DVD STUDIO PRO 2 SETUP/CONFIG

Hey Gang,
New to this forum and I need some advice.
I have DVD Studio Pro 2 and have just downloaded the updates from the Pro download page (DVDSP 2.05, etc).
I'm running OSX 10.2.8, w/768Ram, 60gb free HD space.
iMovie 4.01 (I have FCP 2.X but never used it)
Quicktime 6.5.2
I would appreciate any suggestions on maximizing my system for DVDSP 2 with the above specs.
I have owned this product for years (just found the time to get into the manuals, tutorials etc. to learn it) and I would like the learning process to be as smooth as possible.
Is trying to get an upgrade to DVDSP 3 worth the hassle plus the expense?
I'm not much of a geek and have little time to experiment, so I plan on upgrading my system when High Definiton is or about to become the De Facto standard and the prices for all the necessary gear (software/hardware) have come down and/or improved. Right now I would like to work with what I have if possible.
Hopefully this time next year I'll be ready to move up to the Studio pkg. with a new system.
Thanks

Saugidaug
I don't know the answer to your question, however, it may be to your advantage to post a new topic.
1.)When you first enter the DVD Studio forum at the top left of the screen you'll see Forum: DVD STUDIO Pro in bold letters
2.)Underneath that you'll see "post new topic".
3.)Click and you can create your own topic/thread [B}Sending DVD Studio Pro audio to Sountrack Pro
4.)Be sure to state what version of DVDSP you're using.
5.)then members will reply to your specific question/problem.
PS: I'm in the same boat as you (seeking info). I'm still waiting for someone to provide me with info regarding DVD Studio pro 2.

Similar Messages

  • Using Qmaster with DVD Studio Pro OR Qmaster requires FCP on all machines?

    Greetings everyone,
    After a few days of tinkering I've finally managed to set up a managed cluster. However, I have a problem (surprise, surprise). When I submit a job to the cluster, Final Cut Pro suddenly opens up on all of the computers being used. I have Final Cut Studio 2 under an academic license, and all copies report that there is another copy running with the same serial number and that they must shut down. They render a few frames before suddenly quitting the job, regardless of whether I leave the message up or OK it away. I've done some reading from this thread which makes it sound like all systems must have a copy of FCP installed, or to use a slightly different method:
    http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=375923&tstart=195
    It's a bit upsetting as I'd originally read that systems could aid in rendering with just QMaster installed, and that they didn't need FCP installed. Hence, having FCP open up was unexpected, and I get the feeling that uninstalling FCP from those systems wouldn't help me.
    But let me explain what I do normally, and perhaps some of you can guide me.
    My work has me converting hundreds of tapes to DVD. Without QMaster, I would import the videos in Final Cut Pro, set chapter markers and in and out points, and then export the video (with barely any processing - an export typically takes 4 minutes on a dual 800 Mhz G4). I'd then import it to DVD Studio Pro, handle the menus, and then do a build and format. That process would take ~2-3 hours per DVD, and that is the part that I'd like to optimize.
    The setup is such that I have one dual G5 wired to our hard drives (all Firewire 800), and then four other systems that connect to the G5 to access the HDs through a gigabit network switch. This has worked quite nicely in that it allows systems that only have Firewire 400 to work at Firewire 800 speeds regardless.
    I'd originally thought that DVD Studio Pro 4 would automatically be able to process jobs through Qmaster, but I couldn't find a setting for it and it didn't seem to do it on its own. Instead, I was planning to redo my work flow such that the encoding of the video (the most time-consuming part of DVD Studio Pro's build procedure) would be done in Final Cut Pro. Or more specifically, it would go through Compressor. However, as I mentioned above, attempting to work this way causes Final Cut Pro to open up on all nodes within the cluster. As they all have the same serial number, they become unhappy under such conditions. I can uninstall them from the systems as I only ever use one copy at a time anyway, but as I mentioned from the link above, it seems that rendering through FCP -> Compressor will require FCP to be installed on all participating systems.
    Does anyone have any advice for what to do? Is there a way to get around having FCP activate on all participating systems, or is there a way to do it directly through DVD Studio Pro (ideally in a manner that wouldn't cause DVD Studio Pro to activate on all participating systems)?
    Any advice is much appreciated. The distributed encoding is really the only reason why we upgraded to Final Cut Studio 2, so I'm going to feel rather foolish if this doesn't work out.

