toast™ to make an as slow burn as possibly e.g. x4 or x1 (in iDVD’08 or 09 this can also be set)
This can also be done with Apple’s Disk Utilities application when burning from a DiskImage.
4. There has to be about or more than 25Gb free space on internal (start-up) hard disk. iDVD can't
use an external one as scratch disk (if it is not start-up disc). For SD-Video - if HD-material is used I guess that 4 to 5 times more would do.
5. I use Verbatim ( also recommended by many - Taiyo Yuden DVDs - I can’t get hold of it to test )
6. I use DVD-R (no +R or +/-RW) - DVD-R play’s on more and older DVD-Players
7. Keep NTSC to NTSC - or - PAL to PAL when going from iMovie to iDVD
(I use JES_Deinterlacer to keep frame per sec. same from editing to the Video-DVD result.)
8. Don’t burn more than three DVDs at a time - but let the laser cool off for a while before next batch.
iDVD quality also depends on.
• DVD is a standard in it self. It is Standard Definition Quality = Same as on old CRT-TV sets and can not
deliver anything better that this.
HD-DVD was a short-lived standard and it was only a few Toshiba DVD-players that could playback.
These DVDs could be made in DVD-Studio Pro. But they don’t playback on any other standard DVD-Player.
Blu-Ray / BD can be coded onto DVDs but limited in time to - about 20-30 minutes and then need
_ Roxio Toast™ 10 Pro incl. BD-component
_ BD disks and burner if full length movies are to be stored
_ BD-Player or PlayStation3 - to be able to playback
The BD-encoded DVDs can be play-backed IF Mac also have Roxio DVD-player tool. Not on any standard Mac or DVD-player
Full BD-disks needs a BD-player (in Mac) as they need blue-laser to be read. No red-laser can do this.
• HOW much free space is there on Your internal (start-up) hard disk. Go for approx. 25Gb.
less than 5Gb and Your result will most probably not play.
• How it was recorded - Tripod vs Handheld Camera. A stable picture will give a much higher quality
• Audio is most often more critical than picture. Bad audio and with dropouts usually results in a non-viewed movie.
• Use of Video-editor. iMovie’08 or 09 or 11 are not the tools for DVD-production. They discard every second line resulting in a close to VHS-tape quality.
iMovie 1 to HD6 and FinalCut any version delivers same quality as Camera record in = 100% to iDVD
• What kind of movie project You drop into it. MPEG4 seems to be a bad choice.
other strange formats are .avi, .wmv, .flash etc. Convert to streamingDV first
Also audio formats matters. I use only .aiff or from miniDV tape Camera 16-bit
strange formats often problematic are .avi, .wmv, audio from iTunes, .mp3 etc
Convert to .aiff first and use this in movie project
• What kind of standard - NTSC movie and NTSC DVD or PAL to PAL - no mix.
(If You need to change to do a NTSC DVD from PAL material let JES_Deinterlacer_3.2.2 do the conversion)
(Dropping a PAL movie into a NTSC iDVD project
(US) NTSC DVDs most often are playable in EU
(EU) PAL DVDs most often needs to be converted to play in US
UNLESS. They are play-backed by a Mac - then You need not to care
• What kind of DVDs You are using. I use Verbatim DVD-R (this brand AND no +R or +/-RW)
• How You encode and burn it. Two settings prior iDVD’08 or 09
Pro Quality (only in iDVD 08 & 09)
Best / High Quality (not always - most often not)
Best / High Performances (most often my choice before Pro Quality)
1. go to iDVD pref. menu and select tab far right and set burn speed to x1 (less errors = plays better) - only in iDVD 08 & 09
(x4 by some and may be even better)
2. Project info. Select Professional Encoding - only in iDVD 08 & 09.
Region codes.
iDVD - only burn Region = 0 - meaning - DVDs are playable everywhere
DVD Studio pro can set Region codes.
1 = US
2 = EU
unclemano wrote
What it turned out to be was the "quality" settings in iDVD. The total clip time was NOT over 2 hours or 4.7GB, yet iDVD created massive visual artifacts on the "professional quality" setting.
I switched the settings to "high quality" which solved the problem. According iDVD help, "high quality" determines the best bit rate for the clips you have.
I have NEVER seen iDVD do this before, especially when I was under the 2 hour and 4.7GB limits.
For anyone else, there seem to be 2 places in iDVD to set quality settings, the first is under "preferences" and the second under "project info." They do NOT seem to be linked (i.e. if you change one, the other is NOT changed). take care, Mario
TO GET IT TO WORK SLIGHTLY FASTER
• Minimum of 25Gb free space on Start-Up hard disk
• No other programs running in BackGround e.g. Energy-Saver
• Don’t let HD spin down or be turned off (in Energy-Save)
• Move hard disks that are not to be used to Trash - To be disconnected/turned off
• Goto Spotlight and set the rest of them under Integrity (not to be scanned)
• Set screen-saver to a folder without any photo - then make an active corner (up right for me) and set
pointer to this - turns on screen saver - to show that it has nothing to show
Yours Bengt W

Playback Quality and Framerate.

