File Sizes

[rhodellf]

Hello to all.
I'm sure tt seems like a simple question to many but I am confused with the file sizes when I render videos that I have created or captured with my camcorder.
I just finished a 5 min video clip in After effects and the uncompressed size came to a nice thick 8GB......!!!!!
Now 8GB for a five minute file it is somewhat BIG to say the least.
My question is how on earth then they fit an entire movie of 2 hours on a 4.37GB DVD?
It is some settings that I am using wrong or I need compression tools?

Before you jump in talking about compression a word of notice.
I DO compress the file after it's done with VirtualDub using an XViD codec and the mighty 8GB comes down to just a great 110MB.
The question however I am asking is more general.
How to achieve best quality of a 1.5 or 2 hour material and still fit it into a 4.37 DVD.
Is XViD or DiVX the right tool or you loose too much quality?
What compression (if any) do the professionals use?
Thanks in advance.

[jagabo]

files size = bitrate * running time

DVD (as in, what you play on your set-top DVD player) only allows MPEG 2.

Divx/Xvid (MPEG 4 part 2) can create smaller files with similar quality.

h.264 (MPEG 4 part 10, AVC, etc) can create even smaller files with similar quality.

[Baldrick]

Well it depends,

What is your goal with the dvd? To make a dvd-video, a video that should be easily editable, just for computer playback, web playback, etc.

And what resolution/frame size do you want? 1920x1080 HD, 1280x720 or SD 720x480 or lower? Bigger size requires bigger file size.


"Proffesionals" are probably just using the best quality/biggest file as long as possible and when they need to publish it they convert it to the end format like dvd-video(mpeg2), blu-ray(h264), web (h264 flv/mp4), quicktime (h264), etc.

[redwudz]

Assuming a regular DV camcorder, DV uses about 13GB/hour. Not sure how you came out at 8GB for 5 min. If you used Virtual Dub and didn't choose a compression codec, that's one way.

What your final format (Compression) depends on what you want to do with the video or play it back on. MPEG-2 for a regular DVD works well at about 8500 - 9000Kbps. That gives you about an hour of high quality video. With Xvid/Divx, probably around 2000Kbps would be good. A lot of this depends on your source material. Lots of motion eats up bitrate to achieve a similar quality as the original. So does noise on the video.

The size of your finished video depends on the bitrate you used. Bitrate X Time = Size. Try a bitrate calculator from our 'Tools' section if you need a particular size to fit a DVD-5.

Any time you re-encode you lose quality. How much depends on your encoder settings, mostly bitrate. It also depends on your source material, as mentioned above. With Xvid, try the 'Quantizer' settings. (Click 'Target bitrate' and it will change to 'Target quantizer'. A setting of '2' will give you about equivalent quality as the original. '3' will give you a smaller file, with a bit more quality loss. Those settings are in the codec when you select the the codec and click 'Configure' in VD.

[rhodellf]

Well it depends,

What is your goal with the dvd? To make a dvd-video, a video that should be easily editable, just for computer playback, web playback, etc.

WELL I aspire to make a DVD with of a rather decent quality that one can pop into a DVD standard player and watch it. It is mainly Ambient Music Videos.


And what resolution/frame size do you want? 1920x1080 HD, 1280x720 or SD 720x480 or lower? Bigger size requires bigger file size.

I wish I knew my friend. That's why I am posting the question to the NEWBIE section. After my description right above what do you think I need?



"Proffesionals" are probably just using the best quality/biggest file as long as possible and when they need to publish it they convert it to the end format like dvd-video(mpeg2), blu-ray(h264), web (h264 flv/mp4), quicktime (h264), etc.

So their files of uncompressed footage of two ours probably runs into TERRAbytes....???
However, converting the file to DVD-Video (mpeg2) does not say nothing about compression right?
They still need to use a codec OR just comverting to DVD mpeg2 brings the file to the right size?

Thanks again.[/b]

[rhodellf]

Assuming a regular DV camcorder, DV uses about 13GB/hour. Not sure how you came out at 8GB for 5 min. If you used Virtual Dub and didn't choose a compression codec, that's one way.

Thanks alot your message is very detailed and very helpful indeed.
A couple of things.
I end up with 8GB after I rendered my project uncompressed on AFTER EFFECTS, not my DV camcorder file.


What your final format (Compression) depends on what you want to do with the video or play it back on. MPEG-2 for a regular DVD works well at about 8500 - 9000Kbps. That gives you about an hour of high quality video. With Xvid/Divx, probably around 2000Kbps would be good. A lot of this depends on your source material. Lots of motion eats up bitrate to achieve a similar quality as the original. So does noise on the video.

The version of XVid that I have has two options: AUTOMATIC and SPECIFIED RATE.
I ALWAYS use AUTOMATIC because I get usually confused with the ratings and I feel that I get poor quality, AND because it is convenient Another helper wrote above that H.264 makes even smaller files with same quality. H.264 appears in the ffdshow in two versions H.264 (with adjustable bitrates) and H.264 lossless (with no adjustables).
Any experience or thoughts on this one?

The size of your finished video depends on the bitrate you used. Bitrate X Time = Size. Try a bitrate calculator from our 'Tools' section if you need a particular size to fit a DVD-5.

Any time you re-encode you lose quality. How much depends on your encoder settings, mostly bitrate. It also depends on your source material, as mentioned above. With Xvid, try the 'Quantizer' settings. (Click 'Target bitrate' and it will change to 'Target quantizer'. A setting of '2' will give you about equivalent quality as the original. '3' will give you a smaller file, with a bit more quality loss. Those settings are in the codec when you select the the codec and click 'Configure' in VD.

[edDV]

Uncompressed HD is over 1Gb/s or ~ 600GB/hr*

Uncompressed SD is ~270 Mb/s for 10 bit including 8 PCM audio tracks.


* differs by frame size, frame rate and bit depth. Pro video is typically 10bits/component.

[filmboss80]

If you are authoring a DVD, you do not want Divx/Xvid. After you are satisfied with the final clip, you should export as DVD-compliant MPEG2 and then author it into a DVD. As a newbie, tools such as DVD Flick and FAVC (both free in the Tools section of this site) can take most video types and turn them into files for DVD burning. In order for the discs to play on most DVD players, you'll have to have a standard definition resolution. In NTSC countries, that is 720 x 480. I don't know if you're in an NTSC, PAL, or SECAM country, since you didn't list your general location in your profile. (It would be helpful to update your profile. We don't need to know specifics -- just what country.)