Is 13 Mbps an overkill for a bitrate?

[edong]

I just bought a Happauge HD PVR1212. I noticed the default bitrate when recording (AVCHD) was 9 Mbps. I changed it to 13Mbps. Now I can only fit about an hour of AVCHD in a DVD. I read somewhere 2 hours of AVCHD will fit. Will there be a noticeable difference? I want to fit the whole program instead of splitting it into two discs. I don't trust my eyes to differentiate. Thanks.

[poisondeathray]

In general it will make a difference, but it entirely depends on the content complexity, frame rate, resolution, source quality etc...

Things like noise, fast action, frequent scene changes will require a lot more bitrate to look a certain quality "level" than say, a newsreporter or a stable shot of a "talking head"

[johns0]

Depends on if its an action scene or slow moving and if its 1080p or 720p.If its very important then keep it at 13mbps if its 1080p.If you want to put 2 hours on a single dvd5 then use uncropmkv and encode to 720p at around 4.5 mbps with 224 ac3 audio.

[jagabo]

Use the HD PVR's VBR encoding mode. Even with the bitrate set high the bitrate will drop durring scenes that don't need it. It works especially well with film sources broadcast as 720p60 because of all the frame repeats.

[edong]

Thanks guys for the quick reply.

[edong]

One more thing. The Happauge 1212 has three formats to record - PS3, AVCHD and Xbox. May I ask if the WDTV Live media player(my future purchase) will play all formats? For now I am recording AVCHD which my XP PC with Pentium 3Ghz has difficulty playing. It plays MP4 just fine. However, the main objective here is to play my high def compilation in a projector using WDTV Live. If there is no visible difference in the three formats, using the same bitrate, then I might stick with MP4 because of the added benefit of my PC playing it. Thanks again.

[jimdagys]

I use 350 kbps. It may be overkill but it looks good when played on a standalone DVD player.
Link to 1 minute sample:
http://rapidshare.com/files/315601841/chunk.avi

[mail2tom]

I have both a Hauppauge 1212 and WD Media Player, and I've found the WD plays all three Hauppauge formats, including just about any other mainstream video format. It's a very nice combination.

One more thing. The Happauge 1212 has three formats to record - PS3, AVCHD and Xbox. May I ask if the WDTV Live media player(my future purchase) will play all formats? For now I am recording AVCHD which my XP PC with Pentium 3Ghz has difficulty playing. It plays MP4 just fine. However, the main objective here is to play my high def compilation in a projector using WDTV Live. If there is no visible difference in the three formats, using the same bitrate, then I might stick with MP4 because of the added benefit of my PC playing it. Thanks again.