Tutorial Title: Creating a DVD Disc with iDVD

Topic Title: Introduction

One of the best ways to share your movies and pictures is to put them on a DVD disc. A single DVD disc can hold up to two hours of video, so you can put one long movie or several shorter movies on the same DVD.
 
With iDVD, Apple’s application that lets you create your own DVDs, you can easily organize your movies on a disc. And using the professionally designed themes included with iDVD, your DVD will look like a Hollywood studio created it.

Topic Title: Creating a Project for Your DVD

With iDVD, you’ll create a project file that you’ll use to organize all the different movies and photos you have on your disc. This way, you can assemble your DVD over time and create the disc when all the pieces are ready.

Step-by-Step Section: Creating a Project for Your DVD

Tips Section: Creating a Project for Your DVD

Use OneStep DVD to burn a DVD directly from your video camera

There may be times when you don’t want to go through the process of editing your movie and designing a DVD disc. Maybe you have footage of a play rehearsal that you want to share with the cast, or you have a movie on tape that you have previously edited and want to provide a copy on DVD. With OneStep DVD in iDVD, you can go straight from the tape in your video camera to a DVD disc. Simply connect your camcorder to your Mac and then choose OneStep DVD from the File menu.

iDVD supports wide-screen movies created in iMovie HD

DVDs from your favorite movies are often presented in a 16:9 wide-screen format, which matches the format the movie was presented in the theater on a screen that is much wider than it is tall. iDVD supports high-definition wide-screen movies created in iMovie or other video editing programs. When played from DVDs created in iDVD, wide-screen movies will maintain their wide-screen format.

Create a iDVD project from within iMovie HD

From inside iMovie HD, you can quickly create a new iDVD project and automatically add the movie you are working on to the DVD. In iMovie HD, click the iDVD button and then click the Create iDVD Project button. iDVD automatically opens, creates a new project, and adds your movie.

Use iDVD on a computer that doesn’t have a SuperDrive

If your Mac does not have a drive capable of burning a DVD (known as a SuperDrive) you can still use iDVD. Use iDVD to create your project, then open the File menu and choose Save As Disc Image.

Changing the name of your project

The name you give to your iDVD project is the name that iDVD assigns to the disc when you create it. You’ll see this name appear on your computer when you insert the disc, and it may also appear on the display of certain DVD players. If you want the disc to have a different name than the name of your project, open the Project menu and choose Project Info. Type a new name for your DVD and then click OK.

Topic Title: Choosing a Theme for Your DVD

Each menu on your DVD can have its own look, known as its theme. And with the professionally designed themes that come with iDVD, you can make your DVDs look like they were created by a Hollywood studio.
 
iDVD comes with many themes. In some, you’ll see an area with the words “Drop Zone.” These are special parts of the menu where you add your own pictures or movies, and have them incorporated into the menu’s background, giving your DVD a professional appearance that still has your personal touch.

Step-by-Step Section: Choosing a Theme for Your DVD

Tips Section: Choosing a Theme for Your DVD

Add a group of photos to a drop zone

You can incorporate a series of photos into any of your menu drop zones. The drop zone will cycle through the group of pictures. To add a group of photos, simply drag an album to the drop zone. Drop zones with multiple photos display a small picture icon in the lower right corner of the image.

Change the contents of a drop zone

The Drop Zone editor makes it easy to change the contents of a drop zone. To remove an item, simply drag it out of the Drop Zone Editor. Double-click a drop zone and you’ll see another window that lets you add, delete, or rearrange the contents of the specific drop zone.

Manually move around in a motion theme

There may be times when you want to temporarily turn off the motion in your theme so that you can review a part of it. You can turn the motion off and on by clicking the Motion button in the iDVD window. You can also scrub back and forth using the motion playhead at the bottom of the theme. If the playhead is not visible, you’ll need to turn it on by opening the Advanced menu and choose Show Motion Playhead.

Identifying themes with motion

As you browse through the available themes, you’ll notice that some themes display images that change, and others play music. Themes with motion are known as “motion menus” and display the small motion icon in their lower-right corner.

