IDVD producing poor quality DVDs.

I produced a video in FCP and exported it as Quicktime Movie with chapter markers. Everything worked great in iDVD, and I burned several DVDs. However, the DVDs don't play well on all DVD players. On some they play perfectly and on others they're terrible, lots of lag and some pixelating.
I don't know if this is iDVD, my Powerbook G4 or my media (Maxell DVD-Rs) causing the problems. If I took the time to learn how to use DVD Studio Pro, would that produce better results?
Any thoughts?
G4 Powerbook 1.67 GHz Mac OS X (10.4.6)

Q: Is there some specific way I'm supposed to export the original video from FCP?
A: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=iDVD/6.0/en/22.html
Click Here:
SDMacuser
PS J/C What media are you using? I recommend Verbatim DVD-R Minus media and burning from a disc image at 4x or slower using apple's DU or Toast.

Similar Messages

Best way to produce good quality DVDs?

Hi,
Am using FCE, external LaCie DVD burner and Toast.
When I convert a FCE project to quicktime, then transfer to DVD, using an external LaCie burner and Toast, the resulting quality is very poor.
I had previously thought this was just par for the course with the footage I was producing, however I recently had a film shown at a cinema (straight from tape) and the quality was amazing - even on a large screen.
I commented to one of the guys who worked at the cinema that I was surprised by the quality of the footage given that my DVDs are so rubbish. He told me that they are so poor because of the equipment I am using to burn them and that if I had it done professionally, the quality would be much better.
What causes this?
Is there any software/hardware I can upgrade to which will produce good quality DVDs?
Nicola

Hi,
Am using FCE, external LaCie DVD burner and Toast.
When I convert a FCE project to quicktime, then
transfer to DVD, using an external LaCie burner and
Toast, the resulting quality is very poor.
Which version of Toast are you using? Are you using Toast's encoder to create the disc image? The latest version of Toast (Titanium 7) is supposed to have a much improved encoder. Also iDVD5 and iDVD6 show big improvements over earlier versions. However, I don't think MPEG2 DVD will be the full equal of the original DV, but it should come close. I suspect high-end DVD mastering programs are needed to get the best results.
867 MHz PowerPC G4 Mac OS X (10.3.9)

I must be doing something stupid: Very poor quality DVD rendering!

I am new to Apple products and after trolling this forum, I was able to create a DVD using iDVD on my Mac mini Core Duo - 2Ghz model. But, the video is of very poor quality (compression artifacts). I am lookging for guidance to creating a better video quality. But first, let me give you some background...
I have created enough DVDs for my home videos captured both from my S-VHS camcorder and min-DV camcorders (both PAL and NTSC) using Pinnacle Studio (buggiest software in the world) and Adobe Premiere Elements under Windows. I have clear expectation of video quality and understand the quality differences between various standards.
I have a fairly new toy - Canon Powershot TX1 digital camera which is an amazing compact camera that shoots 720p video @ 30fps and stores them in MJPEG format. Very good optics (10x optical image stabilized zoom). The only con is that it has very poor low light shooting ability.
The steps I took to create this DVD...
1. Import the .avi and .jpeg files from my camera into iPhoto library.
2. Use iMovie (all part of iLife'08) to stitch the avi clips and also some of jpegs. Added transitions, titles and music in iMovie.
3. Also, added some of my old low resolution avi files (from my older Canon camera - probably in 640x480 resolution).
3. Exported it in the largest file mode (960x540) which created a 1.8GB file.
4. Opened this movie file in Garageband and added the Chapter markers.
5. Shared it with iDVD which automatically launched iDVD and showed the chapters in very nice scene selections menus.
6. Invoked the Burn menu to burn the movie into a DVD using iDVD.
Am I using the right methodology (I want the chapters)? I also observed that an earlier project which was pure 15 minutes of 720p content created a 4.7GB size exported file from iMovie whereas this current project has 51min of avi (of which about 10min is low res and the rest is in 720p format) and 12min of still photos produced a 1.8GB file when exported. This clearly tells me that the exported file is of poor quality. Why did that happen? Was it because I mixed the content and included low res videos?
I should probably try creating a DVD from the pure 720p content and see how that looks.
Any pointers would be a great help. BTW, the mac mini, iPhoto and iMovie forums are just awesome. The quality of posts and responses is very high.

