Topfield 5500 PVR to iDVD 08

I'm currently using MPEG streamclip to download and convert the .rec files from my Toppy 5500 PVR. I am trying to get the files onto DVD to play in a DVD player connected to my TV without loss in quality but everytime I write a DVD using iDVD 08, it compresses the video to about half the size of the original. I tried using professional quality, which, I am told is supposed to compress the video to fit on a DVD but the original file is only 3GB. Is there any other way?
Many thanks
Mark

The problem was you made your file Mpeg2 FIRST, and iDVD (actually QuickTime) can't handle an mpeg file correctly (mpeg1's always lose their audio on export, I suspect the same for Mpeg 2's). Try converting that file to something like DV or H.264 first, then drop it in iDVD. iDVD will then reencode it to mpeg2.

Similar Messages

Built-in FTP not showing all files

I have my 15" flat panel connected to a Topfield 7160 PVR by an ethernet cable. The Topfield has a built-in FTP server. So, using the built-in FTP (read only) facility in OS X Tiger, I can show the Topfield files on the Finder.
Recently, however, the FTP facility has not been accessing all folders on the Topfield properly. Some folders are shown as empty when they are not. When I disconnect and reconnect, different folders are shown as empty.
I have tested the Topfield FTP server with the Cyberduck client. Everything shows properly. So, there is an issue with the OSX Tiger FTP client and/or how it sends commands to the Topfield FTP server.
Does anyone know what the problem might be ?
Many thanks
Garry

I think your second question is correct - I think I see more if I open up further down the tree. I'll have to do some tests with the Finder and my AppleScript. I'll search for more online regarding the file limit.
I know that being read only the OS X ftp client isn't fully featured. I wouldn't be surprised if there are limitations.
Many thanks.
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IMovie HD won't launch with mytv.pvr pluged in to the USB bus

I recently purchased te Eskape mytv.pvr. After installing it the iMovie HD would crash when launched. If I unplug the mytv.pvr, iMovie launched and works fine. When the mytv.pvr plugin, iMovie quit the the "The application iMove HD quit unexpectedly." error Has anyone else had this problem, or know a solution?
Machine Name: Power Mac G5
Machine Model: PowerMac7,2
CPU Type: PowerPC 970 (2.2)
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Mike;
I do not have any personal experience with Eskape mytv.pvr, but I have not been able to find any positive feedback regarding it in conjunction with imovie, iDVD, QuickTime or even iSight. i just do not think it will work.
Looks like your best bet it is take it back and get EyeTV or you could send the file into Toast Titanium, control-click and save the file to your HD.
Toast will convert the movie into a DV file for imovie. to use.
Sue

IDvd - Onestep dvd from movie, not working?

I am trying to make a onestep dvd from movie - from an avi file... but every time I make one (I followed all the directions perfectly). It looks like it is burning and takes about 4 hrs. but nothing happens. it just says I have inserted a blank dvd. Why does this keep happening?