Turn the theme intro off and on

With certain motion themes you’ll notice a checkbox to the left of the motion playhead. You may also notice a small divider line in the motion playhead timeline. The portion to the left of the divider line is the introductory portion of the menu that only plays the first time the menu is activated. The portion on the right is the looping portion of the menu. The checkbox determines whether or not the introductory portion is shown in the menu.

Make sure to look at all of the iDVD themes

iDVD comes with many themes to choose from, including themes from the previous versions of iDVD. Open the pop-up menu above the list of themes to see the other theme sets available. In addition to the themes that come with iDVD, other companies create themes for iDVD.

Drag an item directly to a drop zone

There may be times when you want to quickly change the contents of a drop zone. Instead of opening the Drop Zone Editor you can simply drag a photo, group of photos, or movie, from the media browser (or directly from iMovie or iPhoto) to a drop zone in a menu.

Topic Title: Adding Movies to Your DVD

Once you have selected a theme for your DVD and personalized it with your own items, it is time to add movies.

Step-by-Step Section: Adding Movies to Your DVD

Tips Section: Adding Movies to Your DVD

Understanding how many movies you can add

One of the best things about a DVD is that it can hold lots of movies, which gives your audience lots of choices. You can add up to 12 movies to any iDVD menu. If you have more than 12 movies you can just create another menu. In fact, you can add as many movies as your disc will hold up to 99 movies.

Preview your movies before adding them

In the movies section of the iDVD media browser, you’ll see the title along with a small preview image for each of the movies in your Movies folder. The title and image help you make sure you are adding the right movie to your project. If you are not sure, simply double-click an image to see a preview of the movie. Click the movie to stop the preview at any time.

Search for movies in other locations

iDVD automatically locates any iMovie projects or QuickTime movies you have stored in the Movies folder in your home folder. If you store movies in another location, such as an external hard disk, you can set iDVD to search there. In iDVD Preferences, click the Movies button and then click the Add button to choose additional locations. You can also drag a folder from the Finder into the iDVD movie browser.

Adding movies created in other applications

To add a movie created in another application to your iDVD project, you need to export it as a QuickTime movie. Any movie in QuickTime format can be added to an iDVD project, but for best results, export the movie as a self-contained DV (digital video) file.

Topic Title: Adding a Slideshow to Your DVD

With iDVD, you can create slideshows from your digital pictures to make your DVD more interesting. For example, on a family reunion DVD, you could make your story complete by including video from the reunion, and a slideshow of family photos.
 
Inside iDVD you have access to all the photos from your iPhoto library. You can set how long each photo appears onscreen, add transitions between pictures, and even add music from your iTunes library.

Step-by-Step Section: Adding a Slideshow to Your DVD

Tips Section: Adding a Slideshow to Your DVD

If you want to change your slideshow

At any time, you can add additional images to your slideshow. You can also rearrange the order of your pictures by dragging them around in the window. To delete a slide, simply select it and then press the Delete key. To remove an audio clip, drag it from the audio well to the Trash icon in the Dock.

Change how long slideshow images appear onscreen

In the slideshow window, open the Slide Duration pop-up menu to see the settings available for your slideshow. You can set the slides to stay onscreen for a specific amount of time or to match the duration of the audio clip you added. You can even set the slideshow so that the viewer can use the arrow keys to move between images.

Set up your photo slideshows ahead of time in iPhoto

iDVD automatically recognizes any albums you’ve created in iPhoto. In addition, iDVD will recognize any transitions or music you’ve set for the slideshow. Simply drag the photo album to a DVD menu, and iDVD will automatically create a slideshow with the same photos, music, and settings that you set up in iPhoto.

Set your slideshow to loop

DVD discs are often set up in areas where they are constantly playing. For example, a DVD might be used to show product information on a television screen at a store. You can easily set up your slideshow to continually loop until someone clicks the menu button on the remote control.

Include the slideshow images on the DVD disc

Pictures you include in a slideshow are converted to video so that they can be viewed on your television. Because of this, you will not be able to open or edit the pictures on your computer. If you want to provide the original slideshow image files on the DVD disc, select the “Add original photos on DVD-ROM” option in the slideshow window. This way, your audience can watch your DVD on television and copy your photos to their computer.