Thanks a lot, F Shippey.
I exported it as a .dv file and then I was able to produce the DVD correctly with the Revolution theme and 11 chapters. I haven't done any editing any clips yet in iMovie. In most cases, I will not need to do that in most cases as the Canon TX1 creates individual avi clips every time I record and stop a recording. Having used a camcorder for over a decade now, I know how silly most of the recordings are.
I will be rendering most of my videos as h.264 so that I can use the mac mini as a media server instead of using DVDs. I have to rip my own DVDs as h.264 soon (back to handbrake).
PS: While creating my first DVD in OS X + iLife'08 tools, I noticed the following bugs:
1. The clips disappear from the display in the editing window when the project becomes large and I had to zoom in and out to make them reappear. I verified that I wasn't viewing past the end of the last clip. If I hover the mouse in the blank window, it will show the clip in the preview window on the right.
2. I had 11 chapters marked in Garageband and then I shared it with iDVD, it created two pages of scene selections with 6 chapters in each page. In the 2nd page, it added a random window (unconnected) for the 12th chapter that I didn't have. I didn't check for that and so my finished DVD has this weird 12th chapter with a copied moving clip in the window, but when selected, it doesn't do anything.
These two bugs are way few compared to what Pinnacle Studio threw at me.
Message was edited by: new2appletv

PAL poor quality DVD

Have imported PAL video from HDV Sony camera in PAL format and burned DVD in PAL format too. Quality pretty poor on DVD. I imported in the format one below 1080 as the guide says little quality is lost. Does anyone import in full 1080 quality and does this improve quality of end DVD?
Also, how do I share finished project back to camera? I always did this on my old G4 with iMovie 6.

Try sharing to the Media Browser rather than using share to iDVD. Then, create a new iDVD project and drag the movie into the project from the Media pane in iDVD. This worked for me. I think you still need to use iMovie 6 to put the movie back on tape. Just export your movie from iMovie 09 using Quicktime (AIC codec) and import to iM 6.

Poor quality DVD and img

Both the burnt DVD and the.img copy have very poor quality when played. It is particularly noticeable on the text which acts as a link to the other parts of the DVD. The preview is fine and the encoder is set to "best quality" ..HELP!

I'm looking for answers too: Having the best possible dv-quality raw material, I am puzzled that iDVD chooses to only use 1.2 GB of the 4.3 GB available on the DVD - even though I use the "Quality"-mode instead of best performance!
The loss of quality really is visible - also on tv!
/Jan
PB12 1.33 GHz Mac OS X (10.4.4) Modified HD Hitachi 7200 rpm 60 GB

Poor Quality DVD with AVCHD input

Hi all:
I did not find this addressed on the iDVD pages or this page. I have imported AVCHD format video of my son's soccer game. Used iMovie08 7.1.1 to edit it. I was shooting in sports mode. It looks great connected directly to the TV.
After rendering the movie (takes forever!) and burning a DVD, the quality output on my 50 inch tv is horrible. I tried using Xbox, the older PS2 and an built in older DVD player. The quality was poor especially when tracking the ball and the players (panning) across the field. I shot in wide format and burned in that format. Am I missing something?
Is there something I can do? I spent all this money on the Canon HF10 and would really like to see it and share it! Also, is there a faster way to import besides the USB port? I know...a computer upgrade is also in my future.
Thanks in advance.

