How do I archive iDVD project? Best/Smallest size?

Hi,
I need to know the best method to save a movie project that was made in imovie, then burned to DVD using iDVD. I want to save a copy of the finished product for archival purposes on an external drive. I want to be able to pull up this archive and be able to burn another copy of it to DVD or just be able to view the archived movie on my powerbook (directly from the external. I want it to be saved in the smallest size. I am ruling out saving the imovie project, as that is usually up to 12 or 14gb. I tried to save the iDVD project that was burned to a disc, but I wasn't able to view that again, or burn it to another dvd disc? Would it make sense for me to edit the project like always in imovie, open iDVD, and save it as a disc image first, and then burn it to DVD-R whenever I need a copy? And if I do this, is the disc image file going to be able to be viewed on the powerbook, without using the burned DVD? Also, I read on here that the iDVD doesn't have an option to burn to disc image? I know Toast Titanium does. I have that also. But, can I edit the movie in imovie, and then just open Toast Titanium and use it to make a disc image? And then at a later date, call up the disc image with Toast and just use Toast to burn a DVD? Also, I should note that I will need to burn 2 imovie projects to the DVD (they are 1 hr long t.v. episodes each) I need to put 2 episodes on each DVD. I know how to burn them from imovie directly to iDVD, but then I am back to the whole question of archiving them in something other than imovie projects or iDVD projects?????????
Thanks to anyone who can advise
-Tom

Oh my, where to begin.
If you think you will ever want to change your saved iDVD project (change the menu, add more videos) then keep the Project file. That is what iDVD can read. After you've burned a DVD (or made a disc image) with iDVD there still is an encoded MPEG inside the Project file. So you don't need to save the iMovie, just the iDVD project file (or project folder if your version has more than just a file).
A disc image is the same thing as having the video DVD written to your hard drive. iDVD doesn't open a DVD; nor will it open a disc image. When you mount a disc image (double-click on it) there will be a new icon on your desktop. If you open DVD player, it will play the movie from the mounted disc image the same as if it was playing a DVD disc. You may need to choose Open VIDEO_TS in the DVD player File menu and select the VIDEO_TS folder in the mounted image in order to play the video. If nothing appears on the screen, press the space bar to start playback.
Disc images are burned in Toast using the Image File option in the Copy window. You can burn one disc image to one DVD.
What I recommend is that you add your multiple movies to your one iDVD project before saving a disc image or burning a DVD. iDVD 4 can handle up to 2 hours of video per DVD, although I think it is best to keep at near 90 minutes or less for best quality.
As for saving a copy for future use: you need to save the iDVD project itself if you want to re-use it in iDVD. If not, you can save a disc image which is the same as burning another DVD except it is on the hard drive. By the way, Toast can make a disc image from your burned DVD. Insert the DVD, select it in the Toast Copy window and choose "Save as Disc Image" from the Toast File menu.

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Re-edit archived iDVD project?

Hello,
How do I re-edit the iMovie underlying or embedded inside of an archived iDVD project on an external hard drive?
I have scoured MAC.help & TMManuals, and cannot find.
Thanks,
Scott

Rich,
What I think you are correctly saying is that these .avi movies, while not editable in themselves, when dragged into an iMovie project they can be edited to a limited extent --by splitting them, inserting photos or new clips in between, new audio, etc, and then dragging the new iMovie project back into the iDVD.
Yes
And this could be done whether or not you had the original iMovie project available.
Yes
You just could not as extensively edit it as if you actually had the original iMovie file to work with.
Yes
+++++++++
We are in complete agreement

Edit in iMovie using archived iDVD project?

Well it looks like I may done something rather stupid. Before the holidays I produced a family vacation video, burned the DVDs and sent them out to all my family members. After watching it they pointed out some typos in some captions and some editing mistakes, so I wanted to go back and fix those and burn new DVDs. But I just realized I'd archived the iDVD project but not the iMovie project. I trashed the iMovie project to recover disk space. So now I'm left with just the iDVD archive.
Is there any way to recover my iMovie project from the iDVD archive?
(I can't believe I trashed my iMovie files. That just isn't like me at all. <shame>, <embarrassment>, <lesson learned>)
iMovie HD
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You can recover the movie from the archived DVD project but the movie may be in several sections/clips. Just Control-click on the archived iDVD project file and select "Show Package Contents" from the contextula menu. Then go to the Resources/MPEG.nobackup folder.The sections/clips should be in there.
You can import those clipes into iMovie but won't be able to edit the captions, only cut them out and put new captions in over new clips. If you added captions to a black background and not over the movie itself you could cut out those sections and add new sections. But if you have to cut out parts of the movie with captions to add new ones that could lose a good bit of the original movie. In that case I thiink going with the typos would be the better solution.
When you're done use the Share ➙ Media Browser menu option with Size = Large. This will give a better final image than Share ➙ iDVD will. You will have to delete the existing movie file from the iDVD project and add the new, editied movie.
OT

