vcd/svcd mpeg file sizes are big, will they fit on two cds?

[luvvbuzz]

hi,
this is my first vcd. i have captured 4 files using my new leadtek winfast 2000xp capture card. i captured in mpeg 2 format at best quality because some of the stuff i captured was not that good quality in the first place (it is 10year old vhs tape im capturing from). ok so i have my files, they are varying sizes, like one file is 500mb another is 200mb and another two are 300mb. so im looking at over 1 gig in total file sizes and the whole footage is about 30-40 minutes long running time.
can i burn this as vcd or do i have to use svcd? since most cdr's are 700mb in size, will i have to burn to more than two cd's or can i fit this on one or two cds? the reason i ask that is because i read on here that you can fit 80 mins of video on a 80 min cd even if that 80 mins of video is larger than 700mb. i dont understand that as it sounds starnge. can you reccommend how i burn my vcd or svcd? i have nero and i can get some other software if need be, i have some spare cash, if anybody can help i would really appreciate it.
thanks

[hwoodwar]

luvvbuzz:

You can fit it on two CDs as SVCD format. VCDs and SVCDs are recorded "mode-2". A 80 minute 700mb CD (cds are labeled in mode-1 capacity) will hold approx 800mb mode-2.

You would lose quality burning in VCD format, as well as you would have to take the time to re-encode into MPEG-1 format.

[rumplestiltskin]

i captured in mpeg 2 format at best quality because some of the stuff i captured was not that good quality in the first place (it is 10year old vhs tape im capturing from).

If your stuff was not very good quality to begin with (old VHS), "best quality" may be overkill. SVCD (2500kbps +/-) is plenty.

I had some very old 16mm & 8mm that had been brought into VHS (many years ago) and I converted to VCD. There was really no difference in quality between the VHS and the VCD.

There's nothing -wrong- with using a higher quality than necessary; it just takes longer and uses more CDs. YMMV.

[ZippyP.]

...i read on here that you can fit 80 mins of video on a 80 min cd even if that 80 mins of video is larger than 700mb.

The 80 min. rating of a CD does not apply to video-CD's. The size and amount of minutes in a video file can vary greatly and it all depends on the bitrate (in bits per second or b/s) that was used in creating the file. In general, the higher the resolution of the video then the higher bitrate that is required to make it look good. Higher bitrate means a larger file size and less minutes per disk.

VCD is an mpeg1 and has a standard fixed bitrate of 1150 Kb/s for video (in reality many people do not stick to the standard) combined with an audio bitrate of 224 Kb/s which will produce an 80 minute file of about 800 MB (or 1 CD). VCD NTSC is 352 X 240 resolution.

SVCD is mpeg2 and can have a variable video bitrate up 2600 Kb/s. Combined with the audio bitrate, SVCD can have anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes on a standard CD. SVCD NTSC is 480 X 480 resolution.

If your captured mpeg2 footage is SVCD standard then it can be burned straight to disk. If it is not, then it needs to be re-encoded to either VCD or SVCD standard before burning using an mpeg encoding program like TMPGEnc. Check the "What is" sections on the left hand side of this page for more info.

BTW, only use Nero for burning and don't let it encode your files, it is a poor quality encoder.

[rumplestiltskin]

One interesting alternative (and it doesn't always work) is to take mpeg1 or mpeg2 files that your authoring software won't "image" for burning, and simply burn it as a data file to an ISO9660 CD. Of course, this will require smaller files (to fit the 650/700MB disc) as you're not making a VCD or SVCD but, rather, simply a data disc. Make sure the file has the ".mpg" suffix.

If your DVD player will support it, you will see (on your TV screen) what looks like an mp3 CD menu. Arrow down to the entry for the mpg file (it might have a VCD icon) and hit play. Often, it plays just fine. Of course, it might not. But it's a cheap, quick test to see if any further transcoding is even necessary.

[luvvbuzz]

thanks guys, before i read this i did let nero encode my files for vcd and when the final burned disc was played it was jerky. i will try again encoding with tmpgnec to see how that goes. thanks for your tips, it can be quite daunting doing all this as a newbie especially when you talk about audio and video bitrates, i dont know how they work or what they do really so that sort of stuff goes straight over my head at the moment. maybe in a few months time when i really get to know and understand the process of all this i will be the one advising other people on here. and buy the way, i just bought my first dvd writer, which arrives 02.09.03 (tomorrow) so i will be able to make dvd as well. thanks for all your help and ideas.
scott

[ZippyP.]

Check the glossary (<<< over there) for definitions. Bitrate