Create an IDVD project

I am trying to assemble an iDVD to burn to DVD. I have converted two imovie projects to IDVD. I have created a third iDVD project into which I have imported 99 slides and 3 pieces of music as background to the slides. I had hoped that I could drag the first two iDVD projects on to the window of the third and burn. I have done this before - creating a disk image before burning.
However when I drag the extra projects onto the window i get the message "IDVD does not support your last action".
Could someone give me some some help please.

Welcome to the forums.
You can drag your iMovie projects into iDVD, but you cannot drag other iDVD projects into iDVD. Since these are all iMovie projects, you should be in good shape to have all three on one DVD (if their total length is under 1 hour, you'll have the best-looking result)
John

Similar Messages

I am trying to create a idvd project but the it does not while encoding the films, Why ?

I am trying to create an iDVD project. I create to sub menus and put small films in each sub menu. When it starts to create the project, while encoding the films, at one point to time it just stops abruptly. Why. I fail to understand. I I tried twice, and it happened the same. I have created the projects in the past, but it has worked just fine. This time it is behaving rather weird.
I went on to see the report and I feels it stops with a 32 bit film. I may be wrong, but could you please help ?

See Bengt Wärleby's post in this topic for questions relating to encoding problems: Stage 4 Multiplexing - Media error in...: Apple Support Communities. He's the most knowledgeable if that area.
OT

Created An iDVD Project on A Combo Drive iMac -- Help! Can I Transfer?

I created an iDVD project an iMac with a Combo Drive. As I sent the slideshow directly from iPhoto to iDVD, I did not know until I was ready to burn a 240 picture slideshow. Is there ANY way I can move the dvd project (~ 800mb) off the iMac where I created the project to move it to an iMac with a SuperDrive?
Help!
Thanks!
Grant
iMac 17 in w/Combo Drive Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Hi Grant
You can also burn a Disk Image to DVD via an ext. FW burner. Lacie makes a few models that work well on most macs. I built my own from a Pioneer 110 and an ADS 1394 Pyro enclosure. Not that expensive to make your own. Runs about half the price of a Lacie Ext. Burner and it requires No Drivers!
Click Here
(3) G4 PM's/(3) S-Drives/Sony TRV900/Nikons/6FWHD's/PS7/iLife06/FCPHD/DVDSP/etc. Mac OS X (10.4.8) My ichatav AIM account is: SDMacuser1 (Please use Text chat prior to video)

How do i add a second movie to an idvd project when 'sharing' from imovie always opens a new idid window?

I am creating an idvd project with multiple imovie projects. I know I need to share my imovie project with Idvd. WEhen I do that, idvd automatically opens. Now I want to add a second project. The problem is that when I share imovie projects a second time, it automatically opens a second idvd project. I want to add multiple imovie projects on one idvd project.

One should not share directly to iDVD from iMovie. The Share ➙ Media Browser option should be used as that results in a better quality movie in iDVD. Do the same for both movies and you can drag the movies from the Media ➙ Movies pane in iDVD into the DVD menu window at the left.
Follow this workflow to help ensure the best quality video DVD:
Once you have the project as you want it save it as a disk image via the File ➙ Save as Disk Image menu option. This will separate the encoding process from the burn process.
To check the encoding mount the disk image, launch DVD Player and play it. If it plays OK with DVD Player the encoding is good.
Then burn to disk with Disk Utility or Toast at the slowest speed available (2x-4x) to assure the best burn quality. Always use top quality media: Verbatim, Maxell or Taiyo Yuden DVD-R are the most recommended in these forums.
OT

How do I deleted a movie from an iDVD project

I created an iDVD project using a movie, and have decided to go back into iMovie and make changes to the movie I am using for this project. Since I have put so much time into putting photos and music in submenus, I want to use the same project I created, just replace the old movie with the new. I cannot figure out how to delete the old movie from the project. I have shared the new one thru Media Browser, and it is ready to be added, but I first need to delete the prior version from the iDVD project.
Anyone know how to do this? Thanks.