Hi
from an avi file
.avi is not the food for iDVD - it usually can not handle it at all.
.avi - is no codec but a container - so one must use another program to figure out what codec that's in there.
Then convert it to sometrhing iDVD can use.
My UN-Structured/sorted notes up till Yet ! (May be MANY Faulth ! be careful)
AVCHD
• need of Intel Mac and iMovie’08 or 09 or 11
• can be converted to AIC via Voltaic
Containers.
.mov.
.avi.
You can use MPEG-Streamclip to convert some of the AVI files so that QuickTime can play them
and then to streamingDV for iMovie.
True file formats (?).
.asf (from QuickTimeKirk)
Your product is based on Windows OS and the .asf files are designed for Windows Media Player.
Microsoft discontinued Mac support for Windows Media Player in 2003.
iv50 - old codec on window platform.
• Open on a PC-Window with Microsoft Movie Maker.
• Put into TimeLine
• Save on ”this Computer” as .wmv
move over to Mac and open with QuickTime Pro and save as StreamingDV
(if Flip4Mac is payed then no Waterstamp and time limit)
or
Open in FinalCut Pro as is = No Waterstamp or time limit.
Flip4Mac -- //flip4mac.com
is third party software that "plays" most WMP formats via QuickTime Player. They also sell upgrades that allow conversion from WMP to QuickTime formats.
These upgrades are supported in iMovie version 6 but not for version 7 or 8 (iLife '08 and '09).
So. What to do?
Purchase one of the Flip4Mac upgrades.
Copy the files from the SD card to your Mac and convert to QuickTime formats (DV Stream would work best).
Import the new .dv file into iMovie (any version).
.dv
streaming DV    imports directly it is the same as from miniDV (tape) Camera
.wmv
iMovie is by concept meant to work with miniDV camcorders . . any other 'imports' need a conversion or are not supported... a quick solution would be purchasing a plug-in from www.flip4mac.com, 49$, which allows the conversion of .wmv (a PC format) into something useful for iM (dv-stream) ...
or, ask the emailer to send it in some other codec .. mpg4 for example .. which will be converted by iM 'out-of-the-box' ... and, to work with iM, the video should fulfill a few standards .. 720x480 pixel resolution, 30 frames per second ... otherwise, you will experience a dramatic loss of quality ..
.mp4
container not to be mistaken for .mpeg4 which is a codec - and it’s most often could contain a H.264 encoded material (PS3 and AppleTV)
.m4v
found in iMovie project folders - imported into iDVD without any problems
.mov
found in iMovie project folders - imported into iDVD without any problems
.ram     real-movie by Real-player download
Both Real Networks (.RM, .RA, and .RAM video files) and Microsoft (.ASF, .WMA, and .WMV video files) makes it VERY difficult to import footage encoded with these formats. Especially on a Mac.
.mpg
.mpeg
.vob
.vro
.m2v
.m2a
.m2s
.mts
.m2ts
.swf files are Flash files. You need Perian
.flv Awkward timing in your choice of software as QuickTime 7.4 has dropped support (we hope it is temporary) for Flash Video formats (.swf or .flv file extensions).
MPEG-1.          VideoCD
MPEG-2.             DVD
MPEG-4.         cell-phones to satellite TV - scalable
//danslagle.dvmix.com/mac/iMovie/qt_plugins/3002.shtml
Mpeg Streamclip. Supported formats.
• MPEG, VOB, PS, M2P, MOD, VRO, DAT, MOV, DV, AVI, MP4, TS, M2T, MMV, REC, VID, AUD, AVR, VDR, PVR, TP0, M2V, M1V, MPV, AIFF, M1A, MP2, MPA, AC3...
MPEG Streamclip converts from mpeg-1 to whatever you like (within reason).
MPEG-2 Playback File Types.
.mpg, .mpeg, .vob(2), .vro, .m2v, .m2a, .m2s
QuickTime MPEG-2 Playback Component
Recording types.
DV                        standard miniDV (tape)
DV Widescreen    16 X 9 on standard miniDV (tape)
HDV 1080i            Full HD quality
HDV 720p
MPEG-4
iSight
From Mac to PC - convert to .avi or .wmv
• Transport problem and 2?Gb limit on DOS/UNIX formatted hard disks - You need a
hard disk formatted on a PC in NTFS format
FAT 16 has a 2 or 4Gb file size limit
FAT 32 should be able to handle larger ones
• Rather copy back to miniDV tape (Camera) and use this
QuickTimeKirk. You don't format the drive using a Mac.
Use the PC to format using NTFS and avoid FAT 16 or FAT 32.
//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Movie_Maker
Yep. They want DV-AVI as the format. Same thing but in an AVI container.
Export from iMovie to AVI (Expert Settings) and click the "Options" button to set DV as the codec.
Yours Bengt W

Mini as a DVD player & PVR

Your expert opinion needed:
I'm soon to upgrade my entire AV set-up at home. This is what I'm thinking:
Mac:
Intel iMac/MacBook where iPod will dock
Audio:
iTunes Library held on a Time Capsule
Wireless music in house with Sonos (no doubt Apple will soon bring out an update to Airtunes allowing the same functionality using an iPod Touch!)
Video:
Video files stored on Time Capsule
Apple TV to watch rented/ripped video content
Mac Mini to act as DVD player and as PVR/Tivo using EyeTV
Does anyone have any experience of using the Mac Mini as their sole/main DVD player & PVR/Tivo? Is it in practice a bit clunky to boot up a full working computer (rather than a stand alone DVD/PVR machince) to watch or record a show (and having to come out of TV stream to access recording functionality)? Or does the addded functionality/adaptability work really well?
Would love to get opinions as I'm still undecided about having this set up or a Topfield (Toppy) and EyeTV on the iMac. Only trouble with that would of course be that I would also need a DVD player and recording a TV show wouldn't be very sponstaneous as the EyeTV would be in a different room. Would be nice to have recorded shows ready to go on my iPod though. Decisions decisions...
Many thanks

