Crappy quality in iDVD...

I tried to make a DVD containing some pics and a movie, all from our holiday. But the quality of the final product, especially the pics, was really bad... The pics didnt scale out on all the tv-screen neighter. Its better to just show them from the PS3...
Why is this? Anyone?

Hi
Yes that's a correct observation and due to many things
• DVD is as standard only - Interlaced SD-Video when at it's best (whatever DVD authoring program used)
• Feeding iDVD - HD or Progressive material will not give a better result - but a worse one as Downscaling is done badly
• Feeding iDVD alient Video-Codecs - also can result in bad DVDs or other strange Errors
• Using iMovie'08 to 11 - will be even more degrading as when material goes from Event's to Project's it drop every second line - resulting in a big quality loss and this can not be repaired on Export (any way chosen)
But by assembling the SlideShow in
• iMovie HD6 - or -
• FinalCut any version
• FotoMagico™
Will keep 100% Interlaced SD-Video quality over to iDVD
And if Higher quality is of need then
• Blu-Ray
• Or as You do - USB-memory ---> PlayStation3 - The way I do too
• OR I use my MacBook and connect this to HD-TV or Projector
Else
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. 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 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
• 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
• 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
• Start a new User-Account and log into this and iMovie get's faster too - if a project is in a hurry
• And let Mac run on Mains - not just on battery
Yours Bengt W

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Hello, wmas,
Welcome to the discussions.
How are you getting your iMovie into iDVD? Are you using the 'Create DVD' button from within iMovie?
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is there any way to increase the quality of an iMovie project compression through iDVD? the resulting iDVD projects have a terrible quality! iDVD simply ruins all the crispiness and clarity achieved in iMovie. any solution to this, please?

iDVD does an excellent job in compressing video, using an extremely high bitrate of 8kB/sec (just a few bits under standard's max) for projects <60min.
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*Preparing images for iDVD slideshows*
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◼
720 x 540 pixels for standard video in NTSC format
◼
854 x 480 pixels for widescreen in NTSC format
◼
768 x 576 pixels for standard video in PAL format
◼
1024 x 576 pixels for widescreen in PAL format
You can also make sure images in iDVD are always scaled to a size that will fit within the area visible on most TV screens, or the “TV safe area.”
*To fit slides into the TV safe area:*
Choose iDVD > Preferences.
Click Slideshow.
Select the checkbox labeled “Always scale slides to TV Safe Area.

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Photo Quality in iDVD

I work with still photos only. Want a slideshow that maintains photo image quality. iMovie coverts to video file & degrades the quality. Changed to FotoMagico. Maintains photo quality in slideshow & offers transitions, KB effect & title slides. It exports to iDVD or Roxio Toast to burn DVD. After the burn in iDVD, the images are distorted and the transition movements are very choppy. Is iDVD coverting this to video images, thereby degrading the photo quality? Is there a way to use iDVD and maintain quality? Would Toast be better? My goal is to produce a photographic quality "still photo" slideshow using transitions, KB, etc. I am selecting NTSC 4:3, best quality in both programs. Getting very frustrated trying to output the quality I can see on my display in a DVD...any suggestion?