Hi I just installed 2 more GBs of RAM into my G5 2.0 Ghz, and I have noticed a must faster preformance with everything, but video playback is still choppy, and the quality is even low. I have used Sony Vegas products for along time now, and even on my old PC with 1 GB of RAM it ran smooth and never slowed down. And the quality was excellent. Is their something I am doing wrong or what?

I downloaded a 640x480 video off the internet
Well there you go. You need to make sure that your projet setting match the clip settings exactly. Plus you are dealing with highly compressed video posted on the internet. Not ideal for editing.
FCP is a great editing application...when used properly. What I mean is that if you capture footage directly from tape or P2 card. If you take random footage from the internet then no, it won't do what you want it to.
Vegas is more designed for that. Vegas is also more of a consumer application, where FCP is a professional application. You are trying to use a professional application in a very "consumer" fashion.
Shane
"There's no need to fear, UNDERDOG is here!"

IPad 2 Video playback Quality Issue (Low Contrast and grayish black)

Does anyone notice that the video playback quality is really bad on the iPad 2? If you try to play any video (youtube, apple trailer, your own converted video) on the iPad 2, any black images will turn grayish... Just put your iPhone, iPod touch, or even the older iPad next to it, then you will notice a BIG difference. The color is similar to what happened when you set the gamma incorrectly on a display.
Also, you will notice this more if you change the orientation of the device, the contrast will be corrected for a fraction of a second.
I've tried this on other iPad 2 and they all share the same problem. I tried to talk to the Apple Genius Bar and they refused to give me a proper answer on this, instead simply claiming that is just the way it is... I wanted to refund this but I've passed the 14 days rule and also I got it from a authorized retailer and so Apple just won't take it back.
I believe it can be fixed by software... Any idea? or I shall throw it away T_T

I'm on the phone with apple support right now. I work at a post production house, and we/our clients keep having this issue - everything looks great on screen and on the ipad 1, and theres a huge gamma shift on the ipad 2. they need to fix this ASAP. like Jls21 already said, a lot of us use ipads for work purposes - unacceptable!
this thread ( https://discussions.apple.com/message/15100980#15100980 ) seems to blame the h.264 codec/compression settings…? does anyone know of another codec that prevents this gamma shift on the ipad 2?
this is from the tech specs page:
Video formats supported: H.264 video up to 720p, 30 frames per second, Main Profile level 3.1 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; MPEG-4 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps per channel, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; Motion JPEG (M-JPEG) up to 35 Mbps, 1280 by 720 pixels, 30 frames per second, audio in ulaw, PCM stereo audio in .avi file format
is there anything that jumps out to anyone regarding workarounds for this issue?
we've used both Compressor and MPEG Streamclip - there's no quality difference between them, in case anyone is trying that.
okay so, i was transferred to a senior technical rep and he looked it up - apparently apple is getting a bunch of complaints about this issue and they've submitted it to their developers. the more people that call and complain, the higher up on the priority list it goes to be fixed in a software update. there is no workaround known, and it's a standard issue across all ipad 2's.

How achieve highest playback quality from shared iMovie HDV Project?

