mpeg4-dvd codec conundrum

icarus wrote on 3/20/2002, 8:28 AM
is there a way to register mpeg4 codec w/ vegas? i am trying to convert mpeg4 to dvd format in the interest of file size reduction. mpeg4 seems to be the smallest file size by far re accceptible rez. can you explain how to get the rendering paramaters equivalent to what dvd does, as in, 2 hrs of high-rez video into 4.7 gigs?

Comments

Cheesehole wrote on 3/20/2002, 6:19 PM
DVD's use mpeg-2.

can you explain exactly what you are trying to do? someone can probably help, but your post is not making much sense to me anyway.
icarus wrote on 3/21/2002, 10:39 AM
the question involves rendered file size. vv3 will render in mpeg-2 format, which is somewhat compressed and good rez, but does not compare filesize-wise to video content rendered in mpeg-4 format. premiere will basically recognize any codecs registered on my system, while vv3 seems only to recognize the codecs it comes with. so my question is: is there a way to register more/other codecs with vv3, ie mpeg-4?
Chienworks wrote on 3/21/2002, 11:30 AM
1) All i've done to register additional codecs with Vegas is to install them on my computer. They show up as available codecs in Vegas (or any other SF application) next time i run it.

2) MPEG-2 is the native format for DVD. If you create a DVD compliant MPEG-2 file, the DVD authoring software will simply copy this file to the disc. If you use any other codec, the authoring software will have to re-encode (and re-compress) the file to MPEG-2 anyway. So you really have no advantage using any compressed type other than MPEG-2.
icarus wrote on 3/21/2002, 1:08 PM
what baffles me is how the industry manages to fit 4+ gigs onto a dvd disk at high rez, which would only allow a render rate of .65 megs/sec (by my calculation) which is a very low-rez product by any means i can manage. i don't have a dvd burner, and am intending to burn to cd in any case, so file size vs rez is a real concern. i know that dv captured straight off my camera generates about 3.5 megs/second. for example, i just captured a clip @ 3m/sec mpeg (not dv quality for sure) and rendered it in vv3 in mpeg-2/dvd better quality, which resulted in approx. 3:1 reduction in file size, ie approx 700m/cd disk. not much content. so, again: how in the world does the industry cram all that info into dvd format?
any thoughts?
ScoriaMM wrote on 3/21/2002, 1:32 PM
>>so, again: how in the world does the industry cram all that info into dvd format?<<

Because DVD's aren't 4.7 GB. Most of them are double layered, for 9+ GB per side. The recordable DVD's are limited to 4.7 to discourage copying I assume.
Chienworks wrote on 3/21/2002, 2:11 PM
icarus, your .65megs/sec calculation is ok, but it's in bytes, not bits. Convert that to bits and you have 5.2Mbps, which is pretty good. Also, most 2 hour movies take up about 6 or 7GB, not 4.7, so that brings the rate up closer to 7.5Mbps, which is good indeed.
icarus wrote on 3/21/2002, 5:21 PM
ok, great feedback. thanks alot , everyone.
re divx codec: if you are not familiar w/ this one, you should ckeck it out. i got approx. 15/1 compression w/ very acceptible rez, at least for what i'm doing which is home amusement/videos, some web stuff. thanks again.