DVD Authoring With User Definable Compression Rates???

[specmike]

Sorry ahead of time if this has been covered, I'll try to be short and coherent

I'll use a project I have as an example. The total run time is 3 hours so, at our best/highest quality compression rates using NeoDVD that's 3 DVDs. We don't want to use 3 disks for our customers for various reasons. We need to compress this project to the point it will fit onto 2 disks. So, on NeoDVD, we can select the compressions, Good, Better, Best. Best is 1 hour per disk. I can put 1/2 of the project (90 min) onto 1 disk using Better but, it compresses it to the point that it only uses about 2.5-3gb of the DVD and it wastes disk capacity that could be used to improve the quality and resolution. I'd like to be able to select a compression to fit the project to the maximum size of the disk so that we can give the customer the best image quality possible. Any ideas? FYI, this is an MPG2 to DVD conversion.

Thanks, Mike.

[BobK]

Create the disks files on your HD and then use DVDShrink or other compression program to shrink them to fit on one disk.

[specmike]

Create the disks files on your HD and then use DVDShrink or other compression program to shrink them to fit on one disk.

OK, mebbe I am missing something but, I don't think DVD Shrink will allow me to work directly with an MPG file will it? Or, are you saying encode the entire project as a DVD file but save it to a HD as opposed to a DVD, then compress it? Sorry, new to this aspect of this and the terminology is new to me. Thanks again.

Mike.

[BobK]

The terminology is new to you and you have customers? What kind of job do you have?

DVD Shrink won't work directly with MPG files. That's why you have to author the DVD files to your hard drive first, then use DVD Shrink.

The easiest way is to author the files, but you could also create an ISO file, then use Daemon Tools to mount the ISO and DVDShrink could then read the files from the Daemon Tools drive.

[specmike]

The terminology is new to you and you have customers? What kind of job do you have?

Well, I am a police officer full time but I help the wife with her video production business and we have never encountered this situation before. Essentially, we make videos (she films with Canon XL-1s cameras and edits with Avid) and we burn it to a disk. We have never actually needed to know what an ISO really is etc. It is normally point and click. I found an option with Win DVD Creator where I can save the DVD file to the HD without specifying the media. Then, I can take that file and compress it with DVD Shrink, Tempgnc or some other tool. Thanks for the help.

Mike.

[BobK]

An ISO is a image of a disk. It just takes all the disk files and puts them in one file.

Good luck. I know cops need extra money. Half my family is or was police- from my grandfather to my father to a brother, sister and brother-in-law.