Best quality for SD movie into iDVD

I just finished creating a movie in iMovie '09. It was originally recorded with a Sony 8mm camera and passed through a Sony DV camera into my MacBook.
I've added the titles, transitions, chapter marks, etc. The movie is about 50 minutes long.
What is the best way to get it into iDVD and retain the best quality possible?
Should I "share to iDVD" or export as a QuickTime movie and then drag that into iDVD? Which settings would be the best for that choice?

You can actually convert them AFTER you've moved them in. When you captured them from the camera, they were saved into DV format. You can use mpegstreamclip (free download) to convert the DV clips into AIC or M-JPEG. If you do it correctly, the next time you start iMovie it will import the AIC-based clips in as well. Then, when iMovie reads them into your project and eventually renders the final movie, it will handle rendering better with AIC or M-JPEG clips as the source material.
I understand needing to work with what you have; it is a pain to go and replace each clip, clip by clip, with new clips. However, I have very little experience with DV. I've been using mpeg clips from a HDD camcorder for over a year and have only just started using DV as I am now also shooting with a higher-end DV camera for church projects.
I wish I could give you advice on how to export your project so iDVD can make the best DVD from it, but all of my work to date has been exported into movie files and played onto a HD TV through a laptop using QT or presentation software.

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Best Quality for .avi movies in iMovie HD?

Hello:
I recently had a number of old 8mm and Super8 movies converted to .avi files. The quality is pretty good and I want to create some DVD movies and I was want some suggestions on the best quality settings when exporting either to iDVD or Toast. I created a small sample movie and exported to a DV file with the highest settings and it plays well on my computer DVD player, but plays in slow motion on my home DVD player. Is it possible that my home DVD player is simply having a hard time decoding the DVD and it looks slow? Is there a way around this via the encoding settings?
Thanks,
cbrose

DVD's use MPEG-2 as their playback method so it doesn't matter about all of your conversions (AVI ->DV) as iDVD will convert it again to MPEG-2.
Toast and iMovie do the same thing but iMovie can't convert to MPEG-2.
DV Stream (.dv) is the format used in iMovie and it allows editing. MPEG-2 is solely a playback method and it doesn't allow editing (without converting first).
If your .avi files play properly in QuickTime you can import them into iMovie (converts to DV Stream) edit and add and then send to iDVD (converts to MPEG-2).
If they don't need any editing in iMovie your can just bring them into iDVD, or Toast, (they convert) and then burn the DVD (converted again to MPEG-2).
Try a new "home DVD" box. There is probably something wrong with yours. About $35.

Best quality for watermark movie

I need to do a watermark on my 87 minute DVD movie to send to France. This isn't a big studio thing and I have to do things myself. I will copy to FCP from the DVD master (which was made from 35mm to Digi-beta to DVD) and want the best quality I can get. I have the papers on watermarks and can figure that out easily enough.
To make it more complicated, there are extras and commentary also. But I can forgoe these as the dvd movie is enough for them to decide whether to distrib it or not.

The 35mm print was transferred to digi-beta by my North American distrib. DVDs were made from digi-beta master as far as I know and for only their use. All other territories are mine, thus a French company which had the old VHS version now would like to see the DVD version as the VHS was pretty poor. The new DVD is quite good, even in copied DVD, considering the original 35mm print is 32 years old.
I can send a DVD to France but am wary about sending a copy without watermark, having dealt with foreign distribs before. Can't really get a sales agent as the fan market for movie is limiited and sales agents steal just as much as distribs do.
The only media I have to work with is a DVD. A transfer may follow as I have the 35mm prints but obviously I don't want to pay for digi-beta transfer or at least for full price.

What is the best workflow for AVCHD with iMovie/iDVD 09?

