Can I burn a .mov file directly to DVD?

You would used the Finder to burn a "data" DVD.
This will not play in a DVD player and the file will need to be "copied" from the DVD to the viewing machine. If the data rate of the QuickTime file exceeds the "read" speed of the DVD (as data) QuickTime Player will "stutter" and drop frames during playback.

It is only 2GB in size, so should not need compressing.


Unless the audio/video formats actually say "Uncompressed," the files are compressed to a storage, viewing, or editing specific compression format. If really uncompressed, then compressing the content will make the file small enough to burned to a CD rather than a DVD allowing faster burn/playback media characteristics.

How do I burn my QT movie to a DVD so that the resulting DVD movie can be played back with QT?


The the easiest way is to 1) Convert files to a specific target compression format, 2) Create a "burn" folder, 3) Drop one or more compressed files to the burn folder, 4) Press the "Burn" button, 5) Insert a blank media disc, 6) Name the disc, 7) Start the burn, and 8) Wait for the burn to be completed or verified.

QT 7.6.4 simply does not play the video once it is on DVD.


Not sure what your specific problem is here. If you burned a DVD using iDVD, then you need to play the content with the Apple DVD Player (included with Mac system) or Front Row (included with Mac system) or some other third-party application like VLC (free) or MPEG Streamclip (free). If you burned the file as data for playback in the QT Player, then are you having the problems described by QT Kirk above. If so, then return to step one and re-compress the file SPECIFICALLY for CD/DVD playback if that is what you really want.

To compress the file specifically for CD/DVD playback, I would recommend you compress the original file to an H.264/AAC multi-pass format which allows you to select the "Optimized for: CD/DVD" packaging of your movie(s). Specific settings depend on your original file dimensions and your tolerance for quality. A video data rate of 1600 kbps with audio data rate of 160 kbps w/48.0 KHz sample rate will normally produce SD files with with quality somewhere between VHS and DVD quality depending on the quality of your source file. HD content can be burned using the same data rates but some loss in quality will likely be seen. (I usually keep the dimension in the 640x272 to 853x480 range for most of my content but have burned HD content at higher video data rates to higher quality/increased speed capable media with good results but compression times seem to increase geometrically or exponentially.)




with such files on my PB Pro.

Toast can convert your .mov to view on computer, CD & DVD players.

""If I want to burn my QT movie to a DVD solely for the purpose of viewing on a computer, why does the .mov have to be converted to another format?"."

I've never converted a .mov file to another format in order to burn to a DVD. I just let VisualHub or Toast do its magic.



"the DVD would not play the video correctly on my computer. "

Really strange if your DVD would not play after using Toast. Did you use a DVD-R?
Are you sure your .mov file is not corrupted in some way?
Can you play the .mov file on VLC?



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If I want to burn my QT movie to a DVD solely for the purpose of viewing on a computer, why does the .mov have to be converted to another format?... Thanks BB, but that does not answer my question, "If I want to burn my QT movie to a DVD solely for the purpose of viewing on a computer, why does the .mov have to be converted to another format?"... And, I did use Toast, with DVD-Video selected, and the DVD would not play the video correctly on my computer.


Not a video expert, but lets see if I can explain this in my own words. Basically, optical media is burned using either constant linear or constant angular velocity. As such the are limits to the amount of data that can be written or read per unit of time and how much this data rate can vary and still achieve smooth playback. I.e., think of CDs, DVDs, LVDs, etc. as having specific average, minimum and maximum operational data rates limited to a relatively narrow range when compared to the capabilities of a computer. For instance, the QT Player, depending on CPU number/type/speed and compression format used, can typically handle movies with data rates in ranging from .006 to 350 mbps. A typical SD H.264/AAC iPod compressed video with a total average data rate in 1600 to 1700 kbps range may see instantaneous data rates vary from a low of 100 kbps or less to a high of 4,000 kbps or more. By re-compressing the movie, you can limit the total data rate excursion above and below the target average data for such uses as CD/DVD playback (low excursion), progressing streaming of content (medium excursion), or download usage (maximum excursion). This is why QT Kirk told you to copy your movies to the computer for playback rather than trying to play the files directly from the CD or DVD itself. You may have noticed that both media and hardware devices quote specific ratings for use (e.g., 4X, 8X, 20X, 32X, etc). These ratings, of course, refer to their relative read and write capabilities. Simply stated, the QT Player can process/play you movies many times faster than CD/DVD player can read the data and send it to QT player. I hope this makes sense to you.

