FCE Exporting for iDVD

I have exported movie projects in the past with relatively few issues. I am currently exporting a self contained movie and it is taking about 25 minutes to "cook" (a 38 minute movie).
I save the file to my desktop and then drag it into iDVD and go from there. This time, after exporting the file as a self contained Quicktime movie file and saving it to my desktop I notice the thumbnail is a FCE file.
Normally, if I click the icon it opens up in Quicktime. Now it just seems to open FCE. Here are my questions:
Is this normal?
What did I do wrong?
Can I still drag this file into iDVD and render a video?
I am in the process of trying and it is getting as far as encoding the assets and then kind of freaks out after about an hour.
Please let me know.
Thanks,

If you exported as Quicktime Movie self-contained, it should work just fine. If you open Quicktime first and use its Open command, the file will open there. When I make a self-contained Quicktime movie, this is normal behaviour on my system. Not sure if it depends upon your OS or not; bottom line, it should work in iDVD
You do not necessarily need to make the export self contained. If you are keeping your FCE project on the same system as iDVD you can unchecked self-contained movie and it will make a smaller reference file that will export much quicker.

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VHS-like quality after HD FCE project exported for iDVD...ANy idea's

Shot on a HF10, project edited in FCE and exported to iDVD. Viewing it on a TV is like watching an extremely bad VHS tape. The image is very grainy and it looks horrible. When I play back the quicktime file on the computer, the quality looks fine. Is it a problem with the encoding in iDVD? Please help!

Yes and no... isn't that helpful?
You can't write things back to the camera from the Mac side, but you can within Windows using the software that came with the HF10.
What I haven't tried, but it might be interesting to do, would be to take a project, burn it as a BDMV folder via Toast, and then replace the BDMV folder on a flash card on the camera. I might try it and let you know what I find out.
Edit: Tried it - That's a definitive no
Message was edited by: wallybarthman

Exporting for iDVD - time limits or quality settings

can anyone recommend export settings for 4:3 PAL in DV quality, for using iDVD to burn to disc?
NOTE: the project is 2hrs 6mins long - will this matter in iDVD?
thanks

iDVD will only burn a maximum of 2 hours so you will have to shorten it. Sometimes, depending on the circumstances it will not even manage that. So I would either cut it to well under 2 hours or split it into 2 DVDs.
All you need to do to export to iDVD is this :-
1. File>Export>QuickTime Movie.
2. In the Save window that appears make sure that Audio and Video is included and to save time DESELECT the "Make Movie Self-Contained" box.
3. Press "Save" and wait a few minutes for it to make the QT reference movie.
4. Open iDVD and import the movie and do whatever else you wish.
You can expect the encoding/burning process to take well over 4 hours even on a very fast Mac.
Ian.

Anamorphic DV export for iDVD - method?

Help!
I am using FCP 3.1 and iDVD 5.
I am editing an anamorphic sequence of PAL DV footage captured from a Panasonic hvx202 - recorded to tape in native 16:9 DV.
I want to export this sequence from FCP in a format for iDVD.
In order for a DVD player to replay in a 16:9 ratio I understand I need export as 720 x 405 ... that is, 'stretch' the image back to 16:9? ... Yes?
I can see two options:
1. Create Final Cut Pro movie:
a. I assume I make a Self Contained movie?
b. Do I use a Custom 16:9 setting of 720 x 405
c. Do I leave the anamorphic 16:9 button unchecked?
d. Do I use DV PAL compression? Or No compression?
e. I assume motion settings would be 25 fps?
2. Export as a Quicktime movie
I assume I use the Options settings and so:
a. Do I compress as Video, DV PAL, or none?
b. I assume motion settings would be 25 fps?
c. There is a default checked box for a keyframe every 24 frames: necessary? should it be 25 frames?
d. I assume I set the Size to 720 x 405 ?
e. Do I de-select "Prepare for Internet Streaming" ?
Help will be greatly appreciated,
Bill

First, your FCP sequence has to be 16:9.
In order to get iDVD5 to letterbox your footage you need to export from FCP using quicktime conversion (not quicktime movie)
Change the size to either NTSC or PAL 16:9 (I think it only gives you 1 option for NTSC or PAL 16:9) and under settings change the compression to match your project.
For some reason QuicktimePro and iDVD don't see the anamorphic flag created in FCP for Quicktime movie.