READ THE ENTIRE MESSAGE BEFORE DELETING ANYTHING !!!
To delete a movie from iDVD: Open iDVD. Click once on the movie title to highlight it. Hit Delete. It should disappear in a poof of smoke.
If you have chapters in your movie, you need to delete the Scene Selection text button also.
But, when you reopen iDVD after changing your movie, before doing anything in iDVD, iDVD should give you a message that your 'assets have changed' and ask if you want iDVD to update. Click on yes/ok, but check your iDVD project before burning. The way it is supposed to work is that iDVD recognizes that you have made changes to your iMovie, uses the revised iMovie in its files instead of the first one, and uses the updated iMovie when you burn to disk or create a disk image. It is a nice feature so that you do not have to delete the iMovie already in iDVD and have to put in your updated newer version; iDVD is supposed to add the update itself, using the newer version of iMovie. It worked that way in iDVD 6.
However, if you have an iMovie with chapters, what happens with iDVD 8/9, as opposed to iDVD 6, is that iDVD does indeed recognize the changes and sends the 'do you want to update' message, but if you tell iDVD to go ahead and update, the chapters will no longer select correctly. They all will default to the same chapter no matter which one is selected.
I can't tell you whether or not iDVD will correctly play the updated movie if you don't have chapters. You will just have to try it.
If you do have chapters and/or incorporating the changes in iMovie does not work, the only 'fix' is to recreate the iDVD project. It takes time but is not difficult since you have done it once. Open a new iDVD project and put the updated iMovie into it. Do a "Save as Disk Image" to create a disk image file of your iDVD project. Play the disk image file with DVD Player. If it plays correctly, burn your disks from the disk image file using Disk Utility or Toast. You can delete the old iDVD project.
Good luck with it!

IPhoto slideshow in iDVD project

I have some questions on problems creating a iDVD project of an iPhoto slideshow:
1. Is it possible (how ?) to create buttons for scene selections, as in iMovie ?
My project contains one continuous slideshow (942 still pictures) which I want to divide in
chapters relating to the varuous trips I made during one travel.
If not in iDVD: has this breaking up of a single iPhoto slideshow be done in iMovie or iPhoto itself,
or by way of creating a 'Magic iDVD' ?
2. Can audio be imported with different sound clips ?
As for now my audio clip (3 min) repeats itself endlessly till the end of the project (48 min), and I
want to use various songs out of my iTunes library.
3. For a slideshow with its speed matched to the lenght of an audio clip, 10 seconds seems to be
the longest duration for one single picture. Can this be lengthened ?.
In my actual project, 10 seconds for each picture in combination with a cross dissolve seems
to work too fast in my slideshow.
I expected this transition to be added to their duration; instead it seems to take seconds away
from the linked stills.
If all these problems can't be adressed in iDVD 6: is iDVD 8 the better option ?

To get the versatility that you want, and because this is a complex project for iPhoto, I suggest that you bring iMovie into the work flow.
I would create a separate iPhoto slideshow for each segment of your trip (eg. Italy, France, etc.)
Then export each slideshow to your desktop as a High Quality Quicktime movie. There will be no loss of quality. Then create an iMovie project, and drag each Quicktime movie into the project. You can add your audio in iMovie, as well as chapter markers. Then save and close, and drag the iMovie icon (the one with the star on it) into an iDVD project. Just drag it to the edge of the iDVD display menu so it doesn't fall into a drop zone. Then save your iDVD project as a Disk Image (an option from the File menu). This will take awhile because all the encoding will be done as if you were burning a disk. To play the disk image, double click on its icon, and then open the DVD Player app on your Mac. Make sure it plays O.K. Then close it, and open the Utilities/Disk Utility app on your Mac. If it's not already in there, drag your disk image icon into the left side display panel in the Disk Utility Window. Then insert a DVD-R disk into your drive and hit Burn. The burning process will be fairly quick because all the encoding already was done when you created the disk image.
As far as I am aware, you cannot extend the length of a photo in an iPhoto slideshow beyond what the settings will allow you to do. If you want to go beyond that, I would suggest creating your slideshow in iMovie where you can display the photos for as long a duration as you want. In my opinion, 10 seconds duration for a photo is way too long, particularly when you have 942 still pictures. Whew! I would keep it to 5 seconds at most. You can always use the remote pause button of your DVD player if you want to display to your viewers a particular photo for a longer time.
In an iPhoto slide show you can import different audio with different sound clips. Go to iTunes and make up an album of the songs that you want to play in your slide show. Then, when you select your music from the media pane in your iPhoto slide show, select the album that you created, and the slide show will play those songs in succession as your slide show runs.
The cross dissolve transition will shorten the display duration of the photo on each side of it, and thus shorten the overall display time of the slideshow. The overlap transition will not shorten the overall time display.
I hope this helps. Good luck with your project/.

