iDVD Getting Started

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

Contents

Chapter 1
Welcome to iDVD Using This Document Whats New in iDVD 6 Anatomy of a DVD Finding Out More iDVD Tutorial What Youll Learn Before You Begin Step One: Locate the Movies, Photos, and Audio Files to Use in the Tutorial Step Two: Create a New Project Step Three: Choose a Theme for Your DVD Step Four: Add a Movie and Scene Selection Menu Step Five: Add a Slideshow Step Six: Change the Look of Text on Menus Step Seven: Customize the Main Menu Step Eight: Change the Look of Buttons Step Nine: Organize Your Project in Map View Step Ten: Burn Your DVD iDVD at a Glance iDVD Window Themes Pane Menu Pane Buttons Pane Media Pane Project Info Window Drop Zone Editor Slideshow Editor Map View

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Welcome to iDVD

This document teaches you how to use the basic features of iDVD, and tells you about the new features in iDVD 6.
You can use iDVD to create DVDs that contain your own movies, slideshows, and music, 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.

Using This Document

This document is organized into three chapters. You can use the chapters in the order that suits you, but the following order is recommended: Chapter 1, Welcome to iDVD: Gives a brief description of the major new features in this version of iDVD, tells you where you can find more information about iDVD, and provides a brief introduction to some terminology youll need to know. Chapter 2, iDVD Tutorial: Takes you through one path to creating a DVD. Following the steps in the tutorial with your own media is a great way to get your feet wet and learn your way around the basic features of iDVD, 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 2. Chapter 3,iDVD at a Glance: Shows you the controls in the iDVD window and tells you what they do. 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 2. You can also use the chapter as a quick reference while you create your own iDVD projects.

Whats New in iDVD 6

iDVD 6 adds many new features that make DVD creation faster and easier, with more professional results than ever. Magic iDVD: Choose a theme, select your movies and photos, and iDVD creates a complete DVD project for you. Magic iDVD projects include a main menu with buttons for your movies and slideshows and scene selection menus for movies with chapters. Drop zones are filled automatically with your content. You can burn the DVD or continue editing it like any other iDVD project. Widescreen all the way: Now you can author widescreen DVDs with widescreen themes, menus, movies, and slideshows. And with its new, resizable window, iDVD makes it even easier for you to work in widescreen projects. Next-generation iDVD themes: New, Apple-designed themes showcase both standard and widescreen projects. Each new theme family includes a coordinating main menu, chapter or scene selection menus, and extras. Fill drop zones automatically: Add your videos and photos to all the drop zones of a DVD menu with just one click. The new drop zone editor is easier to use and makes short work of filling the drop zones on a menu. Flexible DVD menu and button editing: Now you can design DVD menus and buttons exactly the way you want. Adjust the volume of the background audio and make it fade in and out. Choose from more button styles, customize the button highlight color, and set the in and out points for motion buttons. Go ahead and mix button styles on a menu if you'd likeyou're the creative force behind your DVD. Improved slideshows: Slideshows have never looked so good. Now your slideshows can include titles and comments, and one slideshow can hold thousands of slides. You can create slideshows from iPhoto books and import Keynote slides to make a professional presentation DVD. Enhanced map view editing: Now you can reorganize even the largest DVD project with a simple drag and drop. Drag and drop DVD menu icons in map view to move elements from one menu to another. You can even delete a section of the DVD project and the menus reconnect automatically. Map view alerts identify potential problems with your DVD before you burn it to a disc. Multiple drive support: If you have multiple disc burning drives, iDVD now lets you pick the drive you want to use to burn a DVD. For the latest news and information about iDVD 6, go to the iDVD website at www.apple.com/ilife/iDVD.

Finding Out More

Your computer comes with a built-in help system for iDVD. When iDVD is open, you can choose Help > iDVD Help in the menu bar. When iDVD Help opens, you can type a word or phrase in the search field at the top of the page or click one of the topic areas to find out information about a certain topic. Youll find links to other helpful resources on the main iDVD Help page, such as a Hot Tips website and the Apple Support website. For the latest news and information about iDVD 6, go to the iDVD website at www.apple.com/ilife/idvd.

iDVD Tutorial

This tutorial takes you step-by-step through the process of creating a simple iDVD project using your own movies, photos, and music.
When youre done with the tutorial, you will have a complete project ready to burn on a DVD.

What Youll Learn

If you follow all the steps in this tutorial, you will build an iDVD project that includes a movie, a main menu, a menu to let viewers go directly to a specific scene, and a slideshow. Youll also learn to do the following: Start an iDVD project. Bring media from your other iLife applications into an iDVD project. Customize the iDVD menus. Make and customize slideshows. Use map view for efficient editing. Burn a DVD. Play a DVD. As you go through the tutorial, look for the Did You Know? boxes that point out more things you can do, as well as how to find more information.

Before You Begin

To make it easier to do the tasks in this tutorial, print the document before you start. In many tasks shown in this lesson and in iDVD Help, you need to choose menu commands, which look like this: Choose Edit > Copy.
The first term after Choose is the name of a menu in the iDVD menu bar. The next term (or terms) are the items you choose from that menu.

What You Need

To complete all the parts of this tutorial, you need the following: A movie, preferably one with chapter markers You can use any iMovie HD format, including DV, MPEG-4, iSight, and 16:9 widescreen movies. You can add chapter markers to your movie in iMovie HD, or you can add chapter markers at set intervals in iDVD. To set them in iDVD, select a movie and choose Advanced > Create Chapter Markers for Movie Type a value in the chapter marker. interval box and click OK. Images for a slideshow in your iPhoto library Audio files in your iTunes library A computer with a SuperDrive (This is not required if you will not burn your project on a DVD.) If you have video but no photos, or photos but no video, you can still use this tutorial. Your final results will be different, but you will still have a project that you can burn to a disc. Experiment a little and have fun.

Undoing Changes

As youre designing your DVD, youll naturally fine-tune and change things many times. You can undo any unsaved changes by choosing Edit > Undo. You can do this as many times as necessary, stepping back through the edits youve made one by one. You can always delete saved text and other design elements, or revise your project by making other design choices.
Step One: Locate the Movies, Photos, and Audio Files to Use in the Tutorial
Before you start your project, take a few minutes to identify the movies, photos, and audio files you want to use in your project and make sure they are in the right format for iDVD. These items are automatically in the proper format: Movies created in iMovie HD Music files in your iTunes library Photos in your iPhoto library If you have other files that youre not sure about, look for file formats in iDVD Help for more information.

