How to Export/Burn iMovie Projects to DVD for Playback on DVD Players

Have you recently finished editing a captivating video in iMovie and are now eager to share it with others with DVDs? Look no further! This guide will show you how to seamlessly burn your iMovie projects to DVD on Mac or Windows PC.

To accomplish this task, you’ll need a reliable DVD authoring software like iDVD (Apple’s discontinued app) or a third-party alternative like iFunia DVD Creator. However, if you intend to play the DVD on computers or other devices that support MP4 files, you can easily use the built-in burning functions on your computer. Read on for step-by-step instructions with pictures.

 

Part 1: How to Export iMovie Project

iMovie is a free video editing app made by Apple and is available for use on Mac, iPhone and iPad. Before burning your iMovie project to DVD, you need to export it as a video file. Follow steps below to export your project on Mac or mobile devices:

On Mac

1. Open iMovie and select the project you wish to burn.

2. Click the export icon in the upper right corner and select “Export File” option to proceed. Alternatively, you can also go to the menu bar and select File > Share > File.

3. In the pop-up File window, you can choose the video resolution, quality and format (Video and Audio or Audio Only). The file size corresponding to each option will be displayed in the lower left.

4. Click on the Next button to designate a destination to save the video, and then click Save to start exporting your iMovie project.

Tip: The progress of the export will be shown in the top right corner of iMovie interface.

On iPhone or iPad

1. Open the project you want to burn in iMovie, and tap the Share icon at the bottom of the screen.

2. Choose the first option “Share Video” to export it as an MP4 video file and send to your computer. You can also choose “Export Project” if you want to continue editing the file on Mac or elsewhere.

  

 

Part 2: How to Burn iMovie to DVD for DVD Players

After you exported the iMovie project to an MP4 video file, you can proceed to burn it onto a DVD. You can either choose a dedicated DVD authoring software with custom options, or use Burn for OS X, a freeware with rudimentary functions.

Option 1: Burn iMovie to DVD with iFunia DVD Creator [Mac and Windows]

There are tons of third-party DVD burning/authoring software on the market, and it’s hard to tell which ones are safe, legit and truly capable. To help get your money’s worth, we’ve tested dozens of apps for functionality, output quality and more. And my recommendation for burning iMovie to DVD is iFunia DVD Creator, a lightweight yet professional DVD authoring software.

Highlight features of the best iMovie to DVD burner:

• Great customization for DVD menu design. It not only provides a variety of stylish DVD menu templates, but also allows users to personalize the DVD menu from scratch, adjusting the layout, buttons, titles and more.
• Support for various video format. In addition to burn iMovie to DVD, iFunia also supports nearly any video format including MOV, M4V, MKV, AVI, WebM, WMV and more.
• Convert video to DVD without sacrificing quality. If the video file does not exceed the DVD disc capacity (4.7GB or 8.5GB), you can choose the “high quality” mode to burn the DVD with a bitrate of ~8Mbps for 720×480 NTSC or 720x576 PAL. For hours-long video files, iFunia can compress them to “fit to disc” while maintaining good quality.
• Versatility. iFunia can also create VIDEO_TS folder and iSO image files from iMovie videos as well as burn ISO to DVD.
• Preview function. View the DVD before burning to ensure a flawless iMovie to DVD transfer.

Follow these steps to easily burn iMovie to DVD:

1. Download, install and launch iFunia DVD Creator.

Free Download macOS 10.11 or later Free Download Windows 11/10/8/7

2. Drag and drop the iMovie video(s) you exported in Part 1 to the app, or you can click the “Add videos” button to browse and load the videos.

Pro Tip: Click the pencil-like icon to edit the iMovie video if necessary.

3. Go to the Menu tab to create a DVD menu.

• Choose a suitable theme from the left column, and customize the background image, music, text fonts/color/size, playback buttons, aspect ratio and more from the right panel.
• If you don’t need a menu, check “No Menu” option, and your video will autoplay when inserted into a DVD player.

4. Click the Preview tab to check if the menu and video titles plays as desired. Otherwise you can go back to reset.

5. Click the Burn tab to set burning settings.

• Choose the “Burn to Disc” option to burn the file to DVD, and enter a name for your DVD project. As for the TV Standard, choose NTSC in the U.S. or PAL in Europe.
• Insert a blank DVD into your computer’s disc drive and choose it as the “Burner”.
• Specify the copies number if you need to burn multiple DVDs from the iMovie file.