I had had a setup like that for a couple of months now. It is easier to never turn the Mini off and simply put it in sleep mode when not in use.
The most annoying part is the keyboard and mouse. I use a Logitech DiNovo Edge wireless keyboard and trackpad and it is a bit akward. It would be really nice to have some kind of "air" mouse which can act as both a mouse and remote for Front Row.
Another issue is that there is no good way to keep 5.1 audio when you rip DVDs to something iTunes/Front Row and see and play even though the Mini as a TOSLink output which goes to my Yamaha receiver. DVDs played through OS X Leopard player keep 5.1 audio just fine.
I use EyeTV and it seems to work ok, I just wish it was fully integrated with Front Row rather than using its own menu system. EyeTV can automatically recompress recorded shows to H.264 and dump it into your iTunes library which is really convenient.
Things get complicated if you're trying to use EyeTV for, say, cable TV and over-the-air HD. I have tried using 2 USB tuner sticks and EyeTV requires that both use the same signal type (cable or OTA). If you use a QAM capable tuner card with cable, you'll be able to tune in all open HD channels (cable companies were mandated to rebroadcast local network stations unscrambled in HD by the FCC)

IDVD audio sync problems after Lion upgrade

Hi all,
I posted this in the Lion discussion, but thought I might have a go here as well. I'm having problems with iDVD and audio sync as follows...
I often download files from my Beyonwiz PVR, convert them to mpeg and DV files using MPEG Streamclip (with Quicktime MPEG playback component), then burn a disc with iDVD. Since upgrading to Lion, I notice that the audio in these files, and the burnt DVD in particular, can be slightly out-of-sync with the video. Although the effect is slight, I find it very unacceptable - its like trying to watch something that been badly dubbed. I find it to be a very jarring effect to watch voices and intonation out of sync with the picture.
I'm not sure where the problem lies - is it Quicktime, MPEG Streamclip, and/or iDVD ? I never had this problem at all with Snow Leopard.
Fox

I've discovered that the problem appears to be the conversion of the mpeg file to the DV file. The video/audio goes slightly out of sync using MPEG Streamclip under Mac OS Lion. I never had any problem with Snow Leopard. I'll have to try different conversion methods and see what happens...

Exporting keynote to iDVD audio is out of sync with presentation

I am working in Keynotes '09 I have a presentation that is time perfectly when I run the slide show. I have a totally different problem when sending it to iDVD or to Quicktime the recorded audio is out of timing with the presentation. I tried everything but nothing seems to be working, Tech Support can't seem to help me out. The problem is not within Keynotes as far as I can tell. It plays fine in Keynotes. It is happening in the export via QuickTime or to iDVD. Does anybody have a clue as to how I can resolve this issue. Audio is checked when syncing there is sound in iDVD it is completely out of sync with the bullets point and overlapping spoken text from sentence to the next. I used an AAc Encoder on the spoken text synced into itune placed spoken text in to keynotes. should I have used MP3 encoding? that is the only thing I have not tried.

Hi Steve,
I'm having a similar, if not exactly the same problem. I often download files from my Beyonwiz PVR, convert them to mpeg and DV files using MPEG Streamclip (with Quicktime MPEG playback component), then burn a disc with iDVD. Since upgrading to Lion, I notice that the audio in these files, and the burnt DVD in particular, can be slightly out-of-sync with the video. Although the effect is slight, it's completely unacceptable in my book - its like trying to watch something that been badly dubbed. I find it to be a very jarring effect to watch voices and intonation out of sync with the picture.
I'm not sure where the problem lies - is it Quicktime, MPEG Streamclip, and/or iDVD ?
Fox

Sharing More than One Movie with iDVD????