IDVD Project Size Stuck @ 4.54 GB

I created an iDVD project using Magic iDVD and the Pass Through theme (6.0 theme). These are the contents:
(1) a main menu movie of 6 MB and a 30-second soundtrack (not the same soundtrack as the movie)
(2) 3 submenus with still photos and a 30-second soundtrack for each
(3) 2 movies, one 840 MB and the other 870 MB (made with iMovie)
(4) 3 slideshows of only 10 seconds each. The slideshows each have only 2 pictures.
The project size, using professional quality encoding, ended up at 4.54 GB. This seemed strange to me because I had previously created an iDVD project with 5 submenus, five 10-second slideshows, a 2.88 GB movie (made with iMovie), and using professional quality encoding...and it was still able to fit in one DVD!
Here's the other strange thing: When I replaced one of the movies with a 1.99 GB movie (also made with iMovie), the project size still showed up as 4.54 GB! So I think there's definitely some program glitch here somewhere, either in iDVD or iMovie.

So to clarify: iDVD doesn't care abt the size of the movies but abt the total running time of the movies...is this correct?
That is correct. With the exception of adding content to the dvd-rom section, iDvd only looks at run time or total QT playback (not to exceed 2 hrs. per SL Dvd-R). If you do add content to the dvd-rom section it then reduces available QT Playback. Same holds true when you add audio files, motion menus, photos, titles, etc. The available playback is shortened / reduced each time these additional /extra features are added to your dvd. That's why it's always a good idea to keep a close eye on the Capacity Meter within Project Info. It'll tell you how much space is remaining as well as how much is currently used by all of the content on your dvd.
Another item you need to watch very carefully is iDvd's Map View. If after you add content you then see an exclamation mark (yellow warning sign); iDvd is telling you you must address this file properly before it can be burned to disc. Otherwise it will likely choke during the encoding process.
Message was edited by: SDMacuser

Using iDVD project file after deleting original iMovieHD

I've been using iMovieHD and iDVD to convert my home movies from miniDV tapes to DVDs. I've been putting two one-hour tapes together into one iMovie and then creating an iDVD project with themes, chapters, etc.
Each two-hour iMovie file takes up >20 GB. Before I burned my DVD, the iDVD project file took up only a few MB. After I burned the DVD, the file size grew to >4 GB, so I figured (erroneously, it seems) that this new file package contained all of the information needed to keep burning DVDs. Threfore, I deleted the original massive iMovie file and kept only the iDVD project file.
Now every time I try to load the iDVD file, the program lists all the missing files and, other than my themes and chapter titles, there is nothing left of the original project.
Am I missing something here? What's taking up all that space (4 GB)? Am I completely screwed? Is the only way to make new copies of my project to copy the DVD that I made?
Any help would be appreciated.

Hi Jay,
As John has said, you should have created a Disc Image of your DVD project before deleting the iMovie file. When working in iMovie/iDVD you must not delete ANYTHING that is in the project, not even the iMovie trash can, which often mysteriously fills up with "stuff", until you are sure you are finished editing and then have saved a Disc Image to burn further DVD's from. The files you deleted from iMovie were the reference for the file you were using in iDVD. Without that iMovie file, your iDVD project will only show what was created there, like your theme page.
Sorry that's bad news. Your options now are re-create your iMovies from your tapes, OR, rip the DVD you have back to your Mac to burn more DVD's.
Forest
iMac G5 20" 1.8 GHz - 400GB HD - 2GB RAM Mac OS X (10.4.8) 300 GB & 160GB Ext drives, QT 7.1.5 Pro, Panasonic GS-500 3CCD miniDV cam

Is there a way to exort an iDVD project back to iMovie?

Hi.
I need some help please!
I made a training video a couple of years ago for a friend's company. She now would like to have additional copies burned. The problem is I saved the dvd project on my hard drive, but I deleted the imovie project.
Of course, this time she needs to change her company logo in the intro (which would require me to remove the first 5 seconds of the original movie)... and I'm unable to edit it. Can I extract the movie some how? or if save it as an "archive" would I then be able to move it to iMovie?
I would really appreciate feedback!