Chapter 2 iDVD Tutorial

If youve added songs and photos to the libraries in iTunes and iPhoto, you can access them in the Media pane of iDVD, shown below. If you have audio and image files in folders outside of iTunes and iPhoto, you can drag those folders into the list of photos or audio files in the Media pane after you open a project in iDVD.
Movies that are stored in the Movies folder on your hard disk appear automatically in the Media pane. You can also drag movies you keep in other folders on your hard disk to the movies list.
Did You Know?Adding Other Movie Folders to the Media Pane
In iDVD preferences, you can specify folders you want iDVD to monitor. Movies stored in these folders are automatically added to the movies list in the Media pane. For instructions on how to do this, go to iDVD Help and search for add media.
Step Two: Create a New Project
With your music, movies, and photos ready for use and in locations where you can easily access them, youre ready to get started. To start a new iDVD project: If iDVD isnt open, double-click the iDVD application icon in the Dock. If this is the first time iDVD has been opened, click the Create a New Project button in the dialog. If the opening dialog isnt showing, choose File > New. Select a location where you want to store your new project, and click Create.

Motion icon

Step Four: Add a Movie and Scene Selection Menu
After you choose your theme, you can add movies and other content to your iDVD project. In this step, youll add a movie that contains chapter markers, so that viewers have the option of jumping to a scene when they watch your DVD, just like a Hollywood-style DVD. When you drag a movie with chapter markers to a menu, iDVD recognizes the chapter markers and automatically creates scene selection menus with buttons that link to each of the chapters. To add a movie with chapter markers: 1 Click the Media button. 2 Click the Movies button at the top of the Media pane, shown below.
3 Select the Movies folder. Thumbnail pictures of the movies in the folder are shown in the bottom part of the pane. 4 Drag a movie with chapter markers from the movies list to the menu background on the left side of the iDVD window. In the Fish One menu, the menu background is everything you see in the menu: the picture frame, gravel, and fish movie.
Important: If dotted lines appear in the picture frame when you drag your movie, move the mouse pointer until the dotted lines disappear and then drop the movie. Dotted lines indicate a drop zone, a special area of a menu. Movies added to a drop zone become part of the menu background, rather than featured movies on the DVD.
When you add a movie with chapter markers, the DVD menu title changes to the name of the movie and iDVD automatically creates two buttons on the menu. In the illustration above, you see a Play Movie button, so the viewer can play the entire movie, and a Scene Selection button that links to the scene selection menu. For movies with no chapter markers, the title does not change, and only one button appears, labeled with the name of the movie you added. The drop zone contains the text Drop Zone 1. You can easily change the title and the text on the buttons. In this example, youll change the title to Vacations. To change the title text: m Double-click the title and type Vacations in its place.
The scene selection menu is a submenu with a button on the main menu that links to it. Double-click the button now to take a look at it. Notice that the menu used the theme Fish Two, which was designed to be used as a chapter menu for the Fish One theme. Each button on the scene selection menu shown below has an image that matches a frame in the scene it links to.

9 Click Settings, shown above, and make any other creative decisions you like using the other settings in the slideshow editor. To make the slideshow repeat continuously, select Loop slideshow. To show navigation arrows on the slideshow, select Display navigation arrows. To add copies of the original slides to the DVD-ROM portion of the disc, select Add image files to DVD-ROM. To hide the title and comments text below the images, deselect Show titles and comments. Its OK to leave these on even if you dont add titles or comments below your images. Only what you type will be visible in your slideshow. 10 Click the Audio button at the top of the Media pane to add a soundtrack for your slideshow. The contents of your iTunes library and any music you composed in GarageBand are shown in the audio list. If you dont see any music in the audio list, make sure you have imported music into iTunes.
Tip: You can type the name of a song in the search box to quickly locate a particular song. Click the Play button at the bottom of the Media pane to listen to a song before you add it to your DVD.
11 When you see a song that you want to use, drag it from the song list into the audio well in the slideshow editor, shown below.

Audio well

After you drag the song to the audio well, notice that the Slide Duration pop-up menu automatically changes to Fit To Audio. This way, your slideshow and music begin and end together. You can change this if you want. 12 Click the Preview button, shown below, to see how your slideshow looks. When youve seen enough, click Exit on the remote control to return to the slideshow editor.

Preview button

You can continue to make adjustments to the slideshow until you have it just the way you want. If the volume of the soundtrack sounded too loud or too soft, drag the Slideshow volume slider, shown above, to adjust the volume. 13 Click the Return button in the slideshow editor to exit the slideshow editor and return to the main menu. 14 Choose File > Save Project to save your work.
Did You Know?Adding Photos and Files That Viewers Can Copy
If you want viewers to be able to download images and other files from your DVD, you can add copies of the files to the DVD-ROM portion of the DVD. Here are some ways to add files to the DVD-ROM contents: In the slideshow editor, click Settings and then select Add image files to DVD-ROM. Choose Advanced > Edit DVD-ROM Contents and drag the files to the DVD-ROM Contents window. For more information about the DVD-ROM contents, see iDVD Help.

Add Images to the Background
You can place images, groups of images, and movies in the menu background by dragging them into drop zones, which are numbered and labeled on each theme. A drop zone is not a button that lets viewers play a slideshow or movie; it just provides an area where you can place media that adds interest to the menu background. In the Fish One menu, the picture frame contains a drop zone. You can fill the frame with a still image, with a video that plays repeatedly, or a short sequence of images that plays like a slideshow.
To add a slideshow to the drop zone: 1 Click the Media button and then click Photos at the top of the Media pane. 2 Drag a photo album or folder of pictures from the photos list to the drop zone in the menu. Place the pointer directly over the drop zone text until you see the dotted lines appear, then release the mouse button. To select multiple pictures in the list, press the Command key (it has the Apple logo on it) and click the pictures you want. Then release the Command key and drag the pictures to the drop zone.
Tip: You can drag the image in the drop zone to reposition it. The Photos pane, shown below, appears above the image you clicked. You can use the Photos pane to make adjustments to the slideshow.
3 Click the first image that appears in the drop zone.
4 Drag the slider in the Photos pane to view the images in the drop zone. If you want to change the order in which they appear, click Edit Order to open the drop zone photo editor, shown below.
5 Drag the images into the order in which you want them to appear and delete any you dont want to keep. You can also drag other images to the drop zone photo editor. 6 Click the Return button when youre finished. Note: You can add a short movie or a single still image to a drop zone instead of a slideshow. If you add a short movie, it plays repeatedly in the drop zone; if you add a still image, the image fills the drop zone.
7 Click the Preview button to see the images play. The images will loop, or keep playing continuously, so click the Exit button on the DVD remote control when youve seen enough. 8 Choose File > Save to save your work.