Okay.. I would like to know if there is another way to burn MORE than one movie an iDVD project. It seems that sending the movie straight to iDVD creates it's own project, and when you try to send another movie, it creates a completely different project. I know I can send a movie to Media browser but the quality of the movie is much better when I share it via the command in iMovie 09 (Shrare->iDVD). I've noticed that the file type is different when you send it to iDVD than when you put it in Media Browser as well.
Currently this is what I do.. Share it to iDVD.. Then I save that iDVD project to my desktop. I close iDVD, and start sharing my second movie. I then Control-Click on the first iDVD project and choose "Show Package Contents". I then dig into the trenches of that file to find the movie file. I then drag it to the desktop and delete the first iDVD project. When the new iDVD project gets made, I simply drag the file on my desktop into the iDVD project I want it in and then it works. This seems like a so un-apple way to do this though. I think iMovie definetly needs and update here. It's great if you ony want to burn a 1 movie to iDVD, but what if you want to do more. There should be a way to select multiple movies to send to iDVD or the option of adding a new imported movie to the current project in iDVD.
Am I missing something or is there another way to do this? Is there a good export option in QuickTime? DV doesn't work because the quality I get is horrible. Somehow the shared to iDVD movie is the best quality and it's a QuickTime file via h.264. Is that my best export option? Sharing with the Media browser creates a mv4 file that's much smaller in size, even at the largest setting. The frames are more jumpier when iDVD finishes with it than the h.264 file.
Any better suggestions? Also, where do I go to make suggestions for Apple. I can't find it anymore on this website.

Q:Also, where do I go to make suggestions for Apple.
A: Launch iDvd and then scroll down to Provide iDvd Feeback.

How do i add a second movie to an idvd project when 'sharing' from imovie always opens a new idid window?

I am creating an idvd project with multiple imovie projects. I know I need to share my imovie project with Idvd. WEhen I do that, idvd automatically opens. Now I want to add a second project. The problem is that when I share imovie projects a second time, it automatically opens a second idvd project. I want to add multiple imovie projects on one idvd project.

One should not share directly to iDVD from iMovie. The Share ➙ Media Browser option should be used as that results in a better quality movie in iDVD. Do the same for both movies and you can drag the movies from the Media ➙ Movies pane in iDVD into the DVD menu window at the left.
Follow this workflow to help ensure the best quality video DVD:
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, launch DVD Player and play it. If it plays OK with DVD Player the encoding is good.
Then burn to disk with Disk Utility or Toast at the slowest speed available (2x-4x) to assure the best burn quality. Always use top quality media: Verbatim, Maxell or Taiyo Yuden DVD-R are the most recommended in these forums.
OT

Multiple iDvd creation issues

Howdy,
I've got multiple questions I've been meaning to address for awhile but I'm always forgetting so while I'm sitting here at work thinking about them I'm just gonna throw them all into one big post (I never tend to think about this stuff when I'm actually at home in front of the computer). Any help will be appreciated.
First let me note that I'm using one of the flat panel 17" imacs. It's like 3 years old now but it's served me very well so far. I've added more memory & an external hard drive & am using iLife 6.
DVD-R:
The only dvds (besides movies & the like) that the superdrive recognizes are DVD-R's. Has anyone ever come up w/ a way to use DVD+Rs or better on these old machines?
Continuous Play Music Video DVDs:
My goal is to make music video mix dvds. This means I want to burn music vids on a dvd that can be accessed separately or you can just pop the dvd in & click play & it will run through the whole dvd. Problem is I haven't found any kind of continuous play option in idvd. So the obvious choice is to convert all of the videos into one long movie in iMovie (broken into chapters) but of course I've been unsuccesful at this. Even though I've converted the videos into the proper format (arrived at through research on this forum) the videos don't load into imovie correctly...at least 3 out the 4 I tried didn't (tried multiple times on each). It would condense the video into like a quarter of the screen & leave everything else black space. So anyone got any suggestions on how I can get this done?
SD on Widescreen formatted disc:
I have burned a music video DVD a little while back & ended up w/ something interesting. I formatted the disc for widescreen assuming the standard def(4:3) videos would all just be letterboxed on the side but the result was that some were & some weren't (in fact most weren't). This means they are stretched out to widescreen. This isn't a huge deal since I can use the tv itself to letterbox them but still I'd like to know if there is a way to deal with this in the creation of the disk. Any suggestions?
Forgive me if I've missed anything obvious. I have tried at various times to research each of these topics but haven't found any answers. Thanks.

