iDVD and FCP

Hi all - So i am trying to burn a movie I exported from FCP5.1 with iDVD6 - the proble is that after the movie is burnt and I play it in a regular DVD it skips...it plays for about 5 minutes then it skips and skips ARG@@!!!! (freezes for a few seconds then continues to play
this is how i'm exporting from FCP
file/export/quicktime/current settings - make movie self contained.

I call tech support and they tell me it's the export from FCP not iDVD that is messing up.

any Ideas?

<<<it's the export from FCP not iDVD that is messing up.>>>

They're right, but not where you think.

Buy a short stack of Sony DVD-R disks or, harder to find, Ritek/RiData disks and I bet that problem goes away.

Skipping can be caused by datarates too high and a number of authoring problems--all of which are missing from iDVD. They can also be caused by ratty media where the burner can't figure out how to set the laser.

Koz

but isn't Vervatim one of the best?
and how can i eliminate this problem

Verbatim's one of the worst brands in here, if past forum threads are to be believed. Sony, Ritek, Fuji and Maxell have gotten good grades in the discussions I've read.

...and Maxwell fell from grace when they started to coat their own disks.

Right in the toilet.

Buy a short stack of Sony disks.

Koz

I checked other forums and they all agree that Vervatim is one of the best media Yuiden Taiyo being the absolut best of them all.

but I'm on my way to office max to get the sony one and see what happens...
I really don't think this is a case of bad DVD media...I have tried 3 diferent brands and this problem is still happening.

this is the biggest Pain in the SSA !!! MY GOD - !!!!

Apple's iDVD tech support is blaming it on FCP and FCP tech support is blaming it on iDVD...WTF!!!
I've read to save a disk image from iDVD and burn it with Disk Utility....same problem.....!!!!

what can this be FCP or iDVD? anyone? any ideas?

Have you checked your DVD burner? Could be a bad dvd burner, try to copy and burn a 1 gig file onto a dvd, not through iDVD, but just burn it and see what happens.

I use iDVD 6 and FCP 5 (not 5.1) all the time with no problem so something else is wrong.

Kevin



"A problem can never be solved by the same consciousness that created it"
Einstein

<<<what can this be FCP or iDVD? anyone? any ideas?>>>

Neither?

Take the first three of your Sony disks and do a data recording. Find or create a file or files that add up to 4G. Close everything. Put a DVD in and OK the opening dialog.

Pull the 4G of files over to the disk and burn. Do that three times.

OSX will not burn a data disk unless **everything** works perfectly. If any one of those fails, you have a bad burner.

How many different players fail? How old is it? We have a 1998 Panasonic DVD player we use as a standards player. If we do **anything** wrong, this player will throw up. That's how we found the Sony and Ritek disks. Nobody else's disks have the reliablilty those do--at least on our two G5's.

The older iDVDs used to have no provision to change the datarate--it was fixed and it pretty much always worked. The newer ones may give you more tools. Never encode over 7 (if you have that option). We rarely go over 6.8. Getting this wrong will cause shows to break up into blocks and halt.

Koz

Ritek /Ridata are great, Verbatims might be Ok in the CD department but suck as DVD's.

Taiyo Yuden is what my guru, Paul Grippaldi of SF's "Digital Revolution" recommends. They use nothing else.

Things that can ruin a burn:

?Tired old burner. If you've done a lot of burning CDs and DVDs on your rig, it may be time to replace it.

?Having other programs open during the burn, especially FCP and Photoshop. You can ruin a good burn this way.

?Running other programs during the burn - a real no no.

?Failing to run a "graded" test of the burn - Burn is rated A, B or C? Duplicate! D or F? Re-burn.

Note: Graded tests are done at the duplication shop, usually for free. Really an invaluable service. We found that many SF Cutters having trouble had D or F grades on their burns. Surprise!

BTW, where's a good duplication shop in LA?



Kevin Monahan
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<<<?Tired old burner. If you've done a lot of burning CDs and DVDs on your rig, it may be time to replace it.>>>

The data test will tell you that. Critical Data Tests fail first.

<<<Note: Graded tests are done at the duplication shop, usually for free. Really an invaluable service. We found that many SF Cutters having trouble had D or F grades on their burns. Surprise!>>>

Do they tell you what's wrong? "You have a 'D' disk. Have a happy day?"

One of the effects houses on the west side had Demo Reels that wouldn't play anywhere in our building. That was OK with them because there was no way to fix it.

