Apple iDVD 6 - Manual (Page 11)

Chapter 2 iDVD Tutorial 11
Set the Encoding Quality
iDVD encodes your project’s information before it burns it to a disc. Encoding takes
some time when you burn your DVD, so you may want to consider setting an iDVD
preference to let iDVD encode in the background as you work on your movie.
To set the encoding quality:
m Choose iDVD > Preferences and click Defaults. Then choose one of the encoder
settings.
If you choose Best Performance, you can also select the “Enable background encoding”
checkbox. This lets you work on your project while the files are being encoded in the
background. This makes the most of your computer’s resources, and saves time when
you are ready to burn your DVD. This is useful if you have 60 minutes or less of video, or
when you want faster results.
If you want the best quality possible (or have more than 60 minutes of video), choose
Best Quality. When you are ready to burn your project to a disc, iDVD evaluates the
amount of video and chooses the best quality setting possible, filling the entire disc, if
appropriate. The DVD will take longer to burn, but will be optimized for quality.
The quality of your DVD ultimately depends on the quality of your source material.
Lower resolution movies, such as QuickTime movies downloaded from the Internet, or
VHS video, will not give as good results as video taken with a DV or HDV video camera
and edited in video-editing software such as iMovie HD, Final Cut Express, or Final Cut
Pro.
Did You Know?—Starting a Project
There are other ways to begin a new iDVD project:
 Click the iDVD button in iMovie HD to open an iDVD project that contains your
movie. Use this method when you want to make a DVD that has links to the movie
you have just created on its main menu.
 Starting in iMovie HD, use the Magic iMovie feature to automatically transfer auto-
generated movies to an iDVD project.
 In iPhoto, send slideshows directly to iDVD to create a project with slideshow
buttons.