Hello Farrell,
for this kind of project you'll need to get your workflow straightened out - and I think at the moment you're "mixing apples & pears".
The only dvds (besides movies & the like) that the superdrive recognizes are DVD-R's. Has anyone ever come up w/ a way to use DVD+Rs or better on these old machines?
DVD-R media is actually your best bet compatibility-wise. The only other option would be Double-Layer DVD+R, but that would mean getting an external burner in your case. If your content doesn't exceed, say 90-100 min. I would stick with the DVD-R.
Even though I've converted the videos into the proper format (arrived at through research on this forum) the videos don't load into imovie correctly...
You might have converted to the correct format, but obviously the sizes don't match. DV video is 720x480 (NTSC) or 720x576 (PAL), so if you want to fill the screen, you'll have to convert to the proper size. On the other hand, if you have some web clips at 320x240, up-rezzing them might degrade the quality to a point that the whole thing becomes unwatchable.
I formatted the disc for widescreen assuming the standard def(4:3) videos would all just be letterboxed on the side but the result was that some were & some weren't (in fact most weren't)
If you want to burn a widescreen DVD, you'll need to start off with a widescreen project in iMovie. As you have quite mixed footage, the best thing would be to turn on "auto letter & pillarboxing" in preferences. This will preserve the correct aspect ratio of your clips.
but still I'd like to know if there is a way to deal with this in the creation of the disk
Widescreen DVDs created in iDVD 6 are set to "auto letterboxing & pan-scan", meaning it depends on the setting of your DVD player how the disc will be displayed - but as you found out, you can easily toggle the view option on your remote.
If you want to force letterboxing, you can re-edit your final DVD with a little app called myDVDedit (http://www.mydvdedit.com/).
hope this helps
mish

When sharing iMovie11 project with iDVD inmediately message 'the project could not be prepared for publishing because an error occurred (Error in user parameter list). Finalize issue?

When sharing my 60 minutes iMovie project with iDVD inmediately message 'The project could not be prepared for publishing because an error occurred (Error in user parameter list)' appears. Could not find the user parameter list, so I've no more info about this error.
Option File - Finalize Project gives inmediately the same errormessage.
Also option Share - Media Browser - Large/Medium/Mobile give the same errormessage.
Please advise, thank you!

Additional info: trying to write to internal disk (268 GB Free out of 499 GB)
Please advise, alko80

IDVD is not working in Mavericks... what now?

I am very upset that iDVD is not working in Mavericks! I need the ability to burn DVDs for family who is unable to access the internet. Any patches or fixes available to make this software usable again? I am very disappointed that Apple would do this without warning users that previously purchased software would be incompatible with the new OS.

I am also having problems with iDVD under Mavericks. I have used iDVD for many years creating DVD's for family members and archiving our vacations. It worked great under Snow Leopard, Lion, and Mountain Lion, but now Mavericks is a different situation.
I have two basic problems, (1) after importing the video I want to use, I play it back to preview and a small band shows up at the top of the screen that is not in sync with the rest of the screen. And (2) when showing a slideshow using standard jpegs there are color issues on playback. Help, I need my iDVD back!

IDVD 08 audio/video sync drift toward end of DVD movie - fix/workaround?

Anyone know how I can fix this issue? It's driving me crazy.
I've just spent a few evenings in iMovie 08, editing together the video of my son's birth. All looked & amazingly good in iMovie. The "Large" .m4v file output by iMovie - Shared with the Media Browser - plays perfectly in Quicktime too.
However, after adding that shared movie to iDVD 08, and burning a DVD, I noticed that the audio sync drifts toward the end of the Movie when plated back. At the start of the DVD all seems well, but by the end of the ~1hr 20 minute movie the audio is unbearably out of sync with the video. Completely unwatchable.
After a little Googling I came across some reports that iDVD might not deal well with video that's been recorded with 12-bit audio. I've confirmed that my camcorder is (was!) set to 12-bit rather than 16-bit (the default, I'm sure). So if that's the problem I'm hosed... it's not like I can get a retake on that footage
Is there a reasonable workaround for this issue? I'm obviously unable to re-take the video (or the other 10 hours of DV video tape I've yet to use in an iMovie project). Ideally I'd like Apple to release a patch for this. Shouldn't it be possible for iDVD to account for audio that was originally recorded in 12-bit... even if it's just a checkbox you have to select to tip it off?
Then again, perhaps this is totally unrelated to the 12-bit issue, and this is just a run of the mill bug?
As I said... iMovie generates a MPEG4 video file of the Movie that looks/sounds perfect, so it seems this sync issue's being created somewhere in iDVD as it's rendering the audio/video to burn to the DVD...
Thanks in advance.