I am recording AVCHD video with a Sony HDR-SR11. I don't have a blu-ray burner yet, so I want to create the highest quality DVD's I can from this source video using my MacBook and the software I have (iMovie 09 and iDVD 09).
Currently I am importing the video clips into iMovie 09 at the 1920x1200 setting. After creating a 16:9 movie I choose "Share to Media Browser" and export at the highest setting I see (I think 1280x720, I'm not on the MacBook at the moment).
After a long while this completes and I launch iDVD 09. I drag the movie I exported above into the theme and burn at Professional Quality. After another long wait I have my DVD but I'm quite disappointed with the video quality.
Even taking into account that DVD is not a hi-def disc format it seems like the video quality should be better. Is there a better workflow I should be using with this combination of software? Maybe some way to avoid scaling/compressing the video twice? Or is this as good as it gets with iMovie 09 and iDVD 09? I may have access to iMovie 06, if that would help.
Thanks,
Gerald

3) Share to Media Browser with Best Quality
For folks like me that wonder exactly how did you do this:
(I don't know what Media Browser is yet.)
I did this: (I got some warnings - did you?)
In iMovie:
Selected my 1280x720 "HD" video in the Project panel,
Share->Media Browser...
- if HD is greyed out, you already shared this size to Media Browser, go to next step,
or select "Remove from Media Browser, check HD, click Remove"
- if HD is not greyed, but is not check marked,
select Computer icon, then uncheck Mobile, Med, and Lrg, leaving only HD checked
With HD checked, Click Publish - watch "Creating the HD movie.."
Bring up iDVD, Select Create a new project, browse for location and enter project name
If Themes at bottom right is not selected (Dark), click it
Double click a theme - for example under Revolution, choose Chapters.
At bottom right, select Media, At top right, select Movies
Under iMovie should be your iMovie project - mine says "My First Project" (I didn't name iMovie proj)
Select your iMovie Project,
you should see a thumb of your video with dimension, size listed
(movie duration is down at bottom right.)
Drag the thumbnail onto the iDVD preview window (I don't what that window is officially called)
drop it under the theme title "Revolution Chapters" for this example
You should see a running preview of your video with the project name below it.
Important step: Project->Project Info, Under Encoding: select Best or Professional Quality
Ok re-encoding warning, close Proj Info window.
File->Burn DVD... Popup says "Warnings in Project", select Continue Burning
Insert DVD (Apple designed sharp edges on the SuperDrive on purpose?)
I used Staples 4x DVD-RW first.
Watch process proceed till DVD is ejected...Don't believe "Time remaining: about one minute"
My DVD-R120 player-recorder would not load the disk. It played fine on iMac, a WindowsXP laptop, and a Windows XP desktop. This DVD machine only likes old 1X RW media for some reason. I wish someone made a standalone Blu-Ray recorder/player. I burned a second copy to some gold Sony 1X/2X DVD-RW media, and this disk played fine.
Picture quality is soft compared to HD material, but the moire patterns on some edges is only somewhat reduced over the Share to iDVD version. This Share to Media Browser version is acceptable for folks that won't go to Vimeo or YouTube to see my videos in HD.

Big help needed with FCP3 Movie into iDVD

Hi there
I have completed a 8.30 min film in FCP 3 and want to export it to the best
quality for DVD , When the finished film is exported as a DV Strem it is
about 3,6GB but when it is placed into iDVD it only say its takes up 0.6 GB ,
and loses quality , What can I do, to keep its original quality and file size ??
Cheers

Export out of FCP 3 as a Final Cut Pro Movie, self contained. Do NOT export as a DV Stream.
Open iDVD. Import the Final Cut Pro movie and burn the DVD.
When it is burned to DVD, compression will occur. It is compressed into MPEG-2 so that it is viewable on your DVD player.

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

Help Please ::: Quicktime .mov into iDVD 5 playback or encode problem issue

Originally Imageready files burned into Quicktime. Importing Quicktime .mov into iDVD results in project which looked great in preview, but after burning images were elongated, flattened. I am stumped, especially given preview results would indicate no such problems but unsure where to analyze on the DVD burn end to check. Any tips on what/where to check? Have tried re-importing original ImageReady (Photoshop) files into new Quicktime .mov (original project was done on OS 9 fyi). But no change in results.. any help greatly appreciated.
iMac Mac OS X (10.3.9)

