Best Workflow for Dvd studio Pro

I am looking to get the best possible workflow for dvd output. I currently just export my FCE HD project as quicktime movie NOT self contained. I then pull it into DVD Studio Pro 3 and after i do all the menus I build and burn the dvd. The image quality is good, but after reading alot of posts here it seems alot of people put their projects through compression before dvd studio pro builds the project. Should i be doing this?
Thanks.

Well, use the best encoder you can get your hands on. If you can budget for other encoders then maybe do that. Compressor will give you more control so its a good place to start,
-jake

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Best format for DVD studio pro??

I will be exporting from FCP4.5 and am wondering what is the best format to get the best possible quality from FCP to DVDSP? Also, should I go through compressor and what settings should I use?
I also want to make my own video transistions, what is the best format for those as well?
Thank You

The movie is 90 minutes.
You didn't mention your video format. You can export your movie as QuickTime Movie (not QT Conversion), same settings and self contained (my favorite flavor). The use that movie in Compressor and use the Best Quality DVD: 90 min presets encoding your video to MPEG2 and your audio to Dolby 2 (AC3).
That's the best standard workflow. With standard I mean that sometimes some kind of footage can need different treatment.
Hope that helps !
Alberto

What is the best format for DVD studio Pro when you have a lot of content?

I have to make a SD DVD and I have a lot of content trying to fit as much as possible on one DVD yet still maintain the quality. I made a beautiful h.264 to find out that it isn't compatible. Suggestions..
Message was edited by: jennafwd

How long is your program? How many menus do you plan to have?
Have you used one of the DVD presets in Compressor to create the needed .m2v video file and AC3 audio file for use in DVD-SP? If so, which preset? If you customized a preset, what bit rate settings did you use?
-DH

What's the best way to master an MPEG 2 file for DVD Studio Pro.

In version 4.5 of FCP I was able to use QuickTime conversion to encode to MPEG2. Now that option is not there. I hate using compressor 2 to create MPEG 2 because when I do the MPEG 2 files always seem to studder and I don't know why. I shot my project in HDV. It is about 64 minutes long. Any suggestions on the BEST way to master an MPEG 2 file for DVD Studio pro? Thanks in advance!
Peter
PS - I'm using FCP 5

Some people have reported a field reversal problem with HDV to SD DVD encodes. There's an Apple technical document on this issue somewhere, but the problem was supposed to be addressed by a Pro Applications update a couple of years ago... This site might help you get to the bottom of the problem.
http://www3.telus.net/bonsai/Step-by-Step.html

Exporting FCP movie for DVD Studio Pro

I am finished with my movie. I am confused now on the exporting to DVD studio pro. How do I do this? My viewer also would like it to be in widescreen because they had just bought a HDTV widescreen.
So how do I go about this. I have made many with iDVD but this will be my first with Studio Pro.
How do I export for DVD studio Pro?
PowerBook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.8) 2GB - 100GB Hard Drive

The most important thing you can do to help us answer your question is to give us the specs on your project. Open Final Cut Pro and click into your sequence. Then go to the menu "sequence" and go to "settings" or simply hit a command-0 (the number not the letter). Then tell us the frame size and the compressor used. From that information, we can get a better idea on how to help you: it is best to start any post with this information.
To export the best quality, go to file -> export -> QuickTime Movie...
From there, export using current settings, include audio and video, and make sure the bottom two boxes are checked (recompress all frames and make self-contained)
Once that file is created, import into DVD SP and you're done. Don't worry about compressor or other formats right now. This will give you the best picture with the minimum amount of headaches. Let us know how it turns out.