I've tried most of the options I can think of, and the audio sync drift issue continues on this ~1hr 12 minute iMovie/iDVD 08 project.
A couple of promising ideas tried used QT Pro, to export the audio track from the iMovie generated MPEG-4 file - as a WAV file, resampling to 48kHz and 16-bit... then Adding this back to the video track in the MPEG-4 file (having deleted the original audio track). In another test I also tried the Add to Selection and Scale option. Oddly enough I think the Add to Selection and Scale attempt generated more sync issues than before in the final DVD movie... so I stuck with the MPEG-4 file containing the video track and the added, resampled at 48kHz & 16 bit, WAV audio track.
This was saved as a self contained Movie file, producing a QT .mov file. I moved this .mov file into the iDVD projects directory structure so that it was avalable in iDVD's Media Browser. I then reworked the iDVD project to use this QT large.mov file, instead of the original iMovie large.m4v file.
As a reminder... the original large.m4v file has the following properties:
29.97 FPS H.264 Decoder, 960 x 540, Millions
AAC, Stereo (L R), 44.100 kHz
0:01:12:07.16 duration
The resampled and saved QT MOV file has the following properties:
29.97 FPS H.264 Decoder, 960 x 540, Millions
16-bit Integer (Little Endian), Stereo, 48.000 kHz
0:01:12:07.16 duration
BOTH versions of this Movie file play flawlessly within QT Pro... there's no audio sync drift evident toward the end of the movie unless I use iDVD 08 to burn either movie file to a Physical DVD (or DVD Disk Image). In both cases the resultant DVD Movie exhibits significant audio sync drift as the ~1hr 12 minute movie progresses. The sync goes out by ~ <= 1 second based on a rough visual assessment.
I've not yet tried to burn either the original iMovie produced MPEG-4 video file or my QT Pro tweaked audio track .MOV file version to a DVD on my PC...
... But I have used an application called Burn (referenced in this earlier/archived iDVD sync drift forum post: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1332100 by user F Shippey - http://burn-osx.sourceforge.net/) to take the QT Pro tweaked .mov file version of the original MPEG-4 file and burn it to a DVD...
Results:
The Burn app burnt DVD plays with NO audio sync issues!... Even though it was generated from the same audio tweaked (48kHz/16-bit resampled) QT Pro .mov file.
However, whenever I burn a DVD using iDVD 08 the audio sync gradually drifts. It matters not whether I use the original iMovie 08 generated MPEG-4 movie file, or the QT Pro version of that file with the resampled audio track (the same one that works fine with Burn).
It sure looks to me like iDVD has a problem... Again, refer to http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1332100 for someone else who seems to have run into similar challenges.
Am I overlooking something?
Thanks in advance.

Sound problems with film made in iMovie when burned to DVD in iDVD

PLEASE HELP!!!
I have upgraded to iLife 09 and for all the bad that people have to say, I actually like it a lot. Anyway, it gave me the encouragement I needed to play with some old home movies I had stored with the aim of producing DVDs to give to my friends, and hopefully showing off the slick production values I have come up with.
So after spending a week getting to grips with iMovie and editing an old holiday film with all the cuts, transitions, chapter markers and music etc that I wanted, I ended up with an hour long movie that I was happy with.
Then to iDVD. After trying out all sorts of ways to go from iMovie to iDVD to ensure the best quality, I have finally given up trying to replicate the on screen quality of the movie in iMovie with the finished DVD, and just opted for the easy to use 'share to iDVD' option. The quality is not great, but then the footage is old anyway so not too much of an issue.
Then I spend another few days playing with and learning iDVD and again end up with a finished product that I am happy with, with nice looking menu's and a slideshow etc.
So I come to burn the final DVD, for which I pick the 'Professional burn' option which takes 4 hours but I am happy to wait if it means the best quality possible, and my DVD is done.
I then play the DVD to discover my problem - the sound in the movie is not right. To explain further, in my movie I have reduced the sound of some of the film clips to nothing and placed music over the top. When played and previewed in iMovie it works fine - the music plays and the sound that is attached the the video does not. When previewed in iDVD it works fine - just as I had edited it in iMovie. But then when I burn the DVD, some of these sounds are present again which completely wastes all my hard work at the editing stage.
I have searched and searched for help on this but am unable to find any.
Sorry for the very long description and story behind my issue, but it is massively frustrating. Basically, at some point during the 'burn to DVD' stage in iDVD it decides to completely ignore most of the sound edits I have made on the movie in iMovie.
If anyone can help it would be much appreciated.
Many thanks in advance.

