Problem with movie size

[Zenkai]

Well I'm trying to record a little movie I have on my computer to a 4.7 gig DVD and I select the ad video file option, I add the movie (~1hour 41 minutes in length) and I try to burn it and it says the movie is to large for my dvd so I'm thing what's going on and I look, it says the movie is 5.15 gig in size when in actuality the file size is 700 mb. How can it jump so high? and is there any way to lower it to fit? (also the file format of the movie is .avi)

[jcc]

The fit-to-disk option of DMF4 (bottom left of burn screen) should handle that without any problem.

[sjj1805]

Well I'm trying to record a little movie I have on my computer to a 4.7 gig DVD and I select the ad video file option, I add the movie (~1hour 41 minutes in length) and I try to burn it and it says the movie is to large for my dvd so I'm thing what's going on and I look, it says the movie is 5.15 gig in size when in actuality the file size is 700 mb. How can it jump so high? and is there any way to lower it to fit? (also the file format of the movie is .avi)

This sounds like an "AVI" you have downloaded off the internet. If so this will be an MPEG4 despite its "AVI" extension.

MPEG4's are very very highly compressed videos but maintain a high quality. May at first appear confusing as a 'normal' AVI when converted to a 'Normal' MPEG gets smaller instead of bigger.

[Hal05154]

So, if we do want to burn these AVI files that are MPEGs, why do it look like 700 megs, but when I import the file, the dvd bar shows it to be 4.38 gig???

I am new to all of this, so does MovieFactory expand the file? Convert it?

I was hoping to add multiple files to a single disc, but so far no go. Can this be done and save the intergrity of the file?

Thank you

[DVDDoug]

Your 700MB file is not DVD compliant. DVD video must be MPEG-2 at a particular resolution and framerate, etc. The resolution/framerate are different for PAL (Europe, etc) and NTSC (North Anerica, etc.) The audio should be LPCM or DolbyAC3. (MPEG-2 audio is also allowed on a PAL DVD.)

The amount of compression is determined by the bitrate. At a bitrate of 6000kbps plus Dolby audio, you can fit about 90 minutes of video onto a single-layer DVD. (LPCM audio takes-up more space than Dolby.)

Higher bitrate = higher quality, although there is an upper limit. When I've tried to squeeze much more than 2 hours (with Dolby audio) onto a (single layer) DVD, I've started to notice the quality loss.

Here is a Bitrate Calculator.

Of course, you can copy the 700MB file onto a DVD as-is by telling Movie Factory to make a "data DVD". But, it won't play on a DVD player.... You would have to play it on a computer. Some DVD players can play some non-compliant more-compressed formats such as VCD, SVCD, DivX, etc. But, you are usually better-off making a compliant Video DVD that (almost*) all DVD players can play.


* Some DVD players can't play "burned" DVDs. Some can play DVD-R, but not DVD+R, etc.

[sjj1805]

There are many different video file formats, just like when dealing with pictures you have many different formats like
BMP, GIF, PNG, JPG, PSD, UFO, TIFF and so on.

The picture might look the same but the file sizes vary considerably.
The same is true when dealing with video files.

Videos use what are termed Codecs which is shorthand for
COmpression DECompression. A raw 1 hour video would occupy about 65GB of hard drive space. a file that size would also make your processor struggle.

So the clever people in the computing world thought up various ways to make these video sizes smaller and more manageable. They devised various ways to compress a video. Because many people from all around the world came up with various ideas and ways to compress videos, many different compression formats evolved.

Some of these include DV MPEG1 MPEG2 MPEG3 MPEG4 DivX Xvid MOV WMP and many many more.

Some compression methods would make the size of the video a lot smaller than others BUT size isn't everything, you must also consider quality. It is no good having a small video that is also unwatchable.

When DVD Video Discs came along a standard had to be adopted so that when YOU create a DVD it will play in someone elses DVD player.
It was the old VHS -v- Betamax war all over again. The standard that was adopted was MPEG2. Pop along to the shops and buy a film on DVD and it will be in MPEG2 format.

Times move on and new ideas and new technology comes along.
DivX and other similar formats evolved and are now extensively used by TV Stations who place their programs on the internet. These videos as you have discovered have a small file size but retain high quality.

However, they are not in the MPEG2 format - a requirement of the DVD Video specification and so must be converted from DivX etc. to MPEG2 - thus the increase in the file size.

[Hal05154]

Ok then, even though I am still new to all of this, I think I understand...

But now, a practical, operational question...

I have a file sitting on my HD that is 717000 KB, but when I try to burn it, it jumps to way over 4.3 gig. Something over 4.7+.

WILL the automatic compression of the Movie Factory compress this file so that it is viewable without excess distraction, or do I need to do something else to make it burn properly.

Any and all help is GREATLY appreciated.

Thank you!

[DVDDoug]

WILL the automatic compression of the Movie Factory compress this file so that it is viewable without excess distraction, or do I need to do something else to make it burn properly.

Yes, you can fit a 1 hour, 43 minute program on a DVD. But, you will have to try it. Conversion can be tricky, and some users have had trouble with the Fit To Disc feature.

If you need to set the bitrate manually, use a bitrate of 5000kbps with Dolby audio, or a bitrate of 3700kbps with LPCM audio. That will create files small enough to fit on a single-layer DVD.

Or, you can go ahead and create the too-big DVD structure on your hard drive,* shrink the files with DVDshrink (FREE!!!), and then burn it to an actual DVD.


* When you get to the "burn" step, check the box that says Create DVD folders and un-check Create Disc. You'll get the VIDEO_TS and AUDIO_TS folders on your hard drive, instead of a DVD.