Learning the basics of video very quickly

[janlafata]

I just bought a second computer to mess around with. It's used, and I'm going to slowly fix it up and use to test out apps, experiment with etc. It came with Windows XP on it and after I booted it up, I looked around to see what was on there.

The first thing that that caught my attention was that there were several video- related apps installed, Ulead DVD Movie Maker, GEAR Video and Xilisoft Video Converter. I soon discovered why that was all in there too when I explored a second drive and saw several video files in a folder.

Now I should mention, at this point that, even though I know computers fairly well, I never messed around at all with video or DVD burning or anything. I've been strictly an audio guy, I use Rhapsody for that.

So my curiosity kicked in and I wanted to see what these files were. Turns out they were movie files, in AVI format. One was actually a movie I liked too, so, since I've been thinking about joining a Movie subscription service for some time anyway, I thought I'd play around with these files and the video software, to kind of get the hang of things. There's a DVD burner on the machine too, so I thought I was all set.

I loaded the 700 MB avi file into the Ulead and I was instantly surprised when it blew up to over 5 GB's. A friend told me that was probably due to the fact that the file was compressed. Anyway, I proceeded forward with the setup and eventually reached a step where I got a small popup window that said that the information on the file was too big for a standard DVD and would I like to continue to see if DVDFit could shrink it?

I said yes and it proceeded to start the burn process, however it got to a point where it started looking like it was going to take forever, so I aborted. Then I loaded the same file in the GEAR video program and it did not show any size over 4.7 Gb's and it didn't have to shrink anything. In fact it burned the file to disk just fine.

So , once again, I asked my tech friends why this happened and they told me that the Ulead just reads and records everything at a higher bitrate and that I need to see if I can change the bitrate to a lower setting.

So is this true, and if so, how would I go about doing that? I looked through all of the help manuals and I could see no option to change the bitrate.

I look forward to your comments
Jan LaFata

[DVDDoug]

...Ulead DVD Movie Maker...

Movie Maker or Movie Factory? What version? Is it an "SE" version?

Turns out they were movie files, in AVI format.

FYI - "AVI" is not a single format... It's a "wrapper' or "container" format, and it can contain anything fro DV (13GB per hour) to DivX (highly compressed).

I loaded the 700 MB avi file into the Ulead and I was instantly surprised when it blew up to over 5 GB's. A friend told me that was probably due to the fact that the file was compressed.

True. Almost all video formats are compressed. There are many different compression schemes. Some compresion formats are more efficient than others. And just like audio, the quality can vary depending on how much compression is used (i.e. the bitrate).

I got a small popup window that said that the information on the file was too big for a standard DVD...

DVDs are MPEG-2, which is less-compressed than most other formats. At a video bitrate of 6000kbps, you can fit about 90 minutes of commercial-quality video, along with Dolby audio onto a single-layer DVD. (Note that most commercial DVDs are dual-layer.)

Here is a handy Online Bitrate Calculator.

...it started looking like it was going to take forever...

Some formats (and format variations) can take several hours, or overnight to convert to MPEG-2. Some files will fail to convert, or can even crash the Ulead/Corel programs. In general, the more-compressed formats tend to be the most difficult to edit or convert... These formats can be a royal pain! (Sometimes you need to use 3rd-party conversion programs.) And, you loose some quality whenever you convert from one lossy format to another. (Almost all video compression formats are lossy.)

I need to see if I can change the bitrate to a lower setting... So is this true, and if so, how would I go about doing that?

It might depend on which version of Movie Factory you have, and it might be shown as a "quality setting". When you start a new project, you should be given a chance to select a "project template". You should be able to choose between "high quality" or "long play", etc. And, you should be able to create a custom template with a bitrate of your choice.

Note that the file size depends on the combined audio & video bitrate. An NTSC DVD (North America) must use either uncompressed LPCM or Dolby (AC3) audio. Dolby audio is compressed, so it leaves more room on the DVD for video.

Higher bitrate = higher quality = bigger file size = lower compression = less playing time.

Lower bitrate = lower quality = smaller file size = higher compression = more playing time.

I never messed around at all with video or DVD burning or anything. I've been strictly an audio guy...

Here are a couple of websites that should be helpful:
DigitalFAQ.com
VideoHelp.com

[janlafata]

DVDDoug,

Thanks for your reply. First of all, I have both Ulead DVD MovieFactory Plus 6.0.0.0194.0 and Ulead/Corel VideoStudio 11 Plus. Right now, I am mainly interested in assistance with MovieFactory.

Also, I was unaware, is there also a Ulead DVD MovieMaker? Perhaps that might help me in lowering or changing the Bitrate better than MovieFactory, because when I opened MovieFactory to implement the steps you mentioned, I saw no mention of being able to create a "quality setting".

In fact, all that happened was: I clicked on New Project and DVD, then clicked Next. From there I added the media, an avi file. I should also mention that, at this point, it showed the overall size of the file larger than a standard DVD.

I then clicked on next where I chose a template. But there was also a Project Settings option in there and when I clicked on that, there was an option for Disc Template Manager. I think that's what you wanted me to find, correct?

