Is there a way to auto split a project too large for one DVD

[johnrr6]

Is there a way in X2 to auto split a large project that is too large to fit on a single DVD???

I film baseball games----and invariably, my finished project is too large for one DVD.

So I then have to go back into the project and pull out several clips/scenes until I have it down to a small enough size.....

Burn that DVD-----then go back in and pull out the first DVDs clips-----and replace them with the ones I originally pulled out----then finally burn the second DVD.

Is there a way X2 will automatically split your project into chunks that will fit on a single DVD-----so I don't have to do all this guesswork just to get two DVDs???

Failing that-----is there a way to see how big the project is getting as you build it???? So that when I reached around the 4 Gig mark----I'd just go ahead and burn it to DVD right then.

Thanks for any help or advice.....

John

[Black Lab]

There are a few ways you can do it. Obviously you are doing the most complicated way, at the risk of deleting some of your footage.

Another way is to reduce the bitrate of your project so more can fit on a DVD. At 8,000 kbps you can fit about 60 minutes on a regular DVD. At 6,000 you can get about 90 minutes. At 4,000 almost 2 hours. Keep in mind that as you reduce the bitrate your quality will also reduce. Here is a handy bitrate calculator.

Another method is to use DVD Shrink, a nice utility that will shrink your entire project to fit onto a DVD. Basically it automatically calculates the bitrate for you.

Earlier versions of VS had a utility to shrink your project to fit. I don't know if X2 has it or not, as I never used it because it seemed unreliable.

[Ken Berry]

VS can't do it, I am afraid. What I do in that case (which is rare, since I basically prepare what I want to fit on a DVD) is either of the following:

1) Reduce the bitrate so that it fits -- 8000 kbps = 1 hour on a single layer DVD; 6000 kbps = 90 minutes; 4000 kbps = 2 hours ( plus about 10 minutes or so in each case if you use Dolby or mpeg layer 2 audio instead of LPCM). Both 8000 and 600 should give you excellent to good quality. The 4000 will show a drop off in quality. Below that, the drop off become accelerated.

2) I render to a DVD folder, regardless of the size, using the highest quality bitrate (8000 kbps). I don't put a disc in the burner. So I end up with a DVD folder (Video-TS) which I then get DVD Shrink to open and reduce in size. This, for some reason, preserves quality far better than I get by reducing the bitrate. Nero Recode will do the same.

EDIT: I see Black Lab beat me to the punch ... But at least we agree!!!

[johnrr6]

Possibly figured out another way....

I usually capture about 20-22 clips or "scenes" per 7 inning HS Baseball Game using the "split by Scene" function during capture.

If I take all my clips which are captured to a separate E:\ 1TB drive----run them through dvDate and rename them with a game title and the date and time the clip was taken.....

Clear out all my thumbnails in VS X2...

Reimport the video clips into the library....

Sort by Date

(This seems like a lot of steps but it really only takes seconds----and I LOVE dvDate!!!! What a great little FREE utility.)

And then build TWO projects by just dividing the number of clips in half.....

10 to 11 clips each project----which should never bust the DVD size limitation.

Well---almost never----we just lost an 11 inning marathon HS game tonight when a kid (with two outs and two strikes) hits a walk off home run in the bottom of the 11th.

Heartbreaker

And I have a good 2 hours and 30 minutes of film for THAT game.... LOL

gonna mean THREE DVDs.......

[Black Lab]

Sure, you can do it that way if you don't mind one game spanning two or three DVDs. Or, you can fit a game on one DVD with the methods stated above.

[johnrr6]

I'm all for speed at this point.....

Jeff----which way do you think would be faster....

And is the trade off in quality THAT much??