How to extract iMovie files from an archived iDVD project

Hi,
After archiving an iDVD project which contained several individual iMovies to my back up hard disk I deleted all of the individual files on my internal HD to free some space.
Query: Is it possible to extract an individual iMovie file from the archived project for future editing revealing all of the transitions, audio tracks, etc back in iMovie ?
I have used 'show package contents' and can see the individual movies as Quick Time files but when I load these into iMovie all I get is the whole movie as one single clip.
I suspect the answer is once it's archived I cannot retrieve the iMovie files ?
Any help appreciated. Many thanks.
iMac G5 20" 2.0GHz 1Gb RAM Mac OS X (10.4.4) eMac 1GHz 512Mb RAM

...I ..can see the individual movies as Quick Time files but when I load these into iMovie all I get is the whole movie as one single clip. I suspect the answer is once it's archived I cannot retrieve the iMovie files ?
that is correct: hitting "export" or share in iM creates a single movie(file); what you have in mind is the imovie project (e.g. where you can change titles, transitions etc)... to make this accessible you need to backup that iM folder/package (the one with a star)... these files are for sure much bigger = containing more data...

How do i burn idvd projects in a dvd format to an external hard disk

I have an iDVD project but it is too big to burn to a dvd (11GB!) so I was wondering if I can save the proejct like a dvd onto my External Hard Disk. This is really urgent and important for a school project.
Thanks in advance.

iDVD does not care about file size (it compresses a movie file by about 4:1 o the standard mpeg2 format), only about length.
A standard DVD will hold up to 120 minutes of video, but this includes titles, transitions etc.
iDVD encoding settings:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=iDVD/7.0/en/11417.html
Short version:
Best Performance is for videos of up to 60 minutes
Best Quality is for videos of up to 120 minutes
Professional Quality is also for up to 120 minutes but even higher quality (and takes much longer)
That was for single-layer DVDs. Double these numbers for dual-layer DVDs.
Professional Quality: The Professional Quality option uses advanced two-pass technology to encode your video (The first pass determines which parts of the movie can be given greater compresson without quality loss and which parts can’t. The second pass then encodes those different parts accordingly) , resulting in the best quality of video possible on your burned DVD. You can select this option regardless of your project’s duration (up to 2 hours of video for a single-layer disc and 4 hours for a double-layer disc). Because Professional Quality encoding is time-consuming (requiring about twice as much time to encode a project as the High Quality option, for example) choose it only if you are not concerned about the time taken.
In both cases the maximum length includes titles, transitions and effects etc. Allow about 15 minutes for these.
You can use the amount of video in your project as a rough determination of which method to choose. If your project has an hour or less of video (for a single-layer disc), choose Best Performance. If it has between 1 and 2 hours of video (for a single-layer disc), choose High Quality. If you want the best possible encoding quality for projects that are up to 2 hours (for a single-layer disc), choose Professional Quality. This option takes about twice as long as the High Quality option, so select it only if time is not an issue for you.
Use the Capacity meter in the Project Info window (choose Project > Project Info) to determine how many minutes of video your project contains.
NOTE: With the Best Performance setting, you can turn background encoding off by choosing Advanced > “Encode in Background.” The checkmark is removed to show it’s no longer selected. Turning off background encoding can help performance if your system seems sluggish.
And whilst checking these settings in iDVD Preferences, make sure that the settings for NTSC/PAL and DV/DV Widescreen are also what you want.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1502?viewlocale=en_US

Not able to archive iDVD project

I cannot get iDVD to archive my project. I get the error message "there was an error while saving the project". I found a couple of discussions on this very error message, both led to insufficient disc storage. This doesn't seem to be an issue in my case and I am unable to figure out what the issue is. I have burned the project first to a disc image and from there to 2 DVDs, both without a problem. I want to archive the project in case I want to change to wide screen formating in the future. OK here's the low-down. The project info window gives the size of the project as 2.24 GB and the available space on my HD as 283.9 GB, when I attempt to archive, the drop down window gives the size as 7.543 GB. Color me ignorant, and you can use dark shades when it comes to this stuff, but isn't that plenty of room? And what's up with discrepancy in project size? The primary "asset" is an iMovie that weighs in at 8.17 GB prior to being exported to iDVD and consists of still photos out of iPhoto with transitions and other edits all rendered in iMovie, so no permission issues I can ascertain. Thanks for your assistance.