There is no substitute for an old, tired DVD player.

Koz

I will try the test Koz -
I don't think it is the DVD burner inside the G5...because this problem also happens in my new (few month old) quad G5 at the office.

this G5 is only about 2 years old (got it when my son was born - and I've provably only burnt....uhmmm 50 or 60 DVD in those two years...I don't think this would be enough for it to be "tired" (i hope)

I always quit all apps before burning a DVD

This *&^% thing plays fine then at some points gives me crazy pixelation and even green blocks

will keep runing a bunch of different tests and will let you guys know the result.

First off I feel your pain. I spent the better part of two weeks getting my FCP4.5 project to properly burn in IDVD. One issue was my "tired old burner" the pioneer 106 in my 4 year old G5. I swapped it out for a pioneer 111. the critical issue for me, however, was the size and complexity of the dvd project. My film is 80 min, and I put the trailer and contact information, as well as scene menus on the iDVD project. I think it was just too much information...maxing out the 4.2 gigs of info a disc will hold. The problem with idvd is there is only one (as far as I know) burn rate and it's geared more for home movies of less than 60 min. I simplified my menus...got rid of the fancy chapter menus...and it burned fine. Of course, if your film is a short, then this may not be an issue with you.

I also recommend burning a 'disc image' not directly to discs. This way you can burn more discs via disc utility and will and not have to wait for the thing to multiplex and so forth. Slower burn rate should resolve pixilated images and green blocks. The pioneer 111 is a 16x burner and for some reason disk Utility doesnt' give me the option of burning slower...but I use some 8x Yuden blanks and I assume they are automatically burned at 8x speed (even slower would be better). Of course if you have FCP 5.1 it begs the question why aren't you using DVD Studio Pro?

Dale
www.militaryintelligenceandyou.com

<<<FCP 5.1 it begs the question why aren't you using DVD Studio Pro?
>>>

I know that one. DVDSP has a learning curve. I still use iDVD on occasion when I don't feel like setting up a DVDSP session. Also DVDSP uses Compressor which, if you're not paying attention will take weeks to burn your disk.

<<<My film is 80 min, and I put the trailer and contact information, as well as scene menus on the iDVD project. I think it was just too much information...maxing out the 4.2 gigs of info a disc will hold. >>>

Yes, the older iDVD maxed out at 90 minutes and it was actually a little less. It used a fixed datarate that was actually quite good--I think someone said 7.5 or 8. If the program actually succeeded in burning a disk, it usually played everywhere. It was good that way.

There was a problem. It sometimes would go to the Digital Happy Hunting Ground and not tell you until you got suspicious a half-hour later and stopped the process. It would not roll over errors. If there was something wrong with the show--anything, really--it would just halt and fall face-first into the dirt.

That got really tired after a while, so we were forced into DVDSP.

Koz

Kozikowski wrote:

> <<<Note: Graded tests are done at the duplication shop, usually
> for free. Really an invaluable service. We found that many SF
> Cutters having trouble had D or F grades on their burns.
> Surprise!>>>
>
> Do they tell you what's wrong? "You have a 'D' disk. Have a
> happy day?"

Pretty much. They don't want you to waste money on duplicating a crappy disk. So, you head home and do another burn. If it again shows a D or F, it likely means that your burner is not working properly.



Kevin Monahan
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Do I see a marketing opportunity here? Here's a $100 DVD player. It's trick is that it won't play a B thru F disk.

Of course that begs the Question. Outside of our fortunate hardware accident, how do *they* know that the grade is?

Koz

FCP 5.1 it begs the question why aren't you using DVD Studio Pro? -

Koz - you're absolutely right about the learning curb...I just want to quikly send my client a version of the project on a DVD - that's why i think iDVD is perfect for that...but if it doesn't freakin work like Apple says it's supose to...why do they even write the software?
I guess i'm going to have to sit infront of iDVD and figure out an easy templete....

what's the best training DVD for studio pro out there?

and

what's the best burner on the market now ...so i can change the burner i have....i want a dual layer :-)
thanks guys..

Frustrated - arod =

I bought a Pioneer 111 for 40 bucks a couple weeks ago and it's worked fine...it's dual layer, but I'm using single layer media.

Dale

Koz,
I guess it's a test that is preformed with Software. Don't know too much about the specifics on how it works.



Kevin Monahan
Social Support Lead, DV Products
Adobe
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