+I have backups of the iDVD projects, however.+ If you have copies of your original iDVD projects only, these are NOT backups. iDVD is just a 'container' that references your actual media files when you encode for a project. The media files are not in the iDVD project itself, but are pulled in just for the burn process to either create a disk image file or burn a DVD disk. If you move, change, rename or delete any media used in an iDVD project, iDVD will be unable to access those media and you will not be able to open your projects properly.
The way to make backups of your projects is to create disk image files for each of them from within iDVD after you have finished editing your project. You do this by selecting 'Save as Disk Image' from the 'File' option. The process of creating a disk image file looks exactly like the burning process, and the encoding takes the same amount of time. However, the end result is a disk image file, not a burned DVD disk. The disk image file is self-contained, so you can now safely delete the movies used in the project and also delete the original iDVD project itself. You can burn DVD disks of this project from the disk image file using Disk Utility (or Toast, if you want). You can save your disk image files to external drives as backup, knowing that you can burn them to DVDs at anytime. They are smaller than the original iDVD project, and you don't have to worry that you will lose the ability to burn another DVD if you lose the original movies or iDVD project.
Links to the how-to: Create a Disk Image in iDVD
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=iDVD/7.0/en/6733.html
Burn to DVD from Disk Image File
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2087?viewlocale=en_US
If you have not done this in the past, you can start now. You can make disk image files for backups of the burned DVDs you already have, if you no longer have the original media used to create the iDVD projects. Disk image files done in iDVD have .img after their names; those made from DVD disks, have .dmg endings, but they are the same.
See this:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2059?viewlocale=en_US
+Does anybody know of a way to recreate a iDVD projects without the original movies in iMovie?+
I recorded from a DVD disk in a DVD player to miniDV tape with a digital camcorder and then imported that miniDV footage into iMovie 6. There was some loss of quality, but not enough to worry me. I preferred to have the footage anyway. I was able to edit and recreate the original iDVD project. It looked ok for my purposes.
Another suggestion-- there apparently is a new product to rip your previously created DVDs called Ripit.
http://smokingapples.com/software/reviews/ripit-dvd-ripper-review-interview-indy hall-labs/
It "saves the movie as a DVD media file, a folder with the video_ts and audio_ts folders in a single file. It will launch in DVD player, and can be burned with Disk Utility. No need for iDVD as the menus are the same as in the original DVD." It has a demo version that you might try out.
Message was edited by: Beverly Maneatis
