Best quality for burning to DVD?

I've created a video project for a friend - home movies, scanned family photos, etc., with narration and music. Some of the images are pretty good quality, some not so great, but it's okay. I now want to burn it to a DVD - what's the best quality way to do that? Is there a compression type better for this than others?

Just export from FCE to QuickTime Movie. DO NOT export to QuickTime Conversion if the ultimate purpose is to create a DVD. iDVD or other DVD authoring software will take care of the necessary encoding for DVD.
To save time & disk space, when you export from FCE you can UNcheck the option called "Make movie self-contained." This will create what is called a QT Reference Movie, which you can import into iDVD or other DVD authoring software just the same as any other QT Movie.
One more tip - before exporting your movie from FCE be sure to do the following to actions. This will make your export go more smoothly and help maintain quality overall:
Sequence > Render All > Both and
Sequence > Render Only > Mixdown

Similar Messages

Best quality to burn a dvd for duplication

Looking for the best way to get the best quality burning a dvd for duplication for resale.
I have iLife09. Its about a 33min video shot with a mini HDdv

Hi
My list on DVD Quality.
*DVD quality*
1. iDVD 08 & 09 has three levels of qualities.
iDVD 6 has the two last ones
• Professional Quality (movies up to 120 min.) - BEST
• Best Performances (movies less than 60 min.) - High quality on final DVD
• High Quality (in iDVD08 or 09) / Best Quality (in iDVD6) (movies up to 120 min.) - slightly lower quality than above
2. From
• FCE/P - Export out as full quality QuickTime.mov (not selfcontaining, 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. Instead just drop or import the iMovie movie project icon (with a Star on it) into iDVD theme window.
• iMovie’08 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 eg x1 (in iDVD’08 or 09 this can also be set)
This can also be done with (Apple) Disk Util tool.
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).
5. Verbatim ( also recommended by many - Taiyo Yuden DVDs - I can’t get hold of it to test )
6. DVD-R (no +R or +/-RW)
7. Keep NTSC to NTSC - or - PAL to PAL when going from iMovie to iDVD
8. Don’t burn more than three DVD at a time - but let the laser cool off for a while befor next batch.
iDVD quality also depends on.
• 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.
• 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 JESDeinterlacer3.2.2 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 plabacked 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 choise 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
Yours Bengt W

What is the best software for burning a large slideshow with 500 photos and music to DVD?

What is the best software for burning a large slideshow with 500 photos and music to DVD?

Are you talking about strictly burning an already put-together slideshow or composing one and then burning it?
My all time favorite slide show maker is Photo to Movie; you can then burn it from there or get it into iMovie and/or iDVD for the "finishing" touch. My favorite burn software is Toast, although you can use iMovie, iDVD, and Finder as well.
http://www.lqgraphics.com/software/phototomovie.php
http://www.roxio.com/enu/products/toast/titanium/

Does anyone experienced bad quality when burning a DVD?

Does anyone experienced bad quality when burning a DVD?
Using OS 10.6.8 and Magiv Video in iDVD, I am having a hard time creating a decent DVD. The videos per se are fine, but the intro menu and menu text and images are extremely poor quality and hard to read. What is going on?

Hi my notes on this - might be of help
DVD quality
1. iDVD 08, 09 & 11 has three levels of qualities. (version 7.0.1, 7,0.4 & 7.1.1)
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
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 and as Large (NOT HD or other resolutiona as result will suffer) 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

Best way to burn a DVD+R DL disc?

I was wondering what everyone thought was the best way to burn a DVD+R DL disc.
This is how i do it and let me know if you have better results doing it a different way.
1. Never burn from DVD SP, always use Toast instead.
2. Select All Regions (including #7) in DVD SP
3. Build/Format, then select Harddrive, .img file
4. Use Toast and select Copy, then Image File.
1. I never burn in DVD SP because it uses the fastest write speed that your disc/burner does and this seems to have issues.
2&3. I always select All Region because DVD SP by default doesn't select #7 (no clue to why that is) and if you got to harddrive using .img, then that is CMF format and CMF needs all region (RCM Value of 0). Otherwise DVD SP will have different region codes in the MAIN.DAT vs. the CONTROL.DAT. 0 and possibly 64 or 40.
4. With Toast you can set the write speed. I just use 2X and this takes 40 minutes or so for a full DVD+R DL disc.
But..
Is this the best way?
Or is the DVD-ROM (UDF) option a better way?
Any suggestions?

