why a dvd movie's length is longer than 120 min

[hzgg2]

I borrowed a DVD Movie from my friend and the movie's length is longer than 120 min. Why?

Isn't it supposed to be shorter than 120 min for a dvd??

[filmboss80]

See the column WHAT IS > DVD to the left on this site. Depending on bitrate and resolution, you can go up to 5 or 6 hours on a DVD-5 and 9 hours on DVD-9. Of course, the more you compress the video to cram onto the disc, the crappier the image gets.

[jagabo]

file size = bitrate * running time

You can put as long a running time you want on a DVD, just use low enough a bitrate. Of course, the lower the bitrate the lower the quality.

[Noahtuck]

He must be used to seeing the "120min" that is stamped on most dvdr's 8)

[turk690]

hzgg2 is not alone if indeed he "is used to seeing 120mins stamped on most DVDRs." I have to explain to lots of people I encounter with DVD recorders how and why the 120mins on the label is NOT set in stone, as is how "it can be 240mins if set to LP", etc. DVDR manufacturers should stop putting these labels; stating it's 4.7GB (or 8.5) is enough. How long the recording will max out at what bitrate depends on the recorder which isn't the same for all.

[guns1inger]

You can fill a disc with as little as 65 minutes worth of video with PCM audio.

Anyway, I though people stopped believing the labels once they found out there wasn't 4.7 GB of space on a disc.