Which rendering option to use

[jszschulz]

I've been trying to burn a two hour home video on Corel VideoStudio x4, but have a few questions.
One, I have made 12 seperate video clips from footage taken off our JVC Everio video camera, each rendered with the MPEG Optimizer option (rendered as MPEG-2). Once I put them all together in the 'Create DVD' screne, they require the use of an 8.5GB dual layer DVD. I have used Adobe Elements 2.0 in the past and have never had any trouble burning the same amount of video footage on a single layer 4.7 DVD, which is what I'd like to do again. My home DVD player cannot read the dual layer discs. So, my question is how to render my individual clips so they will fit onto the 4.7GB disc. I don't understand why they are so large. Nor do I understand all the options listed for rendering. Which option would be best?
Thank you!
Shannon

[canuck]

A standard 4.7GB DVD can only hold 60 minutes of video at best quality which is a about 8000 bit rate setting. If you want to put 120 minutes of video on that DVD then you will have to reduce the bitrate until it fits. Of course you will greatly reduce the quality and wind up with an unacceptable video. You would be much better to split the video over two discs.

BTW, most DVD players accept DL DVDs and play them. Have you played any commercial DVDs on your player. Most of them are actually DL DVDs.

[Ken Berry]

A two hour video will require a bitrate of around 4000 kbps or perhaps just a little more if you use a highly compressed audio format such as Dolby. But as Canuck has said, this will greatly reduce the quality of your original video, and you will end up with something of no better quality than VHS tape.

To get this bitrate, you have to select Share > Create Video File > Custom, choose "MPEG (.mpg)" as the output format, then click on the Options button and on the Compression tab, change the bitrate down from the default 8000 kbps. Make sure on the General tab you are using the same Field Order as your original video. By default it is set to Upper Field First, but if, say, you are using DV/AVI original video, you need to change this to Lower Field First.

While most commercial videos are, as Canuck says, on dual layer discs, they are produced by quite a different method to those produced at home by programs such as VS or other consumer editing packages. Commercial discs are pressed in one seamless operation using a master disc. Home discs, on the other hand, are burned track by track using a burning laser. And indeed some DVD players -- and particularly the more expensive brand name ones -- have difficulty with home made DL discs...

[jszschulz]

Thank you both for your insight! I suppose my only real choice is to split and burn on two seperate dvds. I tried lowering the bit rate, but the quality was horrible.