    A QCluster network isn't designed to distribute Rendering from FCP, rather it's designed to distribute encoding tasks.
    As mentioned in that thread you linked to, the best workflow I can think of in your situation is to export Quicktime reference movies from FCP, then bring those reference files into Compressor for distribution to the QCluster for the transcode to MPEG 2 for DVD. There is a wealth of good information in that thread.
    In short, if you attempt to use a Cluster to export from FCP, then all of your nodes will need to have separate licenses of FCP. But if you use the reference movie method, FCP is not required for the encoding.
    One question for clarification with your workflow, are you logging & capturing these clips then sending them directly to DVD? or are you editing them in a timeline prior to export to DVD?
    If you're just using FCP as your Log & Capture tool, then you can skip the reference movie step and just grab the captured clips in your Capture Scratch folder and send those directly to Compressor.

  • DVD Studio Pro keeps pixelating my footage

    Despite clean source and no matter what I change out the "problem" clip with, there's a 10 second duration in the movie file that gets pixelated every time at the exact spot. Everything else on the DVD is fine.
    I'm not sure how to describe this any better, so please feel free to ask questions to clarify any details.
    Here are a few technical details about the project:
    4.1GB being burnt to a 4.7GB, single layer DVD.
    One Pass VBR.
    Bit rates: 4.0 - 6.5
    DVD Studio Pro 4 on a MacBook Pro
    I've burnt several large DVDs with this same setup, without any problems. This one, I've burnt well over 6 times on various DVD-R brands.

    DV/DVCPRO NTSC (Compressor Quality: Best)
    Try uncompressed 8 bit (takes up room, but worthwhile) Also make sure your sequence settings are BEST for scaling. If you used any renders for filters etc, you may want to delete the renders via Render Manager and re-render
    I've used several variations for that 10 second duration. Everything from animated stills to untouched video. Nothing different than what's already on the DVD.
    So this section is basically the same as all the rest in the video?
    The running time is 96 minutes.
    Definately A.Pack the audio, rough calculation is that the average bitrate can be about 6 (http://dvd-hq.info/Calculator.html & http://www.videohelp.com/calc.htm) with audio a.Pack/Dolby at 192
    I just now switched the settings to Two Pass VBR.
    Won't work on existing project properly (trying to change encodes in preferences), you are better off encoding outside of DVD SP then bringing it the encoded assets in.
    Try just exporting the problem section and see if you can get a good encode for that, will save some times as oppossed to trying to encode the whole thing, take 30 seconds, 10 seconds on either side

  • 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.

  • How can I burn an iMovie project in DVD Studio Pro?

    I created a DVD in iMovie for a friend, then burned the disc with iDVD. When I play it on my home DVD player it looks and sounds fine - but when he plays it on his DVD player, it looks fine but the audio is poor and echoes a lot. I looked at his setup, and he has DTS (digital theater sound), and from my primitive research, I found out the iDVD does not support DTS. I do however own DVD Studio Pro 3 which supposedly does support DTS - however I have never used this program and need some help figuring it out.
    Is it possible to take the project that I created in iMovie and burn it in DVD Studio Pro so that it would be compatible with a DTS setup? I would need very specific steps to doing this because I have never used DVD Studio Pro before.

    and he has DTS (digital theater sound), and from my primitive research, I found out the iDVD does not support DTS. I do however own DVD Studio Pro 3 which supposedly does support DTS
    iDVD creates DVDs with uncompressed audio (PCM). DVDSP (FCStudio) has no DTS conversion capabilites, just Dolby Digital (AC3).
    I think that your friend DTS system must play stereo PCM too; you could check in its documentation.
    What I do know is that DVDs with uncompressed audio (we are talking about computer created and burned ones in particular) can be difficult to play fine in some players because the high bitrate.
    I'm not an iMovie expert but as far I remember you can export your movie from there as high quality video (you must get a QuickTime movie with same settings that your footage) and convert it to MPEG2 video and AC3 audio using Compressor, and finally importing those assets to DVDSP.
    I hope this help !

