what is the low data/space taking format which u can put on a dvd

[gagai786]

what is the low data/space taking format which u can put on a dvd to later watch on ur dvd player....and is vcd format is less space taking or avi ???? , i can also get video in mpeg4 format through my capture card , but u cant get clips out of it , i mean u cant edit ....
kindky reply thankyou : sohail

[jimmalenko]

No matter what format, container or codec you use, the following holds true:

filesize = running time x bitrate

The only variance comes from the way certain codecs handle bitrate. For example, DivX or XviD takes approximate 1/3 to 1/4 the bitrate of MPEG-1 or MPEG-2. So if your aim was to maximise running time on a disc, then you would be advised to use a more bitrate-efficient codec such as h264, WMV, DivX or XviD and stay away from MPEG-1 (VCD) or MPEG-2.

However, if settop dvd player playback is your aim, then you are restricted to MPEG-1 or MPEG-2, unless your dvd player supports DivX. Most that do also support XviD.

Can you elaborate a bit more on what you're trying to achieve ?

[gagai786]

thanku for replying , just tell me what format is better mpeg4 or vcd later i want to put it on dvd , and form where i can get this mpeg concepts clear !!
thanks alot
sohail

[jimmalenko]

VCD is very limited - See https://www.videohelp.com/vcd - all dvd players should play it though since VCD-compliant movies are generally also DVD-compliant.

MPEG4 can produce far better results with the right settings/codecs, but is also dependant on your dvd player being able to play it back.

[gagai786]

my card support rec of vcd,dvd,mpeg4,avi,wma,mp3,wmv.....so which one should i select ....for less data taking on dvd , but i also want to makes clips too ,
thanks alot
waiting
sohail

[jimmalenko]

My personal choice would be AVI. By "make clips" do you mean edit ?

[gagai786]

yes i want to edit , like making your fav clips out of it....
but avi takes too much disk space then vcd ???? i dont mind the quality of the video ....
Thanks alot

[jimmalenko]

but avi takes too much disk space then vcd ????

Not if you use the right codec and bitrate, it doesn't.

i dont mind the quality of the video ....

Well pardon my attitude but if you're going to do it half-assed instead of properly you may as well not do it at all in my book.

[gagai786]

but jimm... , i dont think my card allow to change the bit rate ???
thanks alot

[gagai786]

i did 1st rec in mpeg4 format , 1 hour rec takes only 270 MB its good isnt it .... but i cant make the clips out of it .....
Thanks alot for helping me out !!
sohail

[guns1inger]

Basic question you need to ask yourself : What do I want to get out of this ?

Do you want a disc you can only play in your PC ?
Do you want a disc you can play in any DVD player ?
Do you want a disc that can be played on any DVD player that supports Divx/Xvid ?

Once you work out this, you can decide the best way to get there.

If you simply want to fit the longest video you can, use very low resolution, low bitrate WMV. It will look awful, and can only be played on a PC, but you might get 20 hours or more on a disc.

If you want something you can play on pretty much any DVD player, you can use mpeg1 at VCD resolutions and bitrates, and get around 7 hours to a disc. Or have better picture quality with mpeg2 at half-D1 resolution for around 5 hours, or full D1 at around 3 hours.

If you go Divx/Xvid you will get around 9 hours of good quality (not great, but certainly much better than VCD).

But you have to answer the first question before you can make a call.

[gagai786]

wow , u answer me all the details what i wanted ....yes i want more hours which i can play on my pc....so what i think is divx/xvid which according to u is 9 hours.....but my card can only rec on vcd,dvd,mpeg4,svcd,wmv so is there any prog which can convert from vcd(mpeg) if i am right to divx/xvid.
thankyou soo much

[gagai786]

hey i think i missed something WMV giving me more hours , so what do u think ??? but can i later edit a WMV file ???? or should stuck to the 1st reply !!

[guns1inger]

You can edit wmv in windows movie maker. As was pointed out earlier, bitrate x running time = filesize. Lower the bitrate, get more time. However the lower the bitrate, the lower the quality. You can get a lot more than 9 hours with Divx/Xvid, but it won't look as good.

If you seriously want to edit, then none of these are that good. They are all designed as end use codecs, not editing codecs. You could capture to mpeg2 DVD spec, edit with something like Womble, then re-encode later to a smaller resolution and bitrate.

However if all you care about is length, then quality must be of little concern (you can't have both), so stick with wmv, edit in movie maker, and squeeze as much on as you can.

[gagai786]

thankyou !! soo much !!

[jimmalenko]

I think you may need to learn how to drive your capture card as I don't think you know how at the moment.

You're also asking fairly "generic" questions and hence you're getting some fairly generic answers - identify exactly what it is you want to do, identify what capture card you have and what you can and can't do with it, and then you might get some specific advice

[edDV]

Two other basic issues he may be missing

- Capture and encoding are separate processes. You can combine capture and encoding in a card (hardware encoding chip) or try to encode with software while capturing.

Hardware encoding is limited to the modes supported in your capture card. Read the manual.

Real time software encoding is limited by the speed of your CPU and codec. High compression requires a high performance codec and a high performance CPU.

- Quality can be influenced by the compression process. With a lot of effort, you can get acceptable quality at very low bitrates if enough hardware and time are applied. Note the differences between commercial sites and utube. For best quality, you capture uncompressed and then let the computer crunch on it for hours or days to get a better quality small file.

"editiing" means different things to different people. If all you want is to cut and recode, then you need to realize with highly compressed video, cutting means every few seconds (at I frame) and recode means a substantial drop in quality.

Nothing is free. If you want 5-7 hours on a DVD you are going to have to work to get there and accept the limitations of the result.

[theewizard]

I think what everybody is trying to get you to understand is

capture the video in the highest quality mode that you PC & card & software can do,

leaving enough room space on the drive, so that after the capture process, you can do the encoding & shrinking process,

which process you use then will depend on what you are going to do with these disc's

play them ONLY on your PC ?

play them in any DVD player ?

play them in a DVD player that is Dvix compatible ?

if the anwser is ANY dvd player, they have to be dvd compliant files

that means svcd vcd dvd encoding

if he anwser is ONLY on PC, any format you want to use can be stores on DATA disc CD data disc or dvd data disc, this will NOT play in a dvd player

if the answer is Dvix compatible DVD player

then the files can be store as a DATA disc made OF dvix files

this will NOT play on all DVD players but only on some of them and on PC's with the right software codecs & players


capture, then convert, then burn,

delete files from the PC and start all over on new batch

[gagai786]

thank's alot for all the info u guys putting , is there any software which can capture in divx format to run on a dvd player if i make a data disk of files of divx ....thankyou
sohail

[guns1inger]

You cannot capture to Divx with your system without it being really poor quality. You need to get more disc space, capture in high bitrate mpeg2, edit with videoredo or womble, or a free equivalent, then encode properly to Divx.

[gagai786]

well thanks , then i think that dvd recorder is the better option , then why people buying capture card , what is the difference ......
thanks again
sohail

[guns1inger]

They buy a capture card that has more options that yours seems to present. Mine has a digital tuner than can save the broadcasts streams directly to disc without conversion for capturing TV broadcasts, but can also capture analogue input in pretty much any avi format. When I transfer footage from these sources, I capture to a lossless format called Lagarith. But I also have a lot more disc space than you.