OT: How Much Will Fit?

JimMSG wrote on 3/5/2007, 9:19 AM
How much can I fit onto a 4.7G disc using VBR before the quality really starts to suffer? I have a client project that looks like it is going to run 4.5 hours when it is all done. There isn't going to be a lot of space needed for menus, but still, while I've gotten 3 hours on with good results, at some point there is a limit. Anyone know what it is?

Thank you,

Jim

Comments

GeorgeW wrote on 3/5/2007, 9:31 AM
What's the video source and subject matter, and what's the client expectations? Also, is playback for a single client, or is the DVD for a wider distribution? If for a single viewer, then DVD9 might work on their dvd player -- giving you more room to work with. I wouldn't recommend DVD9 for a wide distribtuion...

Still, 4+ hours is a tall order to fill. You could get VCD quality (up to about 6 hours) on a DVD5 disc, and if the source is "talking heads" VHS, then this might work. But if the source is >= DV with fast action, then this probably won't look as good...

JimMSG wrote on 3/5/2007, 12:37 PM
Thanks George. The source tape is amatuer MiniDV. It is of a high school orchestra tour. There is some walking around sightseeing, but for the most part it is long shot concert footage. There is some motion, but not a whole lot. I think it might be worth trying a segment or two to see what they look like and deciding from there. I need to stick with a standard format disc. It isn't going into wide release, but still there are enough copies being ordered by members of the orchestra, I have to be sure the copies will play in all of their machines.
johnmeyer wrote on 3/5/2007, 2:03 PM
Someone just gave me a recording of a 21-episode series on three DVDs. Each episode is 48 minutes. Seven episodes on a disc. That's 5:36 on each DVD. Encoding was done at 352x480 1.5 MB/sec. The chase scenes are pretty marginal, but the rest of the stuff is reasonably watchable. It's certainly the most I've ever seen squeezed onto a single DVD.

bStro wrote on 3/5/2007, 8:59 PM
Coincidentally, I was just browing Craigslist and came across a guy who does VHS to DVD conversions, and his ad claims that he'll put up to six hours on a DVD.

Ew. That's all I have to say. Not sure what frame size he's using.

Rob

PS: Also coincidentally, he mentions on his site that he uses Vegas. Not necessarily for the VHS-DVD conversions, mind you -- I'm guessing he just runs those through an encoder box or standalone DVD recorder.
MPM wrote on 3/6/2007, 6:06 AM
Rob mentioned a DVDR, which coincidentally may not be a bad idea. I got one to use for archiving some old vhs tapes I've had packed away -- didn't have the patience or the time to do it manually, or else they wouldn't have been packed away since the kids stopped being kids. Bearing in mind that there is a whole long string of *Gotcha's* with DVDRs, it does a surprisingly good job & will allegedly cram up to 8 hours on a disc.

I haven't gone near that far, but from what I've seen with recordings over 2 hours I'd guess it could do 4.5 hours and still be watchable.
HaroldC wrote on 3/7/2007, 3:22 PM
If you need one, it sounds like a good excuse to upgrade to a dual layer burner. You can get an external one for around 60 USD. That will allow considerably more quality for your dvds.
MPM wrote on 3/7/2007, 3:47 PM
FWIW dual layer with/without lightscribe seem to be going for around $30. External cases (that let you keep your drive's warranty ;-} ) go for $10 to $20 -- if you watch the sales, you can get a USB 2/ Firewire version for $20 or less.