Hi,
I feel like I am back at school...
1. I have the BETA version because when I tried to export or burn a DVD neither worked. They knew that was a problem & sent me the BETA fix. Now I can burn or export.
2. My problem is whatever I do with the burn results in loss of image quality. I have been corresponding with Werner at FotoMagico who has been very helpful. He says image quality from still photos which have been authored & burned can not maintain image quality the technology just doesn't exist unless I go to a pro DVD lab and have them work with compressions per frame. He specifically said it is due to limitations with the MPEG-2 stream, which is standard in DVD playback. The little I have read on this is over my head.
3. Right now I will forgo the idea of playback on a TV. Let's just deal with computer. When I burn to DVD as my option and it opens in iDVD it results in degraded images. I don't know what to select in iDVD and or FotoMagico to change this result or if it is even possible. I run a G5 with a 23" monitor, most current software on ALL prgrams. Picture files are digital froma Nikon D200 and a mix of negative and slides scanned in with a Nikon CoolScan 5000 and moved into iPhoto via the scanner or a transfer from Adobe. I am having the problem with all these types. What do you mean by resolution in iPhoto?
4. I transfer from FotoMagico to iDVD by selecting 'Burn DVD' and it opens to 'iDVD'. I have left all settings on FotoMagico and iDVD at default settings and Werner said that should be okay. FYI - I have tried changing slideshow setting from display reolution to 23" monitor to NTSC. Nothing seems to change image quality.
5. I would like at this point to be able to maintain image quality for transer in Quick time, upload to .MAC web account, etc. Help me there I am lost.
6. Someone on this discussion also suggested burning to iDVD using the data portion only of the DVD using disk utility. I need help there. Also will that reproduce sound or only the photos. I understand that TV's and DVD players will not accept this mode and that is okay until someone figures out a way to maintain image quality for TV w/o an expensive lab.
7. Werner said this is possible but they suggest copying the entire package (document as well as images and audio) and move it to iDVD or Toast. On the target devise install a FOtoMagico demo version & run it there. or if the target machine is not a Mac & FotoMagico can 't be nstalled there, you can export manually to a QuickTime movie by selecting 'export' frpm the File menu. Use 'HD preset or 'QuicltTime' & burn the resulting file to a DVD. My husband & I will work on this (with a tech if nec) and maybe you have some thoughts as well.
At the end of this I think I will know more about video and FPS and MPEg's than I ever intended. Oh well, a little knowledge never hurt anyone!
One last thing, what is a BETA for NTSC. I hate to bug Werner again without knowing what this is!

Not happy with slideshows / Ken Burns effects / lesser quality in iDVD

I am a new iPhoto user, having created my first slideshow of old photos to play at my mother's 80th birthday party this week. The whole process of arranging photos, testing visual effects and adding music went swimmingly! BUT (!!!!) I am hugely disappointed now that I've rendered the show through iDVD.
-- The Ken Burns effects keep changing! Once a slideshow was created and the Burns effects seemed perfect, I sent that show to iDVD. But viewing the project once burned to DVD, I see that the cropping, zooming, etc. are all different. Is there a way to "save" a show and maintain the effects?
-- Moreover, the crystal clear image sharpness and clean edges seen when viewing a slideshow in iPhoto are "dumbed down" once the show is sent to and rendered in iDVD. Even at the "quality" setting, moving effects look raggedy-edged. This really makes me unhappy.
Any thoughts or ideas to share on this? Thanks.....

SixPack:
Welcome to the Apple Discussions. As TD pointed out, making a QT movie file of a slideshow involves rendering which is then encoded once again in iDVD. IMO, the best image quality for a slideshow is obtained when you create the slideshow entirely within iDVD. Of course there's no KB effect.
If you create the show in iMovie you can get around the double encoding by closing iMovie once the slideshow is finished. Then open the iMovie project file/package (Option-click on the project file and select Show Package Contents option), find the iDVD folder and drag the .mov file in it into the open iDVD window. This will let iDVD do the rendering of the various transitions and special effects and provide a better final product.
You must remember that iDVD's final resolution is only 640 x 480.
Do you Twango?
TIP: For insurance against the iPhoto database corruption that many users have experienced I recommend making a backup copy of the Library6.iPhoto database file and keep it current. If problems crop up where iPhoto suddenly can't see any photos or thinks there are no photos in the library, replacing the working Library6.iPhoto file with the backup will often get the library back. By keeping it current I mean backup after each import and/or any serious editing or work on books, slideshows, calendars, cards, etc. That insures that if a problem pops up and you do need to replace the database file, you'll retain all those efforts. It doesn't take long to make the backup and it's good insurance.
I've written an Automator workflow application (requires Tiger), iPhoto dB File Backup, that will copy the selected Library6.iPhoto file from your iPhoto Library folder to the Pictures folder, replacing any previous version of it. You can download it at Toad's Cellar. Be sure to read the Read Me pdf file.

Problems with quality in iDVD

I've been trying to burn a DVD using iDVD. I created a several videos in iMovie HD at 720p Quality. All of them look great in iMovie and are excellent quality when exported to .mov files, but when I place these iMovie projects (or the .mov files) into iDVD and burn them, the quality is dropped substantially. The size of the imported video is 2005 pixels by 1504 pixels in H.264 codec before it is imported into iMovie, and the quality from source file to iMovie is essentially the same. I've changed the quality to professional in iDVD and this has done nothing to the quality
Any thoughts or suggestions would be incredibly helpful. Thanks!

