DVD Authoring Questions

[boombox]

I guess this one is aimed chiefly at folks like chrisf, but there may be others out there who can help hence the posting rather than just pm-ing likely suspects.

Anyway, to my problem:

Earlier this week my mate and I went to see Country Joe McDonald (yes, he of the Woodstock and Fixin\' To Die Rag fame). At the second gig, my mate videoed the show using some sort of Sony(??) digital video recorder. he\'s got the Firewire to connect it to the pc, but how does he make it into a DVD? His wife, who\'s a film studies graduate, is worried that a two hour show will take up a lot of space, though I suspect she\'s a little too concerned with it being broadcast quality, rather than that with which we are familiar for show DVDs.

I guess what we need to know is how to compress it so it will fit on one or two DVDs. Any software or methods or suggested compression ratios??? She has access to decent equipment, but we are unsure re quality vs file size.

Thanks in advance

[davepeck]

andy -

check out http://www.videohelp.com - everything you could possibly need is there..

[boombox]

Thanks, dave - that site is very comprehensive. Will have to get on the blower to him later and find out which software he has access to, then print out the relevant guide.

[FrankZappa]

Andy - make sure your saving as a PAL framerate when recording to the computer. Otherwise when you make the DVD, it wont play for you.

DO NOT USE drop frame 29.97. (NTSC)!!!!!!!! That is a US standard, and unless your dvd player is multi format it wont read it.

This is all asuming that your friends camcorder is recording in PAL, but it should be.

Basically, your going to want to create an .AVI file when you ingest. This is a raw uncompressed Video file (much the same as a .WAV is to audio). Once you have that, you can use DVD authoring software and drag the .AVI file out as a clip of video. The software will allow you to put in chapter mark, menues, etc. It will also automatically compress the video to fit on the disc. 2 hours is pretty much the max your going to get on one DVD unless your running a dual layer drive with dual layer discs, then you should be able to get 4 hours, but this dual layer software is still very $$$.


Also - let me know if you need a pal version of 10-31-03 DVD. If so, I\'ll render one off for you but it will take me a few weeks to find some free time to amke it before I can mail it.

[ChrisF]

His wife, who\'s a film studies graduate, is worried that a two hour show will take up a lot of space, though I suspect she\'s a little too concerned with it being broadcast quality

its going to be uncompressed video after transferring the tapes to the hard drive, so you will need the space to begin with. 2 hours will be about 26-27 gigs in uncompressed AVI. Thats huge for the average person, but Matt, Paul and I have to deal with 2.5 - 3 hour shows with up to 7 cameras, so you do the math.

Any software or methods or suggested compression ratios???

I would recommend using DVD Architect to author the AVI file to DVD format. It can be automatically set to fit the video on one full disc to make use of all the space. DVD Architect has all the features advanced users need, but its not that difficult to learn. If you have trouble with it try Nerovision Express. It doesnt have nearly the amout of features as DVD architect and the quality wont be as good as DVD Architect, but for the average person its just fine. I just wouldnt use it to author a breakfast show shot with mutiple camera angles angles because all the program basically does it get it on a DVD with menus.

[boombox]

Thanks chris for the pointers - will get back on the phone to my mate later - I think he has DVD archirect. Also, as for a PAL authored 10-31-03, yes pleaase when you get the chance!

[kindm's]

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