a complete season of a tv series on a 4.7 gb dvd

[Sanmaame]

Hello Everyone

There is this thing about TV Series I have seen that really bufles me.

I have seen a complete season of a TV series of about 20 episodes each running for about 45 min being put on a single dvd of 4.7 GB size and this really bufles me.

I want to know if it is that there is a special authoring program they are using or it is that they get to significantly reduce the size of each episode but still mentain an appreciable quality andthen burn them into one 4.7 GB dvd.

I will be very glad if somebody can help me solve this mystery.

Thanks all you guys on videohelp for your wonderful contribution to this forum.

[jagabo]

file size = bitrate * running time

The lower the bitrate the lower the quality. You can use smaller frame sizes to reduce the bitrate requirement. For example, use 352x288 or 352x576 instead of 720x576.

If you are using a Divx certified DVD player you can create a DVD full of Divx files which can get ~equivalent quality to DVD at about half the bitrate. You can also reduce the frame size to reduce the bitrate requirement. Divx is much more flexible in terms of frame sizes so you aren't limited to just 352x288, 352x576, and 720x576.

The nature of the video can make a difference too. A 20 hour still frame can compress down to nearly nothing and look decent. High motion, high noise, etc. does not compress well.

[tomlee59]

As jagabo said, you can put many hours of video on a disc, but there's a tradeoff in quality.

You can use reduced (e.g., VCD-like) resolution and bitrates (both are DVD-compliant, by the way; all that needs to be changed is the audio sampling rate), and that alone will allow you to increase the running time. At VCD rates, you can cram more than 7 hours of video on a single-sided (DVD5) disc. If you're willing to accept even lower quality than VCD, you can go well beyond 7 hours. It all depends on how much reduction in quality you are willing to tolerate. The lower your standards, the longer the running time.