As much video as possible on DVD

I don't think this is possible, but can I burn a DVD 4.7 with roughly 40 hours of video on it? The quality is not a problem, It can be anything I need it to, too fit on the disk.

Yeah, if you burn at 24Kbps. It WILL be completely unwatchable and have only the very slightest resemblance to the original, but it will fit. Can't imagine what use it would be.

Check out the bitrate calculators on the left.

good luck
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Since you got my curiosity up I went and ran test. Here's the file specs created by Media Studio Pro. They are all at the lowest allowable by MSP. It wouldn't allow me to lower the bitrate any lower. The Authoring tool wouldn't allow me to drop the audio bit rate any lower either.

MPEG-2
File size: 7.7 mb
Duration: 1m:52s
Format: 24bits, 352x240, 16:9, NTSC 29.976, 434 kbps VBR
Audio: AC3 128 kbps


Suprisingly the video wasnt as bad as I thought it would be, it was definitely watchable, the only trouble trouble was some blocks showing up in the lower left corner on my stand alone DVD player. These weren't visible using PowerDVD so I'll chalk that up to the player.

So for arguments sake if I allow 8mb per two minutes and I just burn a first play video I can fit by my calculations approx 19 hours of video. Is it possible to lower the bitrate further?

Edit: After messing with the settings further I was able to get the audio bit rate to 64kbps using AC3 producing a 6.6 mb file or using mpeg audio @ 32kbs with a file size of 6.2 mb. So assuming my math is correct (I didn't average anything) and you can use the entire 4.7 gigs for video you can fit 32 hours of DVD compliant video on a DVD. The What Is section to the left lists mpeg audio as compliant, I had assumed before it wasn't. Is it possible to go lower that 434 kbps with the video?


Here's a link for the video, I had to crop a little off the end from the origianl test video so it's slightly shorter. It was shot using a older model Sony Digital-8(i don't have the cam here so I don't know what the model is) It's from the viewing platform below Niagara Falls, it's unedited so there's two camera stops. www.nepadigital.com/temp/test3.mpg 6mb

Here's some screenshots from PowerDVD, it capped them at a 4:3 ratio the video is in 16:9.

BTW for some reason I can't view this video file in Windows Media player. My editor , authoring tool and Power DVD play it well. The screencaps are right from the disc not the file.

Originally Posted by Capmaster

Hmmm ...not bad considering. I was just making that same point in the "Is VHS better than DVD for anything", that for longer videos I'd still take digital over VHS. Some replies said that even a 6-hour DVD is completely unwatchable.

Guess your little experiment blows that argument out of the water Nice work Coalman

Thanks, guess they need to brush up on there video editing skills a little, helps a lot to have some good software. Don't think I would want to sit through 19 hours of that though. I wish I could have dropped the bit rate even further.

Originally Posted by lordsmurf

I can see it now: everybody will want to make a coalDVD

Hehe instead of post count wars it will be a "How low can you go" war I'll have to make a guide. "How to make a 19 hour DVD, plus tips on how to reduce your heating costs"

or

"how to drastically reduce DVD and heating expenses"

Originally Posted by lordsmurf

I don't think your math is correct. Your test file above is 1.5 minutes (1:30) and is 6.1MB. We'll say 6MB to make it easy. You've got 4MB per minute. You're looking at 18 hours.

Originally Posted by thecoalman

Here's a link for the video, I had to crop a little off the end from the origianl test video so it's slightly shorter.

The final had some personal stuff on the end so I trimmed it. The original math gave me 19mb but that was averaged, I didn't figure it out to the exact minute and MB.

Originally Posted by lordsmurf

Oh, coalman, something I thought I'd never say:
"Mine's smaller than yours! Nyah, nyah!"

Originally Posted by thecoalman

Edit: After messing with the settings further I was able to get the audio bit rate to 64kbps using AC3 producing a 6.6 mb file or 32kbs using mpeg audio with a file size of 6.2 mb. So assuming my math is correct (I didn't average anything) and you can use the entire 4.7 gigs for video you can fit 32 hours of DVD compliant video on a DVD. The What Is section to the left lists mpeg audio as compliant, I had assumed before it wasn't. Is it possible to go lower that 434 kbps with the video?

