iDVD Created DVD without Sound on DVD Players

[Doctor X]

I tried searching--received a lot of information that does not answer the problem. First, my Mac specifics:

Macbook 4,1: 2.4 GHz, 6 GB RAM, OS 10.6.6 with plenty of HD space.

I use Egato Video Capture to capture from video tapes I made long ago. Usually it works easily. Capture then go to iMovie 9.0.2 which then creates an mp4. You can then edit, add chapters, then import it directly to iDVD 7.1.1 and then burn a DVD you can play with on the computer AND standard DVD players.

Unfortunately, it is not doing that. It creates a disk you can play fine on your computer using whatever DVD software--DVD Player, VLC--but it will not have sound in a standard DVD player.

Searching, it may be a problem with iMovie 9--some have suggested going to iMovie 6 of all things.

Any suggestions?

--J.D.

[hech54]

Capture then go to iMovie 9.0.2 which then creates an mp4.

MP4 is not DVD. If what you burn to the end-product DVD is MP4....then it is not a DVD...it is a data disc.

[Doctor X]

MP4 is not DVD.

Thanks for the quick reply!

I will not argue with you on that--previously it has worked. Further, why the [CENSORED--Ed.] would iMovie convert directly to iDVD if the thing will not create a playable DVD?

Granted, I just might have asked you to to explain why someone else's software sucks.

It may be that Apple thinks EVERYONE should be happy playing what is a data disk on the Mac or with AppleTV

So . . . what form should it be in? If I have to, I can the whole thing in Adobe Premier to convert it into something iDVD will actually turn into a usable DVD. I would prefer to simply do it from iMovie since it take to re-process the video.

--J.D.

[hech54]

If the end-product DVD contains a VIDEO_TS folder...then it is a DVD. Once that is established then we can go from there to find the cause.

[Doctor X]

Okay, I will pop in the "Playable on Mac but Not Playable on DVD player" copy I made--I have many now :

It shows VIDEO_TS folders--here be screen capture:



--J.D.

[hech54]

That certainly has DVD Video structure. Do you know what kind of output audio these Mac programs put onto these DVDs?(I know squat about Macs and Mac software). I know there are apps for PC that tell you exactly what type of video and audio are on this DVD....the acceptable forms are listed here:
https://www.videohelp.com/dvd

[Case]

So you got a disc, authored and burned by iDVD, that plays fine in Apple DVD Player. Then there's nothing wrong with the files on the disc, or it would have manifested in DVD Player. As it was burned by iDVD, it will be in the correct file system UDF, Universal Disk Format. You may verify this by doing a Get Info on that disc in the Finder, under Format.
A set top player should only care about these two: correct files and correct file system.

Audio on a DVD-Video disc should be in one of these formats: Dolby Digital, DTS, PCM, MPEG-1/MPEG-2. I think iDVD still produces all discs with PCM audio. Any set top player should be able to handle that.
You could verify this by opening VTS_01_1.VOB in MediaInfo Mac or VideoSpec. These apps will tell you what kind of audio is in the file. I'm sure it will say PCM, 48 kHz, 16 bit.

If the video on the disc plays fine on your set top player, then I do not think the player has trouble reading the disc (as a result from e.g. burning too fast, dirty/dusty drive, or bad quality disc).

The only other option that I see is in the setup of the set top player. Does it play audio for other discs? Does it play audio CDs (which also use PCM audio)?

[Doctor X]

The top player is an old--and very good--region free that plays everything else. Oddly enough, I added a FLV interview from an author and THAT chapter plays with sound!

Audio on a DVD-Video disc should be in one of these formats: Dolby Digital, DTS, PCM, MPEG-1/MPEG-2. I think iDVD still produces all discs with PCM audio. Any set top player should be able to handle that.
You could verify this by opening VTS_01_1.VOB in MediaInfo Mac or VideoSpec. These apps will tell you what kind of audio is in the file. I'm sure it will say PCM, 48 kHz, 16 bit.