The answer depends on what you have available.
The best method is to locate the movie footage used in the original iMovie and reimport that into another iMovie project and create a new iDVD project with it. There will be no loss of quality.
Just so you know, saving your iDVD project is nearly useless without saving the movie that is in it. An iDVD project is not self-contained. Think of it as a file that holds aliases. When you create an iDVD project, the iMovie used is referenced, not physically moved into the iDVD project. Same for any photos or audio files used. It is unlike an iMovie project (at least version 6) where the movies, photos and audios ARE moved into the iMovie project. When iDVD burns a project, it collects the referenced files for the burn, but does not keep them permanently in its project. So, if you have saved any iDVD projects, and you did NOT save the media used, all you have is the 'shell' of the iDVD project. If you open it, iDVD will not be able to locate the missing media and will alert you that it cannot find the proper files.
If this is the case, and you no longer have the original movie footage, or you don't want to have to re-edit it, you will need to get one of the burned DVD disks, and extract the movie from it.
Any type of extraction of compressed data will result in some loss of quality because the data must be decompressed and then recompressed again for another DVD.
If you don't have one of the DVDs you previously burned for this project, you will not be able to create another iDVD project from the first one, and without the original movie footage, you are out of luck.
If you do have one of the old DVDs, you can use a variety of software to extract out the video: Handbrake, Ripit, or Streamclip. I have not looked into Handbrake, but many use it and think it works well. Ripit will extract the video into format for iMovie....seems easy enough as reviewed in MacWorld recently. Others use Streamclip.
If you think that you will need to create more DVDs of this project, or if you would like to save your complete iDVD projects in the future so you can burn more DVDs, you should do a 'Save as Disk Image' from within the iDVD project for each one. This process looks exactly like the burning process, with the same encoding and taking the same length of time to complete, but the end result is a disk image file, not a burned DVD disk.
The advantages of having a disk image file are several:
First, it is self-contained, with all the media data encoded in it. So now, you CAN safely delete both the original iDVD project and its original iMovie without losing the ability to burn disks in the future.
Another advantage is that it can be a backup for all your burned DVD disks. What if a disk is damaged/breaks/melts/ etc.? With a disk image file, you just burn another one.
Disk image files save drive space because they are smaller than the combination iDVD project /iMovie projects used to create them.
You never need to worry about renaming, moving, deleting or changing any of the media used in any of your projects causing iDVD to lose connection with them. All the media encoding is in the disk image file.
And, another advantage is that you can burn DVDs from the disk image file, using Disk Utility or Toast, getting more consistent burns, since you are not depending on iDVD to pull in the media.
Here are some helps for creating a disk image in iDVD:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=iDVD/7.0/en/6733.html
Burning from a disk image using Disk Utility:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2087?viewlocale=en_US
If you have some previously burned DVD disks and you think you would like to have had disk images for them, you can create a disk image file from a burned DVD disk.
Here are instructions for that:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2059?viewlocale=en_US

Can't open saved iDVD project

I've been working on my first iDVD project for some time now using iMovie/iDVD08. The first version (movie and slideshow) works fine and I can open the associated .dvdproj file and make amendments if and as required. The DVD which was produced looks good.
However, as it's a 57-minute long movie, I was keen to introduce chapters. I used GarageBand for this purpose, sent the movie with chapters back to iDVD and added appropriate Scene menus. All worked fine on my computer. I saved the new project and retrieved it (just to be sure to be sure). All OK so far. I burned a new DVD which looks good and scene selection works great, however ....
can't now retrieve the .dvdproj. Any attempt to do so causes iDvd to hang. Activity monitor shows "Encoder server not responding." I need to force quit this process and also iDvd itself to get out of this bind. Very frustrating. I've been through this entire process now twice (recreating from first chapter-free version) and the problem recurs.
Can anybody assist?

Hello, Conor,
Welcome to the discussions.
First, you should delete iDVD's preference file. With iDVD closed, go to your home folder(YourUserName)/Library/Preferences/com.apple.idvd.plist.
Drag this plist file to the trash. Don't worry; iDVD will create a new fresh one when you relaunch it.
See if you can open your project now.
Post back if this did not work.
Now, if you had an iDVD project that burned successfully, and you still have that iDVD project saved, you should be able to open it just as you did when you were working on it. Getting that message about the encoder server not responding is strange. Your project should already have encoded since you were able to burn a DVD. That problem may be resolved by deleting the plist file. You might also try just shutting down the computer and restarting it.
However, remember that iDVD is not like iMovie where the project's contents are actually saved within the project. An iDVD project should be thought of as a virtual or alias project. Its files point to their location on your computer. So, your iMovie is not physically within iDVD's files. If you move or delete any files that your iDVD project needs, iDVD will not be able to locate them.
It is highly recommended that you do a 'save as disc image' for each of your iDVD projects. This process looks just as if iDVD is burning a disk, but it is creating a disk image that can be used to do the actual burn, using Disk Utility.
It is useful to keep your projects as their disk images to do further disk-burning of that project in the future. The disk images cannot be edited, so be sure you are completely finished editing your project before creating a disk image. A disk image is a self-contained file, so you no longer need to keep your original iMovie or iDVD projects. Keeping only the disk images will also save drive space.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=iDVD/7.0/en/6733.html
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93006
Why do you still need the iDVD project if you have already burned your DVD? If you want to make further edits to your iMovie and burn a new DVD, you can always recreate your iDVD project.....not the simplest solution, nut once you have created an iDVD project, it is usually fairly quick to recreate it .
If you just want to burn more disks from that project, you can always use the first DVD to make a disk image of your project, and use that disk image for further burning.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=DiskUtility/10.5/en/duh1945.html

