Preview Your DVD

You can preview your iDVD project any time you’re working on it. When you preview your project, it’ll be presented in the iDVD window, just as it will look after it’s burned to DVD. You’ll also see the iDVD remote control, which lets you control the DVD just as if you were using the remote control for your DVD player.

Tips

Previewing your DVD before burning

Preview is a great way to test how your DVD will look once it's created. Preview can also be a great time saver. Burning a DVD requires all menus, movies, and slideshows to be encoded, then written to disc. If there’s a simple error, like a typo in a menu, you'll need to re-encode the menu and burn another DVD. Using preview to check for errors can save you from having to burn multiple draft copies before your DVD is finished. But keep in mind, previewing a DVD on your computer is not the same as watching it on a TV. Many TVs will display slightly less of the image due to their design.

Using the Title button if your DVD has multiple menus

If your DVD has multiple menus, you can always click the Title button on the iDVD remote control to return to the main menu. The main menu appears when you first insert the disc into the DVD player. Use the Menu button from within a movie or slideshow to return to the last menu selected. Use the Exit button to leave preview mode and return to editing your DVD.

If you don’t see motion in the menu or hear music

If a menu is supposed to show motion or play music but it’s not doing so, make sure the Motion button in the iDVD window is selected. The Motion button lets you turn motion and sound off for all your DVD menus.

Testing your chapter markers

A huge advantage of DVDs over VHS tapes is the ability to jump quickly to specific scenes in your movies, rather than having to rewind or fast-forward through every inch of tape. Use chapter markers to allow navigation within any movie more than a few minutes long. You can test your chapter markers while in preview mode by using the Next and Previous buttons on the iDVD remote control.

Steps

Preview your DVD

In the iDVD window, click the Preview button. The iDVD remote control appears.
Use the arrow buttons on the iDVD remote control to select from the available menu options.
To play a movie or slideshow, select its menu button, and then click the Enter button on the iDVD remote control.
Click the Title button on the iDVD remote control to return to the main menu.
Click the Exit button on the iDVD remote control to exit preview mode.