Creating Video Tracks in DVD Studio Pro

The goal of any DVD is to play a video file. All the fancy aspects of DVD authoring can create a great document, but without the video file there is no reason for it to exist. To make sure this gets done in Final Cut Pro you need to make sure you have the correct files and they are placed on a track.

The first thing you need to do is make sure that your video file is compressed into the proper format for DVD authoring. When using DVD Studio Pro you will most likely be using the other programs associated with the Final Cut Suite such as Compressor. When compressing with Compressor select an DVD format, ideally DVD Best Quality: 90 Minutes. Once it is in this format it will have a file for the video and a file for the audio. Import both of these into DVD Studio Pro.

Go to the graphical view and right click, then select Add and then Track. A new track will appear in the graphical view. Open this track and there will be a Timeline on the bottom half of the screen, similar to one in an editing program like Final Cut Pro. Drag and drop both the video and audio files from the Asset list into the Timeline. Once in there the video has been set to that track.

To add chapter markers all you have to do is select a point on this Timeline where you would like it to be and then click on the timescale. A chapter marker will be immediately put there. Now when the audience is watching the DVD they will be able to hit the skip button and move through that video track.

Always make sure that you set the DVD to go back to the menu that linked to the video track once the video track is done playing. To do this you go to the Track menu when the video track is open. Here you go to the top of the menu to the option labeled End Jump. Select this and you will be able to select menus or tracks that are part of the DVD project. Select the menu from where the track was linked. This way once you go to a menu and play that video, the DVD will return to that menu once the video has finished playing.

This is a basic function of DVD Studio Pro, and probably the most important one. As long as you get this to work then you will be able to create a DVD copy of your digital video project.