Which DVD software is best? Diff. in DIVX//MEPG2? ***newbie

[hecklernumber1]

Ok, I need some help. I have MyDVD 5 deluxe and used to have Ulead (I think) Movie Factory 2. Anyways, when I added an .avi (divx or xvid) video to my MyDVD project, it only allows me to get like a little over an hour of the video, then it says the disc is full. On the other hand, when I had the Ulead, it let me add, not sure of the exact amount, but seemed at least 2 - 4 hours worth of the same type of file.

So leads me to my questions:

1 - Why the difference in the two softwares?

2 - As I understand, mpeg2 files are like DVD files or something? I know it allows me to put much more film in the MyDVD project.

3 - How big would a normal 700 MB Divx movie be if I converted it to MPEG2. I would do it so I could fit the movie, or any other avi video for that matter, onto a single DVD+R yet still use MyDVD. (any suggestions for the software to use to convert would be apppreciated)

4 - Is there any software you would suggest for burning DVD's that would allow me to use the divx/xvid files, kind of like how the Ulead software I described earlier worked?

[yoda313]

Hello,

Mpeg2 is the dvd video standard. This is what must be loaded into a authoring package before making a dvd. The divx file will be whatever size the bitrate determines. Use a bitrate calculator found in the tools section to the left <----.


You can also browse the tools section for avi-mpeg2 conversion software. Also, check here for instructions:

https://www.videohelp.com/convert

Kevin

[BJ_M]

see the dvd specs - unless you have a dvd player than can play divx , dvd's have to be mpeg2 (or mpeg1)

how much you can fit depends on the bitrate

[thecoalman]

The amount of dvd compliant mpeg video you can put on a DVD depends on the size of the video (720x480 is the largest and 352x240 the smallest) and the bit rate.

Smaller video size and a smaller bit rate will produce a smaller file size at the expense of quality. I ran a test where I would have been able to fit 25 hours of DVD compliant video on a single DVD. Not very practical though because the quality wasn'y that great.

Look in your video settings to adjust the birate and the video size. Using 720x480 with a variable bit rate of 6000 will produce good quality files with about 1 1/2 to 2 hours on DVD.

[snafu099]

Depending on what your intended playback device is:

For playing back on a standard tv, not a projection/large screen you can safly use a resolution of 352x480 and reduce the bitrate accordingly and still retain the same quality playback.

352x480 at 2 mb/s will look the same as 720x480 at 4mb/s as viewed on a standard tv

not exact, but in general
2 mb/s = 4 1/2 hr
3 mb/s = 3 hr
4 mb/s = 2 hr
audio sample rate will affect this some

The older version of MyDvd (3.5 I think) captured raw audio which made the file large. It also added a "egg" to each disc which took away from video capacity. If it works for you, fine, it did not for me, much prefer Ulead which came bundled with all 3 of my capture devices