.iso files too small

[Roger]

It seems that no matter what DVD-9 I use, the final .iso image comes out to be about half the size of a DVD-5. I have tried several custom settings and they did not make much of a difference.

Since the transferred video is often 5 - 7GB, forty-two is reducing the size more than it needs to.

Does anyone know the default vbr and bit rate settings for forty-two? This will help to come up with a manual setting that gives the best quality without being too large for one disc. The calculators online do not seem to work as expected.

Any good solutions to get good fits?

-Roger

[KaiCherry]

ok...when you say "too small" do you mean not the whole movie?

If it *is* the whole movie, try setting a *constant* bitrate if you want a "bigger" file with less compression.

Your final file will always be smaller than what a bitrate calc tells you, be cause of VBR.

-K

[Roger]

Yes, the whole movie is there but the image is only about half of a DVD.

I also should have mentioned that I am using the default settings with vbr and custom bitrate unchecked.

-Roger

[KaiCherry]

try sliding the VBR down a bit, say 5,4, or 3

You'll get better quality, a bit bigger at the cost of speed. or if you wan't to use a bitrate calc, switch off VBR

-K

[Roger]

try sliding the VBR down a bit, say 5,4, or 3

You'll get better quality, a bit bigger at the cost of speed. or if you wan't to use a bitrate calc, switch off VBR

Does this mean that forty-two does not use VBR at all if it is unchecked?

I understand that VBR results in a smaller file. Does it also result in lower quality?

Here are a couple comparisons:

The Bourne Identity (transferred video .mpg.avi file = 5.2GB)
Default settings (both VBR and Custom Bitrate Unchecked)
.iso file size is approx. 2.2GB

VBR=3 and Custom Bitrate=7000
.iso file size is approx. 2.7GB

What settings would you guess would give the best quality and come close to filling a DVD-5 in this case?

And the big question: How can I figure this out for other discs?

I am assuming that forty-two does some calcs on its own to determine how much to shrink the video. I would like to suggest that the target size range be made into a pref so we could have a choice.

I hope you do not mind all of the questions... I am trying to learn more about this.

-Roger

[Roger]

Any suggestions???

It takes forever to test only to find a small image again. I am now trying VBR=3 and bitrate=9000 but it says about 3 days on the G4 that I have dedicated to this.

Thanks,
-Roger