Reducing size of project

[kejaha]

First of all I apologise for not being able to find the answer myself, I really have looked for it.
I have created a project from VHS which is 3 hours long. I had to do it in 2 stages as Videostudio stopped at 2hrs 6 minutes. Then by going into share and trying to burn dvd the file was 9gb. I cut in and cut out and created 2 seperate projects DVD1 and DVD2. But when I load either the file size is still 9gb. How do I actually delete the unwanted part of my project?

[blplhp]

I know of 3 ways to reduce the size of your project.

1) What video data rate did you select to create your mpeg2 video files? If 7000 or 8000, you may need to reduce the size of the data rate down, but this will effect video quality (the lower the video data rate, the lower the video quality).

or

2) You can trim your video files in the DVD burner module on the first screen that comes up when you select Share|Create Disc (the screen that has the media file timeline and a preview window). Select a video file in the timeline and the first frame of the video file will appear in the preview window. Use the navigation controls to scroll thru the video file and use the "mark-in", "mark-out" and/or "scissor" buttons to trim your file down to the maximum size allowed for disc burning. As you make your trim edits, keep looking at the bottom of the screen at the horizontal bar that provides a green progress bar of your DVD size. When you have widdled down your video files enough to fit on your DVD, proceed to the next screen to customize your menus (if you have/want any) and then proceed to the next screen to burn the DVD.

or

3) The final and probably less desirable option would be to re-edit in your original project vsp file and then re-render your video file.

I hope I understood your question correctly.

[Ken Berry]

Kejaha -- I think the important piece of information you have not given us is what you did immediately after you cut the original file into two. I am sure that when making DVD1, you deleted the second half of the file. And when creating DVD2, you deleted the first half of the file. And then saved a new project file for each. But in effect, both DVD1 and DVD2 are still represented by the original file at its original length, and the VSP project files for each would still refer to the original file but telling the program where the file has been cut.

In case you have not done so, after you cut the original file, then with DVD1, you don't just go to Save, as this will save only the project file. You should instead go to 'Save Trimmed Video'. This will save a completely new icon for DVD1 and DVD2 in the Library pane. More importantly, it will create brand new files for DVD1 and DVD2 which should be of the correct length. To be on the safe side, you should then delete the original file from the timeline and drag the new DVD1 icon into its place, then save that as DVD1.vsp. Do the same with DVD2.

You do not say which version of VS you are using. 'Save Trimmed Video' can be found under 'Clip' in the top left of screen in VS9 and 10; and under 'Clip' which is in the top right of screen in VS8 (and, I think, VS7).

I assume you would be aware that if you cut a 9GB original file into 2 4.5GB pieces, there is the risk that they will still be too large for a single layer DVD, especially if you create menus for each. Although a single layer DVD nominally holds 4.7GB, this is really sleight of hand in the counting system used. In reality they will hold only around 4.3 GB each, and less if you create menus. In that case, you might have to consider also using the first method suggested by blplhp, namely, reducing the bitrate of your files to ensure they fit. Using Dolby AC-3 or mpeg layer 2 audio will also reduce the overall size of the project and thus allow you to fit more video on a disc.

[kejaha]

blplhp and Ken

Thanks for the advice. I am running v10 with XP. I have found the saved trimmed video, which worked for part of my project.(I decided that as the file was large that I would burn it on 2 dvd one of them being dual layer. I got in such a mess with little bits of project i had tried to trim etc that I decided to delete them all and start again, with the info supplied by yourselves. Trouble is now after 6 minutes of capture I get an error message that says Unexpected error: unexpected error: unspecified error

[Ken Berry]

For that, I am afraid we will need a bit more information. How exactly are you capturing your VHS footage: what capture device are you using; how is it hooked up to your computer (e.g. USB, internal capture card, firewire, other?); and what format are you capturing in (can you right click on one of the files within VS10 and copy down the properties here)? Has anything changed in the architecture of your computer since you last captured VHS successfully? Do you still have the original bits and pieces of your first capture still on your computer?