iDVD turns 1GB of video into 8GB

[tveric]

I've recently started using iDVD instead of DVD Studio Pro for quick'n'dirty projects because it's so much easier, but those have all been with stuff I've created in iMovie. This time, I've got 2 .avi clips that need to be put onto a DVD. They play fine in Quicktime and even play fine in iDVD when I "Preview" the DVD. Only problem is, when I click burn, iDVD informs me that the total amount of data is 8 GB.

Now, each clip is about 500 MB and is an hour long. I guess iDVD wants to uncompress the clips - so I don't know what to do with them to make iDVD fit them onto a DVD. I threw them into Toast and that worked fine; it's just that burning with Toast affords you even less options, as far as customizing menus and such, than iDVD does.

So, I'm looking for suggestions. Info on the clips: according to QT, they're "generic MPEG-4" format. Data rate 1176 kbits/sec.

 

[tweakers_suck]

In your iDVD preferences panel, do you have Best Quality or Best Performance selected? If I remember correctly, your experience may happen if Best Performance is selected.

Try Best Quality and see if that helps.

Edit: Also, under project info you can select either 4 GB or 8 GB project if you have a dual layer burner.

 

[LethalWolfe]

I've recently started using iDVD instead of DVD Studio Pro for quick'n'dirty projects because it's so much easier, but those have all been with stuff I've created in iMovie. This time, I've got 2 .avi clips that need to be put onto a DVD. They play fine in Quicktime and even play fine in iDVD when I "Preview" the DVD. Only problem is, when I click burn, iDVD informs me that the total amount of data is 8 GB.

Now, each clip is about 500 MB and is an hour long. I guess iDVD wants to uncompress the clips - so I don't know what to do with them to make iDVD fit them onto a DVD. I threw them into Toast and that worked fine; it's just that burning with Toast affords you even less options, as far as customizing menus and such, than iDVD does.

So, I'm looking for suggestions. Info on the clips: according to QT, they're "generic MPEG-4" format. Data rate 1176 kbits/sec.

Running time is all that matters 'cause the material gets compressed into DVD spec MPEG-2 anyway. But why iDVD says 8 gigs I don't know (via iDVD you can get 2hrs of video onto a DVD). You may also want to trying trashing iDVD's preferences and starting up a new project and see if that fixes things.


Lethal

 

[tveric]

I'm already on Best Quality. I tried Best Performance just for kicks and it changed nothing.

I don't have a dual layer burner.

What's the maximum project length in iDVD? I even looked in the Help file for any info about that but it had nothing.

This project would've been just over 2 hours - about 4 minutes over.

Regardless, I just burned THREE of the same size (500 MB) clips in Toast - no problem whatsoever. Looks like that's my new quick'n'dirty burning app if I can't get iDVD to burn 2 hours of downloaded .avi files. Toast burned 3 hours and did the compression for me.

 

[tweakers_suck]

I'm already on Best Quality. I tried Best Performance just for kicks and it changed nothing.

I don't have a dual layer burner.

What's the maximum project length in iDVD? I even looked in the Help file for any info about that but it had nothing.

This project would've been just over 2 hours - about 4 minutes over.

Regardless, I just burned THREE of the same size (500 MB) clips in Toast - no problem whatsoever. Looks like that's my new quick'n'dirty burning app if I can't get iDVD to burn 2 hours of downloaded .avi files. Toast burned 3 hours and did the compression for me.

Max project length in iDVD is 120 minutes with single layer drive.

 

[Sdashiki]

If you are thinking that 500MB .avis are going to translate into 500MB MPEG2 DVD video files, then no thats not gonna happen.

If thats not what the problem is...I think I need more clarification.

And when you say you got Toast to burn three of the same type of files, what did you mean by that? As in letting toast create and actual encoded DVD for set top playback or just a data disc with 3 files on it?

 

[tveric]

Max project length in iDVD is 120 minutes with single layer drive.

Thank you, that pretty much answers my question.

As for the dashiki comments - toast took 3 avi's, 1 hour in length each, and churned out a DVD that plays in any set top player. That software kicks ass. iDVD's next version could certainly take a hint from Toast 7.