Apple iDVD 5 User Manual

iDVD 5

Getting Started

Get to know the iDVD window and controls
and learn how to create your own DVD

1

Contents

Chapter 1 4 Introduction

4

Using This Document

5

What’s New in iDVD 5

Chapter 2 7 iDVD At a Glance

8

Main Window

9

Customize Drawer

15

Slideshow Editor

16

Map View

Chapter 3 18 iDVD Tutorial

18

Before You Begin

19

Goals

19

What You Need

19

Create a New Project

22

Add a Movie With Chapter Markers

24

Customize the Main Menu

27

Add a Submenu and Replace Its Background

29

Create a Slideshow

30

Use Map View

33

Check the Status Pane

34

Burn Your DVD

Appendix 36 Keyboard Shortcuts

3

1

Introduction

Welcome to iDVD. This document helps familiarize you
with how to use the basic features of iDVD, and tells you
about the new features in iDVD 5.

Use iDVD to create DVDs that contain your own movies and photo slideshows, along
with professionally designed and easy-to-navigate DVD menus, just like Hollywood
DVDs. Discs burned using iDVD can be played in most DVD players, including
computers with DVD drives and most set-top DVD players.

For the latest news and information about iDVD 5, go to the iDVD website at
www.apple.com/ilife/iDVD.

1

Using This Document

This document is organized into three chapters and a Keyboard Shortcuts appendix,
allowing you easy access to the information you’ll need. You can use the chapters in
the order that suits you, but the following order is recommended.

•

Chapter 1, Introduction:

version of iDVD.

•

Chapter 2, At a Glance:

These pages will familiarize you with what each part of the iDVD window is used for.
Looking through them will make it easier for you to follow the steps in the tutorial in
Chapter 3. You can also use the “At a Glance” for handy reference as you create your
own iDVD projects.

•

Chapter 3, Tutorial:

Following the steps in the tutorial with your own media is a great way to get your
feet wet and learn your way around iDVD’s basic features, so you can confidently
explore from there. The tutorial also provides tips on other things you can try, and
how to find more information. Specific goals of the tutorial are listed at the
beginning of Chapter 3.

•

Keyboard Shortcuts:

4

Gives a brief description of the major new features in this

Shows you the controls in the iDVD window.

Takes you through a path to creating a DVD.

Provides easy reference to common keyboard shortcuts.

What’s New in iDVD 5

iDVD 5 adds many new features that make DVD creation faster and easier, with more
professional results than ever.

New Themes With Dynamic Drop Zones:

iDVD 5 continues the tradition of delivering
the most exciting and innovative theme designs available for your DVDs. The new,
Apple-designed themes include dynamic, moving drop zones that take your navigation
menus to the next level—making your DVD more visually exciting and professional
than ever.

OneStep DVD:

When you just need to transfer your video footage from your
camcorder to a disc, iDVD 5 provides a one click, tape-to-DVD solution. Simply plug in
your camcorder, click one button, and insert a blank disc. The tape is rewound and your
footage is mastered directly to the disc as an auto-play movie, automatically. This
makes creating a DVD easier and faster.

High Definition and Widescreen Video:

iDVD 5 now imports high definition video
(HDV) and 16:9 widescreen formats from iMovie HD. iDVD 5 converts these formats to a
standard definition DVD format that allows you to create the coolest-looking DVDs,
while retaining the highest quality video.

Disc Image Support:

iDVD 5 provides a great way to save duplicates of your finished
projects directly to your hard disk. Use disc image support to save your project in final
form, or to quickly duplicate a disc at any time. Since disc images have been fully
encoded, you can burn them to blank DVDs whenever you want, without having to
wait for encoding.

Full Format Support:

Virtually any DVD media available is now compatible with iDVD,

including -R, +R, and even +RW and –RW on some SuperDrives.

Chapter 1

Introduction

5

Additional enhancements:

Enhanced DVD Map:

•

Beyond the convenience and power of navigating your entire
project, now you can edit your DVD right in the map view. Change themes, remove
items, or add movies, slideshows, and buttons with drag-and-drop ease. Even zoom
in or out for a detailed close-up view or a bird's-eye perspective.

