How much DV video fits on a DVD?

[bryanski44]

I have the Canon Optura 20 mini DV Camera and am wandering what capture card to get. I also want to capture video from my satallite TV! Suggestions very welcomed.
I have read about capture cards a little and think I am going to get a Canopus. I don't know whether to get a internal or external capture card. What is the fireware connection and how do I know if I have it???
Where can I get the Canopus card for a good price???

I was also wandering how much catured DV video I could fit on a DVD+R. I think about 4.27 Gigs. But, I am unfamiliar how much space a mini DV takes up. Anyone know???

Thanks all.

[BJ_M]

with DV -- you transfer it (via your firewire connection) , you dont capture it .. it is compressed in your camera already and is a digital transfer ...

you will have to then edit it , encode it to mpeg2 , encode the audio , and then author it and finally , burn it to dvd-r ..


guides to do this on are the left and how much you can fit .. use the bitrate calculator here .

[bryanski44]

any way to capture strait to mpeg2 format than and menus and burn without all that crap??? I have spent hours on compressing dvd and burning on to dvd-r. Also do you know how much dv video fits on a DVD-R???

[bartman]

DV video takes up a LOT of space.....I'm only guessing here but you are looking at about 1Gb per 5 minutes......so for 4.3Gb you could probably fit 20 minutes or so of video...

Apart from backup reasons I don't see why you would want to do that though because the only thing that could play back the video is you PC.

Most capture cards are ably to capture sirect to MPEG2 although the quality is very average....nothing like the quality you can expect from TMPGEnc or some other program. You could get something like Ulead DVD Workshop that will let you capture and edit your movies in DV format as well as make menu's and then it will compress to DVD format for you when you finalise your project.

You only other option for fast direct-to-mpeg2 capture is to get a hardware assisted capture card....the cost for those can run into the thousands though...

[BJ_M]

the main concept encoder does very good dv to mpeg2 capture if you have a decent computer ...

[MOVIEGEEK]

As was said earlier about 20 min. of DV can fit on a DVD.
Why not use an all-in-one authoring program such as Ulead DVD Moviefactory 2 or Ulead VideoStudio 7?You can capture DV,make menus,render and burn.
BTW..does your camcorder have analog pass-through?If so you can connect your satellite box to your camcorder with composite/S-video and run firewire to your PC.

[redwudz]

Not sure of your exact MB model, but you probably need a firewire card, about $30US. Most are good, a few are not. Check the 'Capture cards' header to the left on this site. I would try a firewire card with your DV camera first before you purchase an external DV encoder. It may be all you need, using the passthrough on your camera. If you want an external DV box, I recommend the ADVC-100. You can do a search for lowest prices on the net.

[FT Shark]

I was also wandering how much catured DV video I could fit on a DVD+R. I think about 4.27 Gigs. But, I am unfamiliar how much space a mini DV takes up. Anyone know???

Not very much if you don't encode it. Also, if you don’t encode it to mpeg 1 or 2 it won't be playable on your standalone DVD player. Finally, you can technically fit as much of the video as you want on the DVD after you encode it. It all depends on the bitrate that you choose to encode it at. The lower you choose the more you can fit, but quality will decrease.

[bryanski44]

What do you recommend for a bitrate and how much time could you fit on a dvd-r??? Anybody?

[BJ_M]

What do you recommend for a bitrate and how much time could you fit on a dvd-r??? Anybody?

i guess you didnt read the first response to your question which laid it all out for you ..


https://www.videohelp.com/calc is the bit rate calculator ..

you can get about 3-3.75 hours max at 1/2 D1 and 2-3 hours max at full D1 ..

depending on quality of source and what frame rate is used .. and quality you want to go with as acceptable ..

[FT Shark]

VCD's (mpeg 1) are at 1150 kbs, which is acceptable for some people. You can put up to 6.75 hours of this quality on a dvd.

I personally don't encode mpeg 1, I encode mpeg2 at a minimum of 2500 kbs which will give you about 3.75 hrs on a dvd.

Resolution doesn't have much to do with the amount of video you can fit.

[BJ_M]

VCD's (mpeg 1) are at 1150 kbs, which is acceptable for some people. You can put up to 6.75 hours of this quality on a dvd.

I personally don't encode mpeg 1, I encode mpeg2 at a minimum of 2500 kbs which will give you about 3.75 hrs on a dvd.

Resolution doesn't have much to do with the amount of video you can fit.

resolution has a lot to do with how much you can fit (in keeping quality constant) -- in that you can use lower bitrates with smaller resolutions .... same goes for frame rate -- a lower frame rate allows you to go with a lower bit rate for the same quality ...

[FT Shark]

I agree that the resolution will help with the quality. But, I have encoded with 1/2 D1 and Full at the same bitrate and the file size is the same. However, the quality is different.

[BJ_M]

I agree that the resolution will help with the quality. But, I have encoded with 1/2 D1 and Full at the same bitrate and the file size is the same. However, the quality is different.

yes - file size is the same .... but i said keeping quality the same as your constant ..

we are really saying the same thing -- just stating it different ..

[yg1968]

bryanski44,

Canon camcorders usually have a passthrough feature. This means that you can use your camcorder as a capturing device with a firewire port. In other words, you don't need the Canopus ADVC-100.

http://www.canondv.com/optura10_20/f.html

[DaveS]

bryanski44 - I have the same camcorder - you can put analog input into the camcorder and send the output through the firewire to your pc. as I recall, you may need to go to one of the setup screens on the camcorder to tell it that's what your doing & reverse that when you're done.

my 2c is to try that first before you spend any $ on a separate capture card or addt'l h/w device. if you like the results and are ok hooking up your camcorder when needed, it should work ok. but, it's definately worth doing & see how you like how well it does.