Double layer DVD-can I burn 2hr at Highest quality?

[jbitakis]

This may be a dumb question, but I have about 16 VHS tapes that I am converting to DVD and I have been using the standard 4.7GB DVD, but these tapes are all 2hrs. long using sp quality (highest quality for VHS), and using xp or HQ (highest quality on dvd) I can only fit 1 hour of video. So if I start using the Double layer DVD, can I fit twice as much video on the DVD in the highest quality; so 2 hrs worth?
James

[hech54]

Yes you can retain more of the VHS quality by using dual layer DVDs but you can only go so high(bitrate). There will be times where no matter how hard you try, authoring software will not allow you to completely fill the DVD. You are also safer (in my opinion) to break up the individual tape into two single layer DVDs since it is much easier to find superb quality single layer DVDs than it is to find dual layer DVDs.
I've often captured at insanely high bitrates, done my edits and audio enhancement, then transcoded DOWN to DVD specs to create a DVD....but I still don't have a completely full D/L DVD.

[SLK001]

With a VHS as your original source, then encoding at 4.5Mbps will give you two hours of quality video indistingishable from the original.