Hi Brian,
Not that this really helps you solve the dvdsp thing but if they are regular clients maybe buy a cheap(ish) dvd player that plays your discs fine and send them it. Explain the ±DL issues. Say the authoring is fine but the ±DL media thing is a mine field so here is a player so proofing goes smoother in the future.
If Toast is working better then send a media input form with the proof stating where the LB will be on the master etc.
I'd like to hear anything anyone else has to say but I'm sure we're aware of most of the options already.
FWIW, if you're running 10.4.x you can type drutil info in Terminal and hit enter to see what types of media the attached drives can burn,
Good luck,
-Jake

IMovie '08 option to make the best quality video on a DVD using iDVD '08

Which iMovie '08 option will make the best quality video on a DVD using iDVD '08?
1. Share-Media Browser-Large-Publish
2. Share-Export Using Quicktime
3. Or can you use an unpublished iMove in iDVD?
(Of course I'll have to first get iDVD to open without crashing...)

Which iMovie '08 option will make the best quality video on a DVD using iDVD '08?
1. Share-Media Browser-Large-Publish
2. Share-Export Using Quicktime
3. Or can you use an unpublished iMove in iDVD?
As always, this depends on a number of factors which you failed to cover in your original question.
1) If you source files are SD, other than an increased loss of time in converting you gain nothing in scaling the files up in iMovie '08 only to scale them back down in iDVD. On the other hand, if your source files are HD, then you will likely see a marginal increase in quality which may or may not be worth the price of increased processing time. In this latter case, you are allowing the MPEG-2 compressor to get the most it can out of your file at the P- and B-frame level.
2) Export using QT allows you to customize your output with regard to both compression format and settings. For instance, you can use a codec with extremely high data rate (e.g., VGA dimensions with DV at 28.5-57.0 Mpbs, AIC at 18.0-22.0 Mbps, or even unlimited H.264/AAC at 16.0-20.0 Mbps). High video data rates generally translate to less lost quality during the re-compression process. Thus, if the intermediate file produced by iMovie '08 and passed on to iDVD retains more of its original quality, the MPEG-2 compressor can get more quality out of the final conversion as stated above.
3) Since no physical file actually exists until the project (simply a set of instructions detailing how the final file will be created) is published, there is nothing to be physically sent to iDVD. basically you must create a physical file from the project in order to do anything at all whether sending it to a gallery, iTunes, YouTube, iDVD, etc.

What's the best method of burning CD/DVD using MBP?

As per my title, what is the best method of burning CD/DVD using my MBP? Can I use iDVD, disk utility etc? I'm referring to burning stuff like music, photos, doc etc. I used Toast Titanium (shd be version 6) with my iBook G4 but it doesn't seem to work with MBP after data migration. Guess the version is too old and not supported in Snow Leopard. Is there any upgrade for Toast Titanium and how much would it cost?

Hi tanvivien,
The best method is really going to depend on what you're burning. All of the iLife applications (iPhoto, iDVD, iMovie, etc.) make it pretty easy to burn with the click of a couple of buttons via the "Share" menu drop down.
You can use Finder for files/data as well as media but if it's multimedia then usually the programs where they're managed or stored is easier.
Information on Toast and how to upgrade would be found here - http://www.roxio.com/enu/products/toast/titanium/overview.html

What is the best way to Burn a DVD Movie

What is the best way to Burn a DVD Movie, do I need a specific program?

pamelafrommelbourne wrote:
What is the best way to Burn a DVD Movie, do I need a specific program?
If you're trying to copy a commercial movie and burn it to disc, then it is expressly against the Terms of Use of this community to describe any method to illegally copy or circumvent copy protection DVD's
If you've made a movie and want to author a DVD, then you should use iDVD, Toast or, if you're really skilled, Final Cut Pro X.
If you just want to move a movie to a DVD, which probably won't play on a DVD player, then just insert a blank DVD, and move it over from the finder. Click burn.

Best quality for youtube

I made a video and its 2.01 GB in iMovie. i want to put it on youtube but I want the best possible quality. The limit for youtube is 100MB whats the best way to compress my movie?

