Just to build on what tadpole said: DVD-R is only 4.7 G bytes, and I don't think there is anything on the horizon that will give you more. The Hollywood DVDs actually have two layers, and the laser in your DVD player actually refocuses to reach the lower layer and ignore the upper layer. There is no burning technology that can burn on two separate layers.

If you want to keep the same bitrate as a Hollywood movie, you can either burn to two separate discs, or you can purchase double-sided DVD-R discs and burn on each side.

I make analog to digital DVD's, 2 hours, and they look just great.

I just went through nearly 10 years of family videos, nearly 30-2 hour or less DVD's. They all look excellent. I'm up to year 2003 now... :) :) :)

While, no, it is not the same bit rate as a 1 hour 4.7 GB digital format, considering it is former VHS, it looks just great.

I did the Bucs (last) Superbowl, recorded it on to my hard drive, so it was 100% non-VHS, broke it all down to 3 each-2 hour DVD's, and it looks just like the original broadcast.

I've done 90 minute mini DV format as well at 1.5 hours per DVD, and it looks just fine.

That, however, all comes down to opinion.

Burchis:

As already mentioned, there are several factors involved. First, it's true the PRESSED dual-layer DVDs used by Hollywood can hold about 8GB versus the 4.37GB that our burned DVDs carry. Secondly, Hollywood uses the very best MPEG2 encoders; however, our state-of-the-art software encoders can do nearly as well, if perhaps more slowly. Thirdly, Hollywood tweaks very carefully so that scenes that need more bits get them. Finally, MPEG2 is very sensitive to video noise in the source image, and our stuff usually has a lot of noise in comparison to the beautiful 35mm prints used by Hollywood. Oh, and don't forget that Hollywood runs at a lower frame rate than those of us in NTSC-land.

I have done a 2 hour 20 minute DVD-R that turned out beautifully. I used AC-3 audio, encoded with CinemaCraft (an excellent VBR encoder that allows sections to be "tweaked"), and ran my video through a noise reducer before encoding. Based on the results, I'd be willing to try for 3 hours next time, if the source image was clean enough.

Did you use the Pro or SP version of CinemaCraft?

VideoCurmudgeon:

I use the version that allows for VBR and also lets you view the bitrate and "Q" factor on a timeline. If the Q level is too high for a given range you are able to edit just that range, telling encoder to use a higher bitrate. I think the "Pro" version of CinemaCraft included a turnkey hardware platform.

What I found amazing about analyzing my encoded clips on the above-mentioned timeline was that an MPEG2 encoder HATES image complexity, especially if it is moving. One of my shots was of a group of three people walking along the Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas. The man was wearing a golf shirt with intricate patterns. Whenever he was in the shot, the MPEG2 encoder just went nuts, and suffered a high Q even though it maxed out the bitrate. As I mentioned before, video noise causes the same negative effect.

"Q" refers to the "quantization" level in the encoder. A Q of less than 10 means a clean, artifact-free compression, and a high Q means a lot of artifacts.

Riredale:
If you encode with CinemaCraft and then go to DVD-Architect, then does DVD-A insist on re-encoding the file?
...or perhaps you use a DVD application other than DVD-A?

Thanks
Ernie