Error Message when trying to complete my IDVD Project?

I'm getting an error when I try to either burn or ave my project to a disk imahe or TS_Video folder. The error message says:
++There were errors during the project validation that have to be fixed before burning the project.++
How do I go about debugging the problem. I have created many IDVD projects but have never had this issue.
I'm using IDVD 08 and using an 08 template.
Thanks for any help,
Steve.

+I am wondering why you have stuck with a G4 and OSX 10.4.11?+
I can answer both questions in one answer: Flawless performance and compatibility with my applications. I didn't see much value in Leopard for my computer (G4). Mac Pros get faster and cheaper every year.
+Is there a way to make the submenus different from the first menu?+
Maybe in the themes with little triangles that expose other menus? Or maybe when you're on the submenu, just switch to another menu. I've never done that since I like to carry the theme throughout.
I'm not sure about the motion menu issue... I had that in Pass Through one time and had to stop all motion and remove music. It was a pretty complex project. Here are my notes on that project:
*Ireland 2006*
iDVD 6 Pass Through widescreen theme
696 images that are 2816x1584 pixels shot with Canon SD700 IS
15 640x480 movies from same digital camera transcoded to H.264 with QuickTime Pro.
Part 1 and Part 2 submenu buttons on main menu. All submenus are the Chapters option for this theme.
Part 1 leads to a submenu. That submenu has additional submenus and sub-submenus. Part 1 leads to 12 total submenus. These menus contain images and movies.
Part 2 leads to a submenu. That submenu has 5 submenus with only images.
I had to "remove" animation on all the sub-submenus and not include any music to get everything on a single-layer DVD-R. The Menu info was WAY over the 7:30; something like 14:00 after these adjustments. About 20 slideshows with music. Additional short slideshows with no music.

Problem burning iDVD projects using external LaCie burner

I recently purchased a LaCie DL d2 DVD RW with LightScribe 16x from the LaCie company (12/07/2007). The LaCie burner is connnected via Firewire to my iMac. The iMac is a little over a year old and I am running Mac OS X (ver. 10.4.11).
The primary reason for my purchase was that I wished to create/burn iDVD projects on my iMac computer. The reason that I needed this product was due to the fact that, when I purchased my iMac, I made an error in judgement , and ordered it with a combo rather than a SuperDrive. So, while I am able to create iDVD projects and iMovies, I am unable to burn DVDs with of projects on the Combo Drive that came with the computer.
Thus far, however, I have not been able to burn a DVD with any of my iDVD projects. I am running iDVD 6 (ver. 6.04). When I attempt to “burn” a DVD disk the “Creating your DVD menu” appears. When I put in a blank DVD+RW 4x 4/7GB, it appears to go through the process (Prepare,,, Process Menus... Process Slideshows... Process Movies and Burn procedures). The DVD is then ejected and a message says that it is done and is “cleaning up.” However, that message never leaves the screen and when I click on the “Cancel” button, nothing happens. The iDVD application seems to lock up and I have to do a “force quit.”
I have tried this with three different projects, all with the same result. When I place the supposed “burned” DVD in the Combo Drive, it spins for a while and then kicks the DVD diskn out.
I have also tried launching Toast Titanium 7 (software that came with the LaCie burner). However, I see no place where I can “drag & drop” an iDVD project to the “drop zone.’ The closest thing seams to be “movies.” However, when I select that mode and go to my iDVD folder, all of the files are “grayed out.”
Can anyone help me out? Should I be able to burn iDVD projects with this unit? If so, what am I doing wrong.
Thanks for any help/advice that anyone can provide.
Jeff White

open up Toast 7, click on Video tab, click on Image File and drag your img. file to Toast.
John,
That's not correct. In Toast 7 you must use the Copy tab to burn a disk image to writable media. See page 94 of the Toast 7 manual.
(The procedure is slightly different for Toast 6 and Toast 8 but always involves using 'Copy')