For example, you could create slides with introductory information or credits that play before the DVD menu appears.

Project icon

To add an autoplay movie: 1 Locate the project icon at the top-left corner of the map. 2 Click the Media button and click Photos or Movies to select the content you want to add. 3 Drag the movie or images to the project icon. 4 Click the Preview button or double-click the project icon to view the autoplay movie you added. When youre done, click the Exit button on the DVD remote control. To remove an autoplay movie: m Drag the movie out of the project icon. It disappears with a puff of smoke.
When you remove an autoplay movie, the project icon is not removed, so you can drag a movie or photo album to the project icon to create a new autoplay movie.
Did You Know?Editing in the DVD Map
The DVD map gives you an overview of your whole project and lets you quickly apply changes to more than one item at a time. You can look at it as batch editing. Here are some of the things you can do in the DVD map: Customize the menu settings for one menu or multiple menus at once. Add slideshows, movies, or menus directly to your project. Delete one or more objects from your project at once. See and change transitions from menus to other menus, movies, or slideshows. Double-click a slideshow icon to open the slideshow editor. Double-click a movie icon to play the movie. Click once to select an icon, then use menu commands to apply a change to it. Drag to select more than one icon, then use menu commands to apply a change to all the selected items.

Step Ten: Burn Your DVD

Now that your iDVD project is finished, youre ready to take the final step and burn it to a DVD disc. Before you do, there are still a few things you must do to ensure a good outcome. In this step, youll check the project size in the Project Info window, check for errors in the DVD map, check the encoding quality and status, and get ready to burn a DVD.
Check the Project Info Window
DVD projects can take up a lot of space on your hard disk, and its useful to know when you need to make more room. In addition, a DVD disc has a maximum size limit. As youre working on your project, monitoring the size of your project will help you ensure that everything fits.
The Project Info window, shown below, provides all this information and more.
To check the size of your project: m Choose Project > Project Info. Four resource meters are displayed at the top of the window. The DVD Capacity meter shows the size of your DVD, indicated as running time (the total time for all the media and transitions) or as disc space used. Click the text to the right of it to switch between minutes and gigabytes (GB). The Motion Menus meter shows the total duration of all the menus in the project. You can have up to a total of 15 minutes of menus that contain motion, such as video on buttons or in the background. The Tracks meter shows the number of tracks (movies and slideshows) you have used, including autoplay movies and slideshows. You can have up to 99 total tracks. The Menus meter shows the overall number of still and motion menus used in the project. You can have up to 99 menus.

Check Project Files

All the items you added to your project are listed in the Media list with the path to their location on your hard disk or another location. In the Type column, you can see whether the item is a picture file, audio file, or something else. A checkmark in the Status column lets you know that the item is present and accounted for. If you move the original file from its location, you can see at a glance that its missing because the checkmark will also be missing. If you notice an item is missing from its location, you can: Locate the item and put it back in its original location. Remove the button that linked to the item. Locate the file when iDVD asks you the next time you open the project.
Check Your Project for Errors
If you begin to burn your project without checking it, iDVD shows you a dialog letting you know if there are errors in your project. This prevents you from creating a DVD that cant be played. Its a good idea to check for errors before you begin to burn a disc. The most thorough way to check your project is to preview and test it by clicking all the buttons and viewing every video and slideshow to make sure everything works properly. If your project is very large, this could take some time. You can spot-check your project in less time using map view. To check for errors: 1 Click the Map button to view your project in map view. 2 Look for warning symbols like the one below that indicate a problem with a menu or one of the assets. 3 Move the pointer over the symbol to see an explanation of the error.
4 Make the necessary correction and return to map view to see if the warning symbol is gone. 5 Save your project.

Burn Your DVD

When you are finished with your iDVD project, you can burn it to a DVD for viewing on a TV set or in computers equipped with DVD-reading drives. Burn a disc only when you are sure that you are finished with your project. You can use the following media types to burn a disc in iDVD 6: DVD-R: Can be used only once. This is the recommended media for iDVD, since its compatible with most DVD players and computers on the market today. It can hold about 4.38 gigabytes (GB). DVD+R: Can be used only once. These discs, too, can hold about 4.38 GB. DVD-RW: Can be used more than once. RW stands for rewritable. These discs can hold about 4.38 GB. DVD+RW: Can be used more than once. These can hold about 4.38 GB. These discs may not be viewable in all DVD players. DVD+R DL (Double Layer): Can store almost twice as much content as single-layer discs, but cannot be viewed in older DVD players. To burn your DVD: m Click the Burn button, shown below. When prompted, insert a blank disc into the drive. iDVD burns your disc.

The time it takes for the disc to be created depends on the amount of video on the disc and the speed of your computer. Depending on the size and complexity of your project, it could take hours or it could take overnight. While your project is burning, a progress dialog indicates exactly what is happening in the five stages of burning: Prepare, Process Menus, Process Slideshows, Process Movies, and Burn.
Did You Know?Saving Your Finished Project
If you cant burn a disc right away, or if you want to move or back up your finished project to another computer, you can archive it or save it as a disc image. Archiving your project creates a copy of your project, keeping all of its elements together and linked within the project file. It can take a while to archive a large project, but you can move the file to another computer or hard disk, and then open it at any time for further editing or burning onto a DVD. Saving a disc image of your project means creating a file that is formatted just like a finished DVD, except its not actually burned onto a disc. All the media has been encoded into the format used on a DVD, and you can play it on your computer by double-clicking the disc image icon. The disc image can be moved to another computer or hard disk, but cannot be edited further. You can use Disk Utility in Mac OS X to burn the disc image to a DVD when you are ready. For more information about archiving and creating a disc image, search in iDVD Help for archiving a project and saving a project as a disc image.

iDVD at a Glance

This chapter will familiarize you with all the tools available in the iDVD window. You can 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 provided in the different editing panes to design menus and buttons. The pages that follow introduce you to the controls in iDVD. Looking at these pages will help you learn the names of the iDVD controls, so you can easily follow the instructions in iDVD Help.

iDVD Window

DVD menu: This is where you see the DVD menu you are creating as you build it. Drag movies, 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: Some themes include special areas called drop zones where you can place images or a short movie that plays as part of the DVD menu background. Scrubber bar and motion playhead: Drag the playhead along the scrubber bar to move slowly through a motion menu. For themes with dynamic drop zones (drop zones that move), the playhead lets you stop the motion so you can drag movies or photos into them. Add button: Click to add buttons for content you want to link to from the DVD menu. You can add a slideshow, movie, or submenu. Motion button: Click to turn the motion and sound on or off while you work. This makes it easier to work on motion menus. Preview button: 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 television. Map button: Click to open the map of your DVD. The map view helps you edit and navigate more easily through your iDVD project. Volume slider: Move this slider to change the computer volume as you work in iDVD. This does not change the volume of your finished DVD project. Burn button: Click this button to burn your DVD disc when you are finished creating your iDVD project. Editing panes: Click these buttons to open editing panes for iDVD.