I have a Sony HDR-HC9 1080i HDV tape camcorder and I am able to play back HD video to either a Mac computer or to a Panasonic Full HD 1080p TV. Playback quality of unedited HD holiday video footage to TV using HDMI cable and to the computer via Firewire is superb. This excellent playback quality is also preserved in an edited iMovie Project in HDV format 57 minutes long and 48 GB in size which I made from the original 90 minutes holiday video footage.
The problems arose in trying to preserve this high quality when sharing the iMovie Project. Before I bought this HDV camcorder I had a Sony DV tape camcorder and I always used to make an archive tape from an edited DV Project by exporting the iMovie Project back to tape. However, when attempting to do the same with this latest HDV 48 GB Project the computer message informed me that it would take about 43 hours to do this. So that is out of the question!
Next I decided to make a Quicktime movie from the iMovie HDV Project using Full Quality compression via Apple Intermediate Codec (1440 x 1080). This took 12 hours to do! Computer viewing of the resultant 44 GB movie gave excellent image sharpness in still views, but for views of moving objects and also panned footage from the camera, closer viewing showed fine comb-outlining on most objects, but especially on narrow vertical objects. Is this what some of you call "jaggies" and is it an interlacing artifact? Whatever it is it was NOT in the iMovie Project but was introduced by the compression process Project->>Movie. Still worse was the jerky playback of the movie. The "IMovie Inspector" info confirmed that the movie had been made during the compression process at 25 frames per second whereas playback was in the range of only 3 to 10 fps! Previously made shorter Quicktime HD movies have not shown this jerky playback and played at 25 fps. Can anyone explain why this jerky playback occurred with the the longer 44GB movie?
Finally I made a DVD by dragging the uncompressed iMovie HD Project icon directly onto a DVD theme in iDVD and burning. The result was OK on both the computer and on TV but not great. Close viewing on the computer showed an effect which looked like a thin film of water rippling horizontally. This effect also showed in TV viewing of the DVD. Interestingly, this effect was almost eliminated when "Deinterlace" was UNCHECKED in the iDVD player viewing options.
My own conclusion is that the highest quality for archiving and playback is achieved by storing the large edited iMovie HDV PROJECT on an external hard drive and playing it back at full screen size on the Mac computer. In this way the iMovie editing functions such as the Timeline are hidden from view and cause no distraction when watching the superb HDV quality.
IS THERE A BETTER WAY?
Please comment and advise.
Vee Kay

I have a Sony HDR-HC9 1080i HDV tape camcorder and I am able to play back HD video to either a Mac computer or to a Panasonic Full HD 1080p TV. Playback quality of unedited HD holiday video footage to TV using HDMI cable and to the computer via Firewire is superb. This excellent playback quality is also preserved in an edited iMovie Project in HDV format 57 minutes long and 48 GB in size which I made from the original 90 minutes holiday video footage.
The problems arose in trying to preserve this high quality when sharing the iMovie Project. Before I bought this HDV camcorder I had a Sony DV tape camcorder and I always used to make an archive tape from an edited DV Project by exporting the iMovie Project back to tape. However, when attempting to do the same with this latest HDV 48 GB Project the computer message informed me that it would take about 43 hours to do this. So that is out of the question!
Next I decided to make a Quicktime movie from the iMovie HDV Project using Full Quality compression via Apple Intermediate Codec (1440 x 1080). This took 12 hours to do! Computer viewing of the resultant 44 GB movie gave excellent image sharpness in still views, but for views of moving objects and also panned footage from the camera, closer viewing showed fine comb-outlining on most objects, but especially on narrow vertical objects. Is this what some of you call "jaggies" and is it an interlacing artifact? Whatever it is it was NOT in the iMovie Project but was introduced by the compression process Project->>Movie. Still worse was the jerky playback of the movie. The "IMovie Inspector" info confirmed that the movie had been made during the compression process at 25 frames per second whereas playback was in the range of only 3 to 10 fps! Previously made shorter Quicktime HD movies have not shown this jerky playback and played at 25 fps. Can anyone explain why this jerky playback occurred with the the longer 44GB movie?
Finally I made a DVD by dragging the uncompressed iMovie HD Project icon directly onto a DVD theme in iDVD and burning. The result was OK on both the computer and on TV but not great. Close viewing on the computer showed an effect which looked like a thin film of water rippling horizontally. This effect also showed in TV viewing of the DVD. Interestingly, this effect was almost eliminated when "Deinterlace" was UNCHECKED in the iDVD player viewing options.
My own conclusion is that the highest quality for archiving and playback is achieved by storing the large edited iMovie HDV PROJECT on an external hard drive and playing it back at full screen size on the Mac computer. In this way the iMovie editing functions such as the Timeline are hidden from view and cause no distraction when watching the superb HDV quality.
IS THERE A BETTER WAY?
Please comment and advise.
Vee Kay

Problems with playback quality of animated DVD on television

I'm sending a ~20 minute (uncompressed, millions of colors) animation in QuickTime out of Final Cut Express HD in a format of HD-1080i and trying to get a very high resolution DVD for television (HD TV). Before taking the QuickTime video to any DVD writing software the aspect ratio (16:9) is correct and resolution is immaculate.
However, all my efforts to get a super-high resolution DVD of this animation, whether I go through iMovie or only to iDVD have gotten me a lot of written and wasted DVDs in my tests. The resolution is very poor.
QUESTION:
How do I get a very complex animation that requires very intense color and clarity to a DVD for playback on a HD TV using my software? In my arsenal is Final Cut Express-HD vers. 3, iLIfe '06 incl. iMovie and iDVD, Toast (if needed).
Please advise.