Slideshows can have up to 99 images in them

Each slideshow can include up to 99 images. If you drag an album or folder of pictures with more than 99 images into a menu, iDVD automatically creates multiple slideshows for you. The slideshows will appear on another menu and a button to access the slideshow menu is created on the menu you dragged the album into.

Choose whether you want your pictures displayed full screen

Because the outer portion of the DVD video may not be visible on certain televisions, iDVD automatically sizes pictures down to match an area known as the TV Safe Area. On televisions capable of displaying outside the TV Safe Area, the image will simply appear centered on a black background. To prevent iDVD from scaling the image, go to iDVD preferences, choose Slideshow, and make sure the “Always scale slide to TV Safe area” option is not selected.

Topic Title: Adding Additional Menus

You are not limited to including only a couple of movies or slideshows on your DVD. In fact, most people create many small movies and slideshows instead of one big one. Instead of creating a separate disc for each item, you can store them all on one disc. Imagine being able to store all your movies and photos from the past year on a single disc.
 
If your DVD disc includes only a few items, you’ll probably need only one menu. If it has more than 12 items, you’ll need to create multiple menus on your DVD. You can create a hierarchy of menus that will keep your screen from becoming cluttered—your audience will appreciate that. In iDVD, you do so by adding folders. A folder is simply a way to add another menu to your DVD disc.

Step-by-Step Section: Adding Additional Menus

Tips Section: Adding Additional Menus

Quickly create a new menu

If you have several items in a menu and then decide you want to move them to a separate menu, you don’t have to delete them and add them to a new menu. Simply select the items while holding down the Shift key, open the Project menu, and then choose New Menu from Selection.

Apply theme changes to an entire project

If you change one menu’s attributes, such as its button style, you may want to change all of the menus. From the Advanced menu, choose whether you want to apply the theme to the entire project or just to menus inside a specific folder.

Get a quick overview of the menus in your project

As you create additional menus and other items in your DVD, you may want to get an overview of the entire contents of your DVD. Click the Map button at the bottom of the iDVD window. You’ll see a chart that shows all the items on your DVD. To access a specific item, double-click it in the map view.

Topic Title: Working With Chapter Markers

Many professionally made DVD discs have a menu that lets you jump to specific parts of the movie. These menus are often referred to as chapter or scene selection menus.
 
In iMovie, you can specify scenes in your movie by including chapter markers. By doing so, a scene selection menu will automatically be created when you add your movie to iDVD.

Step-by-Step Section: Working With Chapter Markers

Tips Section: Working With Chapter Markers

How many chapter markers can you add?

You can add up to 99 chapter markers in any movie. If you add more than 99 chapter markers, you’ll be unable to add the movie to your iDVD project. To remove a chapter marker, select it and then click the Remove Chapter button in the iDVD pane of iMovie.

Update an existing movie with chapter markers

If you add or delete chapter markers in a movie that is already part of an iDVD project, you’ll need to delete the movie and then re-add it to the project. To remove a movie from your iDVD project, select the movie’s button, and then press the Delete key.

Notice the image assigned to the chapter marker

When you create a chapter marker, iMovie automatically assigns an image to it. This image is the movie frame where you placed the marker. You can set this image to appear on the scene buttons in the scene selection menu in iDVD.

Determine whether a scene selection is created

With iDVD you have the option to determine whether or not a scene selection submenu is created when you add a movie to an iDVD menu. In iDVD preferences, click the Movies button. The options available let you choose to have the submenu automatically created or to have iDVD ask you when adding a movie.

Movies exported in QuickTime format may lose their chapter markers

If you export an iMovie project as a QuickTime movie using the Full Quality option, iMovie HD doesn’t include chapter markers in the QuickTime movie. To export your movie with chapter markers, use the Create iDVD Project button or click the iDVD button in the Share window.

Topic Title: Working in the iDVD Map View

As your DVD gets more and more complex with multiple menus, there may be times when you want to see an overview of the entire project.
 