Thank you for the feedback. I wasn't privy to the process that converted these files originally but suspected the theory on compression/codec initially used.. may re-convert. Also will try Disk Imaging... seems that this is not an uncommon problem in the iDVD 5 world...
regards, Senor Peaches
Originally Imageready files burned into Quicktime.
Importing Quicktime .mov into iDVD results in project
which looked great in preview, but after burning
images were elongated, flattened. I am stumped,
especially given preview results would indicate no
such problems but unsure where to analyze on the DVD
burn end to check. Any tips on what/where to check?
Have tried re-importing original ImageReady
(Photoshop) files into new Quicktime .mov (original
project was done on OS 9 fyi). But no change in
results.. any help greatly appreciated.
iMac Mac OS X (10.3.9)

Importing a movie into iDVD from FCE

I am perplexed. In the iDVD - Movies display, there are shown half a dozen movies. The other couple of dozen movie files which do appear in Finder - Movies are not listed in iDVD. Nor will the movies in Finder-Movies drag over to iDVD. I clicked on the yellow triangle which appears in the "insert movie" box in the theme, clicked 'import' and it told me iDVD does not support that action. So how do I get a movie from Finder-Movies into iDVD? I did not have this trouble with iMovie.
This is my first completed FCE movie. And things were going so well.

To import movies into iDVD you may use the File/Import/Video... command, after selecting the theme you want to use for the DVD menu.
If a movie in the Import dialog window cannot be imported, probably it has a non standard format, and for sure it was not exported from FCE. Any movie exported from FCE with Export/Quicktime Movie (the only correct method to get a movie from FCE to iDVD) may be imported into iDVD.
So I suggest you review the procedure you used to export from FCE and try again.
Piero

How to get FCE movie into iDVD?

Hi Folks!
I have a movie that I created in FCE and would like to burn it onto a DVD. When I open iDVD, I don't seem to have access to the movie file that I created. iDVD looks for the file inside iLife. Is there a way I can put the FCE movie into iLife, or is there another way I can burn a DVD from my FCE file?
Thanks very much!
Vixter

iDVD looks in your /Movies folder (not 'inside iLife' as you mentioned).
When you export your movie from FCE, save it to your /Movies folder. Then it will show up in the iDVD Media pane, under the Movies folder.
You can also import your movie into iDVD by doing *File > Import > Video* or by dragging the movie (from wherever it is saved on your hard drive) onto the _iDVD main window_ or a _drop zone_ in an iDVD template. Don't try to drop it into the iDVD Media pane - that won't work.

Need Time Estimate for Rendering Movie in iDVD

Hello.
I am a brand new Mac user and have recently finished a 45 min. movie in iMovie. I simply want to get this movie onto a DVD so that I can share it with friends and also watch it on a TV. I'm running into trouble, though.
I've gone through the process of importing the movie into iDVD, and have selected an option that reads "One step iDVD from Movie" from the File menu of iDVD. iDVD then went through and compressed the images in the movie, but has been "encoding audio" for the past 3 or 4 hours. Is this normal given the length of the movie? I'm not sure at this point if the program has simply stopped responding (I checked the Activity Monitor, and it DOES say that iDVD is not responding, however the computer itself seems to be working -- the drive is spinning and the fan is on). Or is there a better way to get my movie onto a DVD? I just read about the DVD image in another thread, so perhaps that was the right way to go about this?
I am doing this on a new 2GHz Macbook with 1GB RAM.
Thanks in advance for your help.
Fun2Sail

Thanks for responding, Sue.
You were right. I let iDVD run overnight and this morning it had created a DVD with VIDEO_TS and AUDIO_TS folders. Now, I just have to figure out whether this DVD will automatically play in a TV's DVD player (and also how to get it so that Winodws machines can view the video).
If anyone happens to know the answers to these questions, replies will be much appreciated. I'm not a movie-making or an apple afficiondo by any means.
Thanks again, Sue, for your quick reply.
fun2sail

FCE movie into iDVD?

Can a FCE movie be exported as a Quick Time movie into iDVD08? How?
When I try to put the QTmovie into iDVD the following message appears:
"The movie could not br opened."
"The file is not a movie file."

