Thanks for the reply. So does this mean that you don't go higher than 8,000,000 on small projects when the space is available?

no I don't. You need to leave some for the audio anyway. I'd rather err on the lower side and you won't see the difference between 8,000,000 and 8,500,000 anyway.

Hi,

I personnally go to 9150 if space permits it, than there is still enough for 5.1 ac3 audio.

Bye,
David

The DVD spec allows more than 9000 kbps for the video, and SOME players can handle that rate on DVD-R... but some give you glitchy playback, also depending which specific brand media you use. In theory it all should work, but in practice....

If you are making a pressed, replicated DVD you can do it more safely, but if you are burning DVD-R, DVD+R etc. I think you will have higher success rate, esp. on some older DVD players if you keep the bitrate down, for example at 8000 kbps.

Using the default templates in VV, I generally assume that 90 minutes, 100 on the outside, is about the most video I'll get on a DVD-R. I think the bitrate decision may also be dependent on the content of your DVDs.

Most of the DVDs I've been making in recent months are sports-related with a lot of motion. I want to preserve quality as much as possible and too low of a bit rate leads to a lot of artifacts. Double sided DVD-Rs usually get me out of this jam.

Hey rwsjr, what are double sided dvd-r's? How much info can I store on them
and are they compatible with my sony burner. Are they compatible with most
DVD players AND where can I buy them?

Thanks.

Double sided DVD-Rs are sold as 9.4 GB media. I have only been able to find them on-line. You burn one side of the disc, flip it over, then burn the other side. Try this link:

http://www.meritline.com/94dvgenpurdo.html

I placed an order about two weeks ago and was able to get each piece of media for $2.99. The price is up to $3.99 now, but that compares very favorably if you resort to buying name brand media that might cost the same for half the recording time. The other issue is that this media is only 1X, but what's an extra 20 minutes for a lifetime of memories? Obviously, there is also no tolerence for coasters with this type of media because it defeats the purpose if one side works and the other doesn't.

So far, no problems with my Pioneer 104 and the SF patch to fix burining problems I intially experienced.

I wonder if double-sided DVDs really provide an advantage?

You can get the double-sided DVD-R from Meritline, but it seems for that price, you'd be ahead to simply get two single-sided DVDs instead. You can get two of those (Meritline brand) for less total cost, and they are 2x also. Given you have to physically flip the double-sided DVD anyway both for burning and playback, it isn't really any more hassle.

You can't put 2 DVDs in a slim-line case, but you can get 2-disc cases both in the standard CD jewel case style and the Amray DVD clamshell style. And there is room to print on the top surface of the discs, also. I have the Casio CW-50 thermal printer which makes a more professional looking disc than just hand writing on it. http://www.casio.com/labelprinters/product.cfm?product=4328

At $2.99, double sided was easier to justify for ease of storage, especially since I lack label solution, use a very small quantity, and was out of double-sided boxes.

Where I live, it is very hard to buy single-sided media for less than $2.99 per copy off the shelf. Adding shipping costs and the loss of immediate gratifiation from having to wait up to a week for ground shipping to Ohio, the double sided option was attractive. However, now that the price is $3.99, your observation is correct that there is no benefit.

I'm finally going to do the right think and make a large bulk purchase of DVD-R media on a spindle that will last me a year so I don't have to worry about media for a while. Single sided, of course.

jbeale,

The Casio printer looks neat, not too expensive either. Will it print on any kind of disk or does it need a special surface?

Thanks

The maximum bitrate for DVD is 9800 kbit/sec, this is the sum of both the audio and video streams. MPEG encoders may occasionally "spike" in the bitrate, so it's best to keep the data rate slightly below 9800 kbits/sec.

John