Can I burn a .mov file directly to DVD?

Question

How do I burn my QT movie to a DVD so that the resulting DVD movie can be played back with QT?
It is only 2GB in size, so should not need compressing.
QT 7.6.4 simply does not play the video once it is on DVD.
What am I missing?

Answer 1

I'm not quite sure how Movie and QT Movie differ, since they both have the .mov file extension name.
The MOV, MP4, and M4V file extensions refer to the container in which the data is stored. MOV, for instance, is a generic file container which can contain up to 99 tracks of compatible data. In the case of audio and video content, that means any compression format compatible with whatever codec components you have installed on your system to include third-party components. You can place WMV, DivX, or even "muxed" MPEG-1 data in an MOV container. On the other hand, an MP4 container is normally limited to MPEG4/AAC or H.264/AAC audioi/video content which normally opens using the QT Player. The M4V container is even more specific --normally limited to H.264/AAC or H.264/AAC/AC3 content which automatically opens in iTunes when double-clicked (assuming you have not changed the opening application yourself). The same H.264/AAC data placed in any of these file containers will play equally well. However, owing to differences, in the container itself, they may appear to have differing file sizes or possess differing file characteristics. However, as mentioned above the A/V data is exactly the same in each. In fact, using the "Save As.." command on either the MP4 or H.264 file will save the active A/V content of that file in an MOV file container.
Now how should I burn this QT Movie to DVD to get best quality?
As previously stated, the easiest way is to place the file in a "Burn" folder and press the "Burn" button. This action simply copies the file(s) in the folder to your optical media without changing the file at all. You can also burn "data" discs using the Disk utility included in the Utility Folder but using the burn folder is an automated Finder feature that burns media without having to open a dedicated application.
Toast is obviously out, since it takes the resolution down and changes the ratio aspect. Burn with Finder does not make a dvd that is playable on a dvd player... Does this mean I should use iDVD, or is there a better option?
Here you have to make a decision. Commercial DVD players do not support HD content. You can either "author" a DVD in an application like Toast or iDVD and have it converted to SD content (the standard 720x480 VIDEO_TS VOB files) or you create an HD file that plays back in HD but only on your computer using one of the QT-based player applications. You can't have it both ways. If your files must be HD and play on a commercial player, then buy a Blu-Ray player, buy a Blu-Ray burner, and then use the Toast 10 High-Def/Blu-Ray plug-in to create either short HD DVDs or Blu-Ray discs that will play your HD content in HD on your new commercial Blu-Ray player. This is not, however, what you originally asked how to do and the HD content will not be QT compatible.