DVD Studio Pro 1.2 Problems and Fixes
By Ben Miskie
Because of the popularity and quality a DVD has over tape, DVD has become an excellent method to share you video's created on your DV video camcorder. One DVD creation solution is Apple's DVD Studio Pro.DVD Studio Pro is Apple's answer to professional DVD authoring. Because it is an Apple product, it should run flawless. Unfortunately, this is not the case. DVD Studio Pro 1.2 is full is little fun things to make you lose days of sleep and force you to curse more. However, because I am writing this article you are now free to sleep more, and curse less.
DVD Studio Pro 1.2 Won't Run in Classic Mode on OS X
Unfortunately, DVD studio Pro 1.2 won't run in OSX, it is an OS 9 program only. In order to use the program, OS 9 must be installed. When you are confident that OS 9 is installed, simply go to the control panels, click on the start up disk and select OS 9. Restart the computer and it will start up in OS 9. Now you are ready to begin!
Disk is Full (Error Code 34)
When creating a DVD, at least two times as mush disk space as file size. Since a single-sided DVD is 4.7 gigs, leave 10 gigs open at all times.
URL Screen Not Previewing Properly
This weird little error is a simple fix. Make a button on the menu screen that has a URL redirect. (I usual create a back button) Once the button is created, the problem magically goes away. Yeah baby.
Bit Rate Too High
When rendering out the MPEG video files, it may be necessary to adjust your bit rate in order for the DVD to play properly. Bit rate is actually a tricky subject. You want your bit rate to be as high so that your movie can retain the best picture possible. However, if is set to high, you will be forced to put less video on the disk. In addition, when the bit rate is set high, it creates a bigger file and file stream. Some DVD players can't process such a high data stream and will stop working.
To be safe, I use a 7.5 bit rate for live action, and 8.0 for animation.
Markers come out of alignment after video track is replaced.
When replacing a track with a different bit rate, the markers must also be readjusted. It's a flaw in DVD Studio Pro 1.2, and I don't know a fix. Sorry.
When previewing, my sound becomes out of sync with the video.
The preview in DVD Studio Pro 1.2 is flawed. When previewing a video track with markers, the sound and the video can become out of sync. If you need to preview the DVD, there is one way to preview the DVD project properly on the computer before burning it to a DVD. Render out an image of the project, open the Apple DVD player application, go to preferences, and enable ATOS. Open the "Apple DVD Player" application. While in the Apple DVD application, go to "File," select, "Open using Apple TOS," and then select your project. The problem with sound sync should be eliminated in this previewing mode. -BM