VHS(.dv) to DVD

[KDM]

Hi.

I have 3 VHS tapes with a total time of 9 hours that i would like to put on a DVD disc.

My setup is:
Sanyo VHR-778EV VHS player -> Phono cables -> Sony DCR-TRV330E -> FireWire -> MacBook Pro Retina 2013 -> iMovie 9.0

Since it is imported in .dv format each VHS tape is about 38GB when importet as .dv Even though i export it to iDVD, it will only allow 120 minutes.

Is it possible to convert the video in to some other format so i have have all 9 hours on one DVD, maybe a dual layer DVD?

The picture quality of the VHS tapes are really pore, see attached photos.

Thanks

[davexnet]

It can be done, but the video bitrate will drop pretty low, but there are a few things to do that will help.
For example, use a low bitrate for the audio, give extra bits to the video

Use 1/2 D1, 352*720 (PAL)

Use a matrix designed for lower bitrate

[smrpix]

Filesize = duration * bitrate.

In order to get 9 hours on a single DVD playable on a standalone DVD player your video is going to be in the 500-1000 kb/s range. While technically possible, it 's not really something you'd want to watch.

Poor quality videos are more difficult to compress efficiently than good quality videos.

[Cornucopia]

Even 1/2 D1 would look poor at 1.85Mbps or less (assuming you used ~128kbps AC3, and used DVD-DL discs, giving you 9+hours). Put it on 2 DL discs (or 3 SL discs) and you should have enough room for decent quality encodes (well, given the poor quality of the source, don't expect too much).

Scott

[DB83]

You could even go down to VCD quality(352*288) if your authoring program supports it.

But why insist on putting all this footage on one disk ? Blanks, even good quality ones, are really cheap these days so really just one 3-hour per disk.

[Cornucopia]

I don't recommend that, as you will lose motion smoothness and actual vertical resolution (480i60->240p30). One of the few things VHS still had going for it.

I agree with DB83, though: discs are cheap enough.
Since your tapes came as 3 segments, why not KEEP them as 3 segments, then you'll know where the footage came from for a particular disc.

Scott