•

Detailed Burn Progress:

See exactly where you are in the process of burning your
DVD with new progress feedback. Stage-by stage indicators with detailed progress
bars—and even a live video thumbnail—show you exactly where you are in the
burning progress.

•

Transitions for Individual Buttons:

iDVD 5 lets you set your own custom transitions

for each button on your DVD menus.

Optimized Editing:

•

iDVD 5’s increased performance makes creating and editing

your DVD responsive and quick.

Enhanced iLife Support:

•

iMovie:

Support for new iMovie HD formats, including high definition video,

MPEG-4, iSight, and 16:9 widescreen movies.

•

iTunes:

iTunes playlist support gives you the ability to use any of your custom

playlists in iDVD.

iPhoto:

•

Drag your iPhoto albums directly into iDVD, even new iPhoto folders.
Access iPhoto’s movie clips and add them to your DVD. Save RAW originals of your
photos, when you specify Save to DVD-ROM.

6 Chapter 1

Introduction

2

iDVD At a Glance

This chapter helps familiarize you with all the tools
available in the iDVD window. Use it as a reference as
you work.

When you work on an iDVD project, the menu you are designing is displayed in the
main window. You use the controls and options in the Customize drawer to change
the look and feel of your DVD menus.

2

The pages that follow introduce you to the different views and controls in the iDVD
window and the panes in the Customize drawer. Looking at these pages will help
you learn the names of the iDVD controls, so you can easily follow the instructions
in iDVD Help.

7

Main Window

A

B

E

C

D

F G H

I J

DVD menu:

A

pictures, and audio files into this area to create buttons that play your movies and slideshows, or
change the look and sound of the background.

Drop zone:

B

pictures or a short movie that plays as part of the DVD menu background. Placing images in the
drop zone gives visual interest to the menu. Double-click the drop zone to open the drop zone
editor, where you can set the order of images and short movies that play in the drop zone.

Customize:

C

the tools you need to customize your DVD menu. See “Customize Drawer” on page 9 for details.

Folder:

D

menu where you can put more slideshows and movies on the same DVD.

Scrubber bar and motion playhead:

E

through a motion menu. For themes with dynamic drop zones (drop zones that move), the
playhead allows you to stop their motion so you can drag movies or photos into them.

Slideshow:

F

add and arrange photos in your slideshow.

Motion:

G

work on motion menus.

Map:

H

easily through your iDVD project and is shown in more detail on page 16.

This is where you see the DVD menu you are creating as you build it. Drag movies,

Some themes include special areas called

Click this button to open the Customize drawer. The Customize drawer contains all of

Click to create a submenu button on the current DVD menu. A submenu is an additional

Drag the playhead along the scrubber bar to move slowly

Click to add a slideshow button to your menu. Double-click the slideshow button to

Click to turn the motion and sound on or off while you work. This makes it easier to

Click to open the map view of your DVD. The map view helps you edit and navigate more

drop zones

where you can place still

8 Chapter 2

iDVD At a Glance

Preview:

I

J

Click to preview your DVD. In preview mode, a DVD player remote control appears on
the screen, and you can use it to navigate through the menus and play the slideshows and
movies as though you were viewing them on a set-top DVD player.

Burn:

Click this button twice to burn your DVD disc when you are finished with your iDVD

project.

Customize Drawer

The Customize drawer contains all the tools you need to select and customize a menu
theme, add your own media to your project, and keep track of how you are using your
media resources as you work.

Themes Pane

The Themes pane is where you select a theme for the menu. When you select a theme
from the themes list, it appears in the iDVD main window.

A

B

C

Pane selection buttons:

A

Status panes. Each of these panes is described in more detail in the following pages.

Theme sets:

B

themes appear in the Favorites list until you have customized your own theme and saved it as a
favorite in the Settings pane. See “Settings Pane” on page 10 for more information.

Themes list:

C

creating. Click a theme to select it.

