VHS is better than DVD
 

I have found that when I burn a DVD the quality is actually worse than when I record to VHS. Surely this can't be right?!

I'm using iDVD 2.5 - if I export from Final Cut with 'Quicktime' (MPEG-4) the footage looks horrible - the image is all patchy and messy especially on dissolves. If I export as 'Final Cut Movie' the image quality is perfect but the footage is jerky - especially noticeable on pans.

My output to VHS is perfect.

What's the problem here?

How long is your material?

It's only 111 seconds.

Umm.... DVDs are MPEG2 - NOT MPEG4.

Oh must be MPEG-2 then. Sorry for the false info.

Maybe he DID mean MPEG-4. Unless you have DVD Studio Pro you don't do ANY export to MPEG-2 from FCP to use iDVD (right?). You can just put your FCP movie in iDVD and burn away, of if you do the QT thing just leave it as DV. MPEG-4 would explain why it looks horrible, QTs conversion to MPEG-4 is lousy... can't wait for Apple to fix it.

Export from Final Cut Pro with DV or uncompressed. I don't know what your other options are, but that will solve the problem.

After a bit of checking I've noticed that the exported files are okay (a Final Cut Movie) looks the best - it is after the DVD has been burned and is played back that it is poor. Does this mean that iDVD 2 just isn't good enough?

Is iDVD doing any MPEG encoding? If so, what settings are you
using? Do NOT expect a program to do magic for you. Programs
rarely work their best with the default settings. MPEG encoding
is a real "craft" requiring changing settings and fiddling with them
till you get it perfect!

I'm pretty sure iDVD just does it all for you - no settings at all 'just wash and go'.

iDVD is an entry level program that has fixed settings for the encoding. It uses one setting for short programs and a lower setting for longer programs. None of the encoding settings are user adjustable. If higher quality results are desired than I suggest you look at DVD SP.

The latest version of iDVD does have a setting for something like "Encode in background" in the preferences, I think it is only available if the disc is under 1 hour, but that might affect the quality. In general though, I believe it only has 3 compression settings that it does automatically, 1 hour and less, 1 hour to 1.5 hours, over 1.5 hours. Mine have all looked great (not so good on the monitor, but on a TV).

Well, I really don't understand what's going on. My footage is only 111 seconds so iDVD should be using the best quality settings.

I've been examining my files before burning and have noticed that:

• Exported as 'Final Cut Movie' the footage is slightly soft - ie blurred, the movement is smooth (not jerky).

• Exported as Quicktime using 'best' quality the footage is crisp, the movement is smooth (not jerky) but the colours are very patchy/blocky like a mosaic (this is bad throughout but is very noticeable on dissolves).

Once burned to DVD the footage is:

• Quicktime version - perfect except for the patchy and blocky colours.

• Final Cut Movie' - slightly blurred footage but the movement has become jerky (it's like this throughout but is especially noticeable on pans).


So does nobody else have these problems? What can I do or try?

The quality is unnacceptable and I'm thinking of upgrading to Final Cut 4 and iDVD 4. I really resent having to do this though and it will be very expensive.

Exporting to QuickTime says nothing. QuickTime is just a wrapper
for codecs. The question is which codec is being used. Each codec
has its own settings and footage it works best on.

In such cases you want to go with uncompressed (especially
since it is such a short movie). So when exporting there is
hopefully an option button, or advanced or settings etc. Pick
uncompressed as codec and that's all you should have to do.

I'm not a Mac person so I can't check on how this is supposed to
work.

When exporting to Quicktime I get a button that says 'options' when I click that I get a pop-up window that has a slider for quality - I slide it up to 'best' (the highest setting). I'm also un-selecting the 'prepare for web streaming' option. Can't see anything else I should be doing. Am I missing something?

PS why is the 'Final Cut Movie' version blurred!? What's that all about?!