6. Click “Burn” button to start the process of burning iMovie to DVD. The duration will depend largely on the size of the iMovie file.

Once it finished, you can launch the DVD Player application on Mac and it should be able to detect the DVD you just burned and automatically play it. (I won't put picture here because Macs don't allow to make screenshots of a DVD movie.)

 

Option 2: Burn iMovie to DVD Using Burn [Mac]

Burn is a free and open source disc burning tool for Mac. As simple as its name, Burn offers a primitive interface and rather basic features. You can use Burn to convert iMovie to DVD for playback on DVD players or create ISO image files and data DVDs, but this app won’t allow DVD menu custom.

How to burn a playable DVD from iMovie using Burn on Mac:

1. Export your iMovie project to a file.
2. Download Burn from its official site burn-osx.sourceforge.io, it’s compatible with macOS 10.9 or higher, including Ventura and Sonoma.
3. Launch Burn and navigate to the “Video” tab. Select “DVD-Video” as the output format.
4. Drag and drop the iMovie video file into the interface. Or click the “+” button to browse and select the file. Burn will prompt you to convert the file to MPG format, which is compatible with DVD players.
5. Expand the settings in the lower left, here you can choose to apply a simple DVD menu or set the DVD-Video to loop when played.
6. Insert a blank DVD disc and click the "Burn" button.FYI, this is how the DVD menu provided by Burn looks like:

7. Set the write speed in the pop-up window. 4x is commonly used option for most DVDs.

8. Once ready, hit the “Burn” button to begin burning iMovie to DVD on Mac.

When finished, you can also play the DVD with DVD Player app on Mac to play it and verify the content.

 

Extended: Burning a Data DVD from iMovie

If you only need to play the DVD on computers, you can burn a data DVD using the native burning functions of your computer’s OS, no need for additional software. A data-DVD functions as a disk-shaped hard drive that stores and backup video or other files, so the video won’t be converted or resized to the DVD format.

1. Use Finder on Mac

Finder is the default file manager used on all Macs. You can open a blank DVD disc in Finder and put your iMovie video or any file on it to back-up and store them permanently. How it works:

1. First insert a blank DVD disc into your Mac’s drive.
2. When a dialogue box appears, just click “OK” to open the disc in Finder.
3. Drag and drop the iMovie files to the disc, and click the “Burn” button on the top of the window.

4. Rename the disc and set a burn speed (e.g., 4x) in the pop-up, then hit “Burn”.

5. Wait for the burning process to complete. When finished, you can open the disc to check the files. Note that the iMovie video burned using Finder cannot be recognized or played in the DVD Player app.

Tip for Audio Output:

If you have exported your iMovie projects in the “Audio Only” format, you can also burn the audio files as an audio CD using Apple Music/iTunes. And most regular DVD players can read and play it smoothly.

Steps to burn an audio disc from iMovie with Music:

1. In the Music app on Mac, create a playlist containing the audio file exported from iMovie.
2. Insert a blank disc.
3. Select the playlist and go to File > Burn Playlist to Disc.
4. Select “audio CD” as the output format.
5. Set preferences options, such as the recording speed, gap between audio files and more.
6. Click “Burn” to start burning iMovie to a audio disc.

 

2. Use Windows Media Player on Windows

Windows Media Player comes with all Windows OS and allows to burn a data DVD or audio CD from iMovie files.

1. Place a blank disc into your computer’s drive.
2. Open Windows Media Player, and click the “Burn” tab.
3. Expand the burn options menu and select the DVD format you want to burn - “Data CD or DVD” for data DVD or “Audio CD” for audio disc.
4. Drag the exported iMovie files to the “Burn list” window.
5. When all the files are loaded, click the “Start burn” button to begin burning iMovie to DVD on Windows.

Note: Like playable DVDs, data DVDs will be finalized and files cannot be edited or removed after recording.

 

Conclusion

To summarize, there are two recommended methods to burn a playable DVD from iMovie. Burn for Mac is a simple and efficient option for burning a simple DVD without customizable menus. On the other hand, iFunia DVD Creator offers more helpful features, such as real-time preview, menu customization, high-quality/compressed modes for a personalized and successful DVD burning.

By following this comprehensive guide, you can now showcase your iMovie project on any DVD player and share your creativity in a tangible way with friends and relatives. Start burning your iMovie projects today and enjoy the satisfaction of sharing your work in a physical format.