Creating video DVD from MP4 (1,7 GB) takes ages on MacBook 13" 2,16 GHz / 3 GB RAM Is that normal?

I downloaded a Video (MP4 format, HD, 1.7 GB) from the Internet and wanted to burn it on DVD to watch it with our DVD Recorder.

I used Toast 11 to create the DVD on MacOS X 10.6 and since several hours (!) it is "coding" the file. 

IS it normal that it takes so long to create a DVD from MP4?

OK, the hardware is not really up to date, but can it be so slow or can I do something to make it run faster?
I'm not a MacOS user, but this wouldn't be an abnormal amount of time on a Windows PC - it needs to fully recode the video and audio into the correct format.

There's no real way to speed it up, with the exceptions of upgrading the PC or downloading the video in a different format or Standard Definition.