I'm wondering what the max file size is for the MPG video/audio files for making
a DVD. How much file space must be left for files other than the original MPG
files. For example if my MPG video and audio file size add up to 3GB how close
am I to approaching the single layer DVD limit?
Sometimes I encode files that are too big to fit. If I have a long video to
encode I will often encode a portion of it and check the file size and do the
math to determine what the final size might be. I am using a variable bit rate
so the estimate is not perfect. But I don't know how large the "other" necessary
files tend to be and therefore the maximum allowable space for the original MPG
files.

"DanR" <dhr22@sorrynospm.com> wrote in message
news:Qy7be.225$gd5.192@newssvr12.news.prodigy.com. ..
That could be a problem, especially when you have to guess
how many bytes in a GB for each piece of software and the OS.

I just aim for close but under size, and use DVDShrink on the
rare occasions I go over.

If you use TMPGEnc DVD Author and make your own menu
themes, the indicator at the bottom of the screen will give you a
pretty good indication of the space available for your .mpgs. ( Be
sure to set the play time, for any motion menu background in the
motion menu options, first.) Once you have made your theme
you can see how much of the available space is taken up by the
overhead.

Luck;
Ken

DanR wrote:
then most authoring software packages show red when you start getting up
to about the 4.5 gig size. How complex or not, you may wish to become in
the menu creation process will help you decide.

RS wrote:
I use a program named "Stream" and it's associated "Digital Rapids" hardware to
encode. I encode the video and audio separately so I can normalize the audio.
This is done before I even think about the authoring with the exception of
wondering if a long program is going to fit. Most of the time the program is
just one clip and I use no menus. Just "first play" and when the DVD is finished
playing it just ends. I have had trouble with files that were under 4GB total.
When this happens I start over with a lower bitrate but have wasted maybe an
hour.
Off the subject but I've also had problems with very complex video causing the
variable bitrate to sneak over 8Mb even though I had things set to cap the
bitrate at 8. I've since lowered that setting to 7.5.
Types of video that have given me this problem are outdoor close-up 35mm film
footage of wheat being harvested and poorly shot low light video when there is a
lot of noise in the picture. Apparently the encoder sees the noise as fine
detail that is constantly changing.

DanR wrote:

4GB are you including the audio file? A PCM wav file can be 4-500 MB in
size, which may explain the problem you are running into. If so, high
three's plus audio is what you will aim for. You can also explore
encoding your audio into AC3 format which will give you a smaller file
with little loss of quality.

As for your bitrate problems. I see you have discovered that this is
just as much an art as a science.