So this is wrong too since Roxio reports 4482 mb of free space. so I'll do the math again. 4482/6.2=772.9(files) 772.9 x 152(seconds)=109880 109880/60=1831 1831/60=30.51

So mine is a full hour and half longer than yours....... ....as long as mono mpeg audio is considered DVD compliant mines DVD cpompliant.

Originally Posted by Capmaster

Originally Posted by lordsmurf

I can see it now: everybody will want to make a coalDVD

I know the next time I make a 19 hour (18 ) DVD, I'll think of "The Coalman"

30.5 hour DVD, you could use it to torture someone.

It's watchable, you saw the pics. If you watch it on a comp and scale it down to 352x240 it looks pretty good.

Originally Posted by thecoalman

MPEG-2
File size: 7.7 mb
Duration: 1m:52s
Format: 24bits, 352x240, 16:9, NTSC 29.976, 434 kbps VBR
Audio: AC3 128 kbps

Why not try using MPEG-1? That's DVD-compliant too, isn't it?

(Sorry, double post. )

Originally Posted by lordsmurf

I still say your math is wrong. You've got 4MB per minute. Let's just say 4400, leave some of that 82MB headroom for the authoring. You can put on 1100 minutes, which is 18 hours.

There's 3 files LS which has added some confusion . The first which was described in my original post was 1m52s @7.7mb. The second is a trimmed portion of the first video and was 1m30s @ 6.1, it's the one the link points to. I had to trim it because I wanted to upload it, it is after all from Niagara Falls The third is 1m52s @ 6.2 mb file, which is where Im getting the 30.5 hours from. I haven't uploaded it but only described it in my edit which was added to my original post, it's in red text. I probably should have just posted the new results in a new post. I was able to get a smaller file than the original using mpeg audio at 32 kbps The video portion is the same.

Edit: Actually there's four files, Thyere's two desciribed in my edit in red text, The additional one is 1m52s @ 6.6mb using AC3 audio.

This why I could never be a teacher, all the kids would be looking at each other saying WTF did he jsut say?????

Originally Posted by p_l

Originally Posted by thecoalman

MPEG-2
File size: 7.7 mb
Duration: 1m:52s
Format: 24bits, 352x240, 16:9, NTSC 29.976, 434 kbps VBR
Audio: AC3 128 kbps

Why not try using MPEG-1? That's DVD-compliant too, isn't it?

According to the specs on the "what is" yes but it also says same as the VCD standard. Which would make a larger file if you had to use compliant VCD specs.

But you could lower the bitrate of the MPEG-1, well below the standard 1150 kbit/sec. I know you can do it for VCD, for example to fit a long movie on one CD. I suppose you can do it for DVD too. It would theoretically mean a slightly better picture, since for you'd only have to be fueling MPEG-1, rather than MPEG-2, with your low bitrate.

The questio is does it remain DVD compliant? My take on the "what Is" is that it has to be VCD compliant..... You have to set some limit and like I said my stand alone DVD player had some trouble with it, minor but it was there.

Originally Posted by lordsmurf

I still say your math is wrong. You've got 4MB per minute. Let's just say 4400, leave some of that 82MB headroom for the authoring. You can put on 1100 minutes, which is 18 hours.

Originally Posted by thecoalman

So this is wrong too since Roxio reports 4482 mb of free space. so I'll do the math again. 4482/6.2=772.9(files) 772.9 x 152(seconds)=109880 109880/60=1831 1831/60=30.51

So mine is a full hour and half longer than yours....... ....as long as mono mpeg audio is considered DVD compliant mines DVD cpompliant.

Upon further review we are both wrong... You because your using the wrong file to do your calculations and me because I convereted 1m52s to 152 seconds instead of 112 .....so Roxio reports I can fit 4482mb on a disc. 4482mb of space divided by my file size of 6.2 = 772.9 files.....772.9files x 112 seconds = 86565 seconds...... divide by 60 gives me 1442 minutes.....divided by 60 gives me a little over 24 hours

So yours is definitley smaller than mine Mines DVD compliant though.