ZEKIELproductionz
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: Burning DVD with .mov (MOV) files using iDvd

Hello,

 

I am a university student who is trying to burn some old movies onto DVDs for some of my friends as a graduation gift. The problem is every time I have tried to burn these movies onto a DVD using iDvd I keep getting "Multiplex error" problems during the burning process.

 

These are all movies from our childhood (so using the old versions of iMovie) and the only copies are saved onto my backup. They are mostly ".mov" format and won't even play on the updated QuickTime, I can only view them with QuickTime 7. I have iDvd version 7.1.2 and am using a MacBook Pro. I have burned DVDs before with the same iDvd program and computer but this time it will not work and is starting to get frustrating.

 

The error in iDvd during the burning process comes after the writing of the menus, once it tries to encode the movies. I think it has to do with the format of the movies and not the menu? I have tried multiple conversion applications (most recently the "Adapter" app) to convert these old movies from their original .mov to .mp4 formats. Unfortunately these applications have been a total bust and if they even work they only convert 15 seconds of the total 5 minute long video.

 

I've come to a dead end and would very much appreciate the help! I'm not even sure if this is a problem with iDvd or with incorrect movie file formats. What file formats work best for burning DVDs? Is it better to convert the .mov files? If so what application will actually convert these  I would still like to use iDvd since it is easier and more accessible for my friends to watch these movies in one place.

 

Thank you tons 

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.3), Used mainly for film

Posted on Jan 4, 2016 9:38 PM

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ZEKIELproductionz

Q: Burning DVD with .mov (MOV) files using iDvd

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  • by Klaus1,

    Klaus1 Klaus1 Jan 5, 2016 2:36 AM in response to ZEKIELproductionz
    Level 8 (48,858 points)
    Jan 5, 2016 2:36 AM in response to ZEKIELproductionz

    Read Bengt’s detailed post in this thread about multiplexing errors:

     

    https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4402724

     

    iDVD encoding settings:

     

    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1502?viewlocale=en_US

     

    Short version:

     

    Best Performance is for videos of up to 60 minutes

     

    Best Quality is for videos of up to 120 minutes

     

    Professional Quality is also for up to 120 minutes but even higher quality (and takes much longer)

     

    That was for single-layer DVDs. Double these numbers for dual-layer DVDs.

     

    Professional Quality: The Professional Quality option uses advanced two-pass technology to encode your video (The first pass determines which parts of the movie can be given greater compresson without quality loss and which parts can’t.  The second pass then encodes those different parts accordingly) , resulting in the best quality of video possible on your burned DVD. You can select this option regardless of your project’s duration (up to 2 hours of video for a single-layer disc and 4 hours for a double-layer disc). Because Professional Quality encoding is time-consuming (requiring about twice as much time to encode a project as the High Quality option, for example) choose it only if you are not concerned about the time taken.

     

    In both cases the maximum length includes titles, transitions and effects etc. Allow about 15 minutes for these.

     

    You can use the amount of video in your project as a rough determination of which method to choose. If your project has an hour or less of video (for a single-layer disc), choose Best Performance. If it has between 1 and 2 hours of video (for a single-layer disc), choose High Quality. If you want the best possible encoding quality for projects that are up to 2 hours (for a single-layer disc), choose Professional Quality. This option takes about twice as long as the High Quality option, so select it only if time is not an issue for you.

    Use the Capacity meter in the Project Info window (choose Project > Project Info) to determine how many minutes of video your project contains.

    NOTE: With the Best Performance setting, you can turn background encoding off by choosing Advanced > “Encode in Background.” The checkmark is removed to show it’s no longer selected. Turning off background encoding can help performance if your system seems sluggish.

     

    And whilst checking these settings in iDVD Preferences, make sure that the settings for NTSC/PAL and DV/DV Widescreen are also what you want.

     

    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1502?viewlocale=en_US

  • by Old Toad,

    Old Toad Old Toad Jan 5, 2016 8:47 AM in response to ZEKIELproductionz
    Level 10 (141,304 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jan 5, 2016 8:47 AM in response to ZEKIELproductionz

    Try the following:

     

    1 - export each movie out of Quicktime Player 7 as a DV Stream.

    QuickTime Player 7001.jpg

    1 - add the new formatted movie to your iDVD project.

    3 - 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.

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