Maximum length of DVDs containing B&W movies or cartoons

[tonyaldr]

Hi. I'm hoping someone can answer this. As there is less information contained in B&W video as compared to color video, would I be able to put more hours of this content on DVD without significant loss of quality? How about animation? Thanx!

[unclebud]

Yes, I put 4-6 hours of B/W TV shows on DVD's without quality loss. I have not tried cartoons.

[lordsmurf]

I doubt that. It is pretty much impossible to put more than 3-4 hours on a disc without some sort of sacrifice (usually low x240 resolutions with deinterlace ).

The simple answer is: NO.

B&W and color video, in the DIGITAL realm, have few differences. Disc space is SOLELY determined by bitrate and length. Color has very little do with this. Black, white, and gray are STILL colors.

[guns1inger]

Animation can be even worse, because of the way mpeg compresses data. It produces similar artifacts to jpeg around edges and lines, which animation is usually full of.

On a single layer disk, I usually stick to

Full D1 : Max. 2 hours
1/2 D1 : Max. 4 hours

These are approximates, as there are many variables affecting encoding and file sizes, but are within a 10% margin.

Of course, some are willing to sacrifice quality to some degree to fit more on, or don't have equipment that allows them to see the flaws they have created when pushing past these limits.

If it was acceptable to put 4 hours on a single layer disk, don't you think hollywood would do so - it is a cheaper process than producing dual layer. You could get the extended LOTR versions on a single disk, instead of two DUAL LAYER disks.

[tonyaldr]

Thanx for your feedback, everyone. Much appreciated!