Why does MyDVD make my MPEGs bigger

[thekid26]

I've encoded a few movies in mpeg2 compliant for DVD according to TMPGEnc. For example, I converted Pulp Fiction to mpeg2, and the file was approx 2.2gig. I did Reservior Dogs too, came to about 1.1gig. So total 3.3gig should fit onto a DVD-R. When I add the files to MyDVD I added Pulp Fiction first. After adding, it said I had 680Meg free. What am I doing wrong? I thought the MPEG size is the movie size, apparently I'm wrong. If I encode a file with TMPGEnc and set it to say 70% of a DVD-R, when I go take it into MyDVD to author, I can't because MyDVD says the movie is too large.

Any help is appreciated.

[ADS Ivan]

MyDVD converts the audio from your MPEGs to uncompressed PCM format. Although they force you to author with PCM audio to make your DVD more compatible with set top DVD players, this keeps you from ever fitting 2 hours of video on a 4.7 GB disc. Look for an app that supports MPEG-1 Layer 2 audio like the Ulead authoring apps...

ADS Ivan

[thekid26]

I can never get Ulead to work right for some odd reason. I guess I need to play with it a bit, I can only manage to get 1 video to show visible, and cant get the others. Thanks for the insight though!

[Xtasy2002]

Hmm it's not just audio if you have an mpg that's say 352x480.. Because myDVD will only author 720x480 full DVD. It will not author 1/2 DVD or any other variation of the DVD spec. Thus if you import a 1/2 DVD 352x480 it re-sizes the entire thing and that results in a much larger file.

[thekid26]

Thanks for everybody replying. I found SpruceUp and now I'm not having any issues at all.

[House de Kris]

Hmm it's not just audio if you have an mpg that's say 352x480.. Because myDVD will only author 720x480 full DVD. It will not author 1/2 DVD or any other variation of the DVD spec. Thus if you import a 1/2 DVD 352x480 it re-sizes the entire thing and that results in a much larger file.

Is this really true? I've mixed half D1 and full D1 on the same disc and haven't seen a noticable amount of difference in processing time. Also, my DVD player reports that the bitrate for a MyDVD authored disc is the same as the original half D1 bitrate. This would imply that even IF MyDVD did change the resolution from 352x480 to 720x480, the file is the same size (for the video content).

[Xtasy2002]

Yep, it's true. If you read the mydvd help guide you will see where they mention that all files must be (or will be converted to) 720x480. It's quite possible that you didn't notice any difference if you had 1/2 D1 with the same BITRATE encoded as a full dvd bitrate would be. Bitrate is what determines the file size much more than resolution. If you were to encode a 1/2 D1 at say 2000 bitrate, notice the file size, then import to myDVD notice the increase in size.

PS: They have this product 'fixed' like that cuz it's trialware. They really want you to buy the retail package for $100's to get 1/2 D1 and other features.