FCP to Compressor to iDVD? No audio??

I have a mac book pro with FCP 6 etc and leopard. I have a sizable movie (one hour) in an FCP DV CAM project. I'm using compressor to make an mpeg 2 file. So far so good. Tried to export it into DVD Studio pro 4 and it would not have it. Put into idvd with those awful themes.. the dvd looks fantastic but there is no audio. The audio plays fine in idvd preview. Can't figure it out. Cheers

You mean you tried to import it into DVDSP, yes? What happened when you did that?

As a test to see if DVDSP is a problem, just export a self contained quicktime of a section of your timeline at the current settings, then drop that into DVDSP and let it do the encoding for you. Does this work?

I tried DVDSP but just got a grey square upon completion even though internal encoder etc.. were doing their job. I tried idvd with mpeg 2 and that is where I lost the audio even though visually the results were astoundingly good. Also my file judders at the very beginning of the movie after coming out of compressor. This has happened twice. Setting/program stream mpeg 2 with destination/desktop.

also after exporting sequence from FCP using compressor (mpeg 2 program stream) when I try to import file into DVDSP I get a window that says incompatible format?? I just did another test with idvd and still no audio using mpeg 2 program stream file????

As a test to see if DVDSP is a problem, just export a self contained quicktime of a section of your timeline at the current settings, then drop that into DVDSP and let it do the encoding for you. Does this work?

Hey Jude... I did a test allowing DVDSP to do the encoding, formating burning etc... Grey is all I got.

Okay, something isn't right here. We need to get systematic.

You said your timeline is "DV CAM." I'm assuming you mean "DV - PAL." Can you verify your timeline settings for me? Posting a screen shot of your "Sequence Settings" dialog box will be fine.

Second, what Jude was suggest was that you export your timeline as a Quicktime movie. You said you exported "using compressor (mpeg 2 program stream)," which is not the most common workflow for DVD mastering. The goal is to get you a Quicktime movie on your desktop in DV format.

Then you should take that DV-format Quicktime movie (after verifying that it plays properly, obviously) into Compressor. Choose the DVD setting that suits your run time; for a test, that'll probably be the "DVD: Best Quality 90 minutes" setting. Make sure you use drag the settings folder to your batch queue. It contains two settings, one for video ("MPEG-2 6.2Mbps 2-pass" and one for audio ("Dolby Digital Professional 2.0".

The result will be two files: one MPEG-2 elementary stream, and one AC3 audio file. Both of these need to go into DVD Studio Pro. The program will recognize that you've got an elementary stream for picture and an audio file for sound and treat them as one asset. Drag either one to the DVD Studio Pro track timeline, and both should be inserted.

Then burn your DVD as usual. You may choose to remove the menu ? I always do; menus are for suckers ? but remember to change your disc's first-play to track 1, otherwise your disc won't actually do anything by default when you play it.

Thanks Jeff. When you say drag settings into batch que, I'm not clear. I have set the destination to desktop and always get one file, not seperate video and audio. I have no problem getting a DV PAL QT, but when I do the opening title (Impact Title 3D) looks rubbish. When I export from timeline using compressor to mpeg 2 program stream the title looks amazing but that's as far as it goes.

Yes, titles are rubbish in DV. That's a natural consequence of the format. If you don't like it, don't use DV.

Let me go back a step: Do not "export using Compressor." That is not the most common workflow for what you're trying to accomplish, and what we're attempting to do here is get you in a place where you're following a procedure which we know works.

Let me ask you a question that I certainly hope doesn't come across as patronizing or rude: Are you familiar with Compressor? When I wrote out those instructions for you I was under the assumption that you knew how to use the program; that might have been in unreasonable assumption on my part. If that's not the case, then I think we're going to need to take a step back here and work with a combination of advice from the forum and reading the manual.

Thanks Jeff. It's not patronizing at all, I'm not totally familiar with compressor. I have never been in the position of making a decent dvd.
I had gathered that mpeg 2 was the best format for dvds and have gone that route noticing along the way that mpeg 2's look great.
I have a movie that is 13 Gbs as DV PAL straight out of FCP. Are there more preferable formats for dvd other than mpeg 2 and if so can I export them out of FCP without using compressor?

You should always get two files. DVDSP takes in elementary streams, which means the video and audio will be separate elements. Don't touch program stream. Use the DVD "best" setting.



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MPEG-2 is the only format for DVD. There are no other options for DVD.

I don't know what to tell you, Phil, except that the timeline-Quicktime master-Compressor-DVD Studio Pro workflow works a treat. It seems like you're missing a few steps in that pipeline. Maybe have a look at the Compressor and DVD Studio Pro manuals and fill in those gaps?

Thanks guys.

when you say you got a gray square...

did you create a button in DVDSP and link that to your video track? the gray square makes me think that you left the menu blank