About Idvd at DVinfo.net

Sergio Perez · March 13th, 2005, 08:03 PM

Well, I've got final cut pro hd, but only have idvd- I've tried burning a disc, but the menu is really confusing, and the output file seems rater too compressed... Can you control the compression of the quicktime file you export from FCpro to Idvd?

I tried compressor, but it always makes two separate files (one for audio and other for the m2p file), and Imovie can't recognize it...

One more question: Can you costumize your background and animations in Idvd? Or do I really need to go Dvd Studio Pro?

Dave Perry · March 14th, 2005, 05:29 AM

Sergio,

You can control the compression of the movie you export from FCP but you should just export it as a self contained Final Cut Movie. To do this choose File > Exprt > QuickTime Movie. This will yield a movie that is exported in the same codec as your timeline. So if you are using DV, you will have a DV master that is the same quality as what you view from the FCP timeline. Do not choose "Using QuickTime Conversion".

This is the standard method for having the highest quality master for DVD authoring.

I would use DVDSP 3 if you want more flexiblity in your DVD authoring.

Boyd Ostroff · March 14th, 2005, 06:16 AM

What version of iDVD do you have? iDVD 5 has some new features which might help http://www.apple.com/ilife/idvd/. Sorry, I haven't used iDVD before, but just got a new machine with iDVD 5 so I'll be exploring soon.

Rhett Allen · March 14th, 2005, 07:50 AM

Open the preferences, the only thing you can really change for compression is the setting between "Highest Quality" and "Best Performance".
Yes you can change the backgrounds the music the titles, almost everything. Just drop it in the right place. Open your settings tab, It's all right there in drag and drop format. There is a tutorial on the disk it came on, actually it's probably on your hard drive already, it will teach you everything. Just launch iDVD and go to the "Help" menu and select "Tutorial". It will launch everything and open the instructions for you to follow. It's really quite a simple and lovely program.
DVDSP on the other hand still has me scratching my head at times, mostly because they drastically change the entire interface every time the update the program. It's getting really annoying. DVDStudio Pro 1, 2, and 3 all look different.

Sergio Perez · March 14th, 2005, 08:05 PM

Thanks again Rhett and Dave- I'm going to try follow your instructions.

Is there any mpeg encoding option like there is in Premiere, like a 2 pass variable bit rate conversion?

I have Idvd5.

Rhett Allen · March 14th, 2005, 08:57 PM

There are options for encoding in Compressor or out of FCP but unfortunately they aren't compatible with iDVD. The beauty, and the bad, of iDVD is that it handles all of it's own encoding tasks internally. I don't have iDVD 5 so I can't say for certain what they changed.

Sergio Perez · March 14th, 2005, 11:07 PM

<<<-- Originally posted by Rhett Allen : There are options for encoding in Compressor or out of FCP but unfortunately they aren't compatible with iDVD. The beauty, and the bad, of iDVD is that it handles all of it's own encoding tasks internally. I don't have iDVD 5 so I can't say for certain what they changed. -->>>

so, I can export from compressor (but I get 2 files, one for audio and one for video), and then take it to a Pc dvd encoder? Maybe convert a 10 bit uncompressed quicktime in an mpeg encoder?

Rhett Allen · March 15th, 2005, 02:59 PM

I guess you could.
Are you starting in 10 bit uncompressed? If not you would need to first convert it to a 10 bit format and then to an mpeg format. I don't know what you would achieve by doing that, other than compressing it one extra time. If you have an encoder on your PC you could just export the final timeline from FCP and take it to the PC to run in another encoding program. I've done that a bunch of times (export from FCP to encode in Cleaner on a PC, it used to be my standard workflow).
You "can" also use Compressor to encode it to mpeg-2 and take the files to your PC to author your DVD with. Are you using A.Pack for the audio encoding or just Compressor? Either way, it should work fine.