Mike,
I had the same problem. I still have not been able to burn DVD's with iDVD even close to the same quality as the iMovie project looks, or even how the iDVD project looks.
Here's my work-around:
Instead, I first save the iDVD project to a disc image. I then use disk utility to burn the DVD. The quality of the burned DVD is significantly better when done this way-- in my experience anyways.
Here's what to do:
In iDVD, go to File>Save as Disc Image...
After you have created the disc image on the desktop, then open up Disc Utility.
Next, follow the instructions from http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2087 which I have pasted below:
Disk Utility (Mac OS X 10.3 or later)
Open Disk Utility, in the Utilities folder (/Applications/Utilities).
If the disk image you want to use doesn't appear in the list, drag its icon to the Disk Utility window.
Select the disk image and click Burn.
Insert a blank CD or DVD into your computer's optical drive and follow the onscreen prompts.
Disk Copy (Mac OS X 10.0 through 10.2.8)
Open Disk Copy in the Utilities folder (/Applications/Utilities).
From the File menu, choose Burn Image. Don't open the disk image file before choosing this command.
A navigation dialog appears. Locate and select the disk image file.
Click Burn.
When prompted, insert a blank disc into the optical media drive.
Click Burn.
Depending on your computer's settings, the drive will eject the disc, or it will appear on the desktop when the burn is successfully completed.
Note: When burning a disc from a disk image, the burned disc will have the same format as the disk image. If you need a disc that will work on different computers, burn the disc in the Finder.
I hope this helps.
Regards,
John

Slideshow quality in iDVD?

Hi all
I've read most of the posts I can find on the problems with poor quality slideshows after burning with iDVD and I think I'm clear on the reasons why, (quicktime) and the current state of affairs re enhancement (deal with it - thats how it is...).
My question is whether there is other software available that can do this better? Presumably DVD studio pro would make no difference as the slideshow would still have to go through quicktime. And before anyone says anything, doing the slideshow in imovie is equally poor quality, and less versatile. Simply allowing us to export the slideshow as a .mpg not .mov would give a **** of a lot more versatility.
Iphoto slideshows are excellent, but apple has a knack of being classy only if you enjoy it on the machine that it was created. Too often apple media is un-versatile and un-helpful.
(still reeling from having to purchase quicktime pro when it clearly should be bundled anyway - what a waste of money. "Powerhouse media authoring"...!! I don't know how to get across my incredulous, hollow laughter with text..
yours, hoping for a reply
H

Thomas
Thank for the info - its very useful to know.
I'm making a slide show in iPhoto. I don't know what sort of engine iPhoto uses to present its slideshows but it looks great. In order to burn a DVD of the slide show you've created you can either click 'send to iDVD' in iPhoto or you can open iDVD and insert it as you would with any movie or audio. Your only other option if you've created your slideshow in iPhoto is to use the 'export' function which is basically what happens when you click 'send to iDVD' - it saves your slideshow as a quicktime.mov file. which you can then drag and drop in iDVD.
I'm fairly savvy about my computer (i'm only a user but i'm not a total fool) and I certainly have no problems with trying to find other ways round this, downloading software, even spending more cash - I realise that computers can't just do anything we want, that there are incredibly complex things happening etc etc...
I guess my gripe is that the whole process seems to be so perfectly set up; you do the slideshow, you send it to iDVD (all the while thinking what a wonderful machine this is) you burn the DVD, and all of a sudden the results are awful - I mean awful! It seems a bit cheeky - the application almost wants you to burn a DVD of your slideshow and yet the results are like something from 1986.
Am I fighting a losing battle? Was this machine never designed to burn acceptable quality DVDs, just joke, toy ones for kids?
Sorry, getting carried away.. I know iDVD can produce much better quality still image slideshows but no KB effect, no different timings or transitions - its kind of the point.
By the way I'm in england. Not sure what the TV protocols are.

Photo quality on IDVD

Photo quality is poor when IDVD is shown on TV,
What can I do to improve quality?
Photos look good on PowerBook.

