Apple Final Cut Express 4 - Manual (Page 1043)

Chapter 68 Exporting Sequences for DVD 1043
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Here are some guidelines to help you maintain high quality:
 Capture and edit your video at the frame dimensions that you will use on the DVD
(typically 720 x 480 at 29.97 fps for NTSC or 720 x 576 at 25 fps for PAL). DVDs also
support anamorphic 16:9 video. For more information, see Appendix C, “
Working
with Anamorphic 16:9 Media ,” on page 1095.
 When saving video material to a QuickTime movie file, you should use the native
codec of your source material. If you are creating footage from scratch, specify no
compression (which requires a lot of disk space) or use a high-quality compression
codec like Animation (at 100 percent quality) or Photo JPEG (at 75 percent quality or
above). This provides the MPEG encoder (including those internally used by iDVD)
the best-quality video to start with. Recompressing already highly compressed video
results in a noticeable increase in visible compression artifacts.
 Add compression and chapter markers in Final Cut Express to help control the encode
quality and make creating chapter selection menus easier. See “ Adding Chapter and
Compression Markers to Your Sequence ” on page 1044 for more information.
Audio for DVD
Video DVDs support several audio formats:
 AIFF (uncompressed): Provides the highest-quality mono or stereo audio but requires
the most disc space. May cause problems with DVD tracks that contain multiple
audio streams. QuickTime and iDVD are able to create suitable uncompressed AIFF
audio streams.
 Dolby Digital AC-3: Provides high-quality compressed audio. Supports from one to
six channels (5.1-channel surround sound), including standard stereo.
 DTS: Provides high-quality compressed audio. Generally used only for surround
sound audio streams.
 MPEG-1 Layer 2: Provides good-quality compressed audio. Generally used only for
mono or stereo audio streams.
When recording and editing audio, use a 48 kilohertz (kHz) sample rate and no
compression. This ensures the best quality whether you use the uncompressed audio
on the DVD or decide to use a supported compressed audio format.
Important: When you create DVDs, your audio must have either a 48 kHz or 96 kHz sample
rate. If you use the 44.1 kHz sample rate found on standard audio CDs, iDVD will convert
your audio to the correct sample rate. Additionally, DVDs do not support MP3-encoded
audio. iDVD will convert any MP3 audio to DVD-compliant uncompressed audio.