6 hours on a DVD - how??

[frogger]

Obviously, I want to be able to burn as much video on a DVD+r as possible. I'm fairly new to DVD burning. All I do is home-made stuff - no ripping or backing up.
But how does Lucas fit 6 hours of commentaries with all kinds of motion menus on the SW2 Attack of the Clones extra DVD?? The video seems to be great quality and the audio sounds great - so how is it done??
I would love to be able to fit 6 hours on one DVD. Right now I'm burning 2 hours of video with 4 menus using Ulead DVD Workshop and the "lowest quality setting". Once it's done I'm going to pop it in my standalone and see how it does - but is there a way to do this????

Thanks!

[Faceman101]

DVD-9s, they hold twice as much as your DVD+R.

Also he has higher end hardware and software that works alot better than any Dazzle or Ulead product.

If you like, search and read up on half D1 resolution. With 352x480, you can fit probably close to 4 hours or more onto a DVD+R.

[Gazorgan]

Not all of that 6 hours is full DVD resolution. A LOT of it is lower resolution or lower bitrate. A DVD 9 is double size, so he can have a good 4 hours of full blown movie without cheating.

[frogger]

I take it there is no DVD 9 consumer format??

[hotwings]

You are correct, there is currently no consumer dvd9 recordable format available. Also another reason that your video size is limited might be due to your audio compression, or lack of. Most commercial dvds use dolby digital compression to fit all the audio in for a movie. Programs like ulead (unless there are newer versions which allow DD, do not compress in dolby digital, but pcm and hopefully mpeg2 audio). Check to see how your audio is being handled. If you have the option, use mpeg audio. It is not as compatible with all ntsc dvd players when used alone as pcm (uncompressed audio), but a good number can play it okay and it will save you tons of space. Look up the specs for standard ntsc dvds on this site (under "what is" dvdr) to get a better idea if you're interested

[ktnwin]

I think you can fit lot of hours on a DVD-R (4.7 GB) if you choose:
1) 352x240 resolution (or maybe 352x480 which ever is allowed by DVD standard format) instead of 720-480
2) with 1/4 of the screen resolution, you can lower the bit rate ( less than 2Kbits/s instead of 8Kbits/sec)
3) use AC3 audio (compressed instead of LPCM)
I have not tried but it should be possible. The question is which authoring program that allows that fancy setups (reelDVD can do it I believe).

[wulf109]

Lower resolution dose not reduce file size. One hour at 352x240 will be the same file size as 720x480. The "advantage" of the lower resolution is that artifacts will less visible than at full 720x480 because they'll be more bits per pixel at 352x240.

[kwag]

But how does Lucas fit 6 hours of commentaries with all kinds of motion menus on the SW2 Attack of the Clones extra DVD??

I'm not Lucas , but take a look here how to fit 6+ hours on a DVD(+-)R
http://www.kvcd.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2073&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=540

[tjtoed]

IF you fork out an extra $200 then DVD workshop will handle AC3 (DD) audio.

From the Ulead web site:
"Whether you're using DVD Workshop with the AC-3 PowerPack or DVDWS AC-3, you can import AC-3 5.1 Surround Sound audio files directly into your DVD projects by either using elementary or program stream content. If you don't already have AC-3 audio files and wish to take advantage of their high compression and playback compatibility, DVD Workshop will create Stereo AC-3 files from your LPCM or WAV audio. "

If you use AC-3 audio, you can put more on the disc because the sound is compressed much more than if using LPCM or MPEG-2 audio.

Too bad this "add-on" costs 200 bucks...

[Faceman101]

2) with 1/4 of the screen resolution, you can lower the bit rate ( less than 2Kbits/s instead of 8Kbits/sec)

1/2, not 1/4. And with that, he would have VCD quality.

Lower resolution dose not reduce file size. One hour at 352x240 will be the same file size as 720x480. The "advantage" of the lower resolution is that artifacts will less visible than at full 720x480 because they'll be more bits per pixel at 352x240.

It should have been stated better, but 352x480 with 3000 bitrate will be better looking than 720x480. Hence the suggestion of a lower resolution. I wouldn't bother with 352x240 at any bitrate for material to go on to a DVD. That is my opinion.

[ktnwin]

faceman,
I knew that the resolution does not affect the resulting MPEG file size, but the bit rate does.
My point is with a 1/4 resolution (352x240 is a little less than 720x480), you do not really need, say 8000Kbits/sec as DVD for good quality, but you can safe scale down 8000/4 = 2000Kbits/sec and still achieve excellent quality at 352x240. The picture may not be as crisp as 720x480 but that a compromise to get more hours on a 4.7GB DVD media. Actually DVD standard allow around 1800Kbits/sec for MPEG-1 file.