Converting to a smaller file size

[bradlewa]

I've recorded some TV shows using my video capture card in MPEG format. I'm pretty sure they are near DVD quality (each hour long show takes up ~1.6 GB). I edited all the commercials out using Ulead DVD Movie Factory 3 SE, but understandably the files are still huge. So, what I want to do is shrink the files down to a smaller size, and ultimately author them onto a DVD. What is the best program to use to shrink the file size down? I know I need to reduce resolution and/or fps, etc., but what's the best/easiest way of doing this? I have access to some powerful programs, such as Adobe Premier, as well as the multitude of free programs out there. I'm not looking to spend any money on buying any other software though.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Bill

[mats.hogberg]

Well, since the deed is done (you've captured at a too high bitrate), just go ahead and author it as an "oversized" DVD to HDD(let's say using TMPGEnc DVD Author). Then shrink to fit a DVD5 using DVDShrink.
I'd go as far as suggesting you do your commercial cutting in TDA too, to avoid the Ulead step.

/Mats