What format did you use for audio? If you used PCM you can save some space on the DVD by changing that to AC3 any maybe avoid re-rendering the video.

Thanks for the replies.

How do I discern which audio I have used? In the template I am using, these are the settings:

Audio Mode: Stereo Mode
Psychoacoustic Mode: Psychoacoustic Model 2
Audio Layer: Audio Layer 2
Bit Rate (kbps): 224
Emphasis: No emphasis (default)
Sample rate (Hz): 48,000

I'm not very knowledgeable with customizing the specs beyond what the templates are. Is there anything in the audio settings I should change to try it?

As for the file sizes, here is what the computer is reading:
Disc 1 mpeg-2: 4,447,660,032 bytes
Disc 2 mpeg-2: 4,565,602,304 bytes

These are still giving me the "too large" message in DVD Architect.

When you rendered the audio you chose a file type, either .wav or .ac3. From the template settings shown you must have chosen .ac3, since .wav doesn't have a bitrate as such.

Note that the audio file has size too, so you should be adding that to the mpeg2 file size to get the total. Your video file sizes are so close to the limit that there might not be enough room for the audio as well.

Also, DVDs have some overhead for other files, even if you don't include menus. If you do include menus then these take up space too.

All that aside, go ahead and try preparing to see what happens. DVDA is nortorious about complaining that content won't fit even when it's well under the limit. If the prepare step works then try burning to a DVD-RW and see if it works. You might just get lucky.

If not, then you should create new .mpg files with a slightly lower average bitrate. Dropping it even 5% will make your files 200MB smaller which should give you plenty of room and not be significantly lower quality. There's also a program called 'dvdshrink' which purports to reduce the size of already rendered DVD files with no quality loss at all.

Thanks for your expertise, Chienworks.

I've set the system to re-render the file again, dropping the average bitrate setting from 6,000,000 to 5,700,000 (5% lower). We'll see how that works out!

The funny part is that I've never had such trouble squeezing 2 hours of video on to a DVD in my 5 years of doing this type of stuff. (always with DVD Architect as well). Good learning experience I guess.

Like Kelly suggested, go ahead and ignore the warnings in DVDA and prepare the folders. You are close, but it might fit.

There is a great bitrate calculator here:
http://www.videohelp.com/calc.htm

Usually, to fit 2 hours on a standard disc, you need the average bitrate down to around 4.5Mbs, more or less depending on the amount of menu and introductory material you have.

I was able to finish this project by lowering trhe average bit rate 5%, per your suggestions. I appreciate the help and just wanted to acknowledge it with a posting here on the forum.

JH

"When you rendered the audio you chose a file type, either .wav or .ac3. From the template settings shown you must have chosen .ac3, since .wav doesn't have a bitrate as such."

That's not correct; from the render settings, it looks like the OP has used MPEG-Audio, since Dolby Digital doesn't have PSM modes.

Going from 224kbs to 192kbs Dolby Digital is only going to save a little.

Interesting, Stuart. I didn't quite understand taht particular post you referred to, as I didn't remember choosing a particular type of audio. However, I thought I might have when I chose my render settings. Either way, it's definitely an MPEG-2 file, so whatever audio is rendered in such is what I had in it.

Again, thanks for the links and insight guys!
www.jasonhink.com