Ok to Delete the Contents of the Render Files Folder?

Question

Hello Hello
I remember from using various PC Video Editing programs that each program established for itself a 'Render Folder', or sometimes called an 'Auxiliary Folder'.
This folder contained the contents of the previously rendered files as they related to a particular DVD burned project. Once rendered, the files were there to sort of help reduce the process time, (render time), required to burn another DVD disc.
In FCE HD, there is also a folder called 'Render Files', and also another folder called 'Audio Render Files'. Naturally the contents of these folders could easily amount to 2 gigs or more depending upon the project size.
Well - (aside from increasing Re-Rendering Time in regard to a new DVD burn), is it safe to delete the contents of the 'Render Folder' in an effort to free up hard drive space?
Thanx
Mike

Answer 1

Hi Mike,
You may have a couple of things mixed up.
In FCE the Render Files and Audio Render Files folders hold the render files produced by FCE. FCE uses those render files when you play the timeline, print to video or export a movie. You can delete them at any time because you can always re-render in FCE. However, you do need to be careful at the point when you export a movie from FCE (for example, to use in iDVD)
If you export to a QT Self-Contained movie, all the media for the movie you export (including rendered video & audio) is incorporated into the resulting QT movie file. Assuming a successful export, you no longer need the FCE render files.
However, if you export to a QT Reference movie, you need to keep the FCE render files available when you import your project into iDVD and build your DVD structure. When iDVD encodes & multiplexes to burn your DVD, it will use the QT Reference movie, which in turn uses the FCE render files (and your original media).
In iDVD, after you burn your DVD, you have the option of keeping the 'rendered assets'; these are iDVD render files and are inside your iDVD project file; they are not the FCE render files.
If you really want to save time burning subsequent DVDs, in iDVD you should Save As Disk Image (instead of Burn DVD), which gives you a completely finished, fully encoded & formatted DVD disk image. You can then use the Finder, Disk Utility or Toast to burn additional DVDs for only the burn time, you won't have to go through iDVD's menus & re-rendering just to burn an additional DVD.