fce to idvd problems, missing files?

[Michael Donne]

I'm sure this will prove to be basic but i'm stumped!....(doesnt take much).

hdv footage from an fx1 has been edited in fcehd 3.5 on an imac(adequate spec for hdv), the captured footage is on an external iomega ultramax drive.

The project is only 5 mins long and about 660k.

So....following instructions precisely (as far as i can tell)... i go file-export-quicktime movie (not "using quicktime conversion" as that is said in the fce instructions to always recompress which is aparently unnecessary). I tick "make selfcontained", no markers and video only (this project has no sound), hit save and off it goes for a few mins finally producing an fce movie file of 1.55gb, 1920 x 1080 and in the apple intermediate codec.

This seems ok to this stage so maybe the problem is occurring with what i do next, but the settings options and process in idvd is so simple and limited that i cant see where i could be going wrong.............

I open idvd, start a new project, name it, pick a template, drag that movie file onto it right where it shows to do so, and burn.

No problems or errors are reported, the dvd when opened on a puter shows 426mb, folders for audio_ts (empty)and video_ts (426mb, 6 files).

I put it in my dvd player......"disk error" is all i get and no access.

Im conscious i havent done anything in this process to specifically identify that i want a sd movie on the dvd despite it being a hdv project, i guess idvd works that out......i've followed the instructions in the userguide within fcehd3.5

In a search for relevant threads i read stuff that left me wondering if having the captured footage on an external drive was a problem....surely not?

From the same timeline i can successfully export "using quicktime conversion" and selecting h264 get a movie that plays on the imac, but what im after is a best quality dvd to watch on the telly.

I have no idea what to do next so any help will be appreciated, thanks.

[William Hohauser]

OK, I'm not the greatest with iDVD or FCE so some of the following suggestions might not be possible.

The problem seems to be that iDVD isn't converting the HDV footage down to SD for your DVD player.

1) Take the HDV QuickTime export you made and bring it into a new FCE project that's set for DV 16:9 anamorphic. Render it. Make sure it works.

2) Now export that movie and bring it into iDVD.

This should do it.

[Michael Donne]

Thanks for the suggestion, which i ve tried, but infortunately get the same "disk error" message.

The burned disk appears the same as my earleir attempt in every way except the 6 files in Video_ts contain a total of 449MB.

Here's my process following your suggestion:

I opened fce and changed 'easy setup' to dv pal anamorphic, made a new project and imported the same movie file into that, rendered it and then played it successfully in the timeline, then export-quicktime move-make self contained, no markers,video only...just as before.

it produces a movie file of 663mb this time, 720 x 576 dv pal.

I go to idvd and just like before start a new project, widescreen aspect ratio, name it, pick a template, drag that movie file onto it right where it shows to do so, and burn.

No problems or errors are reported, the dvd when opened on a puter shows MORE at 446mb, folders for audio_ts (empty)and video_ts (446mb, 6 files).

As with the first attempt the disk wont play on a mac or pc, just opening a media player saying unknown disk.

In my dvd player i get "disk error".

So i'm at square 1.

Now i guess what i should try is to "export with quicktime compression" despite fce instructions saying not to......i dont know what kind of compression and settings i should use to get this movie to my tv at best possible quality via this route?

[William Hohauser]

Here are a few test questions:

- Can you mount the burned disk on your Mac? Get info about the disk and see if it's formatted for ISO9660 or DVD ROM (UDF).

- If the disk is mountable, can you open the VIDEO_TS file from within DVDPlayer?

- Have you recently created any DVDs from either HD or SD footage?

- Are you using quality DVD-R disks?

- Have you run Software Update recently?

- Do you have any other DVD creation programs such as Toast?

The problem you are experiencing is unusual. You might have to start thinking about some tech fixes like throwing out the iDVD preferences or reinstalling iDVD from scratch.

[Michael Donne]

Thanks for the reply William

- yes, can mount the disk in my powerbook, formatted UDF
also, it is autoplaying on mounting and i can watch movie on powerbook(which i hadnt previously tried)...cant try on imac till tomorrow, still doesnt on pc and still disk error on my dvd player.
-im assuming the above means i am opening the video.ts file from within apple dvd player.
-no other dvd's recently created...or ever on that imac as its new and this is 1st project.
-yes
-yes
-no, not on the imac where the video project is but i do have toast on my powerbook......can i just put the movie file onto a dvd and then open that onto a timeline in fce on my powerbook, then go to idvd....thus proving (if it works) the fault to be with the imac's copy of idvd...is that worthwhile?

