[G4] Best program for DVD burning

[GDB-MDD-X.4.5]

On Mar 22, 2006, at 8:29 PM, GDB-MDD-X.4.5 wrote:

> Another question, is it possible to place bookmarks in iDVD where  
> you want them or do you  have to use iMovie?

Guess I'll have to answer my own question on this one, I've had more  
time to work with iDVD and I have found that while it is not possible  
to place the bookmarks at various places in the movie like you can in  
iMovie, you do have a bit more freedom than I first thought.  By  
changing the amount of time between bookmarks, you have the ability  
to place them closer to where you want them.  Of course it's  
difficult to change once you decide on the time, but by doing a  
little work in advance of choosing the time frame, I think it is  
possible to completely eliminate iMovie from the way I have been  
doing things.  That in itself will cut a lot of time from the entire  
production.

For those interested, here is the method I use to convert a VHS movie  
to DVD.

1. Convert the analog video to digital video.

For this process I use a JVC SVHS HiFi VCR connected via an S-video  
and separate audio cables to my Miglia Alchemy TV DVR card in my MDD  
dual 867 Mac.  The video compression is set to MPEG-4 with 50% Codec  
quality at a 320x240 resolution.  (Note: I have thought about trying  
the 640x320 resolution, but from what I've read the VHS quality is  
not enhanced that much and it's not really wasting the extra  
resources)  I've found it's best to just set this all up to run as  
automated as possible to eliminate wasting time watching the movie  
while it's recording.

2. Convert to digital video to DVD format and burn DVD.

For this part I use iDVD to create the DVD menus and actually burn  
the DVD.  You can get as creative as you want with the themes and  
menus, but I prefer to keep mine as simple as possible.  I use an  
older 4.0 theme called marquee as there are no drop zones to fool  
with and it is visually attractive as well.  As I said earlier, a  
little more work here will save some serious processing time.  Simply  
view the movie at different points to get a feel for where you would  
like the chapters to reside.  Once a pattern of time between chapters  
is evident, you can simply have iDVD to insert the bookmarks every x  
amount of minutes.  Once this is done I like to go back an provide a  
more descriptive name for each chapter and I try to limit the number  
of chapters so they fit on one menu.  Then just save the project and  
choose the burn DVD option and it's time to go have lunch... and  
maybe supper as well depending on how fast your computer is.

Time wise I've got it down to a point where I could actually do maybe  
3 movies a day if I wanted to.  Of course most of the work is  
actually done in the background.  Be sure you have other activities  
planned to fill up your free time as there will be a lot of that!   
BTW, computer work at night too, so don't be afraid to leave your Mac  
on the job while you blow some zzzz's!

Just a message from Doug...

P.S. While I composed this email, my MDD was also busy happily  
processing The General's Daughter DVD's menus.  These little machines  
are great at multi-tasking as well.