HHHMMM….. where to start. First, you can’t possibly
hold yourself to commercial quality unless you have a
commercial budget.
I don't expect commercial quality - just to be able to display the millions of colors and the extreme clarity on any TV and even better still on a HDTV. So far I only can get the quality I seek on a computer display. All my efforts to find a solution for television playback have resulted in a fuzzy and jerky animated feature. Here again I'm not looking for commercial quality - just clear, crisp and smooth.
Hollywood spends millions on
feature films. Compression hardware alone can run
several thousands if not hundreds of thousands of
dollars. Compared to iDVD included in a $79 software
suite? However, even the Hollywood produced DVDs must
rely on the DVD specification and as such, 1080i is
currently lost on them. So your answer to “isn’t iDVD
supposed to write anything I give it” is that if iDVD
takes your QT file (Which BTW, should be in the DV
format) it WILL compress it to a DVD MPEG 2 compliant
file. This means 720x480.
But I don't want any compression other than the final step MPEG2. And after reading this reply today - THANK YOU - THANK YOU - I at least understand now that I can't even use iDVD because it doesn't offer MPEG2 as a compressor.
I have located a mpeg2 encoder program that is shareware and will try to find a formule to use after iMovie HD additions of themes and chapters.
So the first step to take
is to recognize the limitations of equipment and
understand the standards. So now we should examine
the workflow to see if there is anything that can be
done. Other than knowing what Flash is, I don’t know
much about it. Can you select a frame size for doing
your animations? If so, guess what, use the 720x480
frame size. This is what iDVD is going to make it
(again, FCP may offer more options to you but that
isn’t listed in your arsenal).
Final Cut Pro isn't needed for what I'm doing, is it? I have already gotten exquisite playback quality for computers using FCE HD and I'm now trying to get the playback quality on a TV as good as I can get it.
Next, from within FCE,
do not change the settings when exporting via QT. You
want to export it as it is in FCE, you don’t want to
change it. iDVD is expecting a DV file. Any other
file and quality will likely take a hit. Finally, why
DVDs? Flash is typically web based. And computer
monitors have a much higher resolution than a TV.
Flash is generally web based but it can be used to produce a single QuickTime movie if the elements are primarily drawings as my animated feature is. Then on to Final Cut Express all of my imported clips are in QuickTime and thus are already compresssed by QuickTime's excellent compressor. I found that I do not get a good result if I allow any further compression - at least not on computer displays - as long as I export with QT conversion, compression none, millions of colors and specify the size I want it to maintain.
You
could output your Files and serve them up via a data
DVD to be played on a computer. Just curious.
I am already getting excellent playback quality on computers but now I need playback quality on any television because it is not intended only for computers.
Mike
Thanks Mike. You've already been a help in getting me away from iDVD for this project. iMovie may be OK still because its "HD". Got any more suggestions for my situation?

Why is DVD fuzzy made via iMovie,Media browser, iDVD at professional quality. Original photos very sharp, DVD fuzzy.

I made an iMovie from very sharp photos, moved it to iDVD via Media Browser, Made "Professional Quality" DVD in iDVD. When I play the DVD back on eiher my iMac oxs 10.7.5 "DVDPlayer" or my DVD player hooked to my Sony TV set, the resulting movie from the DVD is unsharp, very fuzzy and very disappointing. I am using Memorex DVD-R discs. The playback colors of the made DVD are also changed from the original photos I used from i Photo.
Is this normal to loose so much sharpness and clarity in going from iPhoto to iMovie to iDVD?