I've never converted a .mov file to another format in order to burn to a DVD. I just let VisualHub or Toast do its magic.


Depends on whether you are burning a standard VIDEO_TS DVD compatible with home players or a "data" DVD for QT player playback on the computer. In the former case, data rates and excursions are normally constrained as part of the authoring process. In the latter case, depending on the movie content, the movie dimensions, the compression settings used to create the movie, the data rate specification of the media and DVD hardware, etc. problems like stuttering, freezing, etc. could be encountered and you may have to copy the files to a hard drive for proper playback.

Really strange if your DVD would not play after using Toast.


Not really strange at all. Try playing back a data DVD containing an MOV file containing HD AIC/AIFF content with data rates in the 110-120 mbps range.

Okay, starting from my QT movie and QT Player Pro, how do I export/convert this to the best format for DVD and still retain the 1920x1080 resolution?


Open the movie in QT Pro and select "Export > Movie to MPEG-4" (creates an MP4 file) or "Export > Movie to QuickTime Movie" (creates an MOV file) option. In either case, select H.264 as the video compression option and use the "Multi-pass" option in order to activate the "Download-Streaming-CD/DVD" pop-up option so you can select "CD/DVD" here. As to your dimensions, that depends on which work flow you use and what compression format/PAR setting may or may be in effect. I would normally set the display size to "Current" and see what dimensions are listed. If they are not 1920x1080, I would then manually enter the correct settings manually. Be advised that HD multi-pass encodes can be very time consuming --especially if your files are long. So I would recommend you create a short test segment for testing purposes, compress it using various video data rate settings between 1600 Kbps and about 4.5 mbps, and burn them to RW media for playback tests on your system. What you are looking for is a data rate that provides acceptable HD quality and still has smooth playback for the media being used. Since this can be a highly subjective decision, I recommend extensive testing now rather than becoming frustrated later. Remember that this work flow, as always, represents a compromise in terms of time, space, and complexity/efficiency. It is unlikely you will be totally satisfied but should be able to find a "happy medium" somewhere along the way.

I'm not quite sure how Movie and QT Movie differ, since they both have the .mov file extension name.


The MOV, MP4, and M4V file extensions refer to the container in which the data is stored. MOV, for instance, is a generic file container which can contain up to 99 tracks of compatible data. In the case of audio and video content, that means any compression format compatible with whatever codec components you have installed on your system to include third-party components. You can place WMV, DivX, or even "muxed" MPEG-1 data in an MOV container. On the other hand, an MP4 container is normally limited to MPEG4/AAC or H.264/AAC audioi/video content which normally opens using the QT Player. The M4V container is even more specific --normally limited to H.264/AAC or H.264/AAC/AC3 content which automatically opens in iTunes when double-clicked (assuming you have not changed the opening application yourself). The same H.264/AAC data placed in any of these file containers will play equally well. However, owing to differences, in the container itself, they may appear to have differing file sizes or possess differing file characteristics. However, as mentioned above the A/V data is exactly the same in each. In fact, using the "Save As.." command on either the MP4 or H.264 file will save the active A/V content of that file in an MOV file container.

Now how should I burn this QT Movie to DVD to get best quality?


As previously stated, the easiest way is to place the file in a "Burn" folder and press the "Burn" button. This action simply copies the file(s) in the folder to your optical media without changing the file at all. You can also burn "data" discs using the Disk utility included in the Utility Folder but using the burn folder is an automated Finder feature that burns media without having to open a dedicated application.

Toast is obviously out, since it takes the resolution down and changes the ratio aspect. Burn with Finder does not make a dvd that is playable on a dvd player... Does this mean I should use iDVD, or is there a better option?


Here you have to make a decision. Commercial DVD players do not support HD content. You can either "author" a DVD in an application like Toast or iDVD and have it converted to SD content (the standard 720x480 VIDEO_TS VOB files) or you create an HD file that plays back in HD but only on your computer using one of the QT-based player applications. You can't have it both ways. If your files must be HD and play on a commercial player, then buy a Blu-Ray player, buy a Blu-Ray burner, and then use the Toast 10 High-Def/Blu-Ray plug-in to create either short HD DVDs or Blu-Ray discs that will play your HD content in HD on your new commercial Blu-Ray player. This is not, however, what you originally asked how to do and the HD content will not be QT compatible.

Jon, thanks for the heads up!


Very interesting thread.



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