DVD Spanning?

[doug1]

Hi folks -

I have a 4.25GB .MPG file (approx 2 hours) I captured from a VHS tape with ArcSoft ShowBiz DVD v 1.x. After letting the software produce the .MPG to burn to DVD (which took approx. 12 hours if I recall correctly) it crapped out and said that the file wouldn't fit on the DVD. My question: Is there a peice of software that has some brains and will span DVD's if necessary? Ideally, I wouldn't have to capture the video again. I mention this because I have read up on EVE and learned that it will chop up videos during capture, but not after the capture has been made. Any help would be appreciated.

[muskgrave]

not exactly sure what you are specifically asking..but i have a couple ideas.

First of all..if you mean that it only made part (lets say half for instance) of the mpeg file and you want to capture the other half and have it all play together, that isn't a problem at all. When you author the dvd just put them in sequencial order (spelling?) under the same track and the dvd player will automatically play them one right after the other. You might wanna trim the end of the first mpeg to a scene change for minimal impact.

If you are asking if there is a way to just compress the full mpeg2 file then most here would recommend dvd shrink. It is a tiny (800k!) free software package that has gotten great reviews.

dlv

[doug1]

Hi There -

Sorry, my rant should been clearer.

a) I captured a video that is currently taking up 4.25GB in MPG format.
b) When I tried to produce and burn the video to DVD through Showbiz DVD it failed with a message stating that the 4.25GB + file size was too large.

The question:

a) Should I compress the 4.25GB file with the tool you suggested and then burn to DVD? (quality loss, etc.)

OR

b) Should I find an application that will span multiple DVD's if necessary. E.g., "DVD #1 is full, please enter the next DVD".

Thank you!

[wulf109]

Your authoring software is probably converting the audio in the mpg from mpeg to PCM. PCM is uncompressed format and it would increase the size of your mpg to 5.0GB's. Download the trial of TMPEG DVD Author and try it.

[rcb]

I haven't seen an dvd authoring app with a automatic disc spanning feature.

Like wulf suggests, d/l a trial of TMPGEnc DVD Author - load your mpg file into it, make your menus, etc. and finish the project.

The app will warn you if you are exceeding disk capacity. If it is oversized by no more than 10%, then keep the finished project on your hard drive. (If greater than 10 %, consider splitting the project by using TDA's built-in mpg editing function which is a workaround to the spanning issue.. and burn two disks).

Get DVDshrink to reduce the finished project size to <4.2 gig. I don't believe you will see any noticable quality loss.

Burn the reduced project with app of your choice. Most importantly, use rw media until you get a comfort level to avoid a coaster pile.

[doug1]

Thanks for the advice!

[Ziffelpig]

DVDfab-There is a free version here
http://www.mrbass.org

[sacajaweeda]

How much editing are you doing to your video file? Are you removing parts of it (like commercials) or just trimming the ends, or are you using the whole thing?

[doug1]

Hi There -

Minor trimming on the ends - that's it. I took the recommendation of rcb and downloaded TMPGEnc. This program worked amazing in comparison to Show Biz DVD - 100 x better! Thank you.

[sacajaweeda]

I got a copy of ShowBiz with a Dazzle product I bought when I first started messing with video, and yes, it does suck, to put it mildly.