When I opened that up, there were options in there for HQ 4:3 Dolby Digital, GQ 4:3 Dolby Digital, HQ 4:3 (20min/1.4G, 60min/4.7G, 100min/8.5G), GQ 4:3 (30min/1.4G, 90Min/4.7G, 150min/8.5G), SP 4:3 (40min/1.4G, 120min/4.7G, 200min/8.5G), LP 4:3 (40min/1.4G, 180min/4.7G, 300min/8.5G), HQ 16:9 (Dolby Digital), GQ 16:9 (Dolby Digital), HQ 16:9 (20min/1.4G, 60min/4.7G, 100min.8.5G), GQ 16:9 (30min/1.4G, 90min 4.7G, 150min 8.5G), and Archive 6 VCDs onto 1 DVD.

Also on there are options for New, Edit, Delete, Reset and close. So I'm assuming this is what you were referring to in your post, as far as settings, but just in a different place in the setup. So now could you explain some of these settings to me, (In English!) and recommend the setting I should be using that would fit my file onto a DVD without having to use DVDFit?

Also thank you for the links.

I look forward to hearing from you
Jan LaFata

[DVDDoug]

HQ = high quality, GQ = good quality
SP = standard play, LP = long play
4:3 = standard screen, 16:9 = widescreen
Dolby digital = Dolby AC3 audio
(20min/1.4G, 60min/4.7G, 100min/8.5G) = At this setting, 20 minutes of video will fill-up a 3" Mini-DVD, 60 minutes will fill-up a standard 4.7GB single-layer DVD, and 100 minutes will fill-up a dual-layer DVD.

I don't have Movie Factory 6 (I have an older version), but I think if you click on Edit or New, you can set the bitrate yourself (if you need to do that).

[janlafata]

DVDDoug.

I just wanted to update on my progress with DVD MovieFactory. Yesterday I successfully adjusted a bitrate of a larger than burnable video file and it went well, so it's seems like I got the hang of it. I'm still far from being a "master video ace", but at least, for now, I have the information I need to consistently get some quality burns.

What I did after I opened the program and clicked New and DVD, was click next and load the video file. Immediately the program read the data and showed a bar graph below of how big it was and how long in duration. Now here's where I have a question, With this particular file, on the left of a very long green bar, it says 4.58, and in parenthesis 4.92 and then GB, then the length of the video.

Further down the bar in a small red part it says 4.38 followed by an area with no color and (4.70) GB. Now I know what the 4.70 GB's mean, but I'm not sure about the other numbers or which one is actually showing the size of the over sized file. Please let me know.

Anyway, I did just like you said, I clicked on Settings and Options, then Disk Template Manager. From there I clicked New, then entered a name for the custom setting. Then I clicked on the Compression tab and started entering in my data based on what the Bitrate Calculator told me to set it at.

By the way, I downloaded a different Bitrate calculator from videohelp.com because it showed it's reading in kbps, which is what MovieFactory wants. I entered in thenumbers, which basically consisted of length of the video, then hit close.

Now this part is where I'd like to see Ulead make an improvement on. Even after I entered in those custom settings under the title of the video, I didn't see any change in the bar graph just yet. I then had to open up Project Settings and click Change MPEG Settings.

Then I scrolled down to the title of the file name I set up with custom settings and clicked on that, then ok. Immediately the bar graph changed to where it showed the size of the video on the left would be 4.39 (4.71) GB, and on the other far end, now with no red showing, it said 4.38 (4.70) GB. But I still don't understand why there's so many numbers or which one is right!

Anyway, at least it showed that I was now able to burn normally, should I choose to do so. And, I'm assuming, that if I ever get, say a 2 hour video, that I can can set the bitrate level even lower, lower than recommended, if I have to, in order to get it under 4.70.

One question I have about the bitrate calculator that I used. Right below the area where I entered the length, there was a setting for different DVD's, and I'm not sure why they are all there, what they are used for or even if I picked the right one. It's a drop-down menu.

The first setting, which I assume is the default was 4.37 (DVD5), What's this DVD5 all about?. Then there was 7.95 (DVD9), 8.75 (DVD10), 12.32 (DVD14), 15.90 (DVD18), 1.36 (DVD1), 2.47 (DVD2), 2.72 (DVD3), 4.95 (DVD4) and Custom. What the heck is this all about.?

I did play with it some and discovered that, the lower the number, the lower number of the calculated bitrate, But why doesn't it say anything about a standard 4.7 GB DVD? Anyway I left it on the first setting, assuming that's what I'm supposed to do. Still, I'd like to find a more modern Bitrate calculator that doesn't confuse me so much!

So to summarize, even though I still have many questions, it appears I'm on my way, and I'm glad too, because I really like MovieFactory and was really hoping I could keep using it. I especially love the way it makes some slick menu's, which is real important to me. (Impresses company when they come over!)

So thanks again for all of your time, tips, insight and suggestions. I know your real busy, so you don't have to answer this right away, but I do hope you can clear up those current questions I still have.

Jan LaFata

[Black Lab]

Jan,

You were right there on VideoHelp.com for your question on DVD sizes.
http://www.videohelp.com/dvd#dvdsizes