G H I J

Chapter 3 iDVD at a Glance

Themes Pane

You use the Themes pane to select a theme for your project. When you select a theme from the themes list, it appears in the iDVD window. To see the Themes pane, click the Themes button in the iDVD window.

A B C D

Theme set: Choose a theme family to preview or choose All to view all the themes at once. Themes list: Scroll through the themes that appear in this list to select one for the menu you are creating. Click the triangle next to a theme family to see all the menus for a theme. Autoplay icon: Themes that play a movie before the menu appears show the autoplay icon in one corner of the thumbnail. Motion icon: Themes with a moving background show the motion icon in one corner of the thumbnail.

Menu Pane

You use the Menu pane to add content to a menu or drop zones, and edit the look of text on a menu. To see the Menu pane, click the Menu button in the iDVD window.

C A B D E

Background well: Drag images or movies into this well to make them appear as the background of your DVD menu. Audio well: Drag sound files here to make them play as the background music for your DVD menu. Click the speaker icon to turn the sound on or off as you work. Background Movie Start/End controls: Click the triangle to see the Background Movie Start/ End slider when you use custom video as a menu background. Drag the left half of the slider to set where the video begins, then drag the right half to set where the video ends. Loop Duration slider: Move the Loop Duration slider to set how long the background movie will play before it repeats (or "loops"). Menu Volume slider: Drag this slider to set how loud the background audio plays. This control affects the volume of your DVD Drop zone controls: Drag images or movies to fill the drop zones in the list, or click the Edit Drop Zones button to open the drop zone editor. Click Autofill to have iDVD automatically fill the drop zones in the menu with images from your project. Title text controls: Use these controls to customize the look of the text in menu titles and text elements. Click the pop-up menus to change the font, font style, or font size. Set the alignment of the text on the menu. Add a shadow to the text, or click the Color box to choose a different text color. Reset Text button: Click to undo all the changes to text and return it to the theme settings.

Media list: See the media included in your project. This list also shows the file type and its location. A checkmark in the Status column indicates the file is available. Asset list: See the names of the movies in your iDVD project. The Encoding column indicates whether the movie has been encoded. When you click the Burn button, iDVD will finish encoding the movies before burning the disc.

Drop Zone Editor

The drop zone editor displays all the drop zones in a menu so you can quickly add images or movies to them. To see the drop zone editor, double-click a drop zone, or click the Edit Drop Zones button in the Menu pane.

C A B D

Close button: Click to close the drop zone editor. Background well: Drag an image or movie here to change the existing background for this menu. Audio well: Drag an audio file from the Media pane or another location on your computer to add a soundtrack for the menu. Drop zones: Drag images or movies from the Media pane or another location on your computer to add them to the menu background.

Slideshow Editor

The slideshow editor displays all the photos in the selected slideshow and provides controls for you to set up how the slideshow plays. To see the slideshow editor, doubleclick a slideshow button or an image in a drop zone slideshow.

F A B C D E

Slideshow length: See how long the slideshow will last in minutes and seconds. List or thumbnail view: Click to switch between a list of slides or a thumbnail view. Slideshow photos list: Scroll through the list to see the photos in this slideshow. Drag the thumbnails to rearrange the order of the photos. Title and Comments: Type a title and your comments about the photo. These appear under the slides in your slideshow. Only what you type is shown; the placeholder text is not shown. Slide Duration pop-up menu: Choose how long each slide should appear when the slideshow plays. When you add a soundtrack, this is automatically set to Fit To Audio so the slideshow and the soundtrack finish at the same time. Transition pop-up menu and direction controls: Choose a transition that moves from one slide to the next. With some transitions, you can use the arrow buttons to pick a direction for the transition to move. Audio well: Drag a song or iTunes playlist here to play it in the background while the slideshow plays. Hold the pointer over the sound file icon in the audio well to see the songs title and length (or the title of the first song in a playlist). Move the volume slider left or right to adjust the volume of the audio. Slideshow volume slider: Drag the slider to set the volume for this slideshow.
Settings button: Click to show slideshow options. You can add Back and Forward visual indicators to the slideshow, set the slideshow to repeat (loop), add files to the DVD-ROM contents, and show or hide titles and comments. Return button: Click to exit the slideshow editor.

Map View

You use map view to get a birds-eye view of your DVD project. Map view provides a visual representation of how all your submenus, slideshows, and movies are linked together. You can also edit your DVD menus directly in map view, adding or removing elements from your project, and check for errors before you burn a DVD disc. To see map view, click the Map button at the bottom of the iDVD window.

B C F D E

Project icon and autoplay well: The first icon in the map is the project icon. Drag a movie or slides to the autoplay well to make them play before the main menu appears on the DVD. Double-click the image in the well to preview the autoplay movie or edit a slideshow. Main menu: This is the menu viewers see first when they watch your DVD. Double-click this icon to open the main menu. You can drag movies and slideshows here to add them to the menu. Movie icon: This is a movie with chapter markers thats available from the main menu. Doubleclick here to play the movie. Scene Selection Menu: This is the menu that lists the chapters in the movie with chapter markers. Double-click here to go to the scene selection menu. Slideshow: This is a slideshow thats accessible from the main menu. Double-click here to go to the slideshow editor for that slideshow. Disclosure triangle: Click to hide the parts of the map that are linked to the disclosure triangle. Click again to reveal the linked items.