Many thanks. Looking at that thread it looks like there are a few others having the same issue as me. Might be to do with not using the predetermined rates for clip slowdown and inputting my own.
The frustrating thing is that I have only done this once right at the start of my hour long movie and if I change it now it with though the timing of my whole film out.
Not much else I can do though I suppose.

Choppy video in iMovie/iDVD from Sony HDD Camcorder

I feel like I must be doing something wrong here, I've just moved from a windows XP machine to a nive shiny iMac which is lovely and I just want to hug it a lot, but.....
My DVD's just aren't coming out right, here's me thinking Macs were renowned for their video editing, but all my stuff is looking better from windows.
To explain further, I connect my Sony DCR-SR32 to the mac via USB (the Sony is a hard disk camera which records to mpeg2) iMovie recognises the camcorder and allows me to import all my clips. I spend hours putting together some holiday footage with appropriate fades, titles and cuts. I then import the finished project into iDVD and spend more hours messing with the motion video menus and getting everything looking right.
I then burn to a DVD and it looks horrible, the frame rate looks like it's about 10 fps and it's jumping around all over. After some research, I find that Perion is probably to blame, and I can work around it by exporting from iMovie as a DV file or removing Perion which I've creating a DVD.
So the output is better, not so jerky, but something is not quite right, while it's not jerky its not quite as smooth as if should be, and the colours seem to be a little more pixelated a bit like when a divX movie struggles in an area of low contrast.
I'm comparing this to running XP in a parallels session, attaching the camcorder and hitting the "Disc burn" button which burns a lovely smooth and colourful DVD without a problem.
I thought this must be an issue with the conversion, convert to h.264 when the file is pulled off the camcorder, and then again into mpeg to burn must be missing something, but I took the raw mpeg files and got Toast to burn a DVD and that was the same "not quite right" result. I've read a lot about OSX's difficulties with mpeg2 and suggestions to use Streamclip with the MPEG quicktime plugin - will this do anything better, it just seems that with any conversion you're going to lose some quality, and converting several times to get something into iMovie then again when iDVD prepares the disk seems to be asking for more trouble ?
I've double checked all the obvious things, like is it set to PAL, and is the DVD burning at the best quality. I'm even burning to disk images to take the physical DVD out of the equation.
But still the results are not satisfactory. I really don't want to have to run windows still, iMovie and iDVD - although fairly basic were really nice to use, and the overall result is great... if I could just get it to look right.
Any idea on what might be wrong in all this, or how I can get a better quality movie to burn ?

Ok, this time I tested it in playback mode.
Connected USB. Chose HDD connect. NO NAME appeared on desktop. Opened iMovie (started my stopwatch at this point). Detected camera - scanning. Generating thumbnails (at this stage it is generating thumbnails for all the clips I have on my camera. For the record, I have 6 clips of 52secs, 22secs, 40secs, 27secs, 29secs and 1min). Finally, after around 1m50s, the 'Import From' window pops up showing me the thumbnails for each clip. I stop the stopwatch.
I only want to import the 1min clip this time, just for timing reference. To import this 1min clip on my imac (see my mac profile below) took 2m30s. This includes generating the thumbnails too, although I'm not quite sure why it does this again. I think 2m30s is very slow considering that DV would/should import in real time.
Anyway, those are my findings today and I for one now have a better understanding of how to connect my camera...playback mode only!
Thanks.
Lee

Topfield 5500 PVR to iDVD 08

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