Best Settings for FCP Output to DVD Studio Pro?
by Peter Sands
on
Jun 21, 2008 at 12:37:41 am
First I apologize for my naivete but I have some knowledge (which might be a dangerous thing).
Here's what I have; MacBook Pro, OS 10.5.3, 2GB RAM 667 MHz, Intel Core 2 Duo, 2.4 Ghz. Studio Pro 4.2.1. FCP 6.0.3.
What I'm trying to achieve; I have 12 mins of SD video & audio, edited, rendered on the FCP Timeline and I need to get it to the best quality DVD version possible.
What are the steps I should take? Should the Timeline be exported first to a .mov file then taken into DVD Studio Pro? What are the settings I need to know about? 2 Pass VBR no higher than 7.5 or lower than 4.5, that sort of thing?
Re: Best Settings for FCP Output to DVD Studio Pro? by Don Greening on Jun 22, 2008 at 4:54:29 pm
Have a look in DVDSP's log window for that project and find out what it was trying to do just before you got the compiler error. What you find will give you a clue as to what is wrong with your project build.
Re: Best Settings for FCP Output to DVD Studio Pro? by Peter Sands on Jun 22, 2008 at 6:23:25 pm
Don,
Thanks. The log says "Starting DVD Build PROJECT...then underneath in red; "Compiler File Error"
Below that; "Build cancelled" and underneath that in yellow; 'Building was not succesful. See log.
So it's not telling me a lot! I followed Noah's tip and have the .m2v file and AC3 in the Assets and on the track. I don't want to do anything fancy just burn it to a disc so that it opens and plays.
Re: Best Settings for FCP Output to DVD Studio Pro? by Don Greening on Jun 22, 2008 at 6:53:26 pm
Okay. Try burning a "first play" DVD then if you just want to make sure your video/audio assets are good to go. A first play DVD has no menus and starts playing the main movie as soon as you put it into a set top DVD player.
After you've built your "bare bones" DVD don't use DVDSP to burn but instead create a disc image of your project. It's the most reliable way to burn and you use Apple's Disc Utility for the actual burning. If you're not familiar with building and formating a disc image go here:
Re: Best Settings for FCP Output to DVD Studio Pro? by Simon Green on Jun 26, 2008 at 4:07:43 pm
Thanks, this is really helpful! However i was wondering why this method is so much better. Is DVDSP not that great for encoding? It is certainly quicker.
I also had a question regarding menus. I have often outputted gfx from photoshop into DVDSP and when they are imported, they look terrible and the colours bleed when you start using the buttons.
Is there a better process or checklist for this too?
