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Creating DVDs on the Mac
Apple has a long history of providing the best graphic tools in the industry. DVD creation is no exception. There are several tools you can use, ranging from entry level all the way through to the professional tools used in Hollywood productions.
On the entry level is iDVD, part of iLife '05. In many ways, classifying iDVD as an entry-level product belittles iDVD. However, iDVD comes either free with a new Mac or as part of iLife '05 for just $79. So, why the high praise? Simply put, iDVD will allow you to easily create professional-looking DVDs with drag and drop ease. Below is a screen shot of a wedding DVD created with iDVD.
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As you might expect, iDVD is tightly integrated into the iLife suite. Other iLife products include iTunes, iMovie, and iPhoto. Movies created in iMovie can be imported directly into iDVD. Photo slide shows can be created easily in iDVD using your images already organized in iPhoto. You can also link to music from iTunes. Media are easily added to iDVD with the Media button shown below.
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The next step is to set up the layout of your DVD when it is played. This is where you want the largest impact presented to your viewer. Apple has created 15 themes you can use as default templates. For instance, the wedding screen shot above is a theme you can use. Each theme has hotspots where you can drop in media. The following figure shows some of the themes available to you.
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Finally, iDVD allows you to easily construct your navigation within your DVD menus. The technique Apple uses is very similar to an organizational chart. You drop your media into the places you want them to appear. The following figure demonstrates how you can drag your different media elements into place.
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iDVD has many other additional features that you can use to construct your DVD movies. A cool feature of OS X Tiger is that ability to use Automator to automatically create a DVD when you are finished editing your movies.