Hi
OR the long long answer is something like this:
DVD quality
1. iDVD 08, 09 & 11 has three levels of qualities. (version 7.0.1, 7,0.4 & 7.1.1) and iDVD 6 has the two last ones
Professional Quality
(movies + menus up to 120 min.) - BEST (but not always for short movies e.g. up to 45 minutes in total)
Best Performances
(movies + menus less than 60 min.) - High quality on final DVD (Can be best for short movies)
High Quality (in iDVD08 or 09) / Best Quality (in iDVD6)
(movies + menus up to 120 min.) - slightly lower quality than above
Menu can take 15 minutes or even more - I use a very simple one with no audio or animation like ”Brushed Metal” in old Themes.
About double on DL DVDs.
2. Video from
FCE/P - Export out as full quality QuickTime.mov (not self-containing, no conversion)
iMovie x-6 - Don't use ”Share/Export to iDVD” = destructive even to movie project and especially so
when the movie includes photos and the Ken Burns effect NOT is used. Instead just drop or import the iMovie movie project icon (with a Star on it) into iDVD theme window.
iMovie’08 or 09 or 11 are not meant to go to iDVD.
They drop every second line in the picture.
Go via Media Browser (and then use MEDIUM - as HD does get a BAD Scale down quality) or rather use iMovie HD 6 from start.
3. I use Roxio Toast™ to make an as slow burn as possibly e.g. x4 or x1 (in iDVD’08 or 09 this can also be set)
This can also be done with Apple’s Disk Utilities application when burning from a DiskImage.
- iDVD - set Burn Speed in iDVD Pref. / Advance - BEST IS NOT BEST - x2 or max x4
- Roxio™ - set in burn process
- Disk Util tool - set in burn process
BEST IS NOT BEST
4. There has to be about or more than 25Gb free space on internal (start-up) hard disk. iDVD can't
use an external one as scratch disk (if it is not start-up disc). For SD-Video - if HD-material is used I guess that 4 to 5 times more would do.
5. I use Verbatim ( also recommended by many - Taiyo Yuden DVDs - I can’t get hold of it to test )
6. I use DVD-R (no +R or +/-RW) - DVD-R play’s on more and older DVD-Players
7. Keep NTSC to NTSC - or - PAL to PAL when going from iMovie to iDVD
(I use JES_Deinterlacer to keep frame per sec. same from editing to the Video-DVD result.)
8. Don’t burn more than three DVDs at a time - but let the laser cool off for a while before next batch.
iDVD quality also depends on.
DVD is a standard in it self. It is Standard Definition Quality = Same as on old CRT-TV sets and can not
deliver anything better that this.
HD-DVD was a short-lived standard and it was only a few Toshiba DVD-players that could playback.
These DVDs could be made in DVD-Studio Pro. But they don’t playback on any other standard DVD-Player.
Blu-Ray / BD can be coded onto DVDs but limited in time to - about 20-30 minutes and then need
_ Roxio Toast™ 10 Pro incl. BD-component
_ BD disks and burner if full length movies are to be stored
_ BD-Player or PlayStation3 - to be able to playback
The BD-encoded DVDs can be play-backed IF Mac also have Roxio DVD-player tool. Not on any standard Mac or DVD-player
Full BD-disks needs a BD-player (in Mac) as they need blue-laser to be read. No red-laser can do this.
HOW much free space is there on Your internal (start-up) hard disk. Go for approx. 25Gb.
less than 5Gb and Your result will most probably not play.
How it was recorded - Tripod vs Handheld Camera. A stable picture will give a much higher quality
Audio is most often more critical than picture. Bad audio and with dropouts usually results in a non-viewed movie.
Use of Video-editor. iMovie’08 or 09 or 11 are not the tools for DVD-production. They discard every second line resulting in a close to VHS-tape quality.
iMovie 1 to HD6 and FinalCut any version delivers same quality as Camera record in = 100% to iDVD
What kind of movie project You drop into it. MPEG4 seems to be a bad choice.
other strange formats are .avi, .wmv, .flash etc. Convert to streamingDV first
Also audio formats matters. I use only .aiff or from miniDV tape Camera 16-bit
strange formats often problematic are .avi, .wmv, audio from iTunes, .mp3 etc
Convert to .aiff first and use this in movie project
What kind of standard - NTSC movie and NTSC DVD or PAL to PAL - no mix.
(If You need to change to do a NTSC DVD from PAL material let JES_Deinterlacer_3.2.2 do the conversion)
(Dropping a PAL movie into a NTSC iDVD project
(US) NTSC DVDs most often are playable in EU
(EU) PAL DVDs most often needs to be converted to play in US
UNLESS. They are play-backed by a Mac - then You need not to care
What kind of DVDs You are using. I use Verbatim DVD-R (this brand AND no +R or +/-RW)
How You encode and burn it. Two settings prior iDVD’08 or 09
Pro Quality (only in iDVD 08 & 09)
Best / High Quality (not always - most often not)
Best / High Performances (most often my choice before Pro Quality)
1. go to iDVD pref. menu and select tab far right and set burn speed to x1 (less errors = plays better) - only in iDVD 08 & 09
(x4 by some and may be even better)
2. Project info. Select Professional Encoding - only in iDVD 08 & 09.
Region codes.
iDVD - only burn Region = 0 - meaning - DVDs are playable everywhere
DVD Studio pro can set Region codes.
1 = US
2 = EU
unclemano wrote
What it turned out to be was the "quality" settings in iDVD. The total clip time was NOT over 2 hours or 4.7GB, yet iDVD created massive visual artifacts on the "professional quality" setting.
I switched the settings to "high quality" which solved the problem. According iDVD help, "high quality" determines the best bit rate for the clips you have.
I have NEVER seen iDVD do this before, especially when I was under the 2 hour and 4.7GB limits.
For anyone else, there seem to be 2 places in iDVD to set quality settings, the first is under "preferences" and the second under "project info." They do NOT seem to be linked (i.e. if you change one, the other is NOT changed). take care, Mario
to get this to work I
Secure a minimum of 25Gb free space on Start-Up (Mac OS) hard disk
Use Verbatim DVD-R (absolutely no +/-RW)
Set down burn speed to x4 - less burn errors = plays on more devices
No other process running in background as - ScreenSaver, EnergySaver OR TIMEMACHINE etc
and I'm very careful on what kind of video-codecs, audio file format and photo file formats I use
and I consider the iDVD Bug - never go back to video-editor to change/up-date - if so Start a brand new iDVD project
Chapters set as they should - NO one at very beginning and no one in any transition or within 2 sec from it
Lay-out - Turn on TV-Safe area and keep everything buttons, titles etc WELL INSIDE not even touching it !
Try to break the process up into two stages
Save as a DiskImage (calculating part)
Burn from this .img file (burning stage)
To isolate where the problem starts.
Another thing is - Playing it onto a Blu-Ray Player. My PlayStation3 can play BD-disks but not all of my home made DVDs so to get this to work I
Secure a minimum of 25Gb free space on Start-Up (Mac OS) hard disk
Use Verbatim DVD-R (absolutely no +/-RW)
Set down burn speed to x4 - less burn errors = plays on more devices
No other process running in background as - ScreenSaver, EnergySaver OR TIMEMACHINE etc
and I'm very careful on what kind of video-codecs, audio file format and photo file formats I use
and I consider the iDVD Bug - never go back to video-editor to change/up-date - if so Start a brand new iDVD project
Chapters set as they should - NO one at very beginning and no one in any transition or within 2 sec from it
Lay-out - Turn on TV-Safe area and keep everything buttons, titles etc WELL INSIDE not even touching it !
TO GET IT TO WORK SLIGHTLY FASTER
Minimum of 25Gb free space on Start-Up hard disk for SD-Video Quality and about 4 - 5 times more - if it is a HD-Project.
No other programs running in BackGround e.g. Energy-Saver
Don’t let HD spin down or be turned off (in Energy-Save)
Do not have more external devices connected as is of urgent need. Move hard disks that are not to be used to Trash - Or to be disconnected/turned off
Goto Spotlight and set the rest of them under Integrity (not to be scanned)
Set screen-saver to a folder without any photo
First - then make an active corner (up right for me) and set pointer to this
Secondly - turns on screen saver
Then - to show that it has nothing to show
No File Vault on - Important
NO - TimeMachine - during iMovie/iDVD work either ! IMPORTANT
Lot's of icons on DeskTop/Finder also slows down the Mac noticeably
if a project is in a real hurry
First - Then Start a new User-Account and
Then - log into this and iMovie get's faster too
And let Mac run on Mains - not just on battery
Yours Bengt W