What format to export fcdp project recorded on sony z1 for dvd studio pro

what format do I export a Final Cut Studio project recorded on sony z1 HDV for dvd studio pro. I am getting lines on the edges if I export current settings.

finalcut.ie wrote:
he says sd is this right when i want a hd dvd?
HD-DVD is a dead format. It may play on your mac - or an HD-DVD set top player, if you happen to have one - but nowhere else. If you just want playback on your mac, compress to h.264 with your current frame size. If you want a DVD it will have to be SD and Mpeg-2 as Shawn already explained.
mish

Emergency questions exporting for dvd studio pro (ntsc and pal)

Hi,
I'm under a tight timeline and would appreciate any help possible. I'm experimenting with outputs/burning today so the real thing can happen tomorrow.
I have an hour long project that was shot on two different kinds of cams -- a sony hdv V1U and pan dvx100b. The first shot mostly in 16:9, the second squeeze 24p. We imported all footage as non-hd though, because the V1u has had problems syncing properly with hd settings with final cut. The issue/question now is this-
I don't know what file format (I'm assuming mpeg-4 for DVD studio pro, but using compressor or no?) or settings to use -- I'm used to mpeg-4, but for some reason it is coming out all grainy/pixelated and I'm not sure if I need to adjust the settings. Also, once exported into a usable/high quality format, I need to burn a ntsc dvd but also a pal dvd -- I've burned pal dvds on dvd studio pro before and know adjusting the settings is just in preferences, but I'm assuming the video will need to be converted into a different kind of file. Or no?
My sequence settings are 1440x1080 (16:9), quicktime video settings compressor hdv 1080i60. When I export as a quicktime file the conversion is great and no problems, but that isn't workable in dvd studio pro.
I would appreciate any advice you could offer,
Thank you,
Tenzin

Thank you, I'm trying that -- someone else just mentioned it needing to be an mpeg 2 file as well. The trouble I'm having now in compressor is it isn't converting when I press submit -- nothing is showing up in the batch monitor. I've tried this directly exporting from fcp using compressor, as well exporting quicktime from fcp and then using the quicktime file in compressor.
I'm not used to using compressor so I'm thinking I am not doing something properly in this process? Thank you for the suggestions, they are reassuring. Do you know if the same file produced by compressor can be used for the pal dvd?

How do I prevent errors importing foreign characters into subtitles for DVD studio pro?

How do I prevent errors importing foreign characters into subtitles for DVD studio pro?
I have figured out just about everything necessary for creating subtitle tracks in several foreign languages, but the only problem is that some individual characters in some languages (like the "open quotation mark" symbol in Lithuanian!) do not import properly into the subtitle track. I can type or paste the symbols in manually, but this means doing it hundreds of times in several different languages, and defeats the purpose of using the system I've created.
Does anyone know how to import some of these odd characters.
I import characters using a text file saved in Unicode-16, and I set the language of the track to the proper language (for instance, Lithuanian).
I can't find the answer anyway, and really am stumped!!
Thank you!!

i think i might have figured out a solution. it's a quirk in the program. i noticed that sometimes the quotation marks DO actually import, but only if they are in the middle of a sentence. they only FAIL to import at the beginning of a sentence. so, what i did was to paste a space before the beginning of every sentence with a weird low-down quotation mark, and it imported fine.
and it also seems to kill two birds with one stone, because sometimes it seems that DVD studio pro cuts off a few pixels at the beginning of a line -- so with a space inserted it just cuts off...nothing.
so far so good. thank you for trying to help, Tom. MUCH APPRECIATED. this stuff can be very frustrating. i'm already going bald fast enough....erg.

Best tutorial on DVD for DVD Studio Pro?

Totally new to FC
Especially need to learn how to compose/create a menu, using Photoshop
I am not comfortable with online tutorials.
Recommendations appreciated

Dont think I recall any DVDs. There is no best since its different for each person. Here's a great book for v3 - it still the same as v4 so no worries.
http://www.amazon.com/DVD-Studio-Pro-Mac-OS/dp/0321267893/ref=sr14?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1281110051&sr=8-4

Best setting on DVD studio pro for PNG vid from final cut w/1280x720 res

Okay, so I am trying to find the way to make my video look best on a 720p tv set. The video is for kiosk use, so will only show on this one tv over and over. I want the text to look super crisp and sharp, so I have exported the video from final cut studio as a png with 1280 x 720 HD resolution. When I import it as an asset on DVD studio pro I notice that the resolution in the track menu is showing as 720x480i. What's the best way for me to setup DVD studio pro, so my video retains as much clarity and sharpness as possible? Is there no way to make it super sharp on an SD DVD? I set the encoding to Two pass VBR and the bit rate to 6.8 and max bit rate to 8.0, motion estimation to best... any tips would be highly appreciated. Thanks.

