Good kbps rate?

[JasonQuinn1992]

Im going to use MPEG Streamclip to compress a 1.20GB video so I can put in on a DVD with 7 or 8 other home movie clips, My question is what is considered a good kbps rate, I'm only really asking being I want to compress these videos


Also when I attempted to compress one of the videos, the audio was sqeeking and really fast, why is this?

[jagabo]

what is considered a good kbps rate

It depends on the nature of the video. Look at the videos in this post:

https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/295672-A-problem-for-video-experts?p=1811057&viewfu...=1#post1811057

That's Xvid, not MPEG 2 (I'm assuming your making a standard movie DVD) but the issues are the same. Different videos require different bitrates to maintain quality.

If the sum of your videos is less than an hour use 5000 to 9800 kbps (depending on you audio). If more than an hour use a bitrate calculator to determine the highest bitrate you can use.

[JasonQuinn1992]

If I compress a MPEG to a MP4 file, once I re-convert it will the file size from before come back?

[davexnet]

The file size you get when you convert depends on the bitrate you set.
The file size you have now or before is irrelevant .

[jagabo]

Note that MP4 is a container -- a way of organizing video and audio in a file. What determines how big the file will be is the bitrate used in compression (plus a little overhead for the container):

 file size = bitrate * running time

So, for a given running time, the only thing that determines the size is the bitrate used (the bitrate is the sum of the audio and video bitrates).

DVD is always MPEG 2 compressed video in a VOB container. MP4 will often contain h.264 (MPEG 4, part 10) compressed video and aac compressed audio. h.264 compression is significantly better than MPEG 2 compression so h.264 encoded video can look better at the same size as MPEG 2 encoded video. Or h.264 video can be smaller than MPEG 2 video and still have the same quality. Roughly, h.264 video can be 1/2 to 1/3 the size of MPEG 2 video with the same quality. That's assuming both compressions start with the same source. If you're starting with an MPEG 2 video you can only make it look worse by recompressing with a lossy codec like h.264.

[hech54]

What part od "DVD can ONLY be MPEG2" are you having trouble understanding?
https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/347141-Best-file-foormat-to-covert-to-DVD?p=2170362...=1#post2170362

[JasonQuinn1992]

^ I realize that I'm trying to compress the MPEG2's now

[hech54]

^ I realize that I'm trying to compress the MPEG2's now

Compress the MPEG2 files?....for what?....so you cannot make a playable DVD out of them?

[lordsmurf]

This is correct:
The file size you have now or before is irrelevant.

Don't try to fight it.

[Hoser Rob]

^ I realize that I'm trying to compress the MPEG2's now

Compress the MPEG2 files?....for what?....so you cannot make a playable DVD out of them?

That's kind of the part you never specified ... do you want to play them on a dvd player or are you just using the dvd as an archive?

If the former, which I think it probably is, lordsmurf is 100% right. It won't make a dang bit if difference if you compress them first or not because the dvd conversion/authoring program will determine how much you can get on there.

Some dvd author programs are fussier than others. Windows dvd maker (ugh ... I haven't used any windows media programs in ages except by accident) doesn't seem to want you to put more than 1:45 or so on a dvd.

avstodvd ... which is what I used to use ... is quite good at scrunching video to fit. Best of any I know. It'll show a bar that'll go from green to red at some point.

That just means it's reached the maximum amount of video the program believes it can store without losing quality. You can still put more on, to a point.

[sanlyn]

If you want a greater length of DVD-compliant video at decent bitrates than you can easily fit on a DVD-R, use double-layer DVD+R. Most retail DVD's use double-layer discs. Verbatim single- or double-layer AZO discs are the only way to go. Avoid SONY -- it used to be one of my few preferred brands until SONY got too greedy to make decent discs.

[JasonQuinn1992]

[QUOTE=Hoser Rob;2170600]

^ I realize that I'm trying to compress the MPEG2's now

Compress the MPEG2 files?....for what?....so you cannot make a playable DVD out of them?

That's kind of the part you never specified ... do you want to play them on a dvd player or are you just using the dvd as an archive?

I want to put them on a DVD that is Playable in a standard DVD player

[hech54]

I want to put them on a DVD that is Playable in a standard DVD player

NOT going to happen.
You have ZERO understanding of what you are doing or what we have been CLEARLY trying to explain to you. These aren't ZIP files you are dealing with. Re-compression means quality loss that you will NEVER get back.
The DVD you are trying to create must be MPEG2...it can be nothing else. Go back and re-capture your footage as MPEG2. The files WILL BE LARGE and there is NOTHING you can do about it.

[Cornucopia]

Yes, and to clarify: It must be an MPEG2 video & AC3 (or LPCM) audio, encoded to be compliant within the DVD-Video spec, and authored to DVD-Video compliant VOB + IFO + BUP files. Using a legit authoring app, not just by adding those into a folder.

Scott

[sanlyn]

There's not enough room or time in this thread to explain MPEG encoding and DVD structure to JasonQuinn1992. I'm afraid the O.P. thinks the word "compression" means ZIP files. JQ1992 should avoid the advanced tools section of video forums and start with something more basic. Otherwise, Jason and the rest of us are wasting Jason's time.

Start with lordsmurf's excellent DVD guide. http://www.digitalfaq.com/guides/video.htm .