OK, I have just under 2 hours of video, and I told iMovie to export to iDVD. It took forever to do that, and now iDVD tells me that the movie is too big to fit on a single-layer DVD. I don't understand why. Usually DVD's hold 2 hours, right? What can I do to fix this?
That depends on two things: The MPEG-2 bitrate (which you don't get direct control over in iDVD) and whether the discs are single-layer or dual-layer. Most commercial DVDs (with movies on them) are dual-layer discs.
I am using iDVD 5.0.1. I can't figure out how to remove the DVD menu, even though I would like to. How can I lower the bitrate of this stuff? Can I do it in iMovie?
Open the movie, go to FILE>EXPORT. Select your export setting from there. Get the current information of your file, and model the export on that.
If you have DVD Studio Pro it would be real easy. I think you can remove them in iDVD by going to the asset map, dropping the movie file into the first box that says something like "play this concent automatically" then delete all the assets after that (menu, submenus, etc.).
What codec do I need to use? H.261? H.263? Where do I set the bitrate? The box I am at says "standard video compression settings". At the top I have a "compression type" menu. Then I have Motion, Data Rate, and Compressor. Is Compressor the bitrate?
DVDs for standard DVD players store their content as MPEG-2. Importing your movie into iMovie, sending it to iDVD and then burning a DVD is the easiest way to convert the .mp4 into a suitably-formatted MPEG-2 .VOB. Compressing the .mp4 with QuickTime first will do no good, it'll just degrade the picture quality.
Alright, I guess I was wrong, I thought MPEG2 bitrate affected the file size.
Yes, MPEG-2 bitrate does affect the file size. But QuickTime cannot export in MPEG-2 format. iDVD, DVD studio pro, open-source utilities such as ffmpeg, and Toast, amongst others, do/can export in MPEG-2 format.
Using QuickTime Pro first with iMovie and iDVD would result in a dataflow like this:
.mp4 --> H.264 (exported from QuickTime) --> .dv (iMovie converts to .dv) --> MPEG-2 (iDVD converts to MPEG-2)
I've realised you can cut-out the iMovie step, which is good for picture quality as you'll be going straight from .mp4 to MPEG-2 rather than going via iMovie's .dv. Here's what you need to do:
1. Make sure your .mp4 file is in your "Movies" folder in your home folder.
2. Launch iDVD.
3. As you are trying to squeeze two hours onto a single layer, I suggest going to preferences and selecting "best quality" for the encoder settings. This will increase encoding time.
4. Create a new project.
5. Press the "customize" button.
6. Select a low-motion theme such as "Transparent Black" (found in 4.0 themes, which is selected from the drop-down menu).
7. Press the "Map" button, which is to the left of the play button.
8. Press the "media" tab (on the left, in the customize drawer), and then choose "Movies" from the drop-down menu. In the browser, find your .mp4 and drag it over the "Full Frame 1" picture in the tree structure. A new extension to the tree should be created under/next to "Full Frame 1".
9. Press the "return" button (in the GUI, not the keyboard).
10. Edit (by clicking once to select, waiting, then again to highlight; e.g. like editing a file name in the Finder, not a quick "double click") the titles in the theme. I suggest deleting "Transparent Black" altogether, and renaming whatever appears underneath to "play"
11. Now, if you press the preview button, clicking on "play" (or whatever you chose) should play your .mp4.
12. Press the preview button again to end the preview.
13. Now, burn the movie.
If iDVD still says the movie is too long, do you have Toast?
Comments
Originally posted by unixguru
How can I take an MP4 video file and write it out to a standard DVD that should be playable in any NTSC DVD player? Thanks!
Use iMovie + iDVD?
Thanks!
Originally posted by unixguru
Usually DVD's hold 2 hours, right?
That depends on two things: The MPEG-2 bitrate (which you don't get direct control over in iDVD) and whether the discs are single-layer or dual-layer. Most commercial DVDs (with movies on them) are dual-layer discs.
What version of iDVD are you using?
Open the movie, go to FILE>EXPORT. Select your export setting from there. Get the current information of your file, and model the export on that.
If you have DVD Studio Pro it would be real easy. I think you can remove them in iDVD by going to the asset map, dropping the movie file into the first box that says something like "play this concent automatically" then delete all the assets after that (menu, submenus, etc.).
Encode it in h.264, leave the bit the same, then try it in iDVD. Did the menu asset removal instructions work?
-Justin
DVDs for standard DVD players store their content as MPEG-2. Importing your movie into iMovie, sending it to iDVD and then burning a DVD is the easiest way to convert the .mp4 into a suitably-formatted MPEG-2 .VOB. Compressing the .mp4 with QuickTime first will do no good, it'll just degrade the picture quality.
More soon...
Originally posted by jpennington
It will degrade the quality, but if it doesn't fit on a single layer DVD and he needs it to then he doesn't have a choice.
You don't understand:
1.) The final video format must be MPEG-2 in a .VOB container, otherwise it will not play in a standard DVD player.
2.) QuickTime cannot export MPEG-2.
3.) Exporting his .mp4 with QuickTime to another file format will do nothing apart from waste time and degrade picture quality.
Originally posted by jpennington
Alright, I guess I was wrong, I thought MPEG2 bitrate affected the file size.
Yes, MPEG-2 bitrate does affect the file size. But QuickTime cannot export in MPEG-2 format. iDVD, DVD studio pro, open-source utilities such as ffmpeg, and Toast, amongst others, do/can export in MPEG-2 format.
Using QuickTime Pro first with iMovie and iDVD would result in a dataflow like this:
.mp4 --> H.264 (exported from QuickTime) --> .dv (iMovie converts to .dv) --> MPEG-2 (iDVD converts to MPEG-2)
Would a program like mpeg-stream do the trick for him?
1. Make sure your .mp4 file is in your "Movies" folder in your home folder.
2. Launch iDVD.
3. As you are trying to squeeze two hours onto a single layer, I suggest going to preferences and selecting "best quality" for the encoder settings. This will increase encoding time.
4. Create a new project.
5. Press the "customize" button.
6. Select a low-motion theme such as "Transparent Black" (found in 4.0 themes, which is selected from the drop-down menu).
7. Press the "Map" button, which is to the left of the play button.
8. Press the "media" tab (on the left, in the customize drawer), and then choose "Movies" from the drop-down menu. In the browser, find your .mp4 and drag it over the "Full Frame 1" picture in the tree structure. A new extension to the tree should be created under/next to "Full Frame 1".
9. Press the "return" button (in the GUI, not the keyboard).
10. Edit (by clicking once to select, waiting, then again to highlight; e.g. like editing a file name in the Finder, not a quick "double click") the titles in the theme. I suggest deleting "Transparent Black" altogether, and renaming whatever appears underneath to "play"
11. Now, if you press the preview button, clicking on "play" (or whatever you chose) should play your .mp4.
12. Press the preview button again to end the preview.
13. Now, burn the movie.
If iDVD still says the movie is too long, do you have Toast?
Originally posted by unixguru
Yes, I have Toast. Will that do it? What do I need to do there?
Did the iDVD instructions not work? Did it still say that the movie was too long?