I want the text to look super crisp and sharp
then use a computer and presentation software, Powerpoint, Keynote Open Office Impress which is FREE
1280 x 1024 rez is a basic standard these days
http://www.apple.com/iwork/keynote/
http://www.openoffice.org/product/impress.html
I have exported the video from final cut studio as a png with 1280 x 720 HD resolution.
this is waste of time, your next step is compressing this image down to something like a tenth of its original size with much lower rez to an MPEG2
if you want acceptable results at video rez 720x576 PAL then use DVDSP
but you have to accept that creating a DVD severely compresses the video to MPEG2, which is fine for moving video but isnt the sharpest compared to computer rez.

The size of my exported FCP movie is too big for DVD studio pro

Hey,
I have been editing for 4-5 years now and have never had a problem with size of a project to put into DVD Studio Pro to burn. However, I just finished a 2 hour project in which exported as a FCP movie it is 23.97 gb in size. When i put this into DVD Studio Pro it makes it 4.8gb in size which just makes it too big for it to burn. I have tried changing the compression to no avail and just now decided to clean up the timeline so everything is on one track with nothing overlapping. (The problem was it was a 2 camera shoot so the first camera i had on the bottom track constant with the second camera on the top track when i needed it but still with the first camera underneath.) Do you think this could be the solution to my problem? If you guys could help me out it would be most appreciated!

some things don't make sense here. please clarify.
Standard DV is roughly 5 minutes per gig, so that means that you have just about 2 hours of video, ok, got that. Now it's the two track thing that gets me.
Are you saying you have 4 hours of footage, the same thing from two cameras, and you're trying to set up a multi-angle DVD?
If it's just that you used two video tracks to edit, then NO, it is not your problem. It's still only 2 hours, the video will be mixed down to one track upon export from FCP to quicktime.
My suggestion is, instead of bringing a quicktime file directly into DVDSP, use compressor. I believe they have a preset in compressor 2 for a standard 120 minute DVD. IF you're project is truly less than 120 minutes, than that should be fine. If not, then you may have to manually make your own setting and lower the bitrate.
So the workflow is:
-open sequence in fcp
-file>export>quicktime movie... (you can uncheck "make movie self-contained" if you want it to export faster and you plan on keeping your original capture footage around)
-export your movie to a directory of your choice with a name of your choice.
-open compressor (in applications)
-drag the quicktime file you created into compressors main window, this will set it up. Now specify the export setting (120 minute HQ all files either 16x9 or 4x3 dep. on project) and specify a location for the files to be created. I strongly suggest that you use the HQ (High quality) settings in compressor. It's much slower to process, but much better quality.
-with a 2 hour movie it should take a really REALLY long time to compress, so I'de say do it over night.
-when compressor is done, you should have 2 or three files. a .m2v file a .aif file, and a .ac3 file. The .aif is your PCM audio, much better quality than the .ac3, which is dolby 2 channel. However, the .ac3 is a much smaller file with a lower bit rate, so if the .aif makes the DVD file size too big, you can switch it out for the .ac3
-Finally, open up your DVDSP project, drag the .m2v, .aif, and .ac3 into DVDSP and use the .m2v for the video track and either the .aif or .ac3 as the audio (as mentioned above)
-the good news is, your DVD media is already rendered, so when you go to build your DVD it will go much, much faster!
By the way, I recommend you go to file>advanced>build do not do a burn and build.
I find it best to build the VIDEO_TS folder on a hard drive and then use a program like toast to create a DVD (using toasts from VIDEO_TS option). This method also allows you to go back into DVDSP, make tweaks, and reuse your VIDEO_TS folder, not having to rebuild the whole thing each time.
Remember, 120 minutes on a single layer DVD is going to render fairly low quality no matter what.
If you have a newer mac and a dual layer drive, you may want to cough up a few bucks and get a dual layer DVD-R, then you have over 8 gigs of space to work with, perfect for HQ 2 hour footage.