B C D E F

Horizontal or vertical view: Click to change between a layout showing all the icons and a hierarchical layout with disclosure triangles. Zoom slider: Drag to see more of the project or to see an icon up-close. Return: Click to exit map view.

www.apple.com/ilife/idvd

2006 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved.
Apple, the Apple logo, Final Cut, Final Cut Pro, iDVD, iLife, iMovie HD, iPhoto, iTunes, and QuickTime are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. GarageBand, iSight, Keynote, and SuperDrive are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. 019-0538-A

iDVD Getting Started

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

Contents

Chapter 1
Welcome to iDVD What Youll Learn Before You Begin What You Need The iDVD Interface Learn iDVD Step 1: Locate the Movies, Photos, and Audio Files to Use in This Tutorial Step 2: Create a New Project Setting the Encoding Quality Step 3: Choose a Theme for Your DVD Step 4: Add a Movie Editing the Menu Title Step 5: Add a Slideshow Adding a Transition Between Images Adding a Soundtrack Step 6: Add Media to Drop Zones Step 7: Add Menu Text and Change Its Appearance Step 8: Change the Appearance of Buttons Editing Button Text Changing Button Shapes Changing the Button Image Step 9: Add Transitions to Buttons Step 10: Organize Your Project in Map View Changing Map View Layout Adding an Autoplay Movie Step 11: Burn Your DVD Checking the Project Info Window Checking Project Files Checking Your Project for Errors Burning Your Project to DVD Continue to Explore iDVD Getting More Help

Chapter 2

Welcome to iDVD
iDVD gives you the tools to create Hollywood-style DVDs that incorporate your own movies, photos, and music. Sharing your memories has never been easier.
You can play the discs you burn using iDVD in most DVD players, including computers with DVD drives. To learn how to use iDVD and make your first basic DVD using your own movie and photos, follow this easy tutorial.

What Youll Learn

If you follow all the steps in this tutorial, youll build an iDVD project that includes a movie, a main menu, a submenu to let viewers go directly to specific scenes, and a slideshow created from your digital photos. Youll become familiar with how iMovie and iDVD work together, and youll also learn to do the following: Bring media from your other iLife applications into an iDVD project Customize the iDVD menus Make and customize slideshows Use map view for efficient editing Burn a DVD Play a DVD

Before You Begin

To make it easier to complete this tutorial, print this document before you start. In many tasks shown in this tutorial and in iDVD Help, you need to choose menu commands, which look like this: Choose Edit > Copy. The first term after Choose is the name of a menu in the iDVD menu bar. The next term (or terms) are the items you choose from that menu.
You dont have to complete the tutorial in one sitting. You can save your work at any point and return to it later. To save your work, choose File > Save.

What You Need

To complete all the parts of this tutorial, you need the following: A movie from iMovie that you have shared (in iMovie, choose Share > Media Browser) so that it is accessible in iDVD. You can use any format from iMovie, including HDV, MPEG-4, iSight, and even 16:9 widescreen movies. Images for a slideshow in your iPhoto library. Audio files in your iTunes library. A computer with a SuperDrive, or a computer with a connected third-party DVD burner. (This is not required if you dont plan to burn your project to a DVD.) If you have video but no photos, or photos but no video, you can still do this tutorial. Your final results will be different, but youll still have a project that you can burn to a disc. Experiment a little and have fun.

Click these buttons to access specific media files.
Click the Media button to access your movies, photos, and music.
Movies stored in the Movies folder on your hard disk appear automatically in the Media pane. You can also drag movies from other folders on your hard disk to the movies list. In iDVD preferences, you can specify other folders whose contents you want iDVD to show automatically in the Media pane. Movies stored in these folders are automatically added to the movies list in the Media pane. For instructions about how to do this, search for add media in iDVD Help.

Chapter 2 Learn iDVD

Step 2: Create a New Project
With your music, movies, and photos in the correct format and in locations where you can easily access them, youre ready to get started. To start a new iDVD project: If iDVD isnt open, click the iDVD application icon in the Dock. Click the Create a New Project button in the opening dialog, shown below. If the opening dialog isnt showing, choose File > New. Select a location to store your new project, and then click Create.
With Magic iDVD, you select a theme and the movies and photos you want to include, and iDVD does the rest. With OneStep DVD, you can copy footage from your camera directly onto a DVD.
If youve already created a project, the iDVD window may open with an animated menu and music. Simply click the Motion button, shown below, to stop the animation and sound.

Motion button

Setting the Encoding Quality
iDVD encodes your projects information before burning it to a disc. Its a good idea to choose an encoding setting before you begin your project. There are three possible settings, and which one you choose affects the final quality of your project and how long the encoding process will take.
To set the encoding quality: m Choose iDVD > Preferences, and then click Projects. Then choose one of the encoding settings.
By default, iDVD is set to the correct mode for your region. NTSC format is used in North America. Choose an encoding setting before you add a movie to your project.

The Soft Frame theme, like many iDVD themes, defaults to the widescreen format (16:9). To switch to standard format (4:3), choose Project > Switch to Standard (4:3).
Choose a set of themes using this pop-up menu. Click the disclosure triangle to see all the menu templates in the theme family.
Note: After you modify a menu, you can save it as a custom theme. A custom theme appears in the Themes pane, listed below Favorites. You can use it for future projects, just as you would any other theme.

Step 4: Add a Movie

After you choose your theme, you can add one or more movies and other content to your iDVD project. In this step, youll add a movie. When you drag a movie to a menu, iDVD automatically adds a button to the menu that users click to play the movie. The buttons label is the name of the movie you added, but you can change this. To add a movie: 1 Click the Media button. 2 Click the Movies button at the top of the Media pane, shown below.
3 Select the Movies folder or another folder that contains movies. Thumbnail pictures of the movies in the folder appear in the lower half of the pane. 4 Drag a movie thumbnail to the menu background on the left side of the iDVD window. You see a green circle with a plus sign when you can drop the movie. In the Soft Frame Main menu, the background where you can drop your movie includes everything but the drop zone and the placeholder title. When you drop the movie, a button appears on the menu that has the same name as the movie you added. Youll learn how to change the button name in Editing Button Text on page 22.
Note: If dotted lines appear on the menu when you drag your movie to it, move the pointer until the dotted lines disappear, and then drop the movie. Dotted lines indicate a drop zone, an area of a menu to which you can add video clips and photos. Video clips added to a drop zone become part of the menu background rather than featured movies on the DVD. If you havent saved changes to your project, you can delete a movie youve added by choosing Edit > Undo Add Movie. If youve already saved your project, click the button that links to the movie you want to remove, and then choose Edit > Cut. Its possible within iDVD to create a scene selection menu, like commercial DVDs have, that allows viewers to access specific scenes in your movie. You must first create chapter markers for your movie, which automatically generates a scene selection menu. To learn more, search for chapter markers in iDVD Help.

