Best way to reduce MPEG-2 File size

[XanaXManX]

What is the best way to reduce MPEG-2 File size with minimal quality loss.
I am trying to copy our home videos to DVD but I can only fit about 1 hour of video per DVD. I am using the ATI AIW 8500 for capture. I then encode with TMPGenc.

[ktnwin]

To get 2 hour video to fit on one DVD-R, you have to encode with a lower bitrate (around 4000 Kbits/sec). Quality will suffer and there is not much anyone can do abou this.

[puertorican138]

Re-encoding with a lower bitrate like ktnwin said is a way to reduce a MPEG's file size.

[puertorican138]

Also, you could try cutting the credits out, if your file has any. as cutting usually doesn't require re-encoding. :P

[mcmse1]

One way is to encode your DVD video without worrying about filesize. If the final filesize is too big for the DVD, use a transcoder such as DVD2One or ReMPEG2 to make it fit.

[digitalmaster]

If you really want to save some space, check this site out!!!!!!Make sure you read the guide. Works with VCD, SVCD, DVD, MPEG1 and MPEG2.
www.kvcd.net

[Craig Tucker]

Also make sure you are using authoring software that will accept mpeg audio, as some packages reencode mpeg audio to PCM audio, this means that much more space than necessary is taken up by the audio track.