Choose a set of themes to preview or choose All to view all the themes at once. No

Scroll through the themes that appear in this list to select one for the menu you are

Click these buttons to switch between the Themes, Settings, Media, and

Chapter 2

iDVD At a Glance

9

Settings Pane

Use the controls in the Settings pane to customize the look and sound of your DVD
menu. Here you can add background video or sound, change the shape of the menu
buttons, and change the font and color of the menu text.

C

A

D

E

A

Background well:

of your DVD menu.

B

Audio well:

menu. Click the microphone icon in the Audio well if you want to turn off the sound in iDVD as
you work.

C

Duration slider:

want to play as a loop. The duration you set applies to both background movies and audio, as
well as the video in motion buttons. Your DVD menus can contain a total of 15 minutes of
motion.

Text controls:

D

text elements. Choose a font from the Font pop-up menu and a color from the Color pop-up
menu. Drag the Size slider to the right to make the text larger. Choose a text alignment from the
Position pop-up menu. For example, you can choose to have the text appear directly beneath
menu buttons, or offset to the left or right, or you can select no text. Different themes provide
different text position options.

Button controls:

E

menu. Choose a shape from the Style pop-up menu. Different themes provide different button
shape options. Selecting Free Position allows you to move the buttons anywhere you like on the
menu, rather than having them aligned to an invisible grid. Drag the Size slider to the right to
make the buttons larger.

Drag sound files here to make them play as the background music for your DVD

Drag this slider to choose how much of the background movie and music you

Use these controls to customize the look of the text in menu titles, buttons, and

Use these controls to set the shape, size, and position of the buttons on the DVD

B

F

G

Drag images or movies into this well to make them appear as the background

10 Chapter 2

iDVD At a Glance

Transition pop-up menu and directional control:

F

between the button and the action that follows it, such as playing a movie. With some
transitions, you can pick a direction for the transition to play using the arrow buttons to the right
of the pop-up menu.

G

Save as Favorite:

and settings. Your customized theme will appear in the Favorites list in the Themes pane so you
or others can use it again.

Click this button to save a theme you have customized with your favorite media

Choose a transition that moves the viewer

Media Pane

The Media pane gives you easy access to the movies that are stored on your computer,
as well as all the photos in your iPhoto library and all the music in your iTunes library.

Movies View

Here you can locate the movies that are stored on your computer. Movies stored in the
Movies folder on your hard disk appear automatically. If you store your movies in other
folders, you can make them appear here, too.

A

B

C

D

Media pop-up menu:

A

photos, or music.

Movie folders list:

B

work in iDVD. You can add any folders where you store movies to this list by making selections in
the iDVD Preferences window.

Chapter 2

iDVD At a Glance

Use this pop-up menu to choose whether you want to look at your movies,

Finder folders appear in this list, making it easy to locate your movies while you

11

Movies list:

C

to create a video loop in the drop zone. To make the movie the full motion background of a
menu, drag it to the Background well in the Settings pane (To switch to the Settings pane, drag
the movie to the Settings button.)

You can add movies to the list by dragging them from the Finder.

D

Search field:

the movie name in the search field to locate it.

Drag a movie from here to a menu to create a movie button. Drag it to a drop zone

If you have too many movies to easily find what you are looking for, you can type

Photos View

Here you can find all of the photos in your iPhoto library.

A

B

iPhoto albums list:

A

album to the main iDVD window to create a button that links to a slideshow containing all of
the photos in that album. If there are more than 99 photos in an album, another slideshow will
be created. Drag an album with up to 99 photos to a drop zone to create a slideshow in the
drop zone.

Photos list:

B

drop zone to place a still image in the drop zone. To make a photo the full background of a
menu, drag it to the menu or drag it up to the Settings button to switch to the Settings pane,
and then drop it in the Background well.

You can also drag photos from the Finder to the photos list.

Search field:

C

the photo name in the search field to locate it.

12 Chapter 2

C

Select the iPhoto album that contains the photos you want to use. Drag an

Scroll to see thumbnails of all your photos. Drag a photo or a group of photos to a

If you have too many photos to easily find what you are looking for, you can type

iDVD At a Glance