Editing the Menu Title

When you create a new project in iDVD, the main menu of your project has a default title that matches the name of the menu theme. Its easy to change the title of your iDVD project. To change the title text: 1 Double-click the title, which highlights the text. An in-place editor, shown below, appears below the title.
2 Type Vacations in its place. 3 If you want, use the controls in the in-place editor to change the typeface, style, and size of the title text. Youll learn more about modifying onscreen text in Step 7: Add Menu Text and Change Its Appearance on page 20.

Step 5: Add a Slideshow

Adding a slideshow to your iDVD project is a great way to enhance your DVD and show your photographs. You can use a slideshow already created in iPhoto, or you can use iDVD to create a slideshow from a group of pictures. You can even create a DVD that has no movies at all but rather showcases your photos in one or more slideshows. Depending on the amount of other content included and the size of your photos, your DVD can hold up to 9801 images. In this step, youll create a slideshow of photographs and movies in iDVD and add a soundtrack. To create a slideshow in iDVD: 1 If the main menu is not showing, click the Back button on the scene selection menu to return to the main menu. 2 Click the Add button at the bottom of the iDVD window and choose Add Slideshow from the pop-up menu. A button labeled My Slideshow appears on the menu. This button may appear too far from the movie button. Leave it as it is for now. Youll learn how to reposition buttons in Changing Button Shapes on page 23.
Click My Slideshow to select the text, and then type My Photos. If you want to modify the text, use the controls in the in-place editor to do so. 3 Click outside the text area to deselect the text, and then double-click the My Photos button to open the slideshow editor. The iDVD window changes automatically to show the Photos pane.
The slideshow editor, shown below, is a blank screen with the words Drag images here.
Access the Photos pane to add photos to your slideshow.
4 Drag photos one at a time or in groups from the Photos pane to the slideshow editor. You can even drag a whole album to the slideshow editor. If you havent imported photos into iPhoto, you wont see photos in this list. You can open iPhoto anytime and import some photos, or you can drag photos from other locations on your hard disk directly to the slideshow editor. 5 Arrange the images in the order in which you want them to appear. Drag the images in the slideshow editor to rearrange them. To delete images, select the ones you want to remove, and then press the Delete key on your keyboard.

Adding a Transition Between Images
iDVD includes a number of transition styles you can apply to your slideshow so that the images flow smoothly from one to the next. To add a transition: 1 Click the Transition pop-up menu and experiment with the transitions in the menu until you find one you want to use. If one of the arrows to the right of the Transition pop-up menu is highlighted when you make a selection, you can choose a direction for the transition. Click any of the arrows to select a direction.
To preview the transition, click the Preview button, shown below. The iDVD remote control appears. It operates just like a standard remote control, and you can use its controls to click buttons and navigate to all the menus in your project.
Click the Transition pop-up menu to choose a transition style.
Click the Preview button to see the various transitions.
2 Click the Settings button and make other creative decisions using the settings in the slideshow editor: To make the slideshow repeat continuously, select Loop slideshow. To show navigation arrows on the slideshow, select Display navigation arrows. These arrows are not functional; they serve as a visual reminder that users can use the controls on their remote controls to progress through the slideshow. To add copies of the original photos to the DVD-ROM portion of the disc, select Add image files to DVD-ROM. This allows viewers to download copies of your photos to their own computers from the DVD. Note: Adding files to the DVD-ROM portion of the disc uses up space that you might need for your project. To monitor the size of your project as you work, choose Project > Project Info. You can see how much space youve used next to DVD Capacity. To show the title and comments text below the images, select Show titles and comments. To add titles and comments, click the text below the image thumbnail in the slideshow editor and type in the text field that appears.

Adding a Soundtrack

You can add interest to your slideshow by adding a soundtrack to it. To add a soundtrack to a slideshow: 1 Click the Audio button at the top of the Media pane. The contents of your iTunes library and any music you composed in GarageBand appear in the audio list. If you dont see any music in the audio list, make sure you have imported music into iTunes. 2 Select a song, and then click the Play button at the bottom of the Media pane to listen to it before you add it to your DVD.
To quickly locate a particular song, you can type its name in the search field.
Access the Audio pane to add a soundtrack to your slideshow.

Audio well

Volume slider

Preview button

3 When you find a song you want to use, drag it from the song list to the audio well in the slideshow editor, shown above. After you drag the song to the audio well, notice that the Slide Duration pop-up menu automatically changes to Fit To Audio. This ensures that your slideshow and music begin and end together. However, using the Slide Duration pop-up menu, you can change how long your slides stay onscreen before the next one appears. The slide duration you specify applies only to photos in a slideshow. The length of time a movie plays is not affected by slide duration. 4 Click the Preview button to see how your slideshow looks. To return to the slideshow editor, click Exit on the remote control. You can continue to make adjustments to the slideshow until its just the way you want it. To adjust soundtrack volume, drag the Slideshow volume slider, shown above, to the right or left. 5 Click the Return button to exit the slideshow editor and return to the main menu. 6 To save your work, choose File > Save.

Step 6: Add Media to Drop Zones
iDVD themes can include no drop zones, multiple drop zones, and even dynamic drop zones that move in the background of a menu. A drop zone isnt a button; its an area where you can place media that adds interest to the menu background. You can place a single image, a slideshow, or a movie in a drop zone. You can add any combination of images, video clips, or slideshows to the drop zones in your project. You can also hide the drop zones on any menu so that they dont appear in your final project. With your pointer over the menu (and with no buttons or text objects selected), press Command (x)-I to open the Menu Info window. Then deselect the Show drop zones and related graphics checkbox. The drop zones on the menu immediately disappear. The Soft Frame Main menu contains three drop zones, which play in sequence on the main menu. Therefore, only one drop zone shows at any time on the main menu. The easiest way to determine how many drop zones a menu has is to click the Drop Zone button. This brings up the drop zone editor, which has a well for each drop zone the menu contains. To return to the main menu, click the Drop Zone button again. In this step, youll fill each of the three drop zones in the main menu using the drop zone editor. Youll add a slideshow to one of the drop zones, which is similar to the process of creating a slideshow described in Step 5: Add a Slideshow on page 14. To add media to drop zones: 1 Click the Drop Zone button. The drop zone editor, shown below, appears.
When youre working in the drop zone editor, your projects menu shows in the iDVD window.
The drop zone editor includes three drop zone wells, which means the main menu of this theme includes three drop zones. Drop Zone button
2 Click the Media button, and then click Movies at the top of the Media pane.
3 Drag a video clip from the Movies pane to the first drop zone well in the drop zone editor. Unlike with photos, the video clip is not resized to fit into the drop zone, so some of it will likely be cut off in the drop zone. Note: Its not recommended to add a long movie to a drop zone because a movie can use a lot of space. Also, a viewer is unlikely to stay on a menu enough time to view a long movie. 4 Click the Drop Zone button again to return to the main menu. Notice the first frame of the video clip showing in the drop zone. 5 Click the drop zone. A movie pane, with a slider to set where the clip starts and ends in the drop zone, appears. Move the sliders to change which part of the clip plays in the drop zone.
This is an easy way to shorten a video clip in a drop zone. 6 Click the Drop Zone button to return to the drop zone editor. 7 Click the Photos button at the top of the Media pane. 8 Drag a single image to the second drop zone well in the drop zone editor. 9 Drag a photo album or folder of pictures from the photos list to the third drop zone well. The first image in the album or folder shows in the drop zone. 10 Double-click the third drop zone well.