March 13th, 2005, 08:03 PM	#1
Sergio Perez Major Player Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Macau Posts: 331	About Idvd Well, I've got final cut pro hd, but only have idvd- I've tried burning a disc, but the menu is really confusing, and the output file seems rater too compressed... Can you control the compression of the quicktime file you export from FCpro to Idvd? I tried compressor, but it always makes two separate files (one for audio and other for the m2p file), and Imovie can't recognize it... One more question: Can you costumize your background and animations in Idvd? Or do I really need to go Dvd Studio Pro? __________________ If you don't believe in your film, no one else will.

March 14th, 2005, 05:29 AM	#2
Dave Perry Major Player Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Roanoke, VA Posts: 796	Sergio, You can control the compression of the movie you export from FCP but you should just export it as a self contained Final Cut Movie. To do this choose File > Exprt > QuickTime Movie. This will yield a movie that is exported in the same codec as your timeline. So if you are using DV, you will have a DV master that is the same quality as what you view from the FCP timeline. Do not choose "Using QuickTime Conversion". This is the standard method for having the highest quality master for DVD authoring. I would use DVDSP 3 if you want more flexiblity in your DVD authoring. __________________ Dave Perry Cinematographer LLC Director of Photography • Editor • Digital Film Production • 540.915.2752 • daveperry.net

March 14th, 2005, 08:05 PM	#5
Sergio Perez Major Player Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Macau Posts: 331	Thanks again Rhett and Dave- I'm going to try follow your instructions. Is there any mpeg encoding option like there is in Premiere, like a 2 pass variable bit rate conversion? I have Idvd5. __________________ If you don't believe in your film, no one else will.

March 14th, 2005, 11:07 PM	#7
Sergio Perez Major Player Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Macau Posts: 331	<<<-- Originally posted by Rhett Allen : There are options for encoding in Compressor or out of FCP but unfortunately they aren't compatible with iDVD. The beauty, and the bad, of iDVD is that it handles all of it's own encoding tasks internally. I don't have iDVD 5 so I can't say for certain what they changed. -->>> so, I can export from compressor (but I get 2 files, one for audio and one for video), and then take it to a Pc dvd encoder? Maybe convert a 10 bit uncompressed quicktime in an mpeg encoder? __________________ If you don't believe in your film, no one else will.

March 14th, 2005, 06:16 AM	#3
Boyd Ostroff Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 11,802	What version of iDVD do you have? iDVD 5 has some new features which might help http://www.apple.com/ilife/idvd/. Sorry, I haven't used iDVD before, but just got a new machine with iDVD 5 so I'll be exploring soon.

March 14th, 2005, 07:50 AM	#4
Rhett Allen Major Player Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Plano, TX Posts: 607	Open the preferences, the only thing you can really change for compression is the setting between "Highest Quality" and "Best Performance". Yes you can change the backgrounds the music the titles, almost everything. Just drop it in the right place. Open your settings tab, It's all right there in drag and drop format. There is a tutorial on the disk it came on, actually it's probably on your hard drive already, it will teach you everything. Just launch iDVD and go to the "Help" menu and select "Tutorial". It will launch everything and open the instructions for you to follow. It's really quite a simple and lovely program. DVDSP on the other hand still has me scratching my head at times, mostly because they drastically change the entire interface every time the update the program. It's getting really annoying. DVDStudio Pro 1, 2, and 3 all look different.

March 14th, 2005, 08:57 PM	#6
Rhett Allen Major Player Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Plano, TX Posts: 607	There are options for encoding in Compressor or out of FCP but unfortunately they aren't compatible with iDVD. The beauty, and the bad, of iDVD is that it handles all of it's own encoding tasks internally. I don't have iDVD 5 so I can't say for certain what they changed.

March 15th, 2005, 02:59 PM	#8
Rhett Allen Major Player Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Plano, TX Posts: 607	I guess you could. Are you starting in 10 bit uncompressed? If not you would need to first convert it to a 10 bit format and then to an mpeg format. I don't know what you would achieve by doing that, other than compressing it one extra time. If you have an encoder on your PC you could just export the final timeline from FCP and take it to the PC to run in another encoding program. I've done that a bunch of times (export from FCP to encode in Cleaner on a PC, it used to be my standard workflow). You "can" also use Compressor to encode it to mpeg-2 and take the files to your PC to author your DVD with. Are you using A.Pack for the audio encoding or just Compressor? Either way, it should work fine.