Thanks F Shippey… I am attempting to save the archive to my internal HD. I attempted to save to an external drive that is formated for Mac OSX to see if that made a difference but came to the same conclusion, the same error message. Per one of the discussions referenced in my original post, I checked the cable to the exterior drive, it is an OSB cable, not the preferred Firewire, but is that really significant? Both drives have plenty of space left if seems to me. Is this the only line of inquiry there is to this issue? I did attempt to archive another iDVD project that I'd created a while ago to see what happened, but, no surprise, some of the assets couldn't be found and I couldn't retrieve them. I am leery of this project ending up the same way. T.T.

How to edit archived dvd project adding/replacing video/audio??

I want to reduce my workload videoing and creating DVD's of a dance performance this year using the archived show from last year in iDVD and just importing the new video w/chapters from iMovie. Has anyone done this? Any advice?

Brian,
If you "archived" the iDVD project then the answer is yes it's pretty easy - I recommend you do that this year!
If you didn't archive the project, then you've got some work to do. There are some applications like DVDxDV, MPEG Streamclip+the Apple MPEG2 Playback Component, and ExportToQT (which come with MPEG2Works) that will convert the VOB MPEG 2 video files on your DVD back to DV files that iMovie or FCP/FCE can use again. But it is time consuming to convert back, and some of these apps are easier than others.
You might try DVDxDV to see what's involved. There is a trial version. Even so, you'd need to re-build the menus, etc...... and if you have all new video, I don't think it will help much.
So my bet is you'll be better off just starting from scratch this year.....but then archive the project to use next year!
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=164936
John B.

How do import an iDVD project into iMovie?

Hello,
I want to make changes to a movie, but I can't find the movie. It's just me. I have the iDVD project, and I know I can "play a DVD into iMovie, but wouldn't it be better to get the .proj into the event?
Thank you.

First, see if your MP4 file will play in QuickTime Player.
If it will, click Command-I in QuickTime Player to open the Inspector. Tell us the dimensions of the clip, and everything listed beside the word Format:

How to save/archive full project

Cant seem to find a way to save project with an asset folder. most programs give you a choice to gather all included pictures, video, audio, etc and save it in a folder with the project. Does keynote only save as ONE big file?
ive tried everything including "save new documents as package"
i want to be able to update the existing asset folder every month

So you want to be able to add or delete photos without actually opening the file in Keynote, is that correct?
You can delete pictures by just pulling them out of the folder +(when you do open the Keynote, you will get a error message showing the picture is missing)+. You can change pictures by making sure the new pictures is titled exactly the same as the one you want it to replace and put it in the folder. You can't add as by just placing in the folder will not tell Keynote where you want it added.
Does this answer you question? If not, please be more specific about what exactly you are wanting to do.

How do you get maximum jpg quality/smallest size for photographers

I would love to get any input from another photographer (or
anyone else). About specific tips for maximum jpg quality in my 20
page pdf portfolio. What file pixel dimensions do you use? What
quality levels in photoshop "save fer web" before importing into
illusrator for type and coversion to pdf. Or do you do it all in
photoshop. Color spaces? Noise reduction? file format before import
into illustrator.
All these and anything else you care to pass on. Failing
that, any recommendations on where to find a tutorial that
addresses same?
Perhaps this would be a great topic for and article at
acrobat.com.

David is right, this is really a topic for the other forums.
However, I can offer some basic advice from my experience as a
photographer, blogger and person who uses Acrobat.com and other
sites to post photos.
The first important point is that the monitor resolution is
typically 72 dpi. If you are saving to show as a JPG in a web page,
for example (not embedded in a PDF), setting the dpi larger than
this is problematic - the image will just appear larger. If you are
embedding in a PDF for printing, the image should match the dpi of
the document - usually 300 dpi, although it varies, else the
program (Acrobat, for example) will have to scale the photo in a
way you can't necessarily control.
When I am exporting files from Photoshop (or, more
frequently, Lightroom), I usually set the resolution to 72 dpi and
then use 100x the size of the print. For example, a photo with an
aspect ratio of 4x5 will be 400x500 pixels. I've found that this
creates an image (some panoramics excepted) that tends to 'fit' in
most monitors and is large enough to contain good detail.
Color space: Adobe1998. I believe that PDF will attempt to
either render the image in its current color space, or translate
it, but Adobe1998 is pretty ubiquitous and has worked for me
(unless you need CMYK or something else specific).
The larger issue is that the JPG compression is dependent on
the nature of the photograph. Some photos are fine at 60%, some
halo miserably. So you'd have to do it manually for each to be
absolutely sure. However, most of the time I export at 60%
compression, 72dpi and I'm OK. But I am usually not producing a
saleable print or a portfolio piece that has to look perfect. I
just want it to look as good as possible on a computer screen while
still being able to automate. TIFF avoids all that, but there's no
compression and the image is huge, as you know.
Since you are producing a PDF, you could try a side-by-side
test. Do it once with TIFFs at 300 dpi and once with 80% JPGs. This
test will exercise whether the rescaled PDF (with 300dpi) renders
as well as a 72dpi PDF with JPGs on your screen.
The final advice I'd give is to examine how small a file you
really want. With Acrobat.com's Share application, giving people
access to a large PDF is no longer a problem - you don't have to
email it, which is where it typically gets blocked due to file
size. To be sure, 20 TIFFs taken with a decent camera (8MP+) is
going to create an unduly large file, but the same images as 80%
JPGs will probably get you what you need. If won't be a small PDF,
but it won't be 50MB either.
As you are also probably aware, many of the social networking
sites that have photo applications automatically rescale photos or
do other side-processing to ease the load. Clearly, that doesn't
work for a professional photographer.
Hope this helps, I'll subscribe to the topic if follow up is
needed. But as has been mentioned, the forums for the other
products are probably the place where you'll get more detailed
advice than I can provide.

