HD wont convert

[tysn]

Hello,

I have 3 mp4 files of sporting events about an hour each in length that are all high definition. The sizes are 1 to 1.5 gigs per file. The resolution sizes vary from 1280x720 to 704x396. I burned them all to a blank dvd-r using convertxtodvd but the quality is grainy like a vcd not HD.

Is this because I need a HD blank dvd?
Can I keep the same HD quailty without using a HD dvd?

[usually_quiet]

If you want better quality, you cannot author a DVD from these videos and put all of them on one single layer DVD. If the DVDs must be played with a DVD player and you want the best quality available given those circumstances, you will need one DVD for each hour of video that you author with ConvertXtoDVD or any other "to DVD" converter.

ConvertXtoDVD has to follow the DVD spec to create a DVD that will be playable with a stand-alone hardware DVD player. DVD video must be MPEG-2 or MPEG-1 and DVD allows a maximum resolution of 720x480 for NTSC. The capacity available on a single layer DVD is such that, given the restrictions on encoding, the level of quality obtainable when putting about 3 hours video on one DVD won't be optimum.

[tysn]

That's what I figured but I read that the time limit wasnt as important as the file sizes, as long it was kept under 4.5 gigs. I tested this by burning 2 movies about a 1 gig each to a single dvd and the results were fine.

Is the problem because my files are of fights and have a higher birate than movies do?

[usually_quiet]

That's what I figured but I read that the time limit wasnt as important as the file sizes, as long it was kept under 4.5 gigs. I tested this by burning 2 movies about a 1 gig each to a single dvd and the results were fine.

Is the problem because my files are of fights and have a higher birate than movies do?

If you authored a DVD with ConvertXtoDVD which contained two two-hour movies and each of those movies took only 1GB, most of the members here would say that the resulting video was a long way from being good quality. Commercially produced DVDs will use somewhere around 4 GB per hour for movies.

Scenes with a lot of movement and detail definitely require a higher bit rate than static scenes with little detail.

[Cornucopia]

You read wrong. Time length is the important factor with DVD source footage, not file size. That's because in most cases the source footage must be reencoded to MPEG2 to be usable for DVD, and since Filesize=Running time * bitrate, and the bitrate is constrained by the DVD spec and the capacity of the disc, and by the inefficiency of MPEG2 (as compared to newer codecs), you must trade off quality vs. running time in the context of a specific (read: limited) capacity.

And that usually works out (with SL discs) to <=1hr at highest quality, 1-2hrs at standard "good" quality (better if 2pass vbr), 2-3.5hrs at mediocre/fair quality (again better if 2pass vbr, and more reliable if 1/2D1 Rez), and 3.5-6+hrs at poor quality (2pass, more reliable if 1/4D1 aka vcd rez).
So no surprise at all that you got the crap that you did.

Scott