IMovie - iDVD and a NTSC versus PAL question

I have some questions about creating iMovie for use in iDVD and about the various formats. Here goes:
I have a large number of travel photos taken in various cities that I need to use to create a project in iMovie. In addition, I have a couple of smallish video segments that go with each of these cities. I want to be able to get to any section from the DVD menus. The sections being defined as the either the videos or the photos for each individual city. Also, I need to be able to create both NTSC and PAL formatted DVD's from this exercise.
Now, as I understand it, there's several ways I can approach this:
First, I can use iMovie to create discreet projects for each segment. The individual city videos being one type. The photo shows of the individual cities being another type. Then export each of these via the media browser and import them individually into iDVD. But that then begs the question of NTSC versus PAL. Since I have to choose a project format in iMovie (NTSC or PAL), does that imply that I've got to have separate projects for each one of the cities NTSC or PAL versions? Or can I just use the NTSC project and cut the DVD in either NTSC or PAL format based on the settings in iDVD? If I use this route, what's the best export format to use for optimal appearance on the finished DVD?
Second, I can create one long project in iMovie. Put chapter markers in it and export it to the media browser. Then, import it into iDVD and use the chapter markers referenced from the various menu picks. If I go this route, once again, how do I account for the NTSC versus PAL differences? And again, what's the best export settings for optimal viewing?
I guess much of this question relates to the issue of having to specify a format in both iMovie and iDVD. If I choose NTSC in iMovie, but use PAL in iDVD, other than the obvious format mismatch, what actually happens by doing this? Or, turn it around. Use PAL in iMovie and NTSC in iDVD. Again, what's the ramifications of doing this?
Just trying to figure out the best way of going about this and what the tradeoffs are for each approach. Any insight you can offer would be greatly appreciated. Oh... and sorry to have been so long winded.
Many thanks in advance,
Tom