Burning iDVD projects with external LaCie burner

I recently purchased a LaCie DL d2 DVD RW with LightScribe 16x from LaCie (12/07/2007). The primary reason for my purchase was that I wished to create/burn iDVD projects on my iMac computer. The reason that I needed this product was due to the fact that, when I purchased my iMac, I made an error and ordered the iMac with a combo rather than SuperDrive. So, while I am able to create iDVD projects and iMovies, I am unable to burn DVDs with my project.
Thus far, however, I have not been able to burn a DVD with any of my products. When I attempt a “burn” the Creating your DVD menu appears and when I put in a blank DVD+RW 4x 4/7GB, it goes through the process (Prepare,,, Process Menus... Process Slideshows... Process Movies and Burn procedures). The DVD is then ejected and a message says its done and is “cleaning up.” However, that message never leaves the screen and when I click on the “Cancel” button, nothing happens. The iDVD application seems to lock up and I have to do a “force quit.”
I have tried this with three different project, all with the same result. When I place the supposed “burn” DVD in the Combo Drive, it spins for a while and kicks the DVD out.
I have also tried launching Toast Titanium (software that came with the LaCie burner). However, I see no place where I can “drag & drop” a iDVD product to the “drop zone.’
Can you help me out. Should I be able to burn iDVD projects with this unit? If so, what am I doing wrong.
Thanks for any help that you can provide.
Jeff White

"Should I be able to burn iDVD projects with _*this unit?*_"
Which "model" & "generation" G5 iMac do you have?
Need this info so that the knowledgeable users can provide you with the proper troubleshooting solution(s).
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301724-en How to identify your iMac
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.4/en/mh355.html Getting information about your computer
You can have this info displayed on the bottom of every post by going to 'My Settings' which is located in the column on the right under your name, and filling in the information asked for.
Thank you
Have you contacted LaCie Support?

What does saving an iDVD project do?

After I create an iDVD project and burn a DVD, I save the project, and it is usually about a 4Gb project taking up lots of hard drive space.
I have tried to use this file to burn another DVD copy, but I find it does not work. If I click burn, it starts the whole encoding cycle again.
Also, I recently need to change the photo quicktime file in a burned DVD, so I opened up the saved project, deleted the photo slides show, imported the new slideshow and burned again (there was a 50 min movie on the DVD also). I was hoping it would encode the new photos only, but it re-encoded the whole DVD.
Question - What is the saved DVD pjoject for if you can't use it for these points above?

Thanks Michael, and Lennart,
I may be a bit thick, but let me try one more set of questions.
1. If i save a iDVD project it takes up 2-3Gb of disk space, but you can do anything with this file other than reburn it and have it go through the whole encoding process again. Why would anyone save that file?
2. Is it confirmed that if I haved a saved iDVD project and I make a change or add one asset then all assets have to be re-encoded? or is there a shortcut encoding if I'm working from an already encoded iDVD project.
3. Is it right that it makes more sense to choose not to save rendered files in preferences, since you can't do anything with them and they take up lots of space (sorry this is sort of the same as Q1)?
Thanks again,
Tony

Why does my iDVD project skip the main menu screen when starting?

I just finished a movie in iMovie 09, chose iDVD from the iMovie menu, chose a theme, etc., all was fine, burned the DVD and it works great except it starts the movie instantly rather than showing the opening screen with the main menu.

When you export to iDVD from iMovie 09, iMovie usually creates an iDVD project in which your movie plays automatically before the main menu is shown. As SDUser has said, you can get rid of that behaviour by going into the DVD map and dragging out the very first item.
A hint: if you have chapter markers in your movie, and you are using a theme that has motion menus, open up the Inspector (the little i button bottom left in iDVD) and while you are in the Map view click on each menu. Take a look at the length of the menu loop. There is a bug in iDVD that often causes it to make ridiculously long menu loops (in one case 3 hours, even though the menu music clip was 30 seconds and the whole movie was under an hour). That will cause iDVD to take forever rendering your project, and will waste a lot of DVD space that you are need for your main movie. Just drag the slider back to a sensible menu loop length. But go back and check before you burn; as soon as you edit anything else in the menu (for example change the music background) the loop length will have to be fixed again.

Create an IDVD project

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