  • Dual audio tracks in dvd studio pro

    Is there a way to play two audio tracks at the same time? I have a documentary setup with chapters and would like to add low level music under the commentary to mask room noise. I am hoping not to have to do in my editing program and just add it in DVD studio pro!

    DVD SP is an authoring program, not an editing/compositing arena.
    You need to go back to your NLE or an audio program to do this.
    x

  • DVD Studio Pro - is Subtitle button remote hardwired?

    When I press the Subtitle button on my menu remote, is what appears on screen determined by the HARDWARE,  or can it be configured in the software?
    For example, let's say I have English and French and Chinese subtitle streams on my DVD.
    Can I display "Francais, Anglais, Chinoise"  on screen when the subtitle button is pressed on the remote,  or is it the hardware that totally determines what appears on screen?
    I know that in DVD Studio Pro, you can have it jump to a specific menu you define when that button is pressed,  but I ant to change subtitles on the fly.
    thanks,

    Heya, Bansaw:
    "Hardware" would be the closest answer.  It would be more accurate to say that the behaviour of the Subtitle button on a remote control is "spec" driven, meaning DVD spec.  If I remember correctly, you can expect the Subtitle button to show and hide the current subtitle stream.  There's a variable that sets the stream while the title is playing and that's what'll show until the stream is changed.  And, changing the stream is typically menu driven (you have a "Setup" menu, right?).
    And, as RatVega™ mentioned, there's no guarantee that the DVD remote will even have the button.
    While I've never tried it, you could probably code the number buttons to change the variable which would change the subtitle stream; however, the user would have no way of knowing that you've cutomized the title to play in this manner.
    -Warren

  • Does DVD Studio Pro max out at 100 chapters?

    I have been told that 100 chapters is the most you can have in a DVD Studio Pro project. Does anyone know if this is true? Thanks in advance for your input and your time.

    If I'm adding a slideshow to my project and have 180 photos I assume I need to create 2 slideshows? Each photo is a chapter when you convert it to a track.
    I'm new to DVD Studio Pro and none of my menu photos or slideshow photos appear in the Viewer. Why can't I see the photos? They appear in the Menu, Assets and Slideshow column but don't appear in the Viewer or Simulator. I'm obviously missing s step somewhere. I only do slideshows because I'm a still photographer. I'm moving from iMovieHD and iDVD to DVD Studio Pro 3. My photos are 300dpi and 3000x2400 which is not 4:3 ratio. I need to recrop for DVD.
    Any suggestions (read the manual)? I did buy DVD Studio Pro - 101: Mastering DVD Studio Pro but it doesn't help with trouble shooting or setup. I apprecaite any help. -Roger

  • DVD STUDIO PRO NOT RESPONDING

    Hey out there;
    Does anyone have this problem with DVD Studio pro 4.2.2;
    I launch the app, and the beachball of death keeps spinning and the program
    doesn't repsond. I have to physically go into my prefs folder & remove the com.apple.dvdstudiopro.plist each time for the program to work/open.
    Not enough memory ya think?
    Any Suggestions? I'm running a MacBook pro/intel with 2gig memory...

    I have been having the same problem. DVD Studio Pro will not startup. DVDSP v 4.2.1, with QT v7.6.4. Apple support was helpful enough to take my question, but the resolution they suggested (create new account) seemed to work, in that initially it looked like DVD Studio launched (it got to a setup screen asking me my preferred resolution) but once I got past that screen - beach ball again.
    I have trashed prefs, uninstalled (DVDSP only) and reinstalled using FC Studio 2 disk set (takes several hours to do).
    All other applications work (FCP, Motion, Soundtrack, Compressor).
    I suspect some sort of QT incompatibility (auto update installed 7.6.4 recently and I am not on the FCP system editing as often as the AVID system we have.)
    I cannot find a compatibility list anywhere on the Mac site to determine if there IS an incompatibility.

