iMovie 6 & iDVD: The Missing Manual

Phase 5: Burning Your DVD

Once your menu screens are looking good, you’re almost ready to burn the DVD. Before you go using up a blank disc, however, you should test it to make sure that it works on the virtual DVD player known as the Macintosh screen.

Previewing Your Project

iDVD’s Play button () lets you test your menu system to avoid unpleasant surprises. When you click it, iDVD enters Preview mode, which simulates how your DVD works on a standalone set-top DVD player. You even get a simulated remote control to help you navigate through your DVD’s menus, movies, and so on, as shown in Figure 15-15.

To return to iDVD’s edit mode, click Exit or Stop (the square).

Tip

Instead of using the arrow buttons on the remote to highlight and click screen buttons, just use your mouse. You’ll find it’s not only less clumsy, but also a decent indication of how your DVD will play back on computers that can play DVDs.

Maximum DVD Playback Time

When a DVD- burning program goes to work, it faces an important decision. Given that a blank single-layer DVD contains a limited amount of space (4.7 GB or so), how much picture-quality data can it afford to devote to each frame of video?

iDVD offers two approaches. You can choose the one you prefer by choosing iDVD → Preferences and clicking the Projects button. Your options:

• Best Performance. Your video will look fantastic, and your Mac will burn the disc relatively ...