2 hour videos?

hbwerner wrote on 10/18/2011, 6:45 AM
Is there any way for DVD Architect to burn DVDs with playing length of over 2 hours? I can make DVDs up to 2-1/2 hours long, possibly with slightly reduced resolution, using Windows DVD Maker, working from a mpg-2 file. There is less flexibiltiy on the menus, but getting meetings and some events all onto one disk is useful. I have no idea how a DVD is burned to handle the longer length, but would prefer to use DVD Architect to do this.

Comments

Steve Grisetti wrote on 10/18/2011, 6:54 AM
You can fit 2 hours of video on a dual-layer DVD -- but to do it you need both a dual-layer disc and a dual-layer disc burner.

A standard DVD can hold about 70 minutes of video at full quality. You can squeeze a bit more on at a reduced bit rate. But 2 hours is a bit much to squeeze onto a standard, single-layer DVD (and a lot longer than a typical audience can sit still for a movie).
TOG62 wrote on 10/18/2011, 8:57 AM
I make 2 hour DVDs routinely and am quite happy with the quality. Obviously it depends how particular you are and on the type of material.

Most commercial movies and plays run for about 2 hours, so I'm not sure why that should be troublesome for an audience. They can always take a break ;-).
vkmast wrote on 10/18/2011, 9:22 AM
Hi.

I've yet to find an audience for my home movies (and I've made a few!) that can sit through the DVD, single or double layer, even for one hour. In fact, most of them take a break after 15 minutes and never come back :)
Kidding aside, I usually use the same guidelines Steve Grisetti gives, 70 minutes and no more for a single layer disc.
Former user wrote on 10/18/2011, 2:20 PM
You can burn DVDs up to 6 hours on a single layer disk if you want. It all depends upon the quality hit you are willing to take. You don't need to lower the resolution, but you need to lower the bitrate when you create the MPEG file. There are bitrate calculators online and for download that you help you determine a bitrate for a specific target size and movie length.

Dual layer disks can have some compatiblity problems so I would test first before making final deliverables on those. Some people have no problem, but I have never burned one successfully using various DVD burners.

Dave T2
musicvid10 wrote on 10/18/2011, 2:34 PM
You can burn over 2 hours on a DVD5 at 4 Mbps ABR. That is a quite reasonable bitrate unless you are shooting high-motion sports events.