Hi
Oh Dear. Is this an assigned task from an editing turor. Then He/She is mean.
a. If You want a DVD - Then You should not use iMovie'08 or 09 or 11 as they can not export interlaced video to iDVD as it needs but discard every second line resulting in a less quality DVD. Use (for SlideShows and Movies)
• iMovie up to HD6 (SlideShows or Movie) - or -
• FinalCut any version (SlideShows or Movie) - or -
• FotoMagico (if You make only a SlideShow - can not do movies)
If persisting with iMovie'08-11 - Then DO NOT use "Share to iDVD" from within any version of iMovie (not 3 - HD6 either) as they do a bad job. But in iM'08-11 "Share to Media Browser" and as Large. In iM HD6 or FCE/P Save as QuickTime .mov and import this into iDVD.
b. NTSC and PAL - If DVD is to be sent to EU (PAL) - then most DVD-players also playback NTSC so conversion is not needed (mostly).
There are NO way to make a combo version PAL & NTSC - They do not exist.
If You make a PAL iMovie /FC project - then DO NOT let iDVD convert to NTSC (or other way either)
• it can do so - BUT Result is severely BAD
I use JES_Deinterlacer to make the conversion and it's so much better. (free on internet)
But absolutly best result is by doing two versions in the movie-editor - one PAL and one NTSC version.
c. Use High quality DVD brand - I only use Verbatim DVD-R
and set down burn speed to x4 - Less burn errors and plays on many more Players.
Just to start with.
Take one Q at a time and we can fix this.
Yours Bengt W

Record and Playback performance goes down at high frequency

Hi,
We're testing record and playback using USRP-2920( LV 2013sp1, NI-USRP 14)
To test it, we downloaded record and playback example code.
Signal source is a function generator outputting 6 MHz bandwidth 8 VSB modulation signal.
USRP Rx parameters are center = variant / gain = 0 / IQ rate = 25MHz and Tx parameters are center = same as Rx center / gain = 0 / IQ rate = 25MHz
The problem is... in low carrier frequency like 70MHz, quality of playback signal is great.
But in high carrier freqency like 2.2GHz, SNR and signal power dropped significantly i.e. they tend to drop as carrier frequency goes high.
And the strange thing is as carrier frequency is increased, a small peak on the center is increased as well.
Please check the attatched file to see the tendancy.
So.. my question is why is this tendancy occures?(we tested another USRP and the result was same as before)
and what should we do to reduce this effect?
Regards,
Youngmin
Attachments:
record and playback results.xls ‏469 KB

Hi,
I suggest a couple of things:
NI USRP 2920 is a non-calibrated device. So setting a gain value of 0 at different frequencies could mean a different actual gain. So try increasing the Rx recording gain (on the USRP) in cases where you observe low SNR. Similarly Tx is not calibrated.
Is the signal recording done with cables or over wireless medium ? You can try to eliminate any spurious signals if you use SMA cables while recording.
I think the power at the center of the spectrum is the DC offset. You may refer to the DC Offset/LO leakage section in the best practices section here http://www.ni.com/white-paper/13881/en/
Thanks.

Why does iDVD '11 image quality suck so bad with a slideshow?

First of all, I have spent the last few days trolling forum after forum trying to understand the problem. It seems that for years and years people have been complaining about this issue and nobody ever gives a satisfactory answer.
Ok, I understand the difference between an HD 720p movie and a lower resolution DVD movie at 720/702x480 resolution. I get that. It means that the DVD version has to recalculate the lines using some interpolation algorithm. I can think of good and bad ways to do that myself - I am a software developer and an electrical engineer. I realize that a TV monitor is much bigger than a computer monitor and the lower resolution on a larger monitor won't look as good. What I am seeing goes well beyond that. I am seeing splotchy blacks, awful pixelation, moire effects in water and around just about any two parallel lines, and the occasional odd red-then-green-then-freeze frame.
Here is what I don't get: When I watch a commercial DVD on my TV, it does not look like crap. Sure, a Blu-Ray looks better, but a DVD is quite acceptable. When I watch the slideshow that I made in Aperture, assembled in iMovie, and wrote out as 720p, it looks terrific on my monitor. If I do it as 720 (Large) it also looks terrific. When I downgrade to 480p (the same resolution as a DVD), it looks fine as a .mov file. However, when I take any of these .mov files and go through iDVD to produce a DVD file, I get horrible results - it looks like I used old VHS footage that I had accidentally left in my microwave. Even changes in resolution of the input file seem to make no difference. Why is this?
I have tried using "Best Performance", "High Quality", and "Professional Quality". I would rather label them as "Lousy", "Lousy", and "Lousy". To my eye, they all look equally poor.
Is there file file format that I should be using rather than the default .mov format? .dv or .m4p? Is there some other setting I should be setting? Does the DVD media itself make a difference? I am using Kodak DVD+R media. I read somewhere that Verbatim DVD-R was the way to go. Is this true?
Finally, is there perhaps another route I should be exploring? I looked at DVD Studio Pro, but that is not affordable. I considered writing a Blu-Ray instead, but buying a burner and software is not worth it at this point. What about another app? Even on the PC, I am flexible.

