HOW TO EXPORT FROM AVID TO CREATE A DVD
There are many different ways to export a movie file from Avid Xpress. Fortunately, it isn't that difficult. I reccomended keeping the original source media as clean as possible. Avid's build in 'Create DVD' function that was present in Avid Xpress DV 3.5 has dissapeared. It wasn't as reliable as everyone hoped, so here are some suggestions on how to create a DVD on your own.
Navigate to the project window, and double click on the export settings. This will bring up an export dialouge box.
In the Avid Xpress Pro export dialouge box, you need to specify a couple of settings for the QuickTime movie file. In Avid, the OMFI videofile architecture uses a field dominance of odd. A standard native DV file uses even field first. This means, you need to export a movie with the fields reversed.
This is simple. Within the export dialouge box, click on export as: Quicktime Movie.
Select the custom button. Since the Avid Xpress DV - Pro software is derived from the original Media Composer, you need to make sure you specify an output format of 720 x 480. The default is 720 x 486, which is for traditional non-DV video.
Your color levels should be set of NSTC 601. Because the Avid uses odd field dominance instead of even field, you need to export your Quicktime movie with (odd - upper field first).
It will take awhile to export the QuickTime movie. Once it is finished, you can import or drag your finished movie into any DVD authoring software, including popular programs like Sonic DVD it, or Sonic MyDVD. If you are on a Macintosh, you can use iDVD, or DVD Studio Pro.
The quality should be fanastic, since you are using the unaltered DV media that is wrapped within a QuickTime movie.
If the QuickTime movie that you plan on converting to DVD is longer than 90 minutes combined, you may need to use a program like Sorenson Squeeze, or Media Cleaner. If you are on a Macintosh you can use a program called Apple Compressor. These programs allow you to specify VBR (Variable Bit Rate compression). This will allow you to compress your video even further without sacrificing a lot of quality.
IMPORTANT
If you want your final DVD to look good on a television screen and a computer monitor, you need to have some software will will de-interlace the video. Otherwise you Final DVD will only look good on a regular television screen. Computer monitors render frames progressively, where as standard NTSC signal uses interlaced video."
Unfortunately, there isn't a built in plug-in within the Avid Xpress software that allows you do this. You will need some third party software, or an Avid Plug-in in order to de-interlace the video. We reccomend a product called Sorenson Squeeze sometimes ships with qualified Avid Xpress bundled packages.
