IDVD Freezing Up

I hope somebody is working on their Mac on a Saturday!
IDVD is freezing up in the 4th phase on me. The last time it happened, I made a new Quicktime Movie (it's a Final Cut project) and re-built the IDVD project, and it worked. Today it's not helping. The message was something about an error like underwriting buffer, which came up when I let it run overnight, but I didn't write it down. Sorry. I have 124 GB available on the external hard drive I'm using. This particular project consists of 2 1/2 hours of footage that I captured, then edited down to 36 minutes. I've noticed freezing issues before when I capture too much raw footage, but I didn't think this was too much.

Would it do any good to select all on the timeline, cut it, then paste it to a new project? (I've also repaired permissions several times.)

Videography by Amy

iDVD often freezes up when you use the same iDVD project to burn multiple versions of one project. A big reason I switched to DVD Studio Pro very early on. The workaround I used to have was to finish my design work, then backup a version of the project file before burning any discs. When the project starts to act up, I ditch it and make a copy of the archived file to do subsequent re-burns.


www.derekmok.com

Thanks for the weekend reply! If I read you right, you are saying you were dragging in different Quicktime movies to an IDVD project so you didn't have to keep making the menu screens? I didn't even do that. I made a new IDVD project each time, so as not to push my luck. My IDVD is 4.0.1. Another videographer in Ohio had said that upgrading to the newest ILife, which I think is version 6, would stop a lot of the freezing. Do you agree? On this particular project, which I need for a funeral tomorrow, I have run the footage out onto SVHS, the back into a new FCP project, so that it doesn't have all the raw footage to bog it down. The Quicktime movie converted more quickly this time, so I have high hopes for a successful burn. I really wish I could figure out what makes it work sometimes, but not others, on similar projects. Is there no logic to it?
Thanks,
Amy

> Thanks for the weekend reply! If I read you right, you are saying you were dragging in
> different Quicktime movies to an IDVD project so you didn't have to keep making the menu
> screens?

Not quite. In my case -- and bear in mind this is three years ago, and I've never looked back -- I found that the more discs I burn from an iDVD project, the less reliable it became and the longer it took, and then at some point it would always freeze at about 14%. So what I did was do all the designing as well as media import, buttons and so on, and then archived before I burned the first disc.

> Another videographer in Ohio had said that upgrading to the newest ILife, which I think is
> version 6, would stop a lot of the freezing.

Haven't tried it, sorry. I know Koz uses iDVD on a regular basis; he might offer some insight. I've been using DVD Studio Pro since 2003.

> On this particular project, which I need for a funeral tomorrow, I have run the footage out
> onto SVHS, the back into a new FCP project, so that it doesn't have all the raw footage to bog
> it down.

Whoa, two generation losses, plus the added disadvantage of going to a very low-ball analog medium.

The QuickTime movies are almost certainly not the culprit. iDVD and its project files are -- plus the fact that when you encode media in preparation for a burn in iDVD, the media gets stored in the project file. I suspect the applications file (mis)management is what causes the freezes.

Even better, switch to DVD Studio Pro. Far more stable, with oodles more control.


www.derekmok.com

<<< I really wish I could figure out what makes it work sometimes, but not others, on similar projects. Is there no logic to it? >>>

A lot of us are convinced that the Studio Pro People wrote it so it would do that. I don't know anybody that ever figured it out, except the obvious, "If it does that F!@#~$%( one more time, I'm going to get Studio Pro."

That happens every time. Never misses. It takes a shorter time to happen if you stand up a client or two.

The program is brittle, there's no getting around it. We got suspicious when it started failing on projects that formerly succeeded.

I'll go with Agatha Christie on this one. At the end of the day, in spite of all the circus, diversions, red herrings, and theatrics, Roger Akroyd is still dead.

iDVD is a promotional package for Studio Pro.

Koz

Yes we had to stop using it except for the most unimportant chores.

Koz

Wow. I'll assume that you have no tricks for dragging some preferences to the trash in some directory somewhere, then. It is now 2:46am and my latest re-do of the Quicktime movie didn't help. IDVD is just setting at stage 4 yet again. @#$%^! Thanks for your input. I do appreciate it.

Amy, create a new project file. And while Koz' tone is jokey, I find it hard to argue -- iDVD really does seem to be like DVD Studio Pro, Jr., with multiple sclerosis. And let's also consider that DVD Studio Pro can open iDVD projects! Which means if you upgrade to Final Cut Studio or DVD Studio Pro at some point, you can retain your current designs.

