iDVD selectively won't recognize .mp4 format - how to burn for dvd player?

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Level 1

2 points

iDVD selectively won't recognize .mp4 format - how to burn for dvd player?

Hi -

I'm trying to burn a .mp4 movie for my gf's family so they can watch it on their TV instead of my tiny comp. After trying DiskUtility and iTunes (both to no avail, DU wouldn't even allow me to select a .mp4 format to burn on the DVD; iTunes burnt the movie, but it doesn't play on the DVD player ...). I thought I'd try iDVD, but it won't recognize the movie I'd like to burn - says the format is unrecognized. Tried with another movie, same format (.mp4) and it worked just fine.

I'm really at a loss - I didn't expect it would be so difficult to burn a DVD! Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Kind regards,

Rax

MacBook Air, Mac OS X (10.6.7), Mem: 2GB 1067 MHz DDR3 (sigh)

Posted on Dec 21, 2012 6:04 PM

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Answer 1

Dec 21, 2012 10:18 PM in response to Rasuul

Hi

A. There are a zillion video format's out there.

iDVD (and iMovie) are picky in what works or not

B. .mp4 etc are NO video format (or rightly named Video-Codec) but a container that can hold a lot of codecs.

C. Start by - opening Your .mp4 movie in QuickTime-player

D. Now start Inspector [cmd+I] and read

- Video format (codec) : nnnnnnnnnnnnn

- Frames per sec : yyyyyyyyyy

What does they read ?

Yours Bengt W

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Answer 2

Rasuul Author

Level 1

2 points

Dec 22, 2012 6:50 AM in response to Bengt Wärleby

Hi Bengt,

Thank you for your response. It clarified the meaning of other posts that I had read (viz. why one .mp4 would import successfully and not another), I appreciate your taking the time to clarify that.

This is the info you requested, as given by Inspector:

H.264, 1,280 x 696 AAC, 48000 Hz, 5.1 (C L R Ls Rs LFE), and

23.98 FPS

I'm trying to learn more about the world of digital formats in general (specifically for purposes of digitizing large volumes of paper resources using my digital camera), so if you have any recommendations for where I can find a clear (and not overly-technical) explanation, I would be thrilled to learn more.

Thank you for time and help.

Kind regards,

Rax

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Answer 3

Dec 22, 2012 9:19 AM in response to Rasuul

Yes and I do not think iDVD will accept this Video codec as it is HD-video and any DVD is as Standard interlaced SD-Video.

May be iMovie will import it and then "Share as Large" (or Medium) and in iDVD import from Media Browser button and here Video.

Else in QuickTime-player Pro - Export as AIC or as DV - as iDVD will accept this directly (at least DV).

Yours Bengt W

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Answer 4

Russ H

Level 7

22,432 points

Dec 22, 2012 6:00 PM in response to Bengt Wärleby

Hi Bengt.

I was totally tracking your explanations of mp4 and so forth.

But I'm surprised that iDVD is having trouble with this HD file. Even with a custom size HD file in h.264 @23.98, I don't run into any problems.

Wondering whether it's the 5.1 audio.

Russ

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Answer 5

Dec 22, 2012 11:27 PM in response to Russ H

Wondering whether it's the 5.1 audio.

Can be as it's a land I never touched. (out of range . . . . )

Does it work without it ?

Yours Bengt W

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Answer 6

Rasuul Author

Level 1

2 points

Dec 23, 2012 8:02 AM in response to Bengt Wärleby

Alright, my results correspond with Russ' hypothesis: both videos I tried are in the same format & at the same FPS, the only difference b/w them is the audio. The one that worked is Stereo (L R), the one that does not is the 5.1.

Unfortunately, I do not have Quick Time Pro, I just have QTP 10.1 that came w/ Lion (& an older version that I added b/c it allows playback speed control). Here, the export options are:

480p
720p

iPod touch & iPhone 3GS
iPad, iPhone 4 & Apple TV

Audio only

None of these were an obvious choice to me, any suggestions? I've heard something about "Toast", would this be an easier / better option?

Thank you for on-going help. Very much appreicated.

Kind regards,

Rax

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Answer 7

Dec 23, 2012 8:54 AM in response to Rasuul

Have Toast 10 Pro - but no file to test.

Reading about Roxio Toast™ 11 Pro - but can not find anything about 5.1 Audio - so I would try if there is a test/demo download first to see if it works.

Any idea on howto create a dummy Video with 5.1 Audio (from miniDV tape .dv material) ?

Yours Bengt W

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Answer 8

Rasuul Author

Level 1

2 points

Dec 28, 2012 7:45 PM in response to Bengt Wärleby

Bengt Wärleby wrote:

Any idea on howto create a dummy Video with 5.1 Audio (from miniDV tape .dv material) ?

Unfortunately, not a clue - I haven't been able to make any headway. Thank you very much for your time and help. If I find a method I will be sure to post it.

All the best,

Rax

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