Buy Final Cut Studio 2 for DVD Studio Pro? Pro & Cons of DVD Studio Pro?

I am thinking of buying Final Cut Studio 2 because it includes the DVD authoring software DVD Studio Pro. iDVD uses automatic settings that are hard if not impossible to alter and so some DVDs are authored with very poor bit rates.
1. Is it possible to change the bit rate manually in DVD Studio Pro so the best Quality DVD can be authored?
2. Is is possible to change the audio from PCM (which takes up a lot of DVD space) to AC-3 in DVD Studio Pro, so picture quality is improved?
3. Is there a way to buy DVD Studio Pro as a separate software package and use it with Final Cut Express?
4. Generally what other options for DVD authoring with Mac are there besides iDVD and DVD Studio Pro?
5. Is DVD Studio Pro a good piece of software or are there any particular faults?

1. Yes, but you would use Compressor for your encoding instead of DVDSP.
2. DVDSP will only encode to AIFF, Compressor will allow you to encode audio to AC3.
3. Negative. DVDSP is only available as part of Final Cut Studio 2.
4. You could try using Roxio Toast.
5. DVDSP gets the job done for me. I think it works quite well.
For a good explanation of how Compressor and DVDSP workflows work within Final Cut Studio, I'd recommend you take a look at DVD StepByStep

Exporting from Final Cut Pro for DVD Studio Pro

In the recent DVDs I've made, the quality seems lower than it has before. I don't think I've changed anything, but I was wondering what is the best format to export a clip from Final Cut Pro and the best way to encode those clips in DVD Studio Pro. Thanks for all your help!
Erin

The best and only format is mpeg2/m2v.
The encoding rate for video is based on the length of the sequence in h/m/s.
They should not be encoded in DVDSP, but exported as a self contained with current settings, no recompression and dropped into Compressor.
Based on length and the type of footage, elect a preset for video and elect Dolby 2 for audio

Need 101 course for DVD Studio Pro

I have a 5 minute rendered file with video in 1920x1080. I have it both passed through Compressor and as a 46 GB Quicktime uncompressed movie. I need to have this on DVD by mid June so I'm sort of in a rush. What would be the best and quickest way to learn how to use DVD Studio Pro for a very simple DVD, just a full screen photo with PLAY button and maybe some music and the movie itself? I would use iDVD but I was told it might not handle the HD. Then I'd need to know how to use iDVD.
I used to use DVD Studio Pro but when I upgraded I was no longer able to navigate the new interface (that and it's been a while).
I also dislike the templates in iDVD as well as DVD Studio Pro.
Thank you
Shelley

>I would use iDVD but I was told it might not handle the HD
You DO know that DVD is a standard definition format ... don't you? If you want to make a disc that will play in DVD players, it has to be standard definition content. Your HD footage will need to be downscaled to SD either in Compressor (recommended) or in DVD Studio Pro, if you let it do the encoding.
You can burn an HD DVD, but it will only play on later model Macs and a couple of (now obsolete) Toshiba HD DVD players.
Your other option for HD content on optical disc is Blu-ray.
-DH

Export 16x9 Anamorphic for DVD Studio Pro for TV

My movie is 16x9 Anamorphic DV on a 3:2 Anamorphic timeline... I want to export the movie in the highest possible quality for a DVD made in DVD Studio Pro. This DVD is for view on TV.
What is the best way to do this? Meaning the way most indie filmmakers would do it for a festival DVD?
Thanks

what is the exact audio option that I should be selecting in compressor? I do not see ac3? Closest is AAC 128kbps. Where are the correct audio options located in compressor? They are not under DVD 90 Folder... Thanks

Best Workflow for Dvd studio Pro

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