Max size of MPG2 file to fit on DVD using DVD Architect?
 

Hi,

I'm rendering (PAL 16:9) compatible material in Vegas (7) to MPG2 files - the assumed format to export to DVD Archictect 4. That program is splicing the MPG2 file into VOBS and doing some other formatting or preparing before the burn. All this needs additional space on a single layer DVD. It is obvious that a 4.7 GByte rendered MP2 file in Vegas will not fit a 4.7GByte DVD! How much smaller must the original file be to fit onto this DVD using DVD Architect??? Assuming no menus? There is no information about this in any manuals.

I know that you can re-render your material in DVD Architect to fit anyhow, but that would be insane - loosing both quality and time. My target is a PAL 16:9 best quality video with stereo AC-3 coded sound. Directly rendered in Vegas to fit a DVD. My material length is either 60 or 90 minutes. Sad that Vegas does not have the burn to disk direcly as it's cheaper sibling...

Thanks for any help here...

Christian

A 4.7 GB DVD really holds only about 4.3 GB, and even then you'll give up some to your specific disc directory, etc..

You can adjust your bitrate in the MPEG-2 export controls. But if you're inexperienced with that, you may be better off exporting a DV .avi and letting DVD Architect do the render.

Hi,

That is a good idea - to determine the final bitrate in the DVD-arcihtect :)

Do I loose quality if my material (mixed HDV and DV source) is first rendered to an best quality AVI (DV 16:9) in Vegas, and then to MPG2 in DVD-Architect?

Going from AVI (DV) to AVI means decoding and coding, and an additional decoding and encoding to MPG2 in DVD Archicet? Do I loose quality compared to a direct DV -> MPG in Vegas?

My source material must be color corrected in Vegas so probably no AVI from DV goes straingt to AVI in Vegas anyhow...

Christian

Staying in DV, using Vegas's DV codec, you should have no loss in quality when you render to DV AVI, unless you've done massive amounts of correction or other effects to the video -- and even then, it'll look as good as it possibly could under the circumstances. A single generation makes no difference.

But remember, when you put that much video onto a DVD and try to make it fit, you're going to take a quality hit somewhere. It won't be a product of rendering to DV AVI first; it'll be the necessary compression of getting video that long to fit on a DVD-5.

But DVDA does a good job, and you may not even notice anything. Just don't be surprised if you do.