The iDVD map view gives you a high level overview of your entire iDVD project. You can see which menus link to which movies, and jump directly to a specific menu, slideshow, or movie. You can even make changes to parts of your DVD project directly in the map view.

Step-by-Step Section: Working in the iDVD Map View

Tips Section: Working in the iDVD Map View

Creating a DVD with a movie that plays automatically

iDVD lets you create a movie that plays as soon as the user puts the disc into a DVD player. In iDVD, this process is known as creating an AutoPlay movie. In the iDVD map view, you’ll notice the item at the top of the map labeled “Drag content here to automatically play when the disc is inserted.” Just drag a movie or slideshow to it and the movie or slideshow will start playing as soon as the disc is inserted.

Collapse items in the map view

The iDVD map view lets you hide and show whole sections, making it easier to visually keep track of complex projects. Click the small triangle next to an item in the map view and watch as all items below it disappear. Click it again to have them reappear.

Use the map view to delete entire sections of your DVD

The map view provides a quick and easy way to delete items for your DVD. Select any item in the map view and press the Delete key on your keyboard. The item and any items below it in the map view are automatically deleted. Remember that if you do this accidentally you can always choose Undo from the Edit menu.

Use the icons to determine the objects in a map

When working in the map view, you’ll notice a small icon in the upper right corner of an object. This icon will either be a movie, picture, or folder indicating that the item is a movie, slideshow, or menu.

Topic Title: Previewing Your DVD

While you’re working on your iDVD project, you can preview it at any time. When you preview your project, you’ll see it appear in the iDVD window. You’ll also see the iDVD remote control, which lets you control the DVD just as if you were using the remote control for your DVD player.

Step-by-Step Section: Previewing Your DVD

Tips Section: Previewing Your DVD

If you don’t see motion in the menu or hear music

If a menu is supposed to show motion or play music but it’s not doing so, make sure the Motion button in the iDVD window is selected. The button allows you to turn motion and sound off for all your DVD menus.

Use the Title button if your DVD has multiple menus

If your DVD has multiple menus, you can always click the Title button in the remote control to go to the main menu. The main menu is the one that appears when you first insert the disc into the DVD player.

Try out your chapter markers

When previewing your iDVD project, you can use the Next and Previous buttons to skip between chapters in a movie. This way, you can test your chapter markers.

Topic Title: Adding Additional Files to Your DVD

DVDs, including those you play in your DVD player at home, are simply large discs. In addition to storing and playing video, DVD discs are used to transfer large files from one computer to another. In fact, many DVD discs produced in Hollywood also include files that you can view on your computer, often referred to as the DVD-ROM contents of the disc.
 
With iDVD, you can easily add files to a disc in addition to your movies and slideshows, allowing you to create a multipurpose disc. For example, on a disc advertising a new product, you could include the product specification sheets.

Step-by-Step Section: Adding Additional Files to Your DVD

Tips Section: Adding Additional Files to Your DVD

Organize the DVD-ROM contents

The structure you set up for the files and folders in the DVD-ROM contents window is the same as what users will see when they put the disc in their computer. You can move files around and even create additional folders to help keep things organized.

Deleting items from the DVD-ROM

You can easily delete a folder or file from the DVD-ROM portion of the disc. Simply select the file in the DVD-ROM contents window, and then press the Delete key on the keyboard.

Include the slideshow images on the DVD disc

Pictures you include in a slideshow are converted to video so that they can be viewed on your television. Because of this, you will not be able to open or edit the pictures on your computer. If you want to provide the original slideshow image files on the DVD disc, select the “Add original photos on DVD-ROM” option in the slideshow window. This way, your audience can not only watch your DVD on television, but they can also copy your photos to their computer, for example.

Add a link to the Internet on your DVD disc

It’s often useful to add to your DVD disc a link to a specific website where people can go for more information. In the DVD-ROM contents of the disc, include a file that is a link to a website. Go to the website you want to link to, and then drag the URL to your desktop, which creates a file that links to that web page. Then add the file to the DVD-ROM contents of your disc.

