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Vis > GFDL Scientific Visualization Guide > Creating a DVD

Creating a DVD at GFDL

  1. Overview
  2. Creating a Data DVD with Mac OS X and Toast (Recommended)
  3. Creating a Data DVD with Windows
  4. Copying a DVD with Mac OS X and Toast
  5. Creating a Video DVD with Mac OS X and Toast (Recommended)
  6. Creating a Video DVD with iDVD
  7. Labeling a CD or DVD with LightScribe
  8. References
For more on importing your own videos, see also Converting Analog and Digital Video.
Labels can also be made by GFDL's Illustration Group.

1. Overview

Our public Mac G4 workstation in room 104 has two DVD making drives. The internal SuperDrive only supports DVD-R/RW discs with 4.7 GB capacity, while the newer and faster external LaCie d2 drive supports DVD-R/+R/-RW/+RW with 4.7 GB capacity and DVD-RDL/+RDL (double layer) with 8.5 GB capacity. See OPS in the Computer Room to obtain blank DVD discs.

There is an additional MS Windows only drive from HP in room 217, however, it only supports the less portable DVD+RW format, which is why making DVDs on the Mac is recommended. If you do need to transfer data with a Windows laptop, then you can still use the external LaCie d2 drive with its USB interace; just as Technical Services for help.

For video, the Digital-Versatile-Disc (DVD) standard is capable of 540 lines of resolutions, although in practice playback is closer to 500. Toast can create DVDs directly with video 2.5+ hours long (4 GB DVD) or 5+ hours long (8 GB DVD) depending on user-defined parameters that trade-off quality for duration. For example, 6.5 hours of seminar video was recorded on an 8 GB DVD using the highest quality setting, so compression also depends on the content as well. Basically, less visual variety compresses more, such as an individual giving a seminar, versus an action film constantly changing scenes. With iDVD, your video will be limited to 2 hours due to the nature of its compression algorithm. It is possible to overcome iDVD's limitation with considerable effort; just follow these instructions, but we recommend using Toast instead.

In addition to the DVD contents, you can also label the discs in 2 ways. The traditional approach is to use stick-on labels, which the Illustration Group can help you with. One disadvantage of stick-ons is that they pose playback problems on certain laptop DVD drives. So an alternative is to use LightScribe direct disc labeling technology as described below, unfortunately this is limited to specially made DVD+R and CD-R media only.

2. Creating a Data DVD with Mac OS X and Toast (Recommended)

  1. Place a DVD into the computer's external DVD drive in room 104. It must be powered on using the unit's large blue button. To open the disc drive, press the eject button in the lower-right corner of the unit (see Fig. 1 below).



    Figure 1. d2 external DVD drive


  2. Launch Toast from the Desktop dock.



    Figure 2. Toast dock icon


  3. Select the Data tab and choose ISO 9660 for maximum portability on Mac, Windows and Unix systems.

  4. Drag and drop the files you want written and press the large red button in the lower-right corner.

3. Creating a Data DVD with Windows

  1. Log on as guest onto the PC in room 217. Then insert a DVD+RW disc into the external disc unit shown below.


    Figure 3. External DVD+RW disc drive


  2. Click the lower-left Start button and select Programs | H3wl3tt-Packard | hp dvd writer | hp dvd writer.
  3. Select the first menu item (HP RecordNow).
  4. Select "Make a Data Disc" and follow the instructions there after to insert the disc and to select your files (you may need to FTP them to the PC).

4. Copying a DVD with Mac OS X and Toast

  1. Insert the source DVD into the external drive (Fig. 1) in room 104, run Toast (Fig. 2), choose the Copy tab, and press the large red record button (lower-right corner).

5. Creating a Video DVD with Mac OS X and Toast (Recommended)

  1. Log in as guest to the media computer in room 104 and start the program Toast (Fig. 2).
  2. Select the Video tab, and ensure that these items are selected along the left-hand side: DVD-Video, Encoding: Auto, Video Quality: Best, Play all items continuously.
  3. Choose a menu style, such as NOAA for professional purposes, and press the More button to edit the DVD's title.
  4. Drag and drop your media clips into the application window in the order you'd like, and edit their textual labels. When finished, press the red record button (lower-right) and follow the popup dialogs' instructions.

6. Creating a Video DVD with iDVD

  1. Log in as guest to the media computer in room 104 and start the iDVD video making program from the desktop toolbar as shown below.



    Figure 4. iDVD video software startup icon


  2. Create a new project, or continue an existing one by using the File menu.
  3. Select a theme for your DVD by clicking the Customize button. Choose a template from the panel that appears on the left-hand side.



    Figure 5. Button to open a panel of theme templates


  4. Import your digital videos and label each corresponding button as they appear.



    Figure 6. Importing digital videos


  5. When satisfied with the button layout and theme, click the Burn button twice consecutively on the lower right-hand side.

    Figure 7. Burn button before 1st click (left) and before 2nd click (right)
  6. Insert a DVD-R when prompted and press the keyboard Eject button to insert it (see Fig. 1).



    Figure 8. DVD-R insert prompt


  7. Wait for encoding and recording to finish. This will take several hours.
  8. When recording finishes, you'll be prompted to insert additional DVD-R's if so desired. Recording subsequent discs will be faster since the lengthy encoding process won't be repeated.

7. Labeling a CD or DVD with LightScribe

  1. Before you begin, preview some samples in room 104. Log in as guest to the media computer in room 104 and start the labeling program (Fig. 9). Note: This will only work with special CD-R and DVD+R media made for LightScribe labeling.



    Figure 9. LightScribe labeling program in the desktop dock


  2. Select a template and populate it with text and custom images, or ask Technical Services for help. When done, press the gold Print button. In the popop window choose your print quality and press Print. The labeling process may take 10-30 minutes. Limiting the label to just moderately sized text (as the templates do) will require less time than complex graphics.

5. References

  1. DVD FAQ (Keyword search the Internet)

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last modified: May 05 2006.