Step 8: Got DVD?

Once it was decided that DVDs were the distribution method of choice, I needed a software app that could create and customize DVD menus, and eventually burn the DVDs.  The MAC did not come with a default app for this, other than a simple disk utility app which can burn a CD or DVD...once the menus and files were created and formatted correctly.

I tried downloading a couple of freebie apps (see: low-budget operation in a previous post) such as MediaFire and another one I can't even remember...but they were extremely unreliable, and wouldn't let me customize things like multiple DVD menu pages, custom colors & graphics, etc.

Some time back, Apple provided a DVD project/burner type app called iDVD which was supposed to provide all of these features and more.  Unfortunately, they stopped including it with new MACs in hopes that we would use their iCloud service instead of DVDs or hard drives.

I could find nothing else that would work without buying some expansive 3rd party app.  I was convinced that iDVD was the app I needed...and through considerable research, I was finally able to locate a version.  Now I'm in business!

Through iDVD, I organized the videos for each DVD, create custom title slides/buttons for each movie, add extra pages to the menu, and test the results.

iDVD Menu Editor

For my next trick:  organize the videos to fit on all four DVDs without exceeding the storage capacity of any one DVD.  This took a little juggling, but they eventually all fit...but with no spare space remaining.  

The DVDs were organized as:

DVD #1:  50's and early 60's

DVD #2:  More early 60's 

DVD #3:  Late 60's and 70's

DVD #4:  More 70's and Slideshows, and other misc movies  

Of course, once the four DVD menu edits were finished, everything fits, and the test set of DVDs look good, I found  two additional videos which somehow didn't make the DVD cut.  Not sure why or how, but they were digitized as raw videos, but never edited into a video project, no voiceovers, nothing.  Since those films were one of the very earliest made, they needed to be part of the package...and they needed to be part of DVD #1.  However, they won't fit, I can't delete anything else to make room, nor could I move a few videos to some other DVD...they were all full as well.  

The only option was to encode DVD #1 as a lower encoding standard.  When a DVD is burned, the software app "encodes" all of the video files, menus etc. into a specific format to operate as a DVD video.  Lowering the encoding standard may use less space...but it also may sacrifice video quality.

I tested this lower encoding standard against a normal encoding rate, side-by-side, and didn't notice much of a difference.  I left the other three DVDs encoded at the default higher encoding standard.

Once the DVD menus were finished editing, it is time to start burning DVDs.  

DVD Burning Set-up

The Set-up to make 18 sets of DVDs included:

• 2 stacks of blank writable DVDs
• 2 stacks of Dual DVD cases
• 1 package of CD labels
• DVD/CD reader/writer unit
• iDVD software application
• Disk burning software utility

The iDVD software was capable of burning DVDs, but it was rather cumbersome to use to burn multiple DVDs over several days...or weeks.  

The better method was to have iDVD create what is called a disk "image" and save it to the the hard drive.  Then, using the Disk Utility software app (standard MAC software),  it used these disk images to burn the DVDs - 30 minutes per DVD burn.

Print the labels, package up the DVDs...and ship those suckers out.

Oh...and write a blog about what you did.