What format needed to export for iDVD

I have FCP 6 and I am exporting an HD video for iDVD. However, when I select "current settings" when imported into iDVD - it plays the preview beautifully. But when I burn a DVD in iDVD - audio ONLY - no picture. I also previewed my .mov file in Quick Time - same thing. Audio - NO PICTURE. What up??

The iDVD forum will probably refer you to the FCP forum.
Switch from "Current Settings" to "DV-NTSC". Depending on the processor speed of your computer, it might take some time to process, but you'll have what iDVD expects.
Since you're using FCP 6, you're probably using a version of iDVD that does not see widescreen source properly.
Which version of iDVD are you using? With the picture formatted for widescreen, the 16x9 HD picture will look squeezed into the 720x480 of DV-NTSC and iDVD may not detect this (DVD Studio Pro usually detects it, but if it does not you can set it manually). You might want to create a DV-NTSC Sequence in FCP, drop your "current settings" moving into that and format for either letterbox (you'll be rendering what's commonly called a "hard matte") or format for center cut (you'll be rendering to "full frame" - if you have any title cards, they will have to be placed within the center cut area of an HD frame to not get cropped).
-Warren

Exporting for iDVD

I have tried using "Export to Quicktime" as suggested in a recent posting, but the file is very small and when viewing the resulting file on my Mac, it looks inferior in quality.
Is this really the best way?
I know that there are many options in "Quicktime Conversion" option, but I tried some settings there and got a 11gb file taht looked better, but still had artifacts in shadows etc.
What is the best process for creating the input to iDVD???

Hi(Bonjour)!
Here's the process to burn DVD for household DVD player:
In FCE use export to quicktime, you can uncheck "self contained" or not. There is not quicktime encoding at this stage. The encoding process will occur in iDVD itself uppon burning. It's an invisible process.
Drag the resulting file in a new iDVD project.
From this stage, it's the total lenght of your movie(s) and all animated menus in iDVD that rules the choice of your support(DVD blank).
You have to use single layer for a total of 2 hours, or dual layers for 4 hours (if your mac can support this blank DVD). Check your iDVD preference to select the right encoding method, best or faster.
Michel Boissonneault

Best Way of Exporting for iDVD when using FCP?

What would anyone recommend in terms of getting the best output from FCP for making an iDVD?
I usually export as a self-contained QT movie. Is there a better way?
J.M. Prater

There's an easier way... export a non self contained movie. The result will be the same... just faster file export and smaller file to boot.
DVD SP will make a lot better looking DVD's if you have that. The encoding done through Compressor is better than what can be done in iDVD.
Jerry

Problem exporting for iDVD

I have a completed movie (using iMovie 2.1.1 and Mac OS 9.2.2) that won't export. I've tried exporting to both iDVD and Quicktime.
The process begins normally but about 8 minutes into the predicted 40 minute duration, the "exporting" message changes back to the video clip. The output MOV file vanishes.
The output disk has PLENTY of space remaining. The clip that is being processed at the failure point plays just fine in iMovie. But I've tried the export several times now and the failure appears to happen at or near the same frame each time. Is there some hidden message file or any other technique that would help me determine what is wrong?
Gary

Hi
+The output disk has PLENTY of space remaining.+
Nearly of no interest BUT How much free space is there on the internal boot hard disk ?
I would secure a minimum of 25Gb at least.
To iDVD
Don't use Share to iDVD - but -
• Close iMovie
• Find Your movie project - icon with Star on it
• Open iDVD and import Your movie project
How does this play.
Yours Bengt W

What is the best QT setting for iDVD?