Hi F,
I followed your link and found your instructions about exporting from iMovie with best quality for YouTube.
The instructions were pretty clear, although my options didn't line up with them exactly (I'll tell you my explicit settings below). Still, I exported it successfully.
Then I uploaded the resultant .mov file to YouTube. When it was all finished processing, I viewed it. After the first fraction of a second all I saw was garbage -- just junk patterns filling the screen. The sound was excellent. (by the way, I had lots of very short clips in there -- 00:00:03 in length (not sure what the units are).
So I went back to iMovie, opened up my movie project. Played the video. Now it is intermittent garbage, too. Looks just like the uploaded file, but only intermittently.
Here are the exact options and settings I used for export:
File->Share, chose quicktime and expert settings, pressed the "share" button.
in the Export dialog, I selected "movie to quicktime movie" and clicked on the "options" button.
Options:
Video:
Settings...
Set compression to mpeg-4
Set quality to medium
Set frame rate to 30
Let Key frame and Data rate defaulted (unchecked)
Filter...
didn't look at this. Now that I do, it's set to "none"
Size...
Selected the "custom size" radio button and set it to 320 x 240
Sound:
Settings...
format: uncompressed
sample rate: 44.1khz
sample size: 16
channels: 1 (mono)
There was also a check box for "Prepare for internet Streaming"
It was already checked and set to "fast start"
I didn't change it.
If you could give me any further help, I'd really appreciate it. This was my first attempt to put anything on YouTube.
Thanks a lot,
Bruce Delaplain
Message was edited by: Bruce Delaplain1

How do I lower the write speed for burning a DVD? It gives me no option!

How do I lower the write speed for burning a DVD? It gives me no option!

Export the dvd as an image from Encore, then use Imgburn to make the discs. I usually export a dvd folder from Encore and then use Imgburn to create the iso and do the burning
The Official ImgBurn Website
Be careful if you download it, it will try and install allsorts of other programs. This thread might be of some help.
Imgburn and Bloatware Add-ons

What is the best workflow procedure for importing DV SP 16x9 footage into FCP7 and then exporting the best quality 16x9 to standard DVD so that it looks great (or at least good) on a 50" Samsung LCD TV ?????? Please help! anybody?? Thanks!

We are using a Sony HDV-Z7U camera for acquisition. We recently recorded an event using the camera's non HD capabilities. We set the camera to record "DV SP" 16x9 settings on both Mini-DV tape and CF card.
To import the DV SP footage into FCP7 we chose the "DV NTSC anamorphic" setting in the log and transfer settings window. After a successful transfer from the CF card (the CF card held approximately 83 minutes) we checked the size of the file and found it to be 16 Gigs! Why so big? An 83 miniDV tape shot in SD should easily fit on a standard 4.7 gig MPEG2 DVD.
We need to burn DVDs of this show - we sent it to compressor and got horrible quality.
What is the best setting to use in FCP7's log and transfer settings window to import DV SP 16x9 standard def. footage and what is the best method for exporting for outputting this footage to DVD that preserves the original quality of the DV SP footage?? Anyone? Many thanks

> Why so big? An 83 miniDV tape shot in SD should easily fit on a standard 4.7 gig MPEG2 DVD.
No it doesn't. DV is 13GB per hour.
In any case, a Video DVD uses the MPEG 2 codec, not DV.
>What is the best setting to use in FCP7's log and transfer settings window to import DV SP 16x9 standard def.
DV NTSC anamorphic.
>what is the best method for exporting for outputting this footage to DVD...
Use the Compressor DVD preset "Best Quality 90 mins".
>...that preserves the original quality of the DV SP footage?
Not going to happen, you are compressing by a factor of 1:4. Shooting as HDV would have given you better quality material to start with. DV is at the bottom end of the scale.

What is the best export setting for burning a dvd?

I am trying to export my senior thesis to a DVD, I've never burnt a DVD before and am using Adobe Premiere cs6.
I used a Canon7D 24fps to film and want the best quality of video and audio possible.
ALSO, after I've exported it, are there any other steps I need to take before burning it to a DVD?
Please help!