I am not able to get a movie into iDVD. Here is my procedure, which is the same as stated on pages 1015 and 1016 in the FCE user manual:
1) I open the FCE timeline of my 26 minute video.
2) I go to File > Export > Quick Time Movie.
3) In the window that opens, I name the movie, specify a location (FC Exp projects folder) and check "Make Movie Self Contained". Then click Save
4) After exporting completes, I find in the FCE projects folder TWO QTicons of my movie labeled av.mov1, av.mov 2, and a thumbnail showing the first frame of my FCE video.
5) In a iDVD page that I have prepared, with completed drop zones, I go to Project > Add Movie which puts a box with the words "Add Movie" on the iDVD page.
6) When I drag either of the two QT files listed above in 4) from the FCE projects folder onto the iDVD page they will not stay, but rather jump back to the FCE projects folder.
7) However, when I drag the thumbnail of the first frame of my video onto the iDVD page it remains. However, this is a FCE file, not a QT file of my movie, and does not support converting my iDVD file into an image for later burning.

What is the best setting for export movie in widescreen format?

Please tell me what is the best setting for exporting movie in Widescreen format?

Like in After effect we use "NTSC D1 Widescreen Square Pixel".,
Carefully examine the codec and pixel dimensions of that output file. That's certainly easy for an experienced VFX person like yourself.
Then carefully look over the presets in FCP to find the same attibutes. You can also use the online help system for FCP and search for "D1"
However, your question remains unanswerable because we don't know how you're getting to the monitor. What are you playing back you AE sequences on that displays them on your LCD? You're assuming we know what you're doing and, I assure you, we do not.
bogiesan

Importing a movie (mov) into iDVD 16.9

I have been attempting to import a movie (mov) into iDVD. The movie is 16.9 aspect ratio and every time I import it into iDVD it defaults tp 4.3 even though I set it in the beginning within iDVD at 16.9.
Can someone help me

Hi
There are in two places You need to set 16x9
• First when You Create a new project
• Then under Project Info (top row menu)
This can jump back to 4x3 if You select to use such a theme - then just go up and change it back again
SAVE AS A DISKIMAGE
Test this first - to see that all plays as You want it
Then first burn Your DVD
Yours Bengt W

Quicktime movies into iDVD

When I drag my movies into iDVD, it shows the names of the files on the main screen. How do I do away with all the names.
And how can I get the movie to play through without stoping after each one.
I'm using 8 little quicktime movies of my son.

Hi David,
Welcome to the Discussion.
If you have QuickTime Pro, you can concatenate them one after another to form a long QT movie, and then import this to iDVD. If you don't have QT Pro, you can also use iMovie to import and chain these movies together into one iMovie project, and then use this iMovie project in iDVD.

What is the best encoder for a quicktime movie into iDVD...?

i seem to be having some issues with picture quality once the DVD is actually made... i do have my preferences set at professional quality, but i think my problem may be with the original source file... what's the best format for that...? H264...? mpeg4...? pro res...?
thanks

Since you are just researching, I am going to make this as short and sweet as possible.
The 27 inch screen IMac is your only option. You need to have one with the fastest i7 CPU, fastest Graphics processor. Order one with the base 8 GBs of RAM and add additonal RAM through cheaper third party Mac RAM suppliers.
My preference is for the standard ATA 7200 rpm drives as the Fusion-type drives are not proven technology, yet.
If you want a really fast iMac and can afford it, consider an internal or external solid state drive (SSD) as these drives ard very,very fast.
For external drives fast drives are ones that use USB 3, Thunderbolt and/or FireWire 800 connections.
Stay away from external USB 2.0 external hard drives. They aren't fast enough.
You need an adapter adapter for your mini DV camera.
You are going to need some make of separate high speed audio interface box for instruments and vocals.
Look at interface boxes from M-Audio.
And you'll need to budget for a third party, good quality, high speed external FireWire 400/800 CD/DVD optical drive.
Plus, very seriously consider the purchase of extended 3-year AppleCare Warranty plan.
Something will go wrong with an iMac between 1-5 years.
Three years of warranty protection offers free repairs and replacement of you have hardware failures.
Good Hunting!

Best quality for SD movie into iDVD

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