[Machound]

In reply to:

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DVD's are 480p, you would have to transcode 1080i to 480p - a huge reducing in quality. With DivX you would transcode to 720p. Studies show that you only start to notice the difference between 1080p (not even interlaced) and 720p on 50+ inch TVs.

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Not to argue, but converting to 720p may involve a 24 hour transcode to make a single DVD. I'm just guessing about the time factor... it might actually turn out to be more than 24 hours on my Powerbook G4. Simply writing the 1080i MPEG2 files out to a DVD disk with a few menus would put considerably less strain on my CPU and would reduce the frustration that occurs when the processs crashes 23 hours into a transcode. Granted, only HD capable media players could handle 1080i MPEG2 DVDs, but such players are becoming widely available. My I-O Data LinkPlayer2 has no problem at all handling 1080i MPEG2 files. If I could just find a burner that would put those files on a DVD, instead of having to play them over my 100baseT network, I could clear out a lot of hard drive space.
Clearly Apple is losing the race to provide the first truly accepted HD format. They bypassed MPEG2 for MPEG4 Layer 10 (aka H.264), thereby reaching for the stars while the mainstream has been moving in another direction. I have nothing against DivX except the transcode time and the (perhaps slight) loss of quality that results from a transcode. Still, it's a slap in Apple's face that Roxio isn't offering any H.264 option. H.264 capable players are soon to be released by I-O Data and some other companies. It's also a shame Roxio isn't offering a direct MPEG2 write-to-disk option that would constitute true EyeTV support, IMO.
Here's another question: Will Toast 7 be able to transcode 480i DV to DivX-DVD format, or to burn DVDs from previously converted 480i DivX files? This could be a boon to the home video enthusiast who hopes to squeeze more than 90 minutes of their family camcorder recordings onto a DVD.

[macuser25]

Toast 7 offers...
Direct write MPEG2 to disc (you can set the video settings to not encode existing files - just mutli-plex)
Convert any file to H.264 and write to disc
Seems like Roxio just chose to go with DivX HD because it's here now, you can use your existing burner and media, and the players are pretty affordable. H.264 players are non existent/non starters.

[Machound]

So do I understand correctly that Toast 7 will create a stand-alone DVD with menus and 1080i MPEG2 content? If so, Toast 7 beomes an essential purchase for me.
I'm still trying to decide which way to store my many hours of home DV video: H.264 or DivX. DivX seems to be gaining broad support on the Windows side and now on the Mac too.

[macuser25]

No... it creates a DivX disc with 1280x720 720p. This is the only HD DVD that plays on commercial players available today.
You can't have a 1080i standard DVD - it always gets downscaled. That's the spec.

[Machound]

Thanks for clarifying about HD specs.
Is it fair also to conclude that DivX-DVD cannot be used to create discs that contain, say, 3-6 hours of 480i home video? I imagine many people would be interested in squeezing more hours of video onto a disc than iDVD or DVDSP allows. However DivX in its Toast 7 implementation appears to be 720p only, not 480i. Is this also a spec limitation of DivX-DVD or a design decision of Roxio?
I did read in AVS forums about Windows users making 1080i DivX DVDs but I don't recall how they did it. I've had no trouble creating 480i DivX files using the freeware program ffmpegX, though the files have video artifacts when played by my media player. I'm not sure which DivX version mmpegX uses or how reliable its conversion process is. I expect Toast's DivX implementation would be more robust than mmpegX's.

[ralph_malph]

Support for burning .m4a (iTunes store songs, aka DRM'd AAC) was removed from Tiger compatible versions of Toast 6 Titanium, IIRC. Are they back in Toast Titanium 7? Please?

[Peter Cohen]

In reply to:

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Are they back in Toast Titanium 7?

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No. And such support won't be coming back any time soon.

[b_baggins]

Translation:
If you don't sell me what I want at the price I want, you're a greedy %*&$^.

[macuser25]

Yes, you can create DivX HD discs as well as DivX SD discs... the latter gives you about 10x the capacity on a DVD than standard MPEG2 from iDVD or DVDSP.
Best part of the DivX SD discs are that the SD DivX players are about $70.

[webman2k]

Also, if you check out Roxio's website, it appears that they've integrated the technology from popcorn, so there's no need to have both anymore.
"Copy DVDs Because Kids Happen
Compress and backup an entire 9 GB dual-layer DVD to a standard 4.7 GB DVD disc. Extract just the main movie, audio and language to maximize video quality and use of disc space. Create 9 GB disc images in iDVD and burn to affordable 4.7 GB DVDs with Toast 7."

[Machound]

Wow! 10 times the video of a standard DVD. That's going to raise some eyebrows. Will it directly transcode DV --> 480i DivX or does it require some intermediate step such as AIC?
Thanks for staying with this discussion to clarify my understanding. Toast 7 will definitely be on my purchase short list. These are some major new features.

[gadc]

Why are they even bothering with the rebate (okay, because most people skip it). The $20 rebate is for any user of a Roxio product or any Version of OS X or iLife. Uh, who is going to buy it without having OSX already? and how do you prove it? Send 'em a photocopy of your installation CD (don't they mean DVD?). WHat a complete waste of time. Just reduce the darn thing by $20 and skip the hoops.
That said, yeah, I'm getting it.

[jstephe]

Actualy, I would have paid the price they were asking. I went to there WEB site as soon as I received the e-mail with full intensions of purchasing for the $69.99 U.S. asking price, that turned out to be $99.99 +6.95 (For extended download up to 24 Months, another scam), and undisclosed Tax.

My point is sell it to me at the advertised price. MAIL IN REBATES ARE A SCAM!
The only reason companies use mail in rebates is they know they are only going to pay out a small portion of claims, they make any excuse they can to rip off there customers, then they get upset when a segment of the population turns the tables on them and rips them off. Both forms of rip off are as Peter said "just lame".
I have no problem with paying a fair price, upgrade priceing should reflect the changes in a product I should not have to repay for the hole package evry time they add a feture or 2.
In this case the key new feature I want is DivX burning, so I can make DVDs of multiple TV shows I record for my wife. /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
In the end I will do without this product, Not going to purchase and not going to stoop to stealing.

[macuser25]

buy.com has it for $79 - no tax, free shipping. no rebate needed - so that's $20 better than roxio's site.
http://www.buy.com/r...69&loc=105&sp=1
or you can do the rebate and get it for $59
or it seems you can also get a buy.com credit card and get it for $29