[AL Steve]

(I have Toast version 9.0.4 installed.) These tips are rather elementary for seasoned Toast users, but have saved me quite a bit of time and a number of missteps.
1. Open Tivo Transfer under the Extras menu and click on the first file that you want to save to DVD. Click Toast It.
2. If adding additional file(s), click the Add button and then select the next file to add. Repeat until you have all the videos you wish to burn on the same disc in the window.
3. Click on the picture in the left side of the window for the first video. A small slider will appear under the picture. Slide it to the right or back to the left to select the frame that will be displayed for this video on the menu page of your DVD. Repeat for each additional video file.
4. Click Edit (on the right side of the window) for the first video to edit. Another window will open. You can change the name of the video in the top line. I like to put the title in the top line and then make the second line blank. Now click the Edit button on the left side of the window. Toast Video Player will open and bring up a screen with a large video window. Under it will be a timeline and under that will be a strip where individual smaller frames are displayed. Be sure the Fine box on the left side is checked.
5. Drag the triangle above the timeline to the beginning of the first commercial that you want to delete. (Or leave it at the left end of the timeline if the video starts with a commercial.) You can use the left and right arrows to fine-tune the placement of the triangle. If the video is playing and moving the triangle, hit the space bar to pause it. Click on the markers button in the center under the timeline to place a set of markers on the first segment to be deleted. The markers will be placed directly under the upper triangle. Leave the left marker of the pair of triangles (under the timeline) in place and drag the right triangle to the end of the commercial. When you get close, you can use the left and right arrows to finely adjust the right marker, watching the frames under the timeline.
6. Now move the triangle above the timeline to the start of the next commercial you want to delete and repeat the above process to place another set of markers and adjust them.
7. If you place a set of markers by mistake, click on one of the marker triangles and then hit the Delete key to remove them (with a puff of smoke).
8. If you find a video frame that is attractive and you would like to use it as the background on the DVD menu, click it in the frame strip under the timeline and then use the Edit menu to Copy it.
9. Once all commercials to be deleted have been marked, Save the file and close the editing window. Repeat the editing process for all of the other video(s) to be included on the DVD.
10. The markers are used to mark video that will be deleted. The video to be retained should be a darker blue color on the timeline. Verify this by looking at the length of the video (minutes and seconds) under the video title in the Toast window. If the unedited video was 1 hour, the length should now be about 40-50 minutes. If it's only 12 or 15 minutes, the markers probably need to be inverted (with the Invert Markers pulldown button on the right side of the video editing window under the timeline).
11. Now click the More button in the options panel on the lower left side of the Toast window. Name the disc. Click the center Menus button at the top. Type text in the Menu Title: box that you want to appear at the top of the DVD menu. If you previously copied a frame for the background of the DVD menu, click in the photo frame at the top left and then use the Edit menu's Paste command to change the background. You can use the Menu Style pulldown to change the style of the menu. You may need to change the text color (by clicking on the color swatch to the right of Text Color) depending on your background pattern. Click the Encoding button at the top if you want to change the encoding settings. I usually use Best for the video quality. Click the Okay button when you're satisfied with all the settings.
11. Now in the Toast window, highlight the first video to be burned on DVD. Apple-click on each additional video to highlight all of the videos. (Not sure this step is necessary, but I do it anyway.)
12. At this point, you can hit the Red Button to burn a disc. I prefer to create a disc image by using the File menu Save as Disc Image command. This way, you can preview the video without wasting a blank disc. You'll be asked to name the disc image file (has extension .toast) on your desktop. Let it encode the disc image (may take several hours, depending on your processor speed).
13. When encoding is complete, Control-click (or right click) on the disc image that is on your desktop. In the menu that appears, click Mount It. (Alternatively, you can use the Toast Utilities menu command Mount Disc Image to mount it.)
14. Open Apple DVD Player to preview the DVD. Click on one of the frame(s) in the menu page to play that video.
15. If you're satisfied with the video, close the DVD player, go back to the Toast window, and click on the Copy icon at the top of the left panel. Click on Image File in the selections that appear underneath it and then use the Select button to select the disk image that you created on the desktop. Now hit the Red Button to produce your disc. You can easily produce additional copies from the same disc image after the first disc has finished burning.
Hope these tips are helpful. I apologize if I've been too simplistic, but Roxio's documentation doesn't always strike me as comprehensive.

This post has been edited by AL Steve: 02 August 2009 - 08:15 AM

[utrph77004]

Thanks so much for this!!! You helped me out a lot. Roxio should include your instructions with it, definitely not intuitive.