Photo quality is poor when IDVD is shown on TV,
What can I do to improve quality?
Photos look good on PowerBook.
we have the same problem, however when we showed them on a friends High def TV -they looked great?
if you find out anymore info I too wuld like to know
IMac Mac OS X (10.4.6) G-4

Can I make DVD of HDV quality in iDVD?

I shooted HDV by Sony hdr-hc1.
and I edited the movie (1080 60i) in iMovie,
then I export to h.264 format of that movie.
I import h.264 in iDVD, then authoring..
but that Quality of video is lower as same as DV quality.
and disk size is lower as quarter of iDVD project file.(4GB->1GB)
well, How can I make high quality of HDV in iDVD?
Or is it impossible in iDVD?
iMAc g5 2.0 single+powermac g5 2.5 dual Mac OS X (10.4.2)

iDVD only produces SD. There are no HD players in the USA...yet. Maybe when the HD battle is either won or compromised. Apple is with Blu-Ray.

Best performance vs. Best quality in iDVD Prefs!?

What is the difference? i have selected "best quality" and see no difference in picture, but one can fit more onto a dvd with best quality vs. performance. what is the difference!? thanks!

A quick, simple explanation is given in David Pogue's little iLife '04 manual. I will pare it down a little:
"Given that a blank DVD contains a limited amount of space, how much picture-quality data can it afford to devote to each frame of video?
The Best Perfomance option in iDVD 4 ....allots a fixed, predetermined amount of data to each frame of video--enough to make it look great--no matter how many minutes of video is included. A lot of the DVD might wind up being empty if the project contains less than an hour of video. But, the burning process will go quickly and the video will look really great.
The Best Quality option uses every micron of space on the blank DVD, analyzes the amount of video included and divides it into the amount of space available on the DVD. The amount of information used to describe an indiviual frame of video will vary from project to project, and it will take a lot longer to burn the DVD because of so much analysis. But it will give two hours of great-looking video per disc."

Having problems with video quality in iDVD 09

I have created a slide show in iMovie with audio. When saved it is in a .mov format. I burned it to DVD using the burn folder option. It has great video quality in that format. Since most DVD players won't accept the .mov format or some PC's, I wanted the most common format for viewing. I exported the movie to iDVD and used these settings..
Video Mode-NTSC
Aspect Ration 16:9 widescreen
Encoding-Professional Quality
DVD Type-Single-Layer (SL)-4.2 GB
When going from the .mov format to the MPEG-2 format ( I think this is the output format for iDVD)
The quality is very poor. It seems to have wavy lines throughout the file, especially when someone is wearing patterned clothing.
Anyone know how to get the same quality of the .mov file to something that will be viewable across multiple platforms???
Would using moviegate conversion software be an answer????
Message was edited by: inthecards

inthecards wrote:
.. Anyone know how to get the same quality of the .mov file ..
a mov can contain all kind of codecs and esp. resolutions..
a videoDVD, by standards, has a 720x480 res, and is interlaced.
=> quality HAS to be 'lower' than any 5Mpix on a HiDef computer screen..
but, I did tons of slideshows with iMHD6 and iDVD.. for me, quality is superb.. for sure, tiny 'checker patterns', 'sub pixel lines' etc. HAVE to flimmer..

Burning the highest quality in idvd 9

Hi,
When burning a disk at the highest quality available in idvd 9, what is the final output resolution? I'd like to get as close to 1080i as possible (knowing that I cannot burn HD without a HD burner and equivalent software). I am curious as to what idvd does to your video and stills. I've been creating HD movies in FCE (1280x720) and using idvd to create slideshows and then burning the project to dvd for playback on my HDTV. My images are HD 1280x720 tifs which I have been importing into idvd for a slideshow. On the final output I notice the images look soft, so was wondering what quality idvd is capable of.

As stated above already iDvd is limited to standard definition. There are no workarounds that I am aware of within iDvd itself. You'll have to think outside of this app if your intention is to go high def and blu-ray or even high def on a standard dvd-r. Forget about playing it back on most macs since apple doesn't currently support Blu-ray playback through its own dvd player app. Your hands are tied unless you choose a third party or an alternate dvd player application to open the file. For example, Roxio's Toast Video Player can do this.
click here
Hope this helps but if not just come on back.
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Crappy quality in iDVD...

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