Something I dont get

[DW]

OK, I know commercial DVDs hold more than DVDs the average user buys (about 9GB, right?). Those commercial DVDs, if you get a season of a TV show (say Alias, The Sopronos, etc.) you get like what... 3 to 6 1-hr episodes per disk?

Now, I just captured a 1-hr episode, to burn to DVD, using Ulead DVD Workshop 2. I used the "DVD" setting. The 1-hr episode I captured came out to 3.5GB. So what gives? I have more than 1/2 the space of a commercial DVD on a standard 4.7GB writable, yet i cant even get 2 episodes (hell, 1 and a half!) on a disk? Is U-DVD-WS not capturing with the appropriate "DVD" settings?

really, the question is, how big should a "DVD quality" 1-hr capture be?

[guns1inger]

It's all about bitrate. Bitrate x running time = space used. Lower the bitrate, use less space. Different encoding methods can make a difference - Constant BitRate vs Variable BitRate affects how efficiently the space is used. With good quality source, you should be able to get a quality 2 hours on a single layer disc. With other tricks such as reducing resolution, you can put a lot more on.

With dual layer discs, you should be able to get a comfortable 4 hours to a disc, or 2 hours at full bitrate.

The way audio is encoded can also make a great difference. PCM at 1536kbps takes up a lot of space, whereas the same stereo track compressed using AC3 at 224 or even as high as 384 kbps if using one fifth or less the room.

[lordsmurf]

Stop letting software make your decisions for you. Software is relatively stupid, makes bad decisions.

Ulead DVDWS2 is a great authoring tool. Authoring. Don't use it to capture and encode.

How "big" a file is depends on bitrate, and how good it looks depends on the allocation ratio of bitrate to resolution.

A single layer disc can hold SIX 45-min shows in high compression, which will often look plenty fine, depending on the source, the capture method and the encode.

A professional disc goes back to film or broadcast masters, using professional grade scanners/capture devices, and profesional grade encoders, and then presses to DL discs. Big difference.

We can use the same methods, and it will look almost as good. We even have DL media now too, can burn it.

I just finished capturing an hour-long show myself, file size is 750MB after editing out commercials (42-43 min), put 6 shows on a SL disc, hardware encoded from a DVD recorder.

I didn't let DVDWS2 make decisions for me, I made my own. And I'll author my 6-ep disc in DVDWS2 too, but just author.

[DW]

Thanks for the replies

I just finished capturing an hour-long show myself, file size is 750MB after editing out commercials (42-43 min), put 6 shows on a SL disc, hardware encoded from a DVD recorder.

Lord, if i may ask, what did you use? and what settings? What would be comparable to software-only solutions? Would it be possible to get about 5 1hr episodes on a 4.7GB disk at "DVD quality"? If if i have to use a DL disk to get the 5 episodes, i'll do it.....

[lordsmurf]

JVC DR-M100S DVD recorder, set it to LP mode, which puts 4 hours on a disc. I use it like a capture device, dump video to my computer, and edit on here. Then I re-author.

The 4-hour mode specs are 2.5Mb/s VBR (avg) with about a 3.5Mb/s spiked max bitrate, on 352x480 interlaced MPEG-2 video, and 256k AC3 Dolby stereo audio.

The best setting would be 3-hour mode (FR180 or FR185), which would be about 3.5Mb/s VBR with spikes maxed into the 4.4Mb/s range, almost superbit allocation, puts just over 3 hours on a disc, 7 half-hour shows without commercials, or 3 (maybe 4) hour-long shows on a single disc, SL media.

With DL media, with the same settings, you can put almost twice as much on a disc. Not quite, almost. Double the eps and take one off, that's what fits DL. As I understand it, DVDWS2 is one of the only programs that can do well on DL authoring, I'll be trying it myself in the very near future.

You have an EXCELLENT authoring program, one of the best, just the assets preparation that's a thorn in your side.

[DW]

well, I'm not too worried about the authoring... i'm not doing anything fancy. Really, I'd just like to get about 5 episodes on a disk, and i'd like them to be "DVD quality." If it can be done with a SL disc, great, if 5 episodes are going to look crappy on a SL disk, i'll go to a DL disk.

As for "assets preparation" (heehee) I have MainConcept H.264 Encoder and Canopus ProCoder. Thing is, if I just leave them to set to their "DVD" settings, i get something waaaay to big to ever put 5 episodes on either a SL or DL disc.




[also, right now i'm trying to find the best DL media --I need about a 20pack-- and the best SL-RW media --I need about a 5 or 10pack-- and I'm using a Plextor 716AL. And I've been looking at meritline.com and supermediastore.com]

[guns1inger]

Bitrate Calculators - your bestest friend when preparing for an encoding session.