The best quality will be using an x264 encoder in CQ mode to create a Blu-ray.
Next best is exporting using an H.264 Blu-ray preset for creating a Blu-ray.
After that, exporting a lossless file for MPEG 2 conversion using the free HC Encoder using CQ mode, which will end up on a DVD.
Last in the quality lineup, export using an MPEG2-DVD preset, changing the Min, Target and Max bitrates to 5, 7 and 9 respectively.
Avoid Dynamic Link.

Exporting best quality for DVD

I shot video with a Canon 5d Mk2. 1080p 30 frames, 48k. Looks awesome in Premiere! But when I export the video to Encore i use the Mpeg-2 DVD preset, and it just kills the quality. I have to burn to standard DVDs because my clients need them that way, so Blu ray isn't an option.
I understand it has to compress everything, but i would like to know how to get the best quality possible. It needs to look better! I am using CS5
Please Help!

John,
Thanks for your response. The issue seems so simple since I've followed steps described on Lynda.com back when I was using CS4.
I'm now using CS6.01. I created this video in CS4 and updated it in CS5. PS, AE, and Pr
I've installed all of the updates to CS6. To newest QuickTime and to the Video Card
My PC is running Windows 7 Ent.; 64-bit Xeon CPU Quad 2.8GHz
And I'm not running other software.
The source footage is a sequenced .tiff animation I rendered out of AE.
I've made a video a few years back. A copy is here on YouTube: http://youtu.be/lAh70G_AOFE.
I'm not editing the video. I just get requests to have a DVD of the original source to play in our tradeshows. Sharp copy/product edges. It looks great in Premiere and I've set on paper my standard work from Lynda.com (Premiere Pro CS4 Essential Training - Chapter 16).
I select the Sequence in Premiere Pro and select File / Adobe Dynamic Link / Send to Encore. Then set the Project and Build settings.
But as you can see below the file exported to Encore didn't transcode (?) properly
BEFORE Screen in Premiere:
NEW: I can see now that the Video in the timeline has the jags

Why is the finished DVD so low quality despite having chosen best quality for Pal. Compared to Pro Show Gold its rubbish !

I am VERY disapointed with the quality of a finished DVD. As a proffesional weddig photographer the program quality is just not proffesional in quality. Compared to Pro Show Gold by Photodex which unfortunately is not available in MAC format. Can anyone offer advice and proove me wrong for deciding on MAC over PC !
I have chosen the best quality and burnt using Toast 11

Hi Nigel.
nigelfromlewes wrote:
What can I add other than I followed the instruction to the letter and have purchased a suggested
Application Toast11 .
You can add plenty (and probably remove a bit as well ). As you recompose your question(s), keep in mind:
the respondents on this site are just users helping other users. Apple sponsors the site (for its own ends) but does not participate in any of the discussions or provide any compensation of any kind to any participants.
whining and threatening (typically: "Lightroom is looking better and better", but your "proove me wrong for deciding on MAC over PC !" is up there) lower your chance of receiving helpful advice.
no one here knows what you are trying to do, what you have done, what the result was, how that differed from what you expected, or anything about your current software and hardware set-up other than what you tell us. Being pointed and specific is a very good way to help us help you.
What were you trying to do?
What specific steps did you take to achieve it?
How did the result differ from what you expected?
What steps have you taken to achieve a different outcome?
Did that work?
What hardware and software are you using?

Best workflow for burning Blu-ray and DVD

Hi,
What's the best workflow for effciency sake for burning both a Blu-ray and a DVD of the same project?
Essientially I'd like to export and create a menu once, then be able to downrez to DVD. However, I'm not sure that is possible since blu-ray and DVD are differnt codecs.
Thank you

The only way that you can get acceptable re-scaling of menus is to go from BR to DVD, and do the editing in Photoshop. Simply re-scaling the menu here will not give acceptable results.
I usually copy the various button layers from the BR menu to a new DVD menu file created using the provided Photoshop preset. You will still have to do some manual re-scaling and alignment. The thing that has given me the most trouble over the years is round button highlights - a segment is often chopped off. Font sizes will probably need adjusting too.
Unless you are adept with handling layers and groups within Photoshop, it may be easier to start again.
Any attempt to convert within Encore is unlikely to produce acceptable menus in my experience.

Best quality for burning to DVD?

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