  • The difference between chapter markers and dvd studio pro markers

    Does anyone know what is the difference between chapter markers and dvd studio pro markers? I can not find anywhere on Google. Also in the tutorials I have seen, suggesting DVD Studio Pro markers, but it did not mention the chapter markers.
    Thanks,

    "Adding Chapter and Compression Markers to Your Sequence
    Once you have your edited sequence or program finished, you can add markers to the sequence for use on DVD. Markers are reference points you can place within clips or sequences that identify specific frames. There are two kinds of markers you can add that directly relate to authoring a DVD—chapter markers and compression markers.
    • Chapter markers allow DVD authoring applications to create a navigable chapter list for your exported QuickTime movie. Chapter markers force MPEG keyframes (known as I-frames) at their location, since the DVD specification requires an I-frame at each chapter point.
    • Compression markers identify areas of abrupt change and include two types: those that are automatically inserted by Final Cut Pro at all edit points, and those you manually place in the clip or sequence. Like chapter markers, compression markers force I-frames at their location, although in this case it is for better quality encoding, and they are not used to create a chapter list.
    Note: When you export a QuickTime movie, you have an option to export various kinds of markers, including compression, chapter, or DVD Studio Pro markers. *When you choose to export DVD Studio Pro markers, Final Cut Pro actually exports chapter markers and all compression markers.* This includes compression markers you set manually, as well as ones created automatically by Final Cut Pro at edit and transition points."
    From the Final Cut Pro User Manual.
    So, JS was right the first time

  • How Do I Use DVD Studio Pro Files In iDVD?

    I had somebody create a DVD for me using DVD Studio Pro. (This was a compilation of many different videos.) It turned out great.
    I now want to make a DVD of one of those videos on my own using iDVD '08.
    I have the raw video/audio files. But, my problem is the raw files that were used for the DVD Studio Pro project are separated into one video file and one audio file. I don't know how I can get them both into iDVD. I was told that I have to recombine these two files into one file. But, how do I do this and still maintain the best quality?
    (I am not a video expert by any means, but I can tell you that the video file is a ".mpeg" and the audio file is an ".ac3". When looking at the .mpeg file in the finder it lists its Kind as "MPEG Movie" and when looking at the .ac3 file in the finder it lists its Kind as "Unix Executable File".)
    (I'm using iDVD 7.0.1 - I do have Quicktime Pro - I do not have the Quicktime MPEG-2 Playback component - I do not have DVD Studio Pro)
    Thanks in advance for your help!

    Q: How Do I Use DVD Studio Pro Files In iDVD?
    A: You don't, essentially.
    DVDSP is apple's top end app and it is intended to be used with FCP > Compressor > DVDSP. All of these are pro apps.
    i-Apps are consumer apps all of which are QT based. With that in mind ....
    now that doesn't mean you can't use FCP > iDvd. You can. But you have to do it in a way that iDvd will read all the files (meaning you must think in terms of QuickTime and export in this way). So when you export your QT File / Movie from FCP over to iDvd, it will look something like this hopefully regardless of the raw image & audio files you have already compiled which unfortunately will NOT work with i-Apps BUT will work with apple's pro apps which is the intended workflow / direction of said files in the first place.
    Btw ... if your QT movie has chapter markers then please use the following settings so iDvd can read these markers. (if on the other hand you were looking to export this file to DVDSP; then you would choose DVDSP Markers.
    Let me know if the above helps. If not, just come on back.

  • Problems downloading the new DVD Studio Pro update.

