[webraider]

tfrohl said:

I use iDVD and would like to know with the update-can it be set to not play automatically but go right to the menu?

There has always been an option in iDVD as long as I can remember to either have the disc auto play, or go to the menu.

[tfrohl]

Thank you Webraider. There was a post earlier that says it automatically goes to the "automatic" set up.

[jeffcarlson]

tfrohl said:

I use iDVD and would like to know with the update-can it be set to not play automatically but go right to the menu?

You can't change the behavior (a movie sent from iMovie to iDVD now automatically plays the movie when you first insert the disc in a DVD player), but you can edit it easily in iDVD. What Apple is doing is putting a full version of the movie in the AutoPlay well. In your new iDVD project, click the Map button to view the project's structure. The first box at upper-left is the AutoPlay well - simply drag the movie out so that it disappears in a poof of smoke. Then, the project will go to the menu.

Jeff

[webraider]

jeffcarlson said:

What Apple is doing is putting a full version of the movie in the AutoPlay well. In your new iDVD project, click the Map button to view the project's structure.

Is this a new feature in iLife '09? I don't remember iMovie '08 doing this "Automatically". I haven't burned a project to DVD yet in iMovie '09. It may be a new feature as iMovie '09 is the first of the two ('08 and '09) to send a feature to iDVD. If this is true, then we need to file a complaint with Apple about it as a lot of people don't check the hierarchy of the menu structure in iDVD before they burn. Most people just assume the menu will be the first thing they see.

[jeffcarlson]

webraider said:

Is this a new feature in iLife '09? I don't remember iMovie '08 doing this "Automatically". I haven't burned a project to DVD yet in iMovie '09. It may be a new feature as iMovie '09 is the first of the two ('08 and '09) to send a feature to iDVD. If this is true, then we need to file a complaint with Apple about it as a lot of people don't check the hierarchy of the menu structure in iDVD before they burn. Most people just assume the menu will be the first thing they see.

iMovie '08 didn't have anything to do with iDVD - you had to share your movie to the Media Browser, then add chapter markers in GarageBand, and THEN send it to iDVD. (Or export a file that you then brought into iDVD manually.)

I reported the new behavior as a bug, but was then told in a followup briefing by Apple that it was a deliberate decision (which I noted in the review). Basically, they're appealing to people who probably won't take the time to build a menu in iDVD and just want their movie on a disc. I can see their point, but there should be a preference that turns it off for what I think will be the majority of people who do want that menu to be the first thing someone sees. This is a great argument for making sure everyone previews their iDVD projects before burning them to disc. :-)

Jeff

[tfrohl]

Thank you - I am burning my first attempt now - and I needed to make sure I had no auto-play...your tip was perfect.

[jtb04a]

The precision editor is NOT a good replacement for iMovie HD 06's timeline. Apple just needs to realize they made a huge mistake in getting rid of the timeline.
I love some of the new features, transitions, effects, stabilization feature ect. But it is not worth the loss of 2006's timeline. I lose so much power by not having it. I will continue to use 2006 until Apple decides to listen to its faithful buyers.

[userfriendly]

I'm not too proficient in Final Cut Express yet, but know enough to play with sound adjustments. Will I be able to cut a video clip and manipulate sound in FCE and then import that into iMovie 09 to insert into my current slide project? If so, do I export the clip from FCE into Quicktime? What formats should I use so it's compatible with iMovie 09, and also a high enough resolution to export to iDVD? Thanks for your help!

[jeffcarlson]

jtb04a said:

I love some of the new features, transitions, effects, stabilization feature ect. But it is not worth the loss of 2006's timeline. I lose so much power by not having it. I will continue to use 2006 until Apple decides to listen to its faithful buyers.

Can you elaborate on how you "lose so much power" by not having the timeline? Is it an interface issue or a functionality issue? (I'm geniunely curious, not trying to bait you.) For the most part, the filmstrip in the Project Editor is a timeline - it's just one that wraps to the screen instead of extending off the left and right edges.

As for waiting until Apple listens to its faithful buyers, I'd recommend you hope that iMovie HD 6 works as long as possible. Apple definitely listens to feedback, and I think the return of iMovie-to-iDVD sharing is one result of that. But I doubt Apple would invest what it has in iMovie 09's interface and then abandon it; that's just not how Apple works. I agree that it would be nice to have an option: display filmstrip as wrapped or as timeline. But I don't think it will happen.

Jeff

[jeffcarlson]

userfriendly said:

I'm not too proficient in Final Cut Express yet, but know enough to play with sound adjustments. Will I be able to cut a video clip and manipulate sound in FCE and then import that into iMovie 09 to insert into my current slide project? If so, do I export the clip from FCE into Quicktime? What formats should I use so it's compatible with iMovie 09, and also a high enough resolution to export to iDVD? Thanks for your help!

Yes, you could export a clip from FCE and put it into iMovie. I haven't tried it, but off the top of my head I'd recommend exporting using the File > Export > QuickTime Movie option. It will keep the same encoding format you used when importing (for example, HD video is transcoded to AIC), and you end up with a .mov file that can be imported into iMovie.

Jeff

[Jozmaz]

Finally we are almost back to where we were a year and a half ago. I used iMovie 08 for the first time just before christmas and could not believe how utterly rubbish it was. Unfortunately, I no longer had any older computers in the house that I could go back to iMovieHD so I had to struggle through and create a DVD without useable chapters. iM08 was a total joke.
I have to say, though, that not being able to dump back onto DV tape is a rather major oversight. They support recording FROM tape so why can't we dump back onto it? It can't be that difficult to instigate..............

[jeffcarlson]

Jozmaz said:

Unfortunately, I no longer had any older computers in the house that I could go back to iMovieHD so I had to struggle through and create a DVD without useable chapters. iM08 was a total joke.

I hate to be the bearer of unpleasant news, but did you not know that Apple offered iMovie HD as a free download to anyone who bought a new computer who didn't want to use iMovie '08? And iMovie HD still works perfectly fine on all current Macs. Alas, they stopped offering it when iMovie '09 shipped.

[missbhavens]

Waitaminute waitaminute wait a minute!

I read that wrong, right? Are you saying I can't edit the audio volume within a clip? You HAVE to be kidding me! Tell me I'm misinterpreting what you're saying!

I never "upgraded" to IM08 because everyone I knew who used it hated it! I've been rockin IMHD for years! They actually REMOVED the audio volume feature? Why? Why for chrissake, why?

That feature is vital! I shoot with an Xacti C6 that picks up my voice twice as loud as the one of the person I' shooting because of where the mic is located! I use that feature in every single video I've ever edited!

This is a total disaster!

Please... I read that wrong, right?

[jeffcarlson]

missbhavens said:

I read that wrong, right? Are you saying I can't edit the audio volume within a clip? You HAVE to be kidding me! Tell me I'm misinterpreting what you're saying!

You can do some basic editing: raise or lower the clip's entire volume level; set a fade in and fade out duration; duck the audio levels of other clips around it (i.e., the background music can get automatically lowered when your video clip's audio kicks in).

What you cannot do is make half of your clip softer, or isolate a sound (like a cough) within the clip. To do that, you need to split the video clip into multiple sections and edit the volumes of each piece separately.

Jeff