Steve Mullen wrote:
What you are describing is nothing more than using iMovie 08 with iDVD in a fully logical--yet wrong--way. To see you do not need to have poor quality from FullHD, go to http://www.vimeo.com/user364340/videos
HEY, AM I READING THIS RIGHT, (yeah I'm shouting)
Your telling us you know how to use im08 and iDVD in some way that (apparently) no-one else knows but you won't share it, at the same time as advertising your book in your signature. I think you should be reading the terms and conditions of the forum here.
Oh and by the way, while the video in the linked clips is indeed crisp and clear it stutters like a nervous old man with Parkinsons, not sure if the clips are yours but have to wonder if your books merely tell us how to make less than acceptable video.
Tom Wolsky writes some really excellent books but is quite happy to share his knowledge for free and has helped 10's of thousands of people in the video forums. Indeed Jon and Karsten from this very forum have shared their considerable knowledge in the form of online written and video help.
Get a grip Man.

Poor quality DVDs with DVDPro

I have recently purchased FCP studio, I'm struggling to get the same quality DVDs with DVDP4. From FCP the QT file looks great, once burned to DVD certain parts of the video look terrible. I'm compiling multiple videos for one program. Some videos are mpeg2 files, others are QT files. Two of the mpeg files look great and I've used them to make DVDs on DVDP2 without any issues, put with DVDP4 they look awful. I've even tried making a FCP file with all the videos, sending QT file to compressor and then to DVDP, but it still looks terrible. Any ideas?

Catherine
Try exporting directly from FCP timeline through Compressor using the 90 min high Quality BUT using CBR (Constant Bitrate):
If you want to save time, try exporting just some seconds of the problematic footage (using IN/OUT points) and play the MPEG2 file to check yu are getting better results.
Hope that helps !
Alberto

IDVD 6.0.3 - Poor quality DVD burn

I'm somewhat stumped and hope the good people on these boards can help.
I recently picked up a Panasonic MiniDV camera in order to video the kids etc. here in the USA so I can send PAL DVDs home to the folks in the UK.
I've been somewhat dismayed by the quality of the resulting DVD. I burned a DVD in PAL format (source DV was NTSC) 43 mins long and it only used up about 1.6GB on the DVD and the resulting DVD quality is pretty poor. I made sure that I had the "High Quality" setting on.
Is this something to do with converting and burning an NTSC DV source to PAL format or something else? Anything I'm missing?

Len,
The OP has 43 minutes of content that only required 1.6 GB in Best Quality mode.
I doubt going to a DL disc would help. At 43 minutes, he probably will get better image quality in Best Performance mode because that uses a compression bit-rate about as high as a DVD player can handle. Using Toast makes it possible to dedicate more of the bit-rate to video because it can use Doly compressed audio instead of iDVD uncompressed, PCM audio, so Toast might be a little better.
It's that darn 'Best Quality' - 'Best Performance' name game confusion again - 'Best Performance" usually gives better quality than 'Best Quality' - I wish Apple had simple called them something like 'mode 1' and 'mode 2'!

Poor quality DVD

Using PE 11, I try to make a DVD from a slideshow produced in PSE 11 using JPEG photos. The quality of the DVD is poor. If I save the slideshow as a PDF and view on computer, the quality is excellent. What am I missing here?
John

John
When you do the PDF slideshow, what resolution do you select?
What is the resolution of your original photos vs the photos that you import into your project? What have you been using as the Premiere Elements 11 project preset?
If you have the time, I would like you to consider trying the following on a mini test run scale. For now I will assume that your set up is NTSC.
Open a new Premiere Elements 11 project and go immediately to File Menu/New/Project. Set the project preset for
NTSC
DSLR
1080p
DSLR 1080p30 @ 29.97
Before exiting the final dialog there, make sure that you have a check mark next to "Force Selected Project Setting on This Project".
When back in the Expert workspace, use Add Media/Files and Folders/Project Assets to import your photos into the projects.
Use Publish+Share/Disc/DVD disc with preset NTSC_Widescreen Dolby_DVD.
Do you see any improvement in the DVD-VIDEO Widescreen on DVD disc that is produced and played back on computer or TV DVD Player?
We will be watching for further developments.
Thank you.
ATR

