14 G video file: span with Movie Factory 4?

[kdkrone]

I am using Movie Factory 4. Is there some way to span DVDs so I can break up a 14 GB file?

Thanks
Ken K

[DVDDoug]

Sure... But first... Is your original file 14GB, or is your DVD-compatible MPEG-2 output file 14GB?

With Movie Factory, you can simply make 4 separate projects and trim-out different sections of video for each DVD.

File size depends on bitrate and playing time. (Some formats require higher bitrates than other formats.) With MPEG-2 (the DVD format) you can fit 90 minutes of commercial-quality video and Dolby audio on a single-layer DVD. If you push it much beyond 2 hours, you may notice some some quality loss.

Here is a handy online Bitrate Calculator

[kdkrone]

DVDDoug,

Many thanks for responding. The file is 14,964,684 KB and is an MPEG file I pulled off of my DVR (ReplayTV). A friend in Italy is interested in watching the program, so I thought I could get it to fit on 4 DVDs.

I am a novice at this and have used Movie Factory only for converting the MPEGs from my DVR into DVDs or .iso files for archiving to watch in the future.

You mention bitrate, which sounds like it is something of which I should be aware. How should I adjust it to improve my recordings? And how do I adjust it?

Thanks
Ken K

[DVDDoug]

You set the bitrate under Project Settings. I don't recall the exact template options, but you can make a "high quality" 1 hour DVD, or a lower quality "long playing" DVD. And, you can customize your own template.

Bitrate is the amount of data used to store/transmit the video, and its usually measured in kilobits-per-second (kbps) or megabits-per-second (Mbps).

You can see how the bitrate can be scaled-up from kilobits-per-second to megabytes-per-minute, and from that, you can calculate file size:
File Size in MB = (Bitrate in kbps x Playing Time in minutes) / 140

That's an approximation because of rounding, different formats use different amounts of "overhead". And, you have to include the audio bitrate when calculating/estimating file size.

With compressed files, the bitrate is an indication of how much compression was used. With most lossy compression techniques (like MPEG) you can choose use a lower bitrate, throwing away more data to get a smaller file, or you can choose a higher bitrate, keeping more data and preserving more quality.

The file is 14,964,684 KB and is an MPEG file I pulled off of my DVR (ReplayTV).

That's big for a single program. That could be a high-bitrate (high definition) file, or it could be a very long program... The playing time is more important than original file size. Like I said above, if it's less than 2 hours it should fit on one DVD. But, you'll have to judge for yourself... if you compress it too much the quality may become unacceptable.

[kdkrone]

Thanks for the info.

The large file is a sporting event, so I am breaking it up into 4GB segments for each DVD.

Ken K