Here is the report from MediaInfo:

General / Container Stream #1
Total Video Streams for this File.................1
Total Audio Streams for this File.................1
Video Codecs Used.................................MPEG-2 Video
Audio Codecs Used.................................PCM
File Format.......................................MPEG-PS
Play Time.........................................47s 14ms
Total File Size...................................131 MiB
Total Stream BitRate..............................23.5 Mbps
Video Stream #1
Codec (Human Name)................................MPEG Video
Codec Profile.....................................Main@M ain
Frame Width.......................................720 pixels
Frame Height......................................480 pixels
Frame Rate........................................29.970 fps
Total Frames......................................1409
Display Aspect Ratio..............................16:9
Video Standard....................................NTSC
Scan Type.........................................Inter laced
Scan Order........................................BFF
Color Space.......................................YUV
QF (like Gordian Knot)............................2.071
Codec Settings (Matrix)...........................Default
Video Stream Length...............................47s 14ms
Video Stream BitRate..............................21.5 Mbps
Video Stream BitRate (Nominal)....................8 000 Kbps
Video Stream BitRate Mode.........................VBR
Bit Depth.........................................8 bits
Video Stream Size.................................120 MiB (91%)
Audio Stream #1
Codec............................................. PCM
Audio Stream Length...............................47s 11ms
Audio Stream BitRate..............................1 536 Kbps
Audio Stream BitRate Mode.........................CBR
Number of Audio Channels..........................2
Audio Channel's Positions.........................Front: L R
Sampling Rate.....................................48.0 KHz
Bit Depth.........................................16 bits
Audio Stream Delay................................300ms
Audio Stream Size.................................8.61 MiB (7%)
Menu / Chapters Stream #1

we have MPEG-2 and PCM. Sorry if I seem a "thickie" on this.

The only other option that I see is in the setup of the set top player. Does it play audio for other discs? Does it play audio CDs (which also use PCM audio)?

As above it plays all regions very well--currently enjoying Yes, Minister to maintain a sense of humor. I have not tried playing a CD in it--I can try that if it will help.

--J.D.
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[Doctor X]

For the hell of it, I analyzed the part that DOES play in a regular player--that added chapter I mentioned from an FLV. Here are the specs:

General / Container Stream #1
Total Video Streams for this File.................1
Total Audio Streams for this File.................1
Video Codecs Used.................................MPEG-2 Video
Audio Codecs Used.................................PCM
File Format.......................................MPEG-PS
Play Time.........................................1mn 37s
Total File Size...................................90.6 MiB
Total Stream BitRate..............................7 778 Kbps
Video Stream #1
Codec (Human Name)................................MPEG Video
Codec Profile.....................................Main@M ain
Frame Width.......................................720 pixels
Frame Height......................................480 pixels
Frame Rate........................................29.970 fps
Total Frames......................................2918
Display Aspect Ratio..............................16:9
Video Standard....................................NTSC
Scan Type.........................................Progr essive
Color Space.......................................YUV
QF (like Gordian Knot)............................0.588
Codec Settings (Matrix)...........................Default
Video Stream Length...............................1mn 37s 364ms
Video Stream BitRate..............................6 087 Kbps
Video Stream BitRate (Nominal)....................8 000 Kbps
Video Stream BitRate Mode.........................VBR
Bit Depth.........................................8 bits
Video Stream Size.................................70.6 MiB (78%)
Audio Stream #1
Codec............................................. PCM
Audio Stream Length...............................1mn 37s 713ms
Audio Stream BitRate..............................1 536 Kbps
Audio Stream BitRate Mode.........................CBR
Number of Audio Channels..........................2
Audio Channel's Positions.........................Front: L R
Sampling Rate.....................................48.0 KHz
Bit Depth.........................................16 bits
Audio Stream Delay................................1h 18mn
Audio Stream Size.................................17.9 MiB (20%)
Menu / Chapters Stream #1

Does that help? I appreciate the responses very much!

--J.D.

[hech54]

Neither one of those(MediaInfo screenshots) seem to come from the actual VIDEO_TS folder/VTS_01_1.VOB since that VOB file says it is the standard 1.07GB size from your first screenshot.

[Doctor X]

Neither one of those(MediaInfo screenshots) seem to come from the actual VIDEO_TS folder/VTS_01_1.VOB since that VOB file says it is the standard 1.07GB size from your first screenshot.

[Butthead Voice]Uuuuuh[/Butthead Voice] . . . okay, maybe I am missing something, but I opened, with MediaInfo The VTS_01_0.VOB and the VTS_01_5.VOB respectively as shown on the screenshot . . . neither of which are the VTS_01_1.VOB which is 1.07 GB you requested

Uh . . . here we go:

Report for file: VTS_01_1.VOB

General / Container Stream #1
Total Video Streams for this File.................1
Total Audio Streams for this File.................1
Video Codecs Used.................................MPEG-2 Video
Audio Codecs Used.................................PCM
File Format.......................................MPEG-PS
Play Time.........................................19mn 27s
Total File Size...................................1 024 MiB
Total Stream BitRate..............................7 359 Kbps
Video Stream #1
Codec (Human Name)................................MPEG Video
Codec Profile.....................................Main@M ain
Frame Width.......................................720 pixels
Frame Height......................................480 pixels
Frame Rate........................................29.970 fps
Total Frames......................................34976
Display Aspect Ratio..............................16:9
Video Standard....................................NTSC
Scan Type.........................................Progr essive
Color Space.......................................YUV
QF (like Gordian Knot)............................0.548
Codec Settings (Matrix)...........................Default
Video Stream Length...............................19mn 27s 33ms
Video Stream BitRate..............................5 677 Kbps
Video Stream BitRate (Nominal)....................8 000 Kbps
Video Stream BitRate Mode.........................VBR
Bit Depth.........................................8 bits
Video Stream Size.................................790 MiB (77%)
Audio Stream #1
Codec............................................. PCM
Audio Stream Length...............................19mn 26s 785ms
Audio Stream BitRate..............................1 536 Kbps
Audio Stream BitRate Mode.........................CBR
Number of Audio Channels..........................2
Audio Channel's Positions.........................Front: L R
Sampling Rate.....................................48.0 KHz
Bit Depth.........................................16 bits
Audio Stream Delay................................300ms
Audio Stream Size.................................214 MiB (21%)

--J.D.

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[hech54]

I am missing something, but I opened, with MediaInfo The VTS_01_0.VOB and the VTS_01_5.VOB respectively as shown on the screenshot . . . neither of which are the VTS_01_1.VOB which is 1.07 GB you requested

Uh . . . here we go:

I was simply making sure we were looking at a VOB from the DVD and not a file you used to create the DVD. Perhaps someone else should take over from here.

[Doctor X]

Nyaah, I was an idiot to not read properly what you suggested. If it helps, this is the "details" of the MP4 that iMovie generates--via MediaInfo:

General / Container Stream #1
Total Video Streams for this File.................1
Total Audio Streams for this File.................1
Video Codecs Used.................................AVC
Audio Codecs Used.................................AAC LC
File Format.......................................MPEG-4
Play Time.........................................1h 15mn
Total File Size...................................884 MiB
Total Stream BitRate..............................1 633 Kbps
Title (Tag).......................................Gizmo!
Encoding Library..................................Apple QuickTime
Video Stream #1
Codec (Human Name)................................AVC
Codec (FourCC)....................................avc1
Codec Profile.....................................Baseli ne@L3.0
Frame Width.......................................640 pixels
Frame Height......................................480 pixels
Frame Rate........................................29.970 fps
Total Frames......................................136155
Display Aspect Ratio..............................16:9
Video Standard....................................NTSC
Scan Type.........................................Progr essive
Color Space.......................................YUV
Codec Settings (Summary)..........................3 Ref Frames
QF (like Gordian Knot)............................0.163
Codec Settings (CABAC)............................No
Codec Settings (Reference Frames).................3
Video Stream Length...............................1h 15mn 43s 72ms
Video Stream BitRate..............................1 499 Kbps
Video Stream BitRate Mode.........................VBR
Bit Depth.........................................8 bits
Video Stream Size.................................812 MiB (92%)
Video Stream Language.............................English
Date of Original Encoding.........................UTC 2011-02-26 07:42:45
Audio Stream #1
Codec............................................. AAC
Codec (FourCC)....................................40
Audio Stream Length...............................1h 15mn 43s 61ms
Audio Stream BitRate..............................128 Kbps
Audio Stream BitRate Mode.........................CBR
Number of Audio Channels..........................2
Audio Channel's Positions.........................Front: L R
Sampling Rate.....................................48.0 KHz
Audio Stream Size.................................70.3 MiB (8%)
Audio Stream Language.............................English
Date of Original Encoding.........................UTC 2011-02-26 07:42:45

if that helps. Thanks for your help thus far.

--J.D.

[Doctor X]

After some searching on many FAQ and Mac boards--and trial and error--I discovered the SOLUTION to the problem.

1. Record Movie--by whatever method.

2. iMovie: IMMEDIATELY go to View and turn OFF "Audio Skimming"--it is on by default .



Make your movie--make your chapters, et cetera.

3. Share: DO NOT then click iDVD--instead, click "Media Browser"



wait . . . a few hours . . . make coffee . . . walk the dog . . . finish taxes . . . bury the bodies. . . .

You will now have a good sized rcproject file. This is your movie.



4. iDVD Now go to iDVD. Go to Import -- Video and open the rcproject file.



5. Finish Your DVD!

I do not know--nor does anyone else it seems--why direct transfer from iMovie to iDVD does not work--this has been a problem as long ago as iMovieHD. I guess Apple assumes everyone will be happy playing movies on their computer.

--J.D.