Saving idvd project

how to save my idvd project on a pendrive instead of burning a dvd???

Use the File ➙ Save as Disk Image menu option. That will create a disk image of what the DVD would contain that can be opened and played on a Mac with DVD Player. You won't be able to use it with iDVD for further editing.
If you want a file you can open with iDVD at a later date and do further edits, etc. use the File ➙ Archive Project... menu. The file will be named XXXXX Archived.dvdproj. This will copy all of the media used in the project into the iDVD project file and save so it can be copied to another Mac (or whereever) and the media files will be available for use by iDVD..
OT

Editing IDVD project on more than one Mac

I have started a project on my Imac and now I want to move it across to my daughters Macbook so I can carry on editing on the move. Now I have saved the project as archived on my IMAC, and moved across to my Macbook, but every time I try to open it says ' An error occured while loading the project. This project seems to be write protected and can't be opened' I assume this is something to do with the different usernames? But i have give permission in the file for her name and it stil isn't working. Can someone shed some light please? Do I need to create a Disk Image? Any help appreciated thanks

Hi Hollabwolla
Welcome to apple discussions. Suggestion: Instead of "giving permission" make a new user account on your daughter's laptop identical to yours. Hopefully this will allow you to open the archived iDvd project on your daughter's mac (assuming she has identical iDvd software).
If the above fails then try placing a check in the box that says Ignore Ownership and Permissions after getting info from the File menu or (apple + "i")
and selecting the External Volume. You'll have to open the last triangle /arrow titled "Sharing and Permissions" at the very foot of the get info box on the ext. HD.
Like this:
By sdmacuser at 2009-11-11
Hope this helps but if not just comer on back.
Message was edited by: SDMacuser

Is archiving a project as simple as coping the Library

How do we archive a project under the new file concept?

MMake a new folder on an external drive and copy the library into it. Open the library and run the consolidate function to copy all the media into it. Find any non-standard fonts or third party plugins or Motion elements used and copy them into the folder. You might want to make a note of how the plugins are installed. That should give you everything.
P.S. before you copy the library you might want to use the delete generated media function to trim down the size of extraneous media that can be re-generated as needed.

Archiving a project

Hi all,
Just have a quick question - how do you archive a project once it's complete? I've discovered that unlike the handy "collect project" option in after effects, Encore offers nothing to help with the final step in any project - archiving.
How do you save your projects? do you zip them and all the relevant media into one giant .zip file, or just save the media and metadata in different, specified locations?
Dan

Have you tried the "Save As" option from the File menu?
Additionally, it might also help to go to where the project is located on your system (look for the .ncor file) and copy the entire structure across to an archival drive. When you need to revisit, it should be easy to reload the entire structure back where it was originally located to re-edit....
We've successfully opened up projects sent to us in this way from external drives with no problems.
You may have to re-link "missing" assets if the relocation is not to exactly the same place, and the cache will certainly need to be rebuilt (which may take time depending on how large the video & audio assets are), but it will work.
Before you delete the original though, it would be a good plan to test the backup by moving the source files, and copying the backup across & then opening this. It almost certainly won't appear in the start-up list, but should be accessible through "File/Open" dialogue.

Turn idvd project into movie for youtube

How do you turn idvd project into movie for youtube

if what you are seeking is simply adding the dvd presentation as a QT movie (no buttons or menus from iDvd) then look into DVDXDV > iMovie or iDVD.
http://www.dvdxdv.com/
Message was edited by: SDMacuser

How do I archive iDVD project? Best/Smallest size?

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