DV Capture = super large files?

[gluecookie]

I am new to macs and I am puzzled on the video capturing. I capured a video approx 20 min and it was over 2 gigs. At this rate I would only be able to have 40 min of video on a dvd disk. (approx) Is this right? I guess the video will be compressed to mpeg2 for dvd output, but how much will the dv file be compressed? Is there any way to capture VHS quality video to decrease the size of the files to make a longer video? I'm using a dazzle dv bridge to capture.

questions

1 How much video can I capture (min) in dv to make a dvd?

2 Is there a way to capture video in a slighly lower quality so it will take less disk space?

3 Is there a better way of doing this?

any help woud be great

Thanks
Gary

[holistic]

PC - MAC it dosen't matter DV is DV
DV is a compressed CODEC - yes it is compressed !!

Your computer will see it as a form of *.avi

approx 220Mb/minute is the norm for DV transfers

Once on the harddrive the *.avi (dv codec) will require re-encoding to mpeg2 for DVD authoring.

How much video you fit to a DVD is up to you and the BITRATE you choose.

The bitrate will determine quality/lenght
Higher bitrate = less play time

keep bitrate below 9000 so the disk can play on standalone DVD players

you will need :
1-an editing program (not being familar with mac) i movie !?
2-an encoder - TMPGEnc works great for me.
3.DVD authoring app - try Spruce or DVDit (or equiv apple product)

read how to <------------------

[TheCleaner]

.avi is not a Mac format file.

On a mac you'll see a DV file with a .mov extension. But hey on a Mac you could also give it a .dv extension, heck you don't even need a .anything and the OS still knows what it is.

[TheCleaner]

I suggest you start off with iDVD, it's free and award winning.

I don't understand why people who seemingly don't know anything about Mac post replies to this forum?

[resnullius]

ok as to how long you can put on a dvd it's about 2hrs if you put a cbr of 4.5
no it's not possible to capture dv smaller as it's been said it's a codec you would need a capture card to capture in an other way.

[marsmayhem]

I don't see why people need to post here at all, if Apple's are supposedly so easy to use...

:P

[TheCleaner]

Erm
DVD is a disc
MPEG-2 is an ISO standard
DV is Digital video

The questions related to the above not "how do I use a Mac"

Maybe you need to learn how to read.

[resnullius]

less prone to crashes and such sure but as an example photoshop is still photoshop whether on pc or mac.

[marsmayhem]

Maybe you need to improve your spelling and grammer skills, since they're quite clearly lacking.

Maybe you shouldn't take everything said in here to heart either.

[tgpo]

Maybe you shouldn't take everything said in here to heart either.

Apple computers and Punk music will one day rule the world!

[Mirror_Image]

Maybe you need to improve your spelling and grammer skills, since they're quite clearly lacking.

[Faustus]

2 hours of digital video on my mac would take about 30gb of space, and there is not much you can do about it... if your gonna work with large digital video you need some good hard drive space. And yes it would be best to start with iDvd, tho I hear that the use PCM audio and therefore limit how much you can fit on one dvd disk. (this may have changed since it came out however)

[offline]

Apple computers and Punk music will one day rule the world!

hmm.. they always said the meek will inherit the world.

I have loved Apple Computers ever since the Apple II europlus
and IBM clones since the i8088. Both have their uses. The only
thing I can't stand is the "mine is better than yours" mindset that
afflicts a serious percentage of both user groups.

Here are my least favorite myths:

1) Apple is better at video/desktop publishing
2) IBM is better at games/office administration

Wake up.. it's the 21st Century and Photoshop, Quark/Pagemaker, Office
are available for *both* platforms.

[holistic]

Both QuickTime and AVI are cross-platform compatible, though they require special playback software on non-native machines. You can create and view QuickTime files on a PC by installing QuickTime for Windows; it will integrate with the system and appear as a file option in video-editing programs. To bring AVI compatability to a Mac, install the Video for Windows Apple Macintosh Utilities.

I did't profess to know the apple product - BUT - DV is DV and bitrate will affect your play/length of video for a given media size (ie DVD disks)

O ! an my post was the same day in order to assist the poster - not 2 + weeks later. So kiss my PC A$$

][

[major]

If you have hard disk space problems you should consider working with Final Cut Pro 3.0, and capturing with the new OfflineRT format. It will allow you to store lots and lots of video in your disk, and use it for editing & effects. When your edited movie is done, you will automatically batch recapture in DV format only the used segment of the source material thus allowing for huge savings in disk usage.

[marsmayhem]

Ok, Ok - grammar then. Jeez...

:P

[gluecookie]

thank you for the help 8)

[jchansen]

I just wanted to put a finer point on it to make sure it's clear for the original poster:

DV is a large (but still compressed) format that you capture in an manipulate. A DVD does not use this format; it uses MPEG2, which is compressed further. If you put DV on a DVD disc, your player wouldn't recognize it. There's nothing you can really do about capturing to a smaller file. You have a choice though in how compressed your MPEG2 is.