I had originally designed my reel on iDVD. Switched to DVD Studio Pro, and for a year and a half I continued to use the layouts, buttons and media originated in iDVD. Once DVD Studio Pro got into the act, no major problems burning -- except for two occasions when I had "mystery media" that refused to burn.


www.derekmok.com

Interesting post since I just completed a presentation for a memorial which is happening tomorrow. I hope it works for you Amy.I found the same problems with earlier versions of IDVD. Ilife 6 has worked very well but it still has pushed me to learn Studio Pro.
Derek, I tried your suggestion of dropping my IDVD (ILife6) projects into DVD Studio Pro 4.0.3 and now receive this error message " Error Importing IDVD Project, DVD Studio Pro does not support projects created in IDVD 5 or later. I guess those days of crossing over with newer versions have come to a close. All the best.

Thank you all for your info. Last night I tried to make a project in studio pro (yes, it is on my mac, but I haven't learned how to use it!) I had notes from the last time I tried to learn it, but I don't remember what all of it refers to as I read along! I made a menu screen with buttons, imported my Quicktime movie, which broke down to a video & audio file, added the deceased's photo, and put on the music. I did burn & build, which burned to menu screen, but my buttons don't do anything. My Quicktime movie won't play. I had dragged the Quicktime video file down to the timeline in StudioPro, which shows it with its chapters, and I had dragged and dropped it into the big square in the middle of the screen while the tab said "Menu". How do I get the buttons to coordinate with my chapters and actually play? The column to the left says it completed lots of things, but it has two warnings: "The file found in the VIDEO_TS folder will not be included in the final disc" is what they both say, with the name of my project listed in the warning. Am I almost there?

I tried to import the IDVD project into Studio Pro, but it says "Could not import 5 files. The file's formats are not supported". I have Studio Pro ver 3.0.0 and IDVD ver 4.0.1. Is there something I should do other than "import" the .dvdproj file?
Thanks

If I remember right, you're not supposed to "Import". You're supposed to use the Open command directly on the iDVD project file in DVD Studio Pro.

To make the Chapter submenu with buttons in DVD Studio Pro, single-click on your main menu to select it and make sure you're on the Menu tab, not the Viewer tab. Drag the movie file into the monitor area and drop it into the right area...can't remember what it is...I think it's called "Create submenu with chapters". I usually do this step by hand, so I can't remember.


www.derekmok.com

Just a suggestion, but try using "save AS Disk Image" from iDVD. Once you have done this, double click on the disk image "name.img" to launch it - close the Video TS window, then launch Disk Utility. Select you "name.img" from the list of disks avialable and then select "Burn" from the "Images". You will get a window with burn rates and DU will ask you to insert a disk.

This ALWAYS works if your iDVD project has no problems in itself. I suggest you use the "1X" speed, rather than the default - as bit slower, but less chance for errors.

Good luck.

Thank you! I'll try that. I ended up burning in Studio Pro with alot of phone support from another videographer who was nice enough to walk me thru it on a Sunday! I got that deadline handled, anyhow. I'll be keeping your tips for future help!

Did the videographer also tell you to use Build and then Format, rather than Burn? Burn makes one DVD and then ditches the encoded files; Build makes the encoded files and retains them, and you can then use Format to make a disc. Much more effective than Burn.


www.derekmok.com

The hoops I jumped thru are a bit cluttered in my brain...We saved the FCP file as Mpeg2 instead of a Quicktime movie, threw the sound into APack, Imported all that into Studio Pro, selected Build, then went to Toast to burn, where I had to throw a couple of things in the trash first. Yikes! He said I'll get used to it, which I'm sure I can, but Yikes! I have extensive notes, but I'll be calling him to walk me thru it next time, I'll bet. He did discover something in FCP which I'd like your opinion on... I was rendering with Alt R, and thought everything was rendered, but some of the transitions would stay green. It seemed to me that green or blue (on the top of the timeline) was fine for the past 2 years I've been on FCP, but when he told me to select the timeline, and then do Render All in the dropdown menu, it DID take a minute or two and changed all of that to blue! Do you think having some green transitions is what was making IDVD act up sometimes? (If I don't have to switch to all the APack and Toast stuff, I'd rather not mess with it!) Thanks for caring