    Hi Everyone,
    I was wondering if anyone else has had this problem/message when trying to download the new DVDSP update?;
    'You appear to have already downloaded the DVD Studio Pro update.'
    This also happened on the last updates that were released.
    There is a workaround that I know of that I had to use last time but it seems strange that this is occuring. Has anyone else had any issues with this update (or the last for that matter)?
    Any help would be greatly appreciated as Apple Tech would not help me because I am on a Volume Licence and the Apple Store that I purchased it through has not given me any help.
    Thanks
    Carlo

    I can get around this problem by using software update to download the updates and then use the downloaded file to update the machines but I would really like the ability to download the updates as a standalone dmg file.
    I am running 20 systems on an airport network that will freeze up if I do the updates online the best i can do is 3 at once to avoid serious lag.
    Being able to download them seperately was always my first choice so i could update the machines regardless of being conected to the net or not. The workaround that I am using only downloads the package file and it seems there is the possibility of them being corrupted or damaged over time (moving from server to drives to media to computers etc).
    I still want to know why it thinks I have downloaded them already, it doesn't make any sense.

  • HUGE PROBLEM with sound in DVD Studio Pro 4

    As I imported the soundtrack of the footage that I have (which is about 1h16), the combinaison of my video & the sound is over 4,7 Gig. Therefor, I can't burn it on a DVD.
    I exported the audio in a lower quality to finally obtain a size of around 210mb for the sound (which was 844mb BEFORE!!!)
    BUT, As soon as I add it to the timeline, the size goes up again to 855mb encoded!!!!!! I even tried which a compressed AIFF file of 50mb and the sound is still encoded to the same size, 855mb!!!
    Where and how can I change the encoding of the audio in DVD Studio Pro so that I can lower the quality just a little bit so but my video and the audio will fit on a standard 4,7 Gig DVD!
    Thanks!!

    Drop your aiff files into Compressor, and elect Dolby 2 with -31 normalization no film compression.
    I don't know what you mean by "I exported the audio in a lower quality."
    Audio must be 48/16 stereo aiff/pcm before it is encoded in Compressor to Dolby 2.
    What are your target and maximum bit rates for video in Compressor? Are you export video and audio separately before encoding in Compressor

  • Having a problem with audio in DVD Studio Pro with the finished copy

    I am making a DVD of a clip I had transferred from a mini DV. All the audio was present when I transferred it. I had then turned it into an MPEG movie format (.mpg). When I play that clip there is audio. Then I compressed the file on Compressor. I selected the file format by choosing Apple > DVD > DVD: Best Quality 90 minutes > MPEG-2 6.2Mbps 2-pass (the clip was about an hour and 20min long) and compressed the clip. I then opened DVD studio pro, made a menu, and then added this new file (MPEG-2 6.2Mbps 2-pass). I burned the DVD and put it into my DVD player. The picture was great and everything worked fine except there was no audio. How do I get audio into this DVD? I have tried compressing my .mpg file into the Dolby Digital Professional 2.0 option that is under DVD: Best Quality 90 minutes, but when I try importing that into DVD studio pro it a message pops up saying "Incompatible format." It might also help mentioning that when I saw the file size on the Dolby Digital Professional 2.0 after compressing it, it said Zero kb. How would I get audio onto this DVD? I would really appreciate your help, I tried to be as detailed as I could. This DVD is for a family member and is urgent, so anyone who can help would greatly be appreciated. Thank you so much.
    Message was edited by: rocco7070

    If you don't want to go back and recapture the tape you need to understand that MPG files need to be "DeMuxed" to extract the audio. My recommendation would be to use the free MPEG Streamclip and then select your MPG to be Demuxed into an AIFF file. That AIFF file will then need to be converted to an AC3 file, similar to what you did with the video.

  • Video quality bad when compresed from final cut pro to dvd studio pro. HELP

    Hello,
    I have a dvd project im working on and first i tried the video that i captured from final cut to just use in dvd studio pro but that didnt work. then i used the compressor and used the 60min high quality video and that looks even worse. what do u suggest i do?

    You must get to know what these settings do to be able to use Compressor. Try using a 10 second test of your video file and encoded at different settings to get a feel for how compression works.
    Min 4 and peak at 7, a difference of 3 between min and peak is a good start at CBR, but you must test.
    Just like using a video camera, if you use the same exposure setting all the time, most of your pictures will be unuseable, either too dark or too light.

Maybe you are looking for