FCP ProRes 422 export won't burn to disc via Toast

Update: the "solution" path to a final DVD:

From FCP 12, exported the project to ProRes 422 file.

Move the file to a 2015 MacBook Pro with FCP 10.

New project in FCP 10 at 1080p 29.97 (same as the original project).

Import the ProRes 422 file to a timeline.

"Share" to DVD, image file, DVD-5 single-layer

Burned image file to DVD-R via the Finder in Catalina

Result is better compression, less artifact that the FCP 12 > Apple Devices HQ > Toast burn.

The solution took approximated 30 hours of my time, experimenting, re-encoding, exporting, etc., several calls to Apple support (helpful suggestions, but no solution), two "tickets" and 5 chats with Corel/Roxio/Toast "support" (no useful help).

My project was unique only in that its running time is 2hrs 17 minutes, which is a longer program than I've ever burned to disc before (by 17 minutes). The length of the program, and limited storage of DVD-5 dictates different compression parameters than I've tried before. Thought there's no opportunity for a user to adjust those parameters, this remains the single difference between this program file and any others I have sucessfully burned to DVD with Toast.

For those of us stuck with outputing work to DVD, universally without special limits, the solution involves using old hardware and software, so long as current versions and systems can output a master file that the older ones can use. At least until modern tools arrive. If ever.

As a footnote, it's worth noting that if a project is large enough to merit replication (as opposed to duplication), a DVD-9 double-layer master could be theoretically be created, though I don't know the current production path for that. Certainly not done through FCP 12. Last time I did it I had to output the master to DLT tape for the replication house (2005). DLT is now a dead format, so no idea how it would be done other than a file transfer.

I can also burn a BlueRay, but only one at a time (my duplicator does 6 at a time, DVD only). I don't know of a BD duplicator that we could afford.

I hope this all helps somebody.

More to add....

Corel/Roxio Toast support....is pretty much not worth much.

Toast is not fully supported on new macOS, but up until this project, worked fine.

The resulting disc I got from Toast using the Apple Devices HD file export is not great. Compared to a project some years ago that was exported directly from FCP 10, the compression looks poor.

Tried installing Toast on a 2015 mac, no go, because it's on the M3. Toast support says it must be uninstalled first.

So...now I've imported the ProRes422 export file to the 2015 mac, and FCP 10. Worked fine, now "Sharing to DVD" image, which can then be burned through the Finder (another lost feature). Hopefully this will be better.

I realize DVDs are mostly dead, but for a limited market production the streaming platforms don't work. The market for our project is older, and seems to still have DVD/BD players, so this works for us. If I had a good indy-sized secure streaming platform I'd abandon discs, but I couldn't find one.

Agreed on the DVD market. Ours is DVD centric as well, and we've now produced 10 special-interest programs only on DVD.

Apple has never "liked" physical media. DVD support was clunky, and what you got out of iMovie always betrayed that you made it with iMovie. They did have DVD Studio as part of the FCP suite for a few years. Blueray was never natively supported at all. But FCP10 had built-in "share to DVD", and that's been gone for a while now.

I don't really mind looping through a third-party authoring app (we used to do that with Apple's own DVD Studio Pro before it was dropped), but it has to work with modern OS versions because we can't go backwards. Toast 20 Pro, the current version they're still selling, is several OS behind current and it doesn't look like Corel want's to develop it. They'll put the blame on the buyer for not looking carefully at the system requirements.

I happen to have a 2015 MacBook Pro with FCP 10 still on it and still working, but I'm probably an exception.

I did find DVD Creator Pro on the app store, but the reviews made me want to hang onto my $10 instead.

ProRes 422 is not specifically 4K. It refers to a specific codec that can be applied to any resolution. The 422 refers to color coding, not resolution. This project is 1080p/29.97 native, so the resulting ProRes422 file is also 1080p/29.97. Any codec you pick in Compressor defaults to the resolution of the input, unless you modify settings for scaling the output.