This opens the drop zone slideshow editor, which looks like the slideshow editor you used to create your DVD slideshow in Step 5: Add a Slideshow. Youll see thumbnails of all the images you added.
11 Drag the images into the order in which you want them to appear and delete any you dont want to keep. You can also drag other images, from the Photos pane or elsewhere on your computer, to the drop zone photo editor. When youre done arranging images, click the Return button to return to the drop zone editor. 12 Click the Drop Zone button to return to the main menu. 13 Click the Motion button to see how the drop zones cycle or play on the main menu. The images will loop, or play continuously, so click the Motion button again when youve seen enough. 14 To save your work, choose File > Save.
Step 7: Add Menu Text and Change Its Appearance
Now that youve added more content to your DVD project, the text on the main menu may need some adjustment. You can add text to the menu and change its typeface, size, and color, and add a shadow. You can also reposition text so that it fits better on the menu. Menu text, also referred to as a text object, is not clickable. This is different from button text, or button labels, because buttons are clickable. In this step, youll add a subtitle, change the appearance of the text, and reposition it on the menu. Keep in mind that the text you add need not be limited to short titles and subheads. For example, you can add blocks of text for credits and other content.
To customize the text: 1 Make sure that the projects main menu is open, and then choose Project > Add Text. New placeholder text that says Click to edit appears on the menu. 2 Drag the text into position below the title. If you need to reposition the main title to fit the subtitle below it, click the title once to select it, and then drag it to a new location. You can select and drag any text object on the menu to reposition it. 3 Click the placeholder text to highlight it, and then type A Year of Fun as the subtitle. When you click the text, the in-place editor appears below it. You can use the controls to change the typeface, style, and size of the text. For now, however, ignore the inplace editor. 4 With the text highlighted, press Command (x)-I to open the Text Info window, shown below. The Text Info window has controls for changing all aspects of the text, including color and whether the text has a shadow. You can drag it wherever you want on your desktop.
5 Click the typeface pop-up menu and choose another typeface. 6 Use the font size pop-up menu to choose a smaller size so that the subtitle fits below the main title. 7 Click the color control to open the Colors window. Try out different color selections in the Colors window. As you click colors, the text on the menu changes to the color you selected. When you find a color you want to use, close the Colors window. 8 Select the Shadow checkbox to add a shadow to the text. 9 Close the Text Info window. 10 To save your work, choose File > Save.

The menu below shows the new title and subtitle.
Some television screens may not be able to display everything on your menu. You can overlay an outline on the menu so that you can see what will be visible on these TVs. This is called the TV safe area. For more information, search for TV safe area in iDVD Help.
Step 8: Change the Appearance of Buttons
Button styles are designed to fit the theme, but you can change them to suit your content or your own design vision. Buttons can be text only, or they can be different shapes that incorporate text, a still image, a slideshow, or video. The buttons on your main menu, for example, are text-only buttons. In this step, youll edit the button label text, change the shape of the buttons, and choose an image for one of them.

Editing Button Text

Editing button label text is similar to changing onscreen text. To edit button label text: 1 In the main menu, slowly double-click your movie button to highlight the text. Youll notice that an in-place editor, shown below, appears below the text, just like the one that appeared below the DVD title text when you changed it. 2 Type a new name.
3 Use the controls to change the typeface, style, and size of the button label.
4 To change the color of the text, press Command (x)-I while the button is selected. This opens the Button Info window, shown below. It has the same controls as the inplace editor, plus additional ones.
Click the color control to select a new color for the selected text.
5 Click the color control (its default color is white) to open the Colors window, and then try out different color selections in the Colors window. As you click colors, the button label changes to the color you selected. When you find a color you want to use, close the Colors window. To change the appearance of all button labels at once, select one button and then choose Edit > Select All Buttons. Then press Command (x)-I to open the Button Info window. Any selections you make will apply to all button labels. 6 To save your work, choose File > Save.

Changing Button Shapes

You can turn any text button into a shape (or image) button. Image buttons consist of a text label and a shape thumbnail. You can add photos or movie clips to the thumbnail portion of image buttons to add visual interest to your menus. Image buttons on a menu can be all the same shape, or you can mix styles. To change button shapes: 1 From the main menu, select one of the buttons by clicking it once, and then choose Edit > Select All Buttons. If you want each button to be different, you can select buttons and change their styles one at a time.
2 Click Buttons to open the Buttons pane, shown below.
Select a category of button shapes using this pop-up menu.
Click this icon to change a button to text only.

3 From the pop-up menu at the top of the pane, choose Rounded. The three button options at the top of the pop-up menuText, Bullets, and Shapes add a graphical element to your buttons that in most cases appears only when the button is highlighted. The four button options at the bottom of the pop-up menu create buttons that have a label and a shape to which you can add an image or movie clip. 4 Click one of the button shapes. Try different button shapes until you find one that looks good on your menu. The icon (the gray circle with a slash) at the top of the Buttons pane changes all selected buttons to text-only buttons. Most likely, when you apply a shape, the buttons on your menu will overlap. Youll fix that in step 6 below. 5 With your buttons still selected, press Command (x)-I again to open the Button Info window. Use the controls in the Button Info window to make other creative decisions: Use the Thumbnail slider to change the size of the button shape. Use the label pop-up menu to change where the button label appears in relation to its shape.
6 If the buttons are still overlapping, click the menu, but not a drop zone or text object. The Menu Info window, shown below, appears.
7 Select Free positioning in the Buttons section of the window. This allows you to move the buttons around the menu 8 Close the window, and then drag your buttons where you want them on the menu. Yellow alignment guides appear as you drag to help you place your buttons. 9 To save your work, choose File > Save.
Changing the Button Image
Its easy to change the image that appears on any button, giving you more control over how your menus look. To change the image on a slideshow button: 1 Slowly double-click the shape portion of your slideshow button. An Image pane, shown below, appears above the button.
2 Move the slider left or right, which scrolls through the images in your slideshow. Scroll until you see the image you want to appear on the button. 3 Click outside of the button when youre done. The Image slider disappears.
To change the image on a movie button: 1 Slowly double-click the shape portion of your movie button. A Movie pane, shown below, appears above the button.
2 Move the slider to the left or right to select which frame of your movie you want to appear on the button. If you want the buttons to show only the frame you selected instead of moving video, select the Still Image checkbox. Your menu should now look similar to the one shown below.