Topic Title: Customizing Your DVD Menu

Using the built-in themes is a quick way to create a menu for your DVD disc. However, there may be times when you want to have more creative control over the appearance of your menus.
 
With iDVD, you have complete control over all aspects of your DVD menus, including text style and position, button style, and background images and movies.

Step-by-Step Section: Customizing Your DVD Menu

Tips Section: Customizing Your DVD Menu

Adding additional text to a menu

Many professionally created DVDs use menus to display additional information such as an actor’s bio or list of other films. These menus often display only text. In iDVD, you can add text to any menu. Simply open the Project menu and choose Add Text. A text block will appear in the menu. You can then add your own text, change the style, and even position it wherever you want.

Add a transition when leaving a menu

You can set a transition (such as page peel or water droplet) to occur when you leave a menu to play a movie or slideshow or go to another menu. In the Settings view, open the Transition pop-up menu and choose the transition that occurs when leaving the menu.

Save your custom theme as a favorite

When you save a custom theme as a favorite, you can easily apply it to new menus you create in existing or new iDVD projects. In the Customize drawer, click the Save as Favorite button at the bottom of the Settings section. From the pop-up menu in the Themes section, choose Favorites to see your custom theme.

Add your own photos, music, or movies to a menu

A fun way to get creative with your menus is to change the background. You can easily drag a photo or song into a menu and make it the background of your menu. To add a movie to the background of a menu, simply select the movie as if you were going to add it to a menu, but then drag it and hold it over the Settings button at the top of the window. When the view changes, drop the movie into the Background well in the Settings view.

Check the position of your buttons and title

The outer area of your DVD menu may not be visible on some televisions. To see an approximation of how your DVD will look on most television sets, open the Advanced menu and then choose TV Safe Area. Make sure your buttons and titles appear within the white area.

Use the map view to set transitions for a menu

The iDVD map view provides an easy to set transitions for menu. With the map view visible, click a menu to select it. In the Settings section of the Customize drawer, use the Transition pop up menu to change the selected transition. Also notice that items below a menu with a transition attached to it display a small blue dot.

Topic Title: Creating Your DVD Disc

Once your DVD project is just right, it’s time to put it on a DVD disc. This process is known as burning the disc. The time required to burn a disc depends on the amount of video you’re copying, and the speed of your computer.
 
Once your DVD has been created you can put the disc into the DVD player you have connected to your television and enjoy you creations on the big screen.

Step-by-Step Section: Creating Your DVD Disc

Tips Section: Creating Your DVD Disc

Try watching your new DVD on your Mac

After you’ve created your DVD, you’ll want to watch it. Try it out on your Mac using the DVD Player program. DVD Player opens automatically when you insert a DVD.

Creating a disc image from your project

Instead of burning your project to a DVD disc, you can create a disc image. Saving a disc image of your project means creating a file that is formatted just like a finished DVD, except it is stored on your hard disk instead of DVD disc. Having a disc image allows you to easily burn DVD discs without having to save your entire DVD project. You can even use a disc image to play your DVD on your Mac. Simply double-click the disc image to open it. (You’ll see it appear as an item in the Finder sidebar). Then open the Applications folder and double-click DVD player.

Burn your project on another Mac

If your Mac does not have a drive capable of burning a DVD (known as a SuperDrive) you can still use iDVD. Use iDVD to create your project, then open the File menu and choose Save As Disc Image. All the items that make up your DVD will be packaged together, allowing you to transfer it to another computer where you can burn it to a DVD.

If you plan to create multiple discs

When iDVD finishes burning a disc, it ejects the disc. At that point, iDVD prompts you to put in another disc, if you want to burn another one. iDVD burns subsequent discs more quickly than the first one because your video has already been converted to the proper format for copying.

Make sure to have enough free hard disk space

Before burning your DVD, be sure to have at least twice as much free space available on your hard disk as your project size, to allow for encoding and burning. Check the DVD Capacity meter in the Status pane of the Customize drawer to determine the size of your project. For example, if you project uses 4.0 GB, you need at least 8.0 GB of free space on your hard disk.

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