Best encoder in Handbrake for low file size

[techmot]

Hi, does anyone know which is the best video encoder in Handbrake to get the best quality but producing a low file size?. I am trying to encode 50 mins episodes of a TV show to fit onto a DVD (preferably at least 4 episodes), using the h.264 encoder and setting the video bitrate to anything over 3000kbps will produce an outputted file about 1.50gb from a raw capture from a VHS using AmarecTV. I could just use the MPEG2 encoder but who uses MPEG-2 these days?, most devices, phones, etc seem to use mp4 now. I used to transfer tapes to my DVD recorder years ago and the recordings seem to produce a dark picture for some reason, not sure if this is down to the compression or something else but capturing video on my computer doesn't produce this, plus MPEG-2 produces much noticeable compression even at 9000kbps.

[davexnet]

You can certainly write mp4 files as data (you can write anything as data) but they most likely will not play on any standalone DVD player

[techmot]

You can certainly write mp4 files as data (you can write anything as data) but they most likely will not play on any standalone DVD player

I've burned a few DVDs by dragging over MP4 files to a disc rather than using a program to recode them to MPEG-2. But as you say they will likely not play on a standalone player. I don't know why alot of videos I've transfered to my DVD recorder seem to produce a dark picture. Pity my Panasonic VHS/DVD combo is faulty as it was great machine for adjusting jumpy tapes and it had a TBC on it too which helped correct the wobbling picture that my old tapes often exbit, plus the S-video output which improved the video a little and got rid of the colour noise.