iLife '04: The Missing Manual

iDVD—The DVD-ROM Maker

iDVD’s ability to add data files to the DVD-ROM portion of your disc may be its least-known feature. When it creates a DVD-ROM, iDVD sets aside a portion of your DVD for normal computer files. This area of the disc won’t show up on a DVD player—only on a computer.

With iDVD, you can store any variety of data on your DVD. Here are just a few ways you can use this feature to enhance your disc:

• Store documents that relate to your DVD contents. The DVD-ROM area provides a perfect place to store copies of documents related to the DVD, like the movie script, different versions of an invitation, extended family narratives, copies of email and other correspondence, and so on. Remember: TV sets aren’t much good for displaying text, but a DVD-ROM and a computer can come to the rescue.

  Or store the full-resolution versions of the digital photos featured in your DVD slideshow (one of the most common uses for this feature.)

• Store Web pages. Web pages are perfect additions to the DVD-ROM disc area. Create a Web site that relates to your DVD and add your source files to the disc. When distributed, your viewers can open these files with an ordinary Web browser. For example, a DVD with a training video can contain supplementary lessons in HTML (Web page) format.

• Store “email quality” versions of your video. Use the DVD-ROM area of your disc to store small, compressed versions of your video, or “wallet size” pictures from a slideshow, suitable for email. Now your audience can ...