Sounds like this is gonna get more confusing so thanks William for sticking with it!

[Jonathan Jones]

Could be the player you are using also. Two years ago, when setting up my stuff and trying out some projects, I took most of my projects and tested them on at least 7 or 8 differnet types of players to guage performance. I also did as much research on the stuff as I could find so that I could appropriately put together accompanying infomation for my clients on what to expect of their new DVDs. I found that alot of older players, and some cheaper models struggle with dye based laser burned discs. Models produced earlier than two years ago can be suspect, although notable brand names such as Sony, Philips, and a few others have been stellar, even many older models under these brands.

I found alot of complaints and issues with units produced by manufacturers like Samsung, Go>Video, and a few others. These units would flawlessly play replicated discs, but be very error prone and erratic on duplicated discs, though errors were never consistent.

Combo players have been the worst almost every time. Manufacturers seem to cut corners with these units by combining a sub-par dvd player with a sub par vcr, but it is valued for its space-saving convenience.

I would recommend taking your disc and playing it on variety of different units to see how it play across the range.

If it consistently give your error messages, then there is likely a problem with the way iDVD is handling your content or finalizing the burn.
-Jon

[Michael Donne]

Ok, thanks for the tip....so it now seems ive got about a dozen avenues to try, to solve a really fundamental thing.......aaargh.

[Jonathan Jones]

One last comment. William mentioned it earlier. Be sure to use quality blanks. Cheap store brand discs or bargain basement priced discs of a brand you've never heard of are notorious for being error prone.

I have seemed to find that a lot of folks prefer Verbatim Datalife Plus discs or verified Taiyo Yuden blanks. (as opposed to pirated knock-offs that you can get through disreputable vendors - so shop carefully). I use the Verbatim Datalife Plus and find them to be very good.

-Jon

[William Hohauser]

Originally Posted by Michael Donne

Thanks for the reply William

- yes, can mount the disk in my powerbook, formatted UDF
also, it is autoplaying on mounting and i can watch movie on powerbook(which i hadnt previously tried)...cant try on imac till tomorrow, still doesnt on pc and still disk error on my dvd player.
-im assuming the above means i am opening the video.ts file from within apple dvd player.
-no other dvd's recently created...or ever on that imac as its new and this is 1st project.
-yes
-yes
-no, not on the imac where the video project is but i do have toast on my powerbook......can i just put the movie file onto a dvd and then open that onto a timeline in fce on my powerbook, then go to idvd....thus proving (if it works) the fault to be with the imac's copy of idvd...is that worthwhile?

Sounds like this is gonna get more confusing so thanks William for sticking with it!

OK, at least the DVD works somewhere.

First use Toast to make a copy of the DVD and slow down the burn time to half of the drive's top speed. See if that works on your PC or player.

If that doesn't work and your Powerbook is up-to-date software wise, transfer a self-contained movie file over to the Powerbook and burn the project there. If that DVD works on your PC and player then you might have a defective burner in the iMac. Hopefully your warranty is still good or you have purchased Applecare so a replacement should be free.

[Michael Donne]

solved !

I put my disks into the cheapest £25 matsui dvd player in the shop and they worked. My offending dvd player was a midpriced sharp 2-3 years ago.

Now both my original disk and the one i burned following William's first suggestion are playing. Theres the odd grouchy moment sometimes...other times they play perfectly all the way through. I think the second disk, ie via William's suggestion, plays more creamy smooth than my original, which by comparison seems to have a slight uniform judder to the footages movement.

Many thanks to you guys for getting me to this point.......i was having a big sense of humour failure over this!

[Jonathan Jones]

Glad to hear you have resolved your problems.

For future reference, let me offer my routine for disc burning in iDVD. I tend to use iDVD pretty often due to its simplicity.

If I don't need to make things too complex or a number of alternate viewing options or easter eggs, I do the job in iDVD and just create my own menus and backgrounds. However, since iDVD burns subject to the native max burn speed of the drive, I prefer to save my iDVD project as a disc image.

Then, I use Toast to burn my disc image at a slower speed since Toast offers more control over burn speed. This seems to create a more stable final project. I have never had a single complaint regarding playback issues from any of my clients. (touch wood)
-Jon