There are many ways to produce slide shows using iPhoto, iMovie or iDVD and some limit the number of photos you can use (iDVD has a 99 chapter (slide) limitation).
If what you want is what I want, namely to be able to use high resolution photos (even 300 dpi tiff files), to pan and zoom individual photos, use a variety of transitions, to add and edit music or commentary, place text exactly where you want it, and to end up with a DVD that looks good on both your Mac and a TV - in other words end up with and end result that does not look like an old fashioned slide show from a projector - you may be interested in how I do it. You don't have to do it my way, but the following may be food for thought!
Firstly you need proper software to assemble the photos, decide on the duration of each, the transitions you want to use, and how to pan and zoom individual photos where required, and add proper titles. For this I use Photo to Movie. You can read about what it can do on their website:
http://www.lqgraphics.com/software/phototomovie.php
(Other users here use the alternative FotoMagico: http://www.boinx.com/fotomagico/homevspro/ which you may prefer - I have no experience with it.)
Neither of these are freeware, but are worth the investment if you are going to do a lot of slide shows. Read about them in detail, then decide which one you feel is best suited to your needs.
Once you have timed and arranged and manipulated the photos to your liking in Photo to Movie, it exports the file to iMovie 6 as a DV stream. You can add music in Photo to Movie, but I prefer doing this in iMovie where it is easier to edit. You can now further edit the slide show in iMovie just as you would a movie, including adding other video clips, then send it to iDVD 7, or Toast, for burning.
You will be pleasantly surprised at how professional the results can be!
To simply create a slide show in iDVD 8 onwards from images in iPhoto or stored in other places on your hard disk or a connected server, look here:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1089

Installed iDVD and now I have lost iPhoto

I have an iMac 27" late 2013. I was wanting to burn some dvd's and installed iDVD, while working with iDVD I received a notice that iPhoto could not be opened because it may be damaged or incomplete...Can I get it back???

Export the slideshow out of iPhoto as a QT movie file via the Export button in the lower toolbar. For iPhoto 9.4.3 and earlier select Size = Medium or Large. For iPhoto 9.5 and later selct 480p.
Open iDVD, select a theme and drag the exported QT movie file into the open iDVD window being careful to avoid any drop zones.
Follow this workflow to help assure the best quality video DVD:
Once you have the project as you want it save it as a disk image via the File ➙ Save as Disk Image menu option. This will separate the encoding process from the burn process.
To check the encoding mount the disk image, launch DVD Player and play it. If it plays OK with DVD Player the encoding is good.
Then burn to disk with Disk Utility or Toast at the slowest speed available (2x-4x) to assure the best burn quality. Always use top quality media: Verbatim, Maxell or Taiyo Yuden DVD-R are the most recommended in these forums.
If iDVD was not preinstalled on your Mac you'll have to obtain it by purchasing a copy of the iLife 09 disk from a 3rd party retailer like Amazon.com: ilife 09: Software or eBay.com. Why, because iDVD (and iWeb) was discontinued by Apple over a year ago.
Why iLife 09 instead of 11?
If you have to purchase an iLife disc in order to obtain the iDVD application remember that the iLife 11 disc only provides themes from iDVD 5-7. The Software Update no longer installs the earlier themes when starting from the iLIfe 11 disk nor do any of the iDVD 7 updaters available from the Apple Downloads website contain them.
Currently the only sure fire way to get all themes is to start with the iLife 09 disc:
This shows the iDVD contents in the iLife 09 disc via Pacifist:
You then can upgrade from iDVD 7.0.3 to iDVD 7.1.2 via the updaters at the Apple Downloads webpage.

When I make a project in iDVD'09, there are sometimes green blocs with points flickering in some scenes of my iMovie-film. In iMovie there is no problem with this film, but the problem begins by exporting to iDVD and making a project there.

When I make a project in iDVD'09, there are sometimes - at voluntary moments - green blocs with points flickering in some scenes of my iMovie-film.
In i-Movie there is no problem with this film, but the problem begins by exporting to iDVD and making there a project.
Who can help me, then I cann't find everything about this in any forum?

Hi
Can be a problem that get multiplied and visible when iDVD encode for DVD.
A. See if problem can be isolated to a single frame in the movie and re-import this clip and see if it's better
B. When free space on Start-Up hard disk goes low - strange things like this might occure. I never go under 25Gb free space on this Start-Up Mac OS hard disk !
C. Does this problem arises what ever encoding quality You use ?
Yours Bengt W

IDVD and playback quality

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