export size

My current file is 75Gb but it does have multicam footage (4 sources) and a few other video files included. What kind of file size would I expect to see when I am finished editing for either DVD or Blu Ray disc.

By 75GB, do you mean your library is that size or you did a test export if your 1 hr 15 min video, and the exported video file is that size?

If your library is 75GB, this has little relevance to the exported video size, since many different export formats and bit rates are possible.

If your exported file is 75GB, that is possible if using ProRes 422 or similar. The expected space consumption of ProRes 422 at 1080p/30 is about 66 GB per hour.

To make a DVD or Blu-Ray that would require transcoding, either separately or part of the authoring process. This is because DVDs require MPEG-2 video format at a certain range of bit rates (typically from about 4 to 9 megabit/sec) which is vastly less than your exported file. This can also be examined from a capacity standpoint: a single-sided DVD will hold about 4.7GB but your output file may be 75GB. To make it fit requires transcoding which essentially compresses and discards much of the data.

Likewise a single-sided Blu-Ray holds 25GB and uses MPEG-4 compression so it can hold more at better compression than MPEG-2 but your output file still requires transcoding.

Unfortunately Apple has not made any dedicated DVD or Blu-Ray authoring software for years. I think you can make a simple DVD or Blu-Ray using FCP X but it gives little control over the layout.

In general I'd recommend exporting to H.264 at 1080p/30 and uploading to a streaming media site such as Youtube or Vimeo. These allow both unlisted and private password-protected access. Doing this avoids the hassle of mastering an optical disk, enables those with mobile devices or PCs without optical drives to play it, and conveys much higher video quality than a DVD (which is only 720 x 480).

A side benefit is iMacs and MacBooks since about 2010 have Intel chips with Quick Sync which can export vary rapidly to single-pass H.264.

I apologize, yes it is the Library that is 75 GB I didn't make that clear.

This video and what I do mostly is church related videos, so I have to make a lot of discs to give to members. I would love to do vimeo but not just yet. Anyway, I have done blu-ray and dvds before but using iMovie. This is my first with FCP which I am loving just have to get the hang of it. Anyway I have a blu-ray burner but how easy is the process of encoding to blu-ray or DVD with FCP and will I make the menus with FCP also?

kclark wrote: ...I have done blu-ray and dvds before but using iMovie. This is my first with FCP which I am loving just have to get the hang of it. Anyway I have a blu-ray burner but how easy is the process of encoding to blu-ray or DVD with FCP and will I make the menus with FCP also?

Unfortunately my group made our last DVD over a year ago, and that was using Apple's DVD Studio Pro, which is no longer available. It also wasn't working right on Mavericks, probably because it was so old.

Later I recollect making a test DVD using FCP X but I think it was a direct play, without menus. In general FCP X and Compressor have limited ability to author an optical disk. You definitely cannot control button position, color, menu depth, splash screen, etc. Maybe someone else could respond with details or further advice.

If you need a tangible product to distribute, another option is using custom-printed low-cost USB thumb drives in a case: www.premiumusb.com/catalog/custom-usb-packaging_36.htm

You might be able to import your video into iMovie, if it was exported in the right format. I don't use iMovie but I think it can accept MPEG-2, H.264, etc. It might import from a PreRes 422 file, but you'd have to test it.

There is a discussion here about various options: discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3711

Maybe the best option is to boot into Windows using Boot Camp or a Windows machine and use For DVD creation on OS X the best solution might be use Boot Camp use DVD Lab Pro authoring software. However it is definitely not free.

www.mediachance.com/dvdlab/dvdlabpro.html

Thanks
My file size on Blu Ray is about 15 GB. Not too bad. Now if I can only get my project to export without any errors.

FWIW...We have used DVD Studio Pro extensively on Mavericks with no authoring issues. We did find that the encoding is less than optimum under that OS for some reason, so we encoded the assets all in compressor and then imported them into DVD SP. Perfect results every time (considering our original HD footage is dumbed down to SD). We currently have it running on Yosemite but haven't actually burned any DVD's on that OS yet. I suspect it will still author properly but will also still require having the assets encoded in Compressor. This may be an AV Framework vs Quicktime issue.

dgwvideo wrote: FWIW...We have used DVD Studio Pro extensively on Mavericks with no authoring issues....

The problems we had were related to the button colors in DVDSP for the DVD menu system. It appeared that starting with Mavericks, the color picker quit reflecting the available button colors, forcing you to select colors "in the blind". This caused continual trial and error as we'd make a color choice then simulate the project to see what we got, then sometimes actually burn a disk to be sure. However that was some time ago and we'll never be making another optical disk, so I don't plan on re-investigating.