Hello Old Toad,
After many years, IDVD has finally ground to a halt. I've tried all the fixes but to no avail. I've looked at several of the alternatives but none appeal. So...could the original iDVD be made available as a stand-alone purchase? Are you in a position to pose this question?
Regards, John.
iMac (21.5-inch Mid 2011), OS X El Capitan (10.11.6)
I'm a bit late to the party but Klaus1 has said it all very well. All I can add is to look at one of the many video DVD authoring apps that are offered at the App Store.
I've been working with DVD Maker Lite - DVD Creator as it's the only app that can create slideshows from still Photos like iDVD can. All of the others only work with video/movie files. It has a demo version which puts a watermark over any slideshow it creates but will give you a good idea of what it's about.
It's GUI is not very intuitive and you need to hunt a bit to find themes and how to use it. If you only deal with video/movie files then there are many apps at the app store that will work for you.
I'm a bit late to the party but Klaus1 has said it all very well. All I can add is to look at one of the many video DVD authoring apps that are offered at the App Store.
I've been working with DVD Maker Lite - DVD Creator as it's the only app that can create slideshows from still Photos like iDVD can. All of the others only work with video/movie files. It has a demo version which puts a watermark over any slideshow it creates but will give you a good idea of what it's about.
It's GUI is not very intuitive and you need to hunt a bit to find themes and how to use it. If you only deal with video/movie files then there are many apps at the app store that will work for you.
Just so we're on the same page the app I'm using has this icon:
Is that the one you're using? It has this theme which might be similar to iDVD's Panels
I'm using the demo version and don't get the watermark. Weird.
A similar page I think but I don't get your panel theme. This is my icon.
'DVD Maker Lite - DVD Creator'.
I haven't paid for anything that I am aware of. Maybe more facilities will appear if I pay!
I've just had a refund for 'Photo Video - Photo Slideshow HD' which I really couldn't make head or tail of plus I couldn't stop the continual Ken Burns effect.
Why can someone not recreate IDVD? !
I clicked on your link which took me to 'Mac Store Preview' which then suggested 'View in Mac Store'.
In Mac Store, as far as I can remember, I clicked 'Get' and this is where I am now. I haven't been invited to buy it yet.
This is as close as I get to your themes. It almost looks like a different program.
1 - if we want to include both photos and videos in the same slideshow it will have to be done in iPhoto or Photos and exported as a movie file and that used in the DVD project.
2 - If only one song is selected it repeats until the slideshow is finished. 😟
3 - You access the Photos via the sidebar in the window that comes up when you click on Add Photos.
Whilst Macs with a Superdrive continue to be able to burn video DVDs, the software for so doing, iDVD, is no longer included in the iLife bundle that came with OS 10.7 Lion and beyond. And iDVD is no longer included in the iLife 11 from the online Apple Store: http://www.apple.com/ilife/. As there is no satisfactory substitute for iDVD, your only solution is to look on Amazon or eBay and try to get an older version that includes iDVD 7, i.e. iLife version 9 onwards. You should also do this if you plan to buy a new Mac anytime soon, as stocks of iLife that include iDVD will not be available for ever.
(The vastly more expensive FCPX can burn a DVD without iDVD or DVD Studio Pro involvement, but lack the themes etc of iDVD. Also, of course, there is Roxio Toast, which is the best software for burning anything but again does not offer the flexibility of iDVD.)
It is worth noting that the version of iDVD 7 included with iLife 11 only includes themes from iDVD 5-7. If you want all the older themes you should buy iLife 9, which has the same version of iDVD 7 but with all the themes, which none of the iDVD 7 updaters available from Apple Downloads include.
Currently the only certain way to get all themes is to start with the iLife 09 disc:
https://discussions.apple.com/content/attachment/207514040
This shows the iDVD contents in the iLife 09 disc via Pacifist:
https://discussions.apple.com/content/attachment/207480040
You then can upgrade from iDVD 7.0.3 to iDVD 7.1.2 via the updaters at the Apple Downloads webpage.
But even though you can still buy iLife 9 or 11 that includes iDVD 7 from Amazon, Apple now make it difficult to install:
When you try to install iDVD you may see a notice come up on the screen stating that the 'Authorisation Licence' had expired on 25 March 2012, because Apple have withdrawn the license to it can no longer be used.
In other words Apple have declared iDVD as redundant and have made it difficult to install, but there is a workaround:
If you get an invalid certificate message just set your Mac's clock to sometime before early 2011 and run the installer. After installing iDVD reset the time back to the correct time on your Mac.
You may be to use able to use the installer even without setting back the date. Just click on the Continue button and it should work as expected, but for some it will not continue unless the date is set back.
Thanks to you both. The beauty of iDVD was its ease of use and intuitive and attractive presentation etc. I have looked at alternatives but as has been expressed previously and elsewhere, none of them quite live up to iDVD. Which really is why I asked is it not possible for some department of Apple or some tech wizard able to market the original iDVD? I would happily pay money for it.
Clearly there are many ways of presenting one's photos but nothing beats putting on a DVD and sitting in front of a large telly and watching them on the screen - with good sound through the Stereo!
To Klaus, I do still have my two original iLife start-up discs so so I might try re-installing one of them and see what happens. My main fear is, I do not want to compromise my iPhoto which I still prefer to Photos.
To Old Toad, I will give 'DVD Maker' a go.
Thanks.
John.
Well I've downloaded 'DVD Maker Lite' and it does work. Very basic and not very intuitive but I have a disc that I can play on the telly, so thanks! It is a bit difficult to fathom - the 'Start Play' button with title comes at the end of the slideshow and not at the beginning but oh well! And I haven't quite figured out how to 'Fit to Audio'.
I used to like and always use the iDVD 'Sliding Panes'. It looked really professional without needing a lot of faffing about and was really easy to set up.
An odd thing, I'm only using the 'Lite' version so far of `DVD Maker' and I don't have a watermark. Will that start when I use it more?
Regards,
John.
Ok.....I've bitten the bullet and bought the paid-for version of http://DVD Maker Lite - DVD Creator which is the same as what you displayed and having spent an afternoon playing with it, it works fine. It doesn't have quite as many frills as iDvd but eventually it does present one's photos in a seemly manner. As a substitute for iDvd, it is ok and not bad value for money.
Thanks for your recommendation.
Regards,
John.
I would offer three criticisms so far.
1. I've found no way to integrate a video into a photo slideshow. The videos remain separate.
2. Not found a way to 'Fit to Audio'. It seems the audio has to fit the slideshow. Maybe I need to explore some more.
3. Inability to drag photos direct from iPhoto into 'Add photos' is frustrating and slows the process.
Other than that, so far so good. It seems a robust program and hasn't crashed or lost any of my work.
Keep us posted with what you think of it as you go along.
iDVD broken
