Is the number of movies videos used in iDVD limited to 5?

Question

Level 1

30 points

Is the number of movies videos used in iDVD limited to 5?

Hi,

after starting a rather confused first thread two days ago, I have fiddled arround with iDVD some more and watched and read some tutorials. So, I will start a new thread with less "no-plan" questions. I mainly have the question in the title, but I will add some other questions.

My Questions:

1. ASPECT RATIO:

You have to choose the aspect ratio of the project. I noticed, one can use a theme from the themes list that itself was originally in another format than your project (i.e. if project is 16:9 and the theme 4:3, the 4:3 theme will be fitted to 16:9). Am I right, that the project aspect ratio just has to fit the sources (video clips) one uses? The future playing device (4:3 Tube TV, 16:9 LCD TV) is not important, right? I read this Wide Screen Menu iDVD 08one and am wondering, if I am right.

2. NUMBER OF VIDEO-CLIPS / MOVIES that can be used in one project.

I somewhere read that iDVD limits capacity to 2h of video (no matter the bitrate used and no matter, if the 4,7GB are not estimated full after 120min.).

Is that true?

I added small Episodes of a children's animation series for testing purposes. After I had added 5 episodes, I could add any more. I tried other themes (because I thought the available area of the themes was the issue). Mind the 5 episodes are 10min. each (with "professional quality" setting, it says it will result in 1,92GB).

Is there a limit?

3. Menue structure

I am not sure, if I got that right, so I will ask this, too. (is 1-3 right?)

1. One has the first "frame" (or better think of it as a "subfolder") where one can add a small video clip of max. 30min. that should autostart and play before one gets to the menue.

2. Next is a frame, which is the actual "main menue", the title of the DVD and the list of click-able videos (in my case 5 single episodes).

3. One can add "submenues" menues, which will add a third layer: after clicking on an Episode title, one comes to "submenue", whic offers one what ever number of "frames/buttons" (clickable items) you need. If one chooses "set chapter markers" from the iDVD-application-menue, one gets one "button/icon" labled "play full movie" and another labled "scene selection" (the title of the latter could be changed to "chapters" e.g.). It will allow one to get to a next layer, where the viewer later can choose from scenes/chapters that will allow him to jump through situations in the movie.

Those "chapter markers" can only be set to a certain value of min. (like "set marker every 3min. of the movie"), but you can't set the markers on certain occasions inside the movie yourself, right?

If you go back to the "main menue" layer, you can also choose to add "extras", which will create another "subfolder" besides the "episodes" folder. One could drop outtakes, behind the scene footage etc. in that area, so they don't appear in the Episode list on the front. Right?

I'd like to add, that I also like this tutorila/guide here and share it with those not familiar (by user Karsten Schlüter") https://sites.google.com/site/idvdmodding/home

Posted on Jan 5, 2016 4:48 PM

Reply

Answer 1

lime-iMacG3 Author

Level 1

30 points

Jan 5, 2016 5:23 PM in response to lime-iMacG3

ANSWER to 2:

One can use more than 5 videos. The trick is, to save and close the project, open it again and then drag the next video in.

Another way to acomplish it is going to the layer-view and add a "subfolder" to the same layer. For a strange reason I was not able to use Episode 6, but other episode in the sixths place. After closing and reopening iDVD I was able to use episode 6.

New Question:

When in "buttons" you select "frames", you get a small picture over the episode title. I would like to have the picture next to the episode title, not above it. The info dialog, does allow to put it above over the last letter of the title, the middle or the first, but not in front of the title.

Reply

Answer 2

lime-iMacG3 Author

Level 1

30 points

Jan 7, 2016 3:32 PM in response to lime-iMacG3

No one? Not even Old Toad?

Reply

Answer 3

Russ H

Level 7

22,432 points

Jan 7, 2016 6:27 PM in response to lime-iMacG3

Just to chime in with my 2¢ that the maximum number of video tracks is unknown to me – but it's a number well in excess of 5; and adding them directly to the project should work without workarounds.

Russ

Reply

Answer 4

Old Toad

Level 10

207,637 points

Jan 8, 2016 9:51 AM in response to lime-iMacG3

The only limit on videos is in the number per menu and that's determined by the theme. Generally there can be up to 12 buttons in a menu but not all menus offer that many. What I've done is to create sub menus, added movies/slideshows to them, copied the movies in the submenus and pasted them in the main menu. The highlight order in any menu us the order in which the items were added to the menu.

There is a limit of 99 menus/project, 99 slideshows/project and 99 slides/slideshow. You can have more than 99 slides in a slideshow because iDVD will begin renumbering the slides with 100 being 1 again and repeating every 99th slide. However, you'll experience a pause between slide 99 and 100. There are ways of minimizing the length of pause but it can't be avoided entirely.

I haven't been able to find the Apple document that describes these various limitation in iDVD but found this document regarding DVD Studio Pro 4. I don't know if the same limitations apply across the board to iDVD or not: DVD Studio Pro 4 General DVD Limitations.

Reply

Answer 5

lime-iMacG3 Author

Level 1

30 points

Jan 10, 2016 4:20 PM in response to Old Toad

I found something out!

In Themes from IDVD 6 and 7 you have a maximum number of 15 buttons. This includes Submenues.

Example:

If you have 13 movies, they will all be buttons, of course. Now, if you auto create chapter markers (where you are asked every x minute you want them), this will add 2 more buttons. 1 for "play movie" and one for "show chapters". The chapters themselves though do not count as buttons, allthough you can "click" them.

The same rules apply to Themes from versions 5 downwards (I didn't try themes from version 1 though, to be honest).

Only exception is, that here you have a max of 12 buttons. That makes either 12 movie buttons OR 10 movie buttons and 1 for "play movie" and one for "show chapters".

If you want to have an additional button "Extras". remember that this will also count as a button.

I haven't fully sorted out, if the "show marks for viewable area" are really needed.

Reply