Toast Problem

Jim Brennan

Jim Brennan

VHS Member Old Skool
I keep having this problem with Toast. I'm trying to burn a DVD with a large QT file (about 55 minutes) IT gets nearly to the end of the encoding process, then toast just quits for no reason. The window just says that the app just unexpectedly quit. I'm using a G4 with an 800mhz processor, a gig of RAM and I have over 20 gigs free on that hard drive.

I've never had this happen before, anybody have any clues?
 
Okay, I'm still working on that problem, and I'm wondering if it's a RAM issue. I usually burn stuff that's about 20-30 minutes.

But now there's a new problem. I successfully burned a 40 minute DVD, but it was jittery. (No, I don't mean strobing) I've never had that problem with shorter vids. Would better encoder solve this (I'm looking at Apple's DVD Studio Pro 4), or is it more likely a RAM issue?
 
Actually, I take that back. I just burned a 1 minute DVD and still have the stuttering problem. The footage looks smooth as silk when I output through both my monitor and a TV, so I know it's not that. I even did a 1x burn, wondering if that would help, and it didn't.

It looks horrible. Am I overlooking something simple?
 
I've always had problems with Toast & DVD's. Usually it will not verify the end of the dvd and make a coaster. I don't know what version you're using 6.11 and OSX?

1. Try repairing the hard drive with disk utility. Then try encoding again.
2. Delete the Toast Application and install a new one. Then try encoding again.
3. Check the ram with a ram check utility. I don't know if there's one for OSX. If not:
4. Take out some sticks of ram one at a time. and try again with different combinations of ram.

I'd check the converted items folder and move it to a different part of the disk. Actually I like to use a separate partition or different hard drive for the Converted Items folder. And click NEVER delete converted items. You can still burn a DVD from the two files in the converted items folder. Instead of just encoding, choose save as DISK IMAGE.This seemed to work for me converting about 3 hours of video.
 
Wow, thanks for the help. I'm using 6.0.7 and OSX.

I do keep all my files on a separate drive because my main one is only 40 gigs. Are you saying that I should send the converted file back to my main drive (like my desktop)? How do I do that? They just automatically show up in the same folder the original file was in?

I've only been a Mac user for a couple of weeks and I'm out of my element here. Thanks again.
 
There's a Toast Update to version 6.1.1 around. If Toast is reading the original video file and writing the converted file on the same drive, there could be problems. It may depend on how full your drives are. I remember some article about Final Cut Pro users allocating a separate hard drive or partition just for rendering and converting.

Under the TOAST preferences you can change the location of the Converted Items Folder. Also check how much free space you have on the hard drives. If you don;t have enough free space to write the converted files it could crash.
 
I've got plenty of free space. 20 gigs on one and 60 on the other. And I'm only doing a 75 second clip. I've tried buring from both hard drives and it doesn't make a difference. I'll look for that update. Thanks

Would using DVD Studio pro 4 solve this problem? I'm wondering if it would also encode faster.
 
I find TOAST encodes twice as slow as some other programs. There are some free Mac encoders that may be quicker. Try Versiontracker.com under Mac OSX section. Look for MPEG-2 encoders. I forgot the name of the ones that do DVD's. If you do a test encode with the same footage and its OK then TOAST may be your problem. If it has the same problem, then it's either a System Problem or hardware problem.

The new TOAST version 7 is supposed to support DIVX to DVD,
 
I'll definitely get another authoring program. But the weird thing is that IT WAS WORKING FINE. The stuff I burned last week looked beautiful. I don't know what I did to mess it up. The burner is brand new (LaCie D2) and there aren't that many settings to change in toast...and I never changed any of them.

grrrrr

Thanks for the help though. I feel better knowing that I tried all these options (although my wife is giving me the evil eye as my stack of blank DVDs dwindles with each test) :)
 
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