3 To save your work, choose File > Save.
Step 9: Add Transitions to Buttons
Now your DVD has an attractive menu with customized buttons. You can add more flair by using transitions to smooth the movement from the main menu of your DVD to your movie, your scene selection menu, and your slideshow. To set transitions for the main menu: 1 Click one of the buttons on the main menu to select it, and then choose Edit > Select All Buttons. You can apply a different transition to each button by selecting each button one at a time and then choosing a transition.
2 Press Command (x)-I to open the Button Info window. 3 Choose Push from the Transition pop-up menu, shown below. Youll notice that the second pop-up menu changes to read Right to Left. This indicates that you can set the direction for the transitions movement.
4 Choose a different direction from the second pop-up menu, if you want. 5 Click the Preview button and use the DVD remote control to select the menu buttons one by one to view the results. When youre done, click Exit on the DVD remote control. 6 To save your work, choose File > Save.
Step 10: Organize Your Project in Map View
Map view provides a visual overview of your project, which is especially helpful when your project becomes more complex. You can also use map view to do batch editing and to add an autoplay movie to your DVD. In this step, you ll use map view to add an autoplay movie to your project and view the organization of your DVD. To switch to map view: m Click the Map button, shown below.

Map button

In map view, shown below, you can hide (collapse) sections of the map to simplify the view. You can also zoom in to see more detail or zoom out to see the entire project in one window.
Note: The map view image below does not reflect the map view for your current project. The image below shows a different project to give you an idea of what map view looks like for more complex projects.
Disclosure triangle for the scene selection menu

View buttons Zoom slider

Changing Map View Layout
You can change between vertical and horizontal orientation of map view with the click of a button. To change map view layout: 1 Click a View button in the bottom-left corner of the window to switch between the horizontal and vertical map views. 2 Click the disclosure triangle of the main menu icon. The menu collapses to simplify the map. 3 Click the disclosure triangle again to expand the map. 4 Drag the zoom slider at the bottom of the window to the left or right to change the amount of detail you see in the map. You can also use the horizontal and vertical scroll bars, which appear when the entire map cant be viewed in the DVD window, to move through the map.

3 Move the pointer over the symbol to see an explanation of the error.
4 Make the necessary correction and return to map view to see if the warning symbol is gone. 5 To save your work, choose File > Save.
Burning Your Project to DVD
When youre finished with your iDVD project, you can burn it to a DVD for viewing on a TV or on a computer equipped with a DVD-reading drive. Burn a disc only when youre sure that youre finished with your project. You can use the following media types to burn a disc in iDVD: DVD-R: Can be used only once This is the recommended media for iDVD because its compatible with most DVD players and computers. These discs holds about 4.38 GB. DVD+R: Can be used only once These discs hold about 4.38 GB. DVD-RW: Can be used more than once RW stands for rewritable. These discs hold about 4.38 GB. DVD+RW: Can be used more than once These discs hold about 4.38 GB. They may not be viewable in all DVD players. DVD+R DL (Double Layer): These discs store almost twice as much content as single-layer discs, but they cant be viewed in older DVD players. To burn your DVD: m Click the Burn button, shown below. When prompted, insert a blank disc into your computers SuperDrive or an external burner. iDVD burns your disc.
The time it takes to create the disc depends on the amount of video on the disc and the speed of your computer. Depending on the size and complexity of your project, it could take a few hours or up to several hours.
While your iDVD project is burning, a progress dialog shows which of the five burn stages is in process: Prepare, Process Menus, Process Slideshows, Process Movies, and Burn. If you cant burn a disc right away, or if you want to back up or move your project to another computer, you can archive it or save it as a disc image. For more information, search for Archiving a project and Saving a project as a disc image in iDVD Help.

Continue to Explore iDVD

Congratulations, youve completed the tutorial! Now that youre familiar with the basic tools and features of iDVD, you can continue to edit your movie and to create new ones. Here are some other ways to add flair and excitement to all your projects: Add additional movies to your project: Because a DVD can hold a lot of data, you probably have room to include more than one movie. As you add movies, you can add more menus with customized buttons and onscreen text. Customize a theme and save it as a favorite: After you change the button style, the appearance and placement of your onscreen text, and other editable aspects of your theme, you can save it as a custom theme to be used for other projects. To learn more about custom themes, search for themes in iDVD Help. Experiment with sound: You can add background audio to a menu, which can include one or more songs or an iTunes playlist. For more information, search for Adding sound to a menu in iDVD Help. You can make the soundtrack of a slideshow or background movie fade out, to add polish to your DVD. For more information, search for Making a soundtrack fade out in iDVD Help. Add content to the DVD-ROM portion of the disc: You can add content to the DVD-ROM portion of your disc, which users can access when they view your disc from a computer (not a TV). For example, you can add images from the slideshows you create so that viewers can download them to their computers and print them. To learn more, search for DVD-ROM contents in iDVD Help.

Getting More Help

There are several resources you can consult for additional help using iDVD: Onscreen help: iDVD comes with a built-in help system. When iDVD is open, choose Help > iDVD Help. When the help page opens, type a word or phrase into the search field at the top of the page, or click one of the topic areas to get detailed instructions for completing specific tasks. Video tutorials: These short video tutorials demonstrate how to complete common tasks in iDVD. To access them, choose Help > Video Tutorials. (These tutorials are available in some languages only.) iDVD support website (www.apple.com/support/idvd): Look here for helpful community discussion boards, as well as detailed troubleshooting information and software updates.

www.apple.com/ilife/idvd

2007 Apple Inc. All rights reserved.
Apple, the Apple logo, Final Cut, Final Cut Pro, iDVD, iLife, iMovie, iPhoto, iSight, iTunes, QuickTime, and SuperDrive are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. GarageBand is a trademark of Apple Inc. 019-1063 09/2007