Help! Poor quality DVD Play

Hi again!
I have edited a project on Final Cut Pro 5.1. The project was shot in 960 HD, and I exported the finished project using the "Export Quicktime" command in FCP. When I open the quicktime file, it plays beautifully in QT on my computer. I build an iDVD project and dragged the file in. On the iDVD preview, it plays in very high quality, but when I finally burn the DVD, it plays terribly.
I can see wavy lines and the sharpness is very poor.
I am no expert, but I am assuming this has something to do with the interlaced nature of the QT file. Is this right? Does anyone know how to fix this without using compressor/DVD studio pro? (Unfortunately I don't have them)
THANK YOU!!!

I have edited a project on Final Cut Pro 5.1. The
project was shot in 960 HD
So called PAL-optimal 960x540 isn't one of the usual formats for iMovie and iDVD.
I exported the finished project using the "Export Quicktime" command
in FCP. When I open the quicktime file, it plays
beautifully in QT on my computer. I build an iDVD
project and dragged the file in. On the iDVD preview,
it plays in very high quality, but when I finally
burn the DVD, it plays terribly.
The preview function in iDVD (and iMovie) plays the RAW source material and has no relation to the actual final encoded quality.
I can see wavy lines and the sharpness is very poor.
iDVD only support SD discs. All 16:9 content must be anamorphically squeezed to fit the SD format.
I am no expert, but I am assuming this has something
to do with the interlaced nature of the QT file. Is
this right?
I'll bet it has to do with the 960 format. iMovie and iDVD use the Apple Intermediate CODEC for 16:9 content. Your FCP movie probably went through a lot of interpolation/translation steps before making the mpg-2 encoder in iDVD.
Does anyone know how to fix this without
using compressor/DVD studio pro?
I suspect DVD SP could handle your content properly, but before buying FC Studio to get DVD SP, you might want to go to the DVD SP forum to ask about support for 960 format content in that application.

Poorer quality DVDs with Menus then without?

Finally managed to burn a DVD of my son's first moments.
First off, just edited 45 minutes of clips with transistions, titles, audio, etc. etc.
Picture quality was equal to the DV tapes in my camcorder and I was very pleased.
Got bored. Used the same movie but added some chapter markers, menus, photos and some music in iDVD and burnt an updated version of the first attempt.
Picture quality, especially on my iBook is a lot grainier and when viewed on my TV looks inferior to the original DVD without all the menus.
I can understand the photos that were placed in the drop zones perhaps not being the correct resolution but why should the picture quality of the movie be any different?

Umm. Just what I thought.
I'll let you know how 'Best quality' fairs but I'm definitely not impressed with my efforts to tart up the original - might just as well left it as it was.
OK, the in-laws wouldn't have any menus or chapters but at least it won't look like it's been filmed with a two bit halfpenny camera!
Incidentally, total running time went from 45 to about 60 minutes but not only are the photos in the drop zones blurred but the actual chapter names and other lettering is extremely blurred.
As for the resolution of the actual movie it has gone from broadcast quality to a noticeable grain. In iDVD it looks fabulous but both the disc image version and burned DVD version look sub-standard.

Iphoto Pics on IDVD - why poor quality when shown on TV?

When I download IPhoto pics using IDVD and show them on my tv, the quality of the pictures is far less than when I view them on my computer screen. Is there anything I can do to improve the quality?