Hi
I am making a Quicktime movie from a cut in Media 100. What is the best format to export for iDVD? I already tried exporting DV/DVC Pro - NTSC and it didn't look all that great (flickering and rippling on the DVD player.)
I am currently trying a straight best quality NTSC Video export. My cut is about 7:45.
thanks
JB
Dual 2 GHz PowerPC G5 Mac OS X (10.3.9)

Hi John:
Welcome to discussions!
I would use QuickTime Pro export settings, choose 'NTSC-DV' with a frame rate of 29.97. Choose 'No Compression' for audio and set the rate to 48.000 kHz.
Sue

I created in iMovie, and extracted audio from one of the clips to use in the title sequence. All is well, export to iDVD and it plays OK, but when I burn the DVD the audio for the titles does not play. Any suggestions?

I created in iMovie, and extracted audio from one of the clips to use in the title sequence. All is well, export to iDVD and it plays OK, but when I burn the DVD the audio for the titles does not play. Any suggestions?

I am on a MacBook Pro with OS 10.6.7 running iMovie '11 and iDVD 7.1.1. Thanks for any input.

FCE and Export for Apple TV

I want to be able to use FCE to edit my HD footage from my Sony HD7 camcorder then display results through Apple TV. I know I will lose resolution, but am having one particular problem. After importing clips to FCE I exported to Quicktime movie, then opened the file in Quicktime and exported to Apple TV. The resulting video seems "jerky" at least to my eyes. Almost like every other frame was cut out. Do I need to export from FCE at a different resolution or frame rate to get the export to Apple TV looking better?
Thanks all for the help.

Thanks Tom. Could be just my eyes seeing the difference in the results, but here are the details.
Original File from Sony HDR-HC7
Video Tracks:
Apple Intermediate Codec, 1440 x 1080, 29.97 fps, 98.77 Mbps
Audio Tracks:
16-bit Big Endian stereo, 48 kHz, 1.54 Mbps
Export direct as QuickTime movie and conversion to Apple TV seems to show some jagged sharp motion to my eyes, so I tried the steps below and got a more fluid result.
The exported from FCE to 1280 x 720 with these settings:
Compression: H.264
Quality: High
Key Frame Rate: 24
Frame Rendering: Yes
Encoding Mode” multi-pass
Dimensions: 1280 x 720
Results of export from Final Cut
H.264, 1280 x 720, 29.97 fps, 17.48 Mbps
16-bit Big Endian stereo, 48 kHz, 1.54 Mbps
Then converting that to Apple TV file (opened in QuickTime and used export for Apple TV):
Video Tracks:
H.264, 960 x 540, 29.97 fps, 3.81 Mbps
Could be that Export to QuickTime Movie makes an Apple Intermediate Codec file and the export using QT conversion made an H264 codec. Perhaps there is a difference in the way the QT function "export to Apple TV" handles those two codecs???

Exporting QT with Chapter markers for iDVD

When I export a QT with Chapter markers for iDVD I get one movie file then a number of "AV" files - what are these and what do I do with them?
workflow as follows:
1.Place chapter markers in timeline using mm the Add Chapter Markers
2. set in/out points in timeline
3. export quicktime movie
4. select include Chapter Markers and include audio/video
5. do NOT select recompress all frames
6. DO select make self contained movie.
7. Open exported movie file in Quicktime and chapter markers are present
8. import ONLY the movie file to iDVD (NOT the AV files?) and answer yes to read all chapter markers
9. burn seems to work fine but when I playback on DVD player there is digital stuttering in the picture
Any ideas on how to remedy the problem?
thanks in advance
patrick

The project is only 75 minutes. Do think it is the codec that iDVD is using that is causing the stutter. I assumed that it always encodes using MPG2.
Any idea what the AV files are?
When I export as an uncompressed DV stream the file is 15 GB.
When I export as uncompressed QT I get one file (movie) at 2.5 GB then
5 more "AV" files that are each 2.5 as well. So when I import the movie file without the AV files am I missing something?
Should I look into DVD Studio Pro? I have version 1.5 but I am fairly unfamiliar with it.

Best way to handle large files in FCE HD and iDVD.