Also, I'm not burning BlueRay because I can't duplicate it. I did burn one as a test. It took 6 hours in Toast. This is a standard DVD project. No BD, no 4K. I must not have made that clear.

I too have sucessfully output 1080p projects to files I could easily burn through Toast. Just not this one. And the only signficant difference I can find is the running time (2h 17m). I suspect, but can't confirm, that Toast chokes tryint to compress that to mpeg 2 under 4 gig. Don't know why. Otherwise, yes, Toast will burn a DVD.

Toast support did suggest Classic mode, but didn't say why. They were pretty definite about it not being compatible with any current OS version, though clearly it may "work" in spite of "support".

One comment re: 4K. I've attempted a few small 4K projects. 4K is extremely demanding of computer and storage resources. So much so that even though I had the choice to shoot in 4K for this current project, I chose 1080p so I could wrangle all the data efficiently. With SSD prices going through the roof, 4K just got a whole lot more expensive. I recently made the same recommendation to another client: don't bother with 4K, for the reason above, but even more pragmatic, nobody can actually see 4K because of the limits of human visual accuity. The way it works is, with basic 20/20 vision, to be able to resolve a pixel pair, you would need to sit 4 feet or closer to a 60" diagonal screen. Nobody does that. 4K screens on devices are just a joke, you absolutely cannot resolve that optically. Outside of a pretty number, it buys you nothing in the end. So...don't do it, avoid the massive data requirements and huge processing requirements.

No, not just a copy to a disc. I'm "authoring" a video DVD for play in consumer players.

Yes, the size of a ProRes file of a 2 hour program will always exceed that of a dvd. DVD authoring/burning software handles the mpeg compression based on the space on the target media and calculates the optimal bit rate, hopefully with variable rate depending on content, and produces the correct file structure. Always has, nothing new.

Every file you use for creating a video DVD will (and should) be larger than the disc capacity for best mpeg compression quality.

You want your input to the DVD software to exceed the resolution of a DVD so recompression is minimally destructive.

It's a MacBook Pro 15,7 (12 core). I'm not sure how that matters.

Sorry, I misquoted the error code. Been doing 20hr days, I'm a little foggy. It's 1310, which Google returns as a file too large for the system to process. Of course, it's not, because I can point to files already far larger than that on the system.

The external drive used for all media is a 2tB SSD, 50%+ free, MacOS Journaled, Disc Utility reports as healthy.

The next suggestions are to update the OS and the App. Not doing an OS update at this stage, and can't update the app.

If you've ever looked at Homebrew for anything...I have...it's not something I would try in a business model. Home user, hobbyist, hacker, sure. A business needs supported applications from reliable vendors like Apple and, I would think, Corel. Too bad that's not really true, but that's my story.

The solution I outlined works well for now.

This is kind of a side-track, but re: visibility of 4K, check this link. His figures are based on human visual accuity. Even if he's a bit off, the viewing distance and screen sizes will be enlightening.

https://carltonbale.com/home-theater/home-theater-calculator/

Yes, I too have seen "4K" material that doesn't look any different from good 1080p. In production there are advantages to shooting 4K or 8K because of flexibility in post. Release formats, not so much. Even in theaters, the viewing distance/screen size equations still work, but there's more too it in theater projection. Not worth discussing here. But comparisons between dissimilar material in different formats is almost impossible because we don't have the entire production path documented for each.

We also have to make sure of what we're comparing, as 4K opens other opportunities for improved imaging beyond simple resolution.

For reference, 4 perf 35mm film negatives hit somewhere around 3K. To get a full print negative (for making release prints) still involves generations of interpositives, and resolution drops. Today shooting on film then scanning the negative will maximize film resolution, but it's still always limited by film stock, ISO, lenses, and so forth. The 3K figure is a best-case. Reality is almost always lower.

When you release in 4K from a 35mm 4-perf negative, you ain't gettin no 4K in the release.

And production 4K and 2K isn't the same as consumer 4K and 1080, so hard to directly compair.