Mac's iMovie vs Windows Roxio

My new MacBook has this iMovie program. I am used to my old PC with Roxio to make DVDs with still images, movies, audio, titles, etc. What is the learning curve like with iMovie? Something I can pick up quickly? or should I seek out Apple help?

You may want to take a look at Roxio's Toast for Mac, which is similar to Roxio Easy Media Creator for Windows. iMovie is, however, very easy to pick up and there's plenty of help both in the form of books, one-to-one sessions at Apple Stores and online resources.

Be aware iDVD is the burning component, whereas iMovie is a video editor. From what I understand, iDVD is no longer shipping with new Macs, nor can it be downloaded from the Mac App Store.

For more information about iDVD replacements and options for obtaining it, see this article:

https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3711

iDVD was WAY better at menus (and if you have your old copy it still runs in ML), but iMovie for editing the video plus Roxio for making the DVD = perfectly workable solution.

Thank you for the advice. From your information it appears that I am going to have to buy something in order to burn the DVD, whether iLife for the iDVD or Roxio Toast. My old Windows based Roxio did it all. Does Roxio Toast "do it all" as well? or is it simply a burn program and I have to use two programs to create and then burn?

Am I missing something here regarding ease of use with the Mac? which was the basic reason I switched. I do use the virtual box to run the PC version of QuickBooks, since I have to be able to transfer files back and forth to my accountant. So, any advice as to which of these programs makes more sense to purchase would be helpful.

arundel said:

Thank you for the advice. From your information it appears that I am going to have to buy something in order to burn the DVD, whether iLife for the iDVD or Roxio Toast. My old Windows based Roxio did it all. Does Roxio Toast "do it all" as well? or is it simply a burn program and I have to use two programs to create and then burn?

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The freeware program known simply as Burn, can certainly do this for you for free when used in tandem with iMovie (be sure to read the guide I linked to above, which details how to use Burn with iMovie). Roxio's Toast (linked to previously) can do a lot more than just burn discs, just as it does on the Windows version - and IMO, it's one of those "must have" apps that can make life a lot easier.

Am I missing something here regarding ease of use with the Mac? which was the basic reason I switched. I do use the virtual box to run the PC version of QuickBooks, since I have to be able to transfer files back and forth to my accountant. So, any advice as to which of these programs makes more sense to purchase would be helpful.

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Don't confuse 'ease of use' and simply needing to purchase software for the platform that you don't currently own. Anytime you switch platforms, you will need to acquire software for that platform - the Mac comes with a lot of useful software right out of the box, but it doesn't come with everything that you could conceivably need down the road.

Does Roxio Toast "do it all" as well? or is it simply a burn program and I have to use two programs to create and then burn?

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You use iMovie to edit your movie/video footage, and then use Burn or Toast to produce a dvd. If you don't want to do any editing you can just use Toast or Burn by themselves.

What is the learning curve like with iMovie? Something I can pick up quickly?

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Depends no how easy you pick it up. I would suggest working through the iMovie Help. Just about everything you can do with iMovie is in there.

Not that I'm knocking iMovie -- I like it very much -- but I note that Adobe Premiere Elements offers similar functionality to both iMovie and iDVD in one package. It's $100 (wow, sure makes iLife seem like quite the bargain now doesn't it?).

Thanks, but since iMovie and Burn are free..... ;D

I'm just suggesting it as an alternative for people who want to create a real "movie" DVD like iDVD did.

For folks who can dispense with the fancy menus and just want movie onto a DVD that plays in a DVD player, the iMovie/Burn combo should do nicely.