Hi everyone,
I have just finished working on a holiday movie that my octagenarian parents took. They presented me with about 100 minutes of raw footage that I have managed to edit down to 64 minutes. They have viewed the final version that I recorded back to tape for them. They now want to know if I can put it onto a DVD for them as well. Problem is the FCE HD file is 13Gb.
So here is my question.
What is the best way to handle this problem?
I have spoken to a friend of mine who is a professional editor. She said reduce the movie duration down to about 15mins because it's probably too long and boring. (rather hurtful really) Anyway that is out of the question as far as my oldies are concerned.
I have seen info on Toast 8 that mentions a "Fit to DVD" process that purports to "squash" 9Gb of movie to a 4.7Gb disk. I can't find if it will also put 13Gb onto a dual layer 8.5Gb disk.
Do I have to split the movie into two parts and make two dual layer DVD's? If so I have to ask - How come "Titanic", 3hrs+ fits on one disk??
Have I asked too many questions?

Take a deep breath. Relax. All is fine.
iDVD does not look at the size of your video file, it looks at the length. iDVD can accomodate up to 2 hours of movie
iDVD gives you different options depending on the length of your movie. Although I won't agree with your friend about reducing the length of your movie to 15 minutes, if you could trim out a few minutes to get it under an hour that setting in iDVD (Best Performance though the new version may have renamed it) gives you the best quality. Still, any iDVD setting will give you good quality even at 64 minutes
In FCE export as Quicktime Movie NOT any flavour of Quicktime Conversion. Select chapter markers if you have them. If everything is on one system unchecked the Make Movie Self Contained button. Drop the QT file into iDVD

Preparing sequence for iDVD

I have a project that was shot with a standard DV camera, editing on a PC, printed back to DV and then captured back into FCE to prepare for iDVD.
The video displays as wide screen format on the canvas, but when I select:
Export > quicktime movie > Include Audio and Video, Chapter Markers, uncheck make movie self contained.
It renders REALLY quickly and the quality is good; however, its 4:3 and not 16:9.
My ultimate goal is for the completed video to be 16:9 with chapters for iDVD.
Any help is much appreciated.

Hi,
you can read this article where you can get a solution to this problem:
http://www.fcpbook.com/Video9.html
Regards,
Armando.

Newbie Questions - Interlacing, Formats and exporting to iDVD

Sorry everybody, but I've got some issues. I'm new to Final Cut Express but I have a decent knowledge of digital video formats and resolutions, etc. I'm going to try to give as much information as possible so as to make your jobs easier.
I'm putting together a project for work that is using NTSC DV (4:3, 720x480) that I didn't shoot myself as well as a number of photographs (6-8 megapixels). I originally put the timeline together in iMovie '08 then exported as XML to FCE. I moved the pictures around using keyframes to create what iMovie likes to dub the "Ken Burns" effect (although I somehow doubt that he was the first to use it). The project is only about two and a half minutes long.
I read up on the best way to export to iDVD and found that creating a Quicktime reference movie then directing iDVD to that seems the best way as you're not encoding the video twice. Unfortunately, the final product ends up extremely choppy and interlacing artifacts are everywhere (especially in the photos). I tried playing on an actual television, thinking my iMac just wasn't de-interlacing the image correctly, and it still looks just awful and horribly choppy.
What did I do wrong?
Help!

Thanks for a quick response. The problem is apparent through the whole video, both video and still images. In Easy Setup it was set at DV-NTSC. When I exported from iMovie it basically just kept the videos at their right place in the timeline, the photos, text and music didn't move over, so all of that was imported in FCE as you thought.
I would describe the problem as being extremely jerky. Not starting and stopping, just horribly un-smooth (that's not a word). But I don't get those big macroblocks like when something is encoded at a low bitrate. Especially when panning over still photos, strait lines get very, very aliased. It draws a lot of attention to edges and lines in the photo.
If, instead of just creating a reference movie, I export as H.264 and choose "DeInterlace Source Material" it does seem a little smoother, but the photos still look pretty bad.
Thanks again for any help.

FCE Exporting for iDVD

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