This might help: iDVD 7.0 Help (iLife '08): Preparing images for iDVD slideshows. If you intend to use the Ken Burns effect then I'd doulbe the size recommended in the above article.
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 and launch DVD Player and play it.
If it plays OK with DVD Player the encoding was good and you can then burn to disk with Disk Utility at the slowest speed available, 2x-4x, to assure the highest burn quality. Always use top quality media: Verbatium, Maxell or Taiyo Yuden DVD-R are the most recommended in these forums.
OT

IDVD. Poor quality video in drop zones

Video's added to drop zones in iDVD menu themes look terrible, before and after burning the iDVD projects to DVD.
Every video looses quality. They "blink/jump". For example the eyebrows or cheeks of people jump up and down and are very noticeable. It's as if the footage has been scaled up from a smaller image.
Does anyone know how to handle this? Is there a workaround?
This issue has been adressed before, and it seems there's no solution:
https://discussions.apple.com/message/1902931#1902931
https://discussions.apple.com/message/21604603#21604603
https://discussions.apple.com/message/10396039#10396039
I'm using iDVD 7.1.2 - and iDVD 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 themes.

Just tested the drop zone in the same theme that you posted with a video created with PhotoPresenter and it was very sharp.
Try this basic troubleshooting fix:
1 - delete the IDVD preference file, com.apple.iDVD.plist, that resides in your
User/Home/Library/ Preferences folder.
2 - delete the contents of IDVD'S cache folder: User/Home/Library/Caches/com.apple.iDVD.
3 - launch IDVD and try again with a new project with the same theme.
NOTE: In Lion and Mountain Lion the Home/Library folder is now invisible. To make it permanently visible enter the following in the Terminal application window: chflags nohidden ~/Library and press the Return key - 10.7: Un-hide the User Library folder.
If you're running Mavericks, 10.9, go to your Home folder and use the View ➙ Show View Options menu to bring the this window:

Poor quality DVD from Premier Elements 1.0

I've captured 5 short clips from my miniDV camcorder with premier elements. The avi files look like reasonably good quality. When I export to DVD, the 5 minutes of video, the quality is very poor, almost blurry or like it has way too much compression. I exported with the 'fit contents to media' unchecked and the quality setting to High, USA Japan, NTSC.
I took the same clips and burned a DVD from Sonic MyDvd and the quality was much better.
I have the latest premiere Elements 7 on order but I want to know if anyone else has had a similar problem. I seem to remember premiere making better DVDs when I first installed but can't find anything in the settings that has changes.
Thanks,
Mike

When recording your video with miniDV, are you shooting in High Definition or Standard?
What project preset are you setting for at the Premiere Elements Welcome Screen/Setup?

IDVD HD poor quality

I am relatively new to the DVD burning world. I bought an apple G5 and have completed 2 DVD projects and was very disappointed in the quality of both DVD's. They both looked as if I had recorded video from one VCR to another VCR. I don't expectfor either project to be super clear HD qualtiy but I at least expected to be the same quality as the original medium it was recorded on. I was thinking about maybe buying better software but I would like to know if there is something I can do before I go and invest $500 in new software.

I am relatively new to the DVD burning world. I
bought an apple G5 and have completed 2 DVD projects
and was very disappointed in the quality of both
DVD's. They both looked as if I had recorded video
from one VCR to another VCR. I don't expectfor
either project to be super clear HD qualtiy but I at
least expected to be the same quality as the original
medium it was recorded on. I was thinking about
maybe buying better software but I would like to know
if there is something I can do before I go and invest
$500 in new software.
You must remember that an NTSC DV image is only about 640x480 pixels - less than 1/4 the pixels you probably have on your computer monitor.
Your DVD project will look much better on a TV set than on your full-screen computer monitor.
Considerable compression occurs when creating a DVD - you can fit about 2 hours of video on a DVD with iDVD - this is about 26 GB of DV Stream content that your are 'crushing' down to about 4 GB.
Commercial DVDs start with much 'cleaner' (noise and sharpness) content than DV (DV is already compressed about 4:1) and use very expensive hardware MPG-2 compression techniques.
To maximize your quality, make sure your scene is well illuminated (to reduce image noise) and your camera is on a tripod (to reduce frame-to-frame image movement). Noise and frame-to-frame movement reduce the quality of MPG-2 compressed content.

IDVD producing poor quality DVDs.

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