Can't Find a update or latest Version of iDVD to Download or a Compatibility to Yosemite

Apple no longer offer updates or upgrades to iDVD.

Why is there no iDVD on my new Mac? How do I get it and how do I install it?

https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3673

To burn a DVD with iDVD from the latest version of iMovie, you have to export the movie using the Export button and select 480p as the size. Open iDVD and start a new project, then drag that exported movie file into the iDVD menu window, avoiding any drop zones you see.

Apple offers an update for iDVD, but you have to install iDVD from another computer, or from an iLife install disk. Then, you can update it.

iDVD 7.1.2

Yes. That will work. Do a custom install of iDVD and its supporting files. The installed version will be 7.1. Once installed you can update it to the last available version, 7.1.2, via this updater: iDVD 7.1.2

Note: you will only get the themes from versions 6 and 7. If you want or need the earlier themes you'll need to get a copy of the iLife 09 disk.

Hi, Old Toad, what did you mean by "Do a custom install of iDVD and its supporting files"? How can I perform this?

Click this button and install only what you want.

Ok, let me try. Now, which are the supporting files for iDVD and how do I get them?

Install the iLife Support package if it's not grayed out along with iDVD.

This is helpful as I just bought a Mac mini and discovered no way to write to a DVD.

Question: If I get the iLife 9 to get all the older themes, what version of iDVD do I get? Will it be able to update to the last updated iDVD version through the App Store? You mention 7.2. Or do you have to get iLife 11 to get the newest AND iLife 9 for the old themes?

iLife 09 disk will install iDVD 7 which then can be upgraded to the last version available, 7.1.2 via this updater: iDVD 7.1.2

Thanks Old Toad !!

Got my iLife 09 and installed iDVD. It installed 7.0.3. The only trouble was that it wouldn't let me upgrade directly to 7.1.2. Got an error saying that the upgrade was only for iDVD 7.0.4 and above. But I found the 7.0.4 update on Apple site [iDVD 7.0.4], updated to it, then to 7.1.2 and it worked fine.

Now I can make DVD's with my new Mac running Yosemite. I never imagined that I'd not be able to do that but see from several posts here that Apple has moved away form DVD's and expects us to as well. I'm not there yet. So this will keep me going.

Thanks again for the help!

iDVD 09 is the best, since it comes with all themes, if I understand Klaus correctly (see guide).

If I get a iDVD 09 Update DVD and have iLife 06, would I be able to go from there? I would like to install it either under OS X 10.8 or 10.9 or 10.10.

Does Toast use the better encoder (picture quality wise)?

Avidemux can create DVD-Standard complient mpeg2-TS and one only needs an author app to work with the resulting file. Am I right to assume, that if Avidemux trys to incorporate the latest free libravcodec and ffmpeg codecs, that this would give better quality, too? (guide is here http://www.avidemux.org/admWiki/doku.php?id=tutorial:converting_to_dvd) and then I could drop the files on Toast 8 or iDVD06 as well, but would have the "newest" picture quality? Is iMovie on 10.9 not recommended for creating those files?

If I get a iDVD 09 Update DVD and have iLife 06, would I be able to go from there?

No. You only have iDVD 6 and all iDVD 7 updaters require some version of iDVD 7 (09) to be already installed. The only way to get iDVD 7 with all of the available themes is to purchase a copy of the iLife 09 disk from a 3rd party retailer.

Whatever app you end up using follow this workflow to help assure the best qualty video DVD:

Once you have the project as you want it save it as a disk image via the File ➙ Save as Disk Image menu option. This will separate the encoding process from the burn process.

To check the encoding mount the disk image, launch DVD Player and play it. If it plays OK with DVD Player the encoding is good.

Then burn to disk with Disk Utility or Toast at the slowest speed available (2x-4x) to assure the best burn quality. Always use top quality media: Verbatim, Maxell or Taiyo Yuden DVD-R are the most recommended in these forums.

Most video DVD authoring apps do have the option to save the project as a disk image. There are a number of free apps at the App Store.

Thanks, it sounds simple, but good, you reminded me of first keeping an Image and trying that, I would have forgotten that! (no irony!)

As far as I see it now:

I need a) something to create the DVD-compliant files out of any source and b) something that will burn it onto a DVD with "structure" etc. so that it has a menue and everything.

Avidemux just creates the mpeg2 files one needs, while Toast and iDVD do encode and author (make a contents table etc.) the DVD.

I figured out the following (maybe there others that are stupid as me, so I can shorten their learing curve).

iDVD:

- through any file (xvid.avi, DV-avi, h.264,mov, mpeg4.mp4,...) in the first window of the menue.

- click burn. Nothing to select! (instead I didn't burn, I saved an image)

- the Application is encoding

- result, it doesn't give you options, it just say, this is what I choose for you and it is PAL-DVD compliant.

Toast

- you choose what kind of media you want to burn (Data, disc, audio-CD, SVCD, VDVD, DVD, copy, Image,...)

- you choose DVD and hit "options"

- you are only presented what is compliant with PAL-DVD. You can choose the bitrates, and if you like PCM or AC3, etc.

Avidemux

- auto-DVD is quiet straight forward

- it is no problem, that it doesn't grey out the other non-compliant codecs (when you google the specs. I used this table https://www.mplayerhq.hu/DOCS/HTML/en/menc-feat-vcd-dvd.html - however it doesn't say that the 1.5Mbit/s belong to PCM and AC3 and MP2 is different)

- you can alter stuff, but some things are not intuitive (for me): e.g. that 2-pass is included in "variable bitrate" and "variable quantisation". But, if I think about it, it is quiet obvious, why you don't have to do a first pass, when you choose constant bitrate, for example )

- the guide http://www.avidemux.org/admWiki/doku.php?id=tutorial:converting_to_dvd added to the confusion (since some options are missing in 2.6.6, but probably the authors wanted to make it easier and more straight forward)

------> I know have to look, if actually creating the DVD will work with the mpeg2 file (which includes V+A) that Avidemux created. I don't want iDVD or Toast to encode DVD-compliant mpeg2 a second time, right?

iMovie

- I didn't bother, I had to much headache to come to this point, allthough I am happy, I only needed one evening for it 😉

mpegstreamclip

- no mpeg2, without Quicktime Pro license

As long as you can get a video DVD authoring app that can save the project as a disk image you can use Disk Utility to burn it to disk.

I suggest you download and try a couple of the free authoring apps from the App Store. That will show you what's available. There are some that also offers a "pro" version with more feature and for a price of course.