What settings for later burning to DVD+R?

[Valnar]

If I wanted to capture some video from a camcorder, in preparation for burning to some kind of DVD writable disc in the future, what format(s) are allowed?

I know I want MPEG2 VBR. Does it have to be 0-9000kbps as defined in TMPGEnc? Or can I top it off at 6000bkps if I wanted to make the file size smaller, but still be compatible with DVD? Does the sound have to be 48Khz?

Please let me know. I want to save some videos that I have the opportunity to capture now, but won't be able to author to a DVD until the drives come out.

Thanks,
Robert

[Valnar]

Anybody got a Pioneer DVD-R that can confirm any of this? I want to wait for the DVD+R spec drive, but I'm sure its similar with the DVD-R.

Robert

[VidGuy]

I've never tried it but the DVD spec specifies a maximum bitrate much like the SVCD spec, but there's no minimum that I know of. I suspect the sound has to be 48KHz, which is kind of a pain, since SVCD needs to be 44.1, but you can't have everything, I guess.

[Valnar]

I just want to make sure I encode the videos correctly because I may not have the source available when the DVD+RW burners become available. I plan on getting rid of my 8mm camcorder after this process.

How about the resolution requirements? Has anyone made a DVD with something other than 720x480?

[Visoblast]

The bit rate needs to be greater than zero and less than just over 10Mbps (including audio & video, 9.8Mbps for video), there are lower resolutions than 720x480 available, and the audio needs to be 48kHz. If you want to keep the video from going above some lower bit rate, like 4Mbps, that is perfectly fine and commonly done.

For all the other technical goodies, this page should have what you want:

http://www.mpeg.org/MPEG/DVD/Book_B/Video.html

The root page is:

http://www.mpeg.org/MPEG/DVD/

[Valnar]

What application do I need for the audio? The only options I see in TMPGEnc is MPEG1 (layer I or II). What does the audio format need to be for DVD? Is there a plugin for TMPGEnc that will put it in the proper format?

Thanks,
Robert

[Darkbird]

Use mpeg1 layer 2 for DVD. That is when your DVD authoring software supports it, at least one low cost consumer grade authoring program will only put LPCM (same as wave) audio onto DVD which is very wasteful of disc space.

The 'tooLAME' mpeg audio encoder has great quality and is free. I've read that you can designate tooLAME as an external encoder within TMPGEnc, but I've not yet done that, I normally run it as a command line tool with a small BAT (batch) file to control it's options.

Either way, LPCM/wave or mpeg1-L2, make sure it's 48KHz sample rate.