How big will output file be ?

[- Bobb -]

My objective is to record all vacation pictures and video onto one DVD :

1. While creating a project and dragging/dropping pictures/video in there
( A LOT), how can/would I know how big the wmv fiile will be ? In less
than 4gb fine , but I do NOT want to click on " Create Moive" and have it
take 12 hours to produce a file that is 6.1gb as it will then be too big
for one DVD. Nor "not put it all on there and have it only come out to be
3.2GB ( so I COULD have fot the rest on there ! )

Any advice or how to estimate output file size ?

 

[PapaJohn]

When heading to a DVD, an hour of high quality video fits on a disc,
regardless of the source of the files... as your videos will be converted to
MPEG-2 files to go on the disk, with appropriate compression to put the hour
on the disc.

Some DVD software will compress to more than an hour... with a slight
lowering of visual quality for the extra compression needed.

 

[- Bobb -]

When heading to a DVD, an hour of high quality video fits on a disc,
regardless of the source of the files... as your videos will be
converted to MPEG-2 files to go on the disk, with appropriate
compression to put the hour on the disc.

Some DVD software will compress to more than an hour... with a slight
lowering of visual quality for the extra compression needed.

re: " Some DVD software will compress to more than an hour", aren't we
both talking about using WMM ? So OTHER companies' software may vary, but
WMM should be one hour ?

As I was posting the question yesterday, I was building a project and
moved all my vacation stuff into the collections and - as I'm going
along - just using the timeline to create the movie - I was thinking of "
how much will fit ? ". When the movie got to about 30 minutes I clicked -
"save movie" and the default was DV-AVI mode. It showed error message
"file too big", because the 30 minutes of pictures/video was going to take
11.5gb - I chose wmv as output and the final outfile size was 223mb. So my
settings are wrong somewhere - if 30 minutes = 11gb ?

Also since it took WMM about 100 minutes to "compile/save" that wmv file,
I'm thinking that converting my '.mov files' to avi is wrong ... If WMM
wants mpeg-2, maybe I should just choose to convert to MPEG-2 instead ?
( I currently use Total Video Converter ) and not bother with AVI ? If I
do that then WMM "would already see the file in correct format" ?? and
maybe save 80 minutes of that 100 minutes ?

Sorry for all the questions, but I'm not getting my head around all the
alternatives for getting media onto a DVD ?

 

[PapaJohn]

Movie Maker can't make a DVD or the MPEG-2 files that go on it. When a Media
Center Edition of XP has a save to DVD option, it passes the files to a
Sonic plug-in which does the DVD work. In Vista's Movie Maker 6, the option
to go to DVD is taken care of Windows DVD Maker..... never by Movie Maker
itself.

Standard video DVDs can only be made using MPEG-2 files and Movie Maker
can't make that file type, so other software is needed.

As DVD making software can usually take either DV-AVI files or WMV files as
inputs, then yes, saving your movies to WMV files instead of DV-AVI can
lower the amount of hard drive space needed to get through the DVD making
process.

 

[Graham Hughes]

dv.avi retains the quality though, so you want this option and a 13gb dv.avi
file will compress down to 4gb of mpeg2 on a dvd.

 

[- Bobb -]

It will compress to 4gb ?? Is that a definite thing or are you guessing
about the 13gb ? WMM gave me an error about the 11gb being "too big -
choose another option", so I couldn't choose direct to DVD ( which I'd
like to do rather than fill disk drives with DVD home movies). SO I chose
wmv format and only 225mb.

My objective is not to make high quality for sale movies - just video of
my last roadtrip to give to others on trip, so that's why I'd rather
direct-to-DVD if I can by the "error message". One step and I get a
master then just clone them and done.
Thanks

 

[Graham Hughes]

Are you using windows media centre edition?
If so, one hour of dv.avi is about 13gb, give or take a few mb.
Using the built in app of the MCE this will allow you to author a dvd using
up to one hour of dv.avi and will convert it to an mpeg2 of about 4gb, give
or take a few mb.
These mpegs are then converted into 1gb vob files which are the files
required by a dvd player to play the disc.
Once the vobs are made the disc is burned.

This is fact, not guesswork.

Now if you don't have MCE, what OS are you using and what is your route to
make the dvd.

If you choose another encoding app, good ones like canopus procoder 3, these
can encode an hour and half (19gb) of dv.avi and produce a dvd of 4gb and it
will be of the same or maybe higher viewing quality, as the encoding engine
algorithms are far superior.

 

[- Bobb -]

Are you using windows media centre edition?

No I'm using XP Pro and MovieMaker 1.1 on my desktop
I DO have XP MCE 2005 on a laptop and can "do whatever I need to there" if
it's better. ( I thought "MovieMaker" was "MovieMaker")

If so, one hour of dv.avi is about 13gb, give or take a few mb.

"Big Picture-wise", I just picked a collection of a wedding. It's 17
minutes long. If I choose wmv format it's 113mb. If I select DV-AVI
(NTSC), it 3896.25mb and specs on left show as 30mps framerate as default.
I see an option to choose 1.5 or 2.1dv-avi (NTSC). THAT shows 195mb. So
just to confirm - are we talking the same thing, or are you assuming that
I pick the 1.5 or 2.1 option - which may work fine - I didn't try them -
yet. I WILL select that option now in XP Pro and will check in later with
results.

Using the built in app of the MCE this will allow you to author a dvd
using up to one hour of dv.avi and will convert it to an mpeg2 of about
4gb, give or take a few mb.
These mpegs are then converted into 1gb vob files which are the files
required by a dvd player to play the disc.
Once the vobs are made the disc is burned.

This is fact, not guesswork.

That all happens by using " MovieMaker on the MCE box". or just any
burning app ( my laptop has Sonic) ?
Sorry for all these dumb questions - just that I haven't been successful
yet and when I DO see" how it works" I'm hoping a lightbulb will go on
here and I'll "get it".

I've read online but still missing the big picture of .mov vs . avi and
the final results on a DVD. ( I'm a hardware guy and TRYING to learn video
but getting headaches)

Thanks to all.

 

[Graham Hughes]

lots of bits here, so I hope I've got them all in-line

--

Graham Hughes
MVP Digital Media
www.myvideoproblems.com

No I'm using XP Pro and MovieMaker 1.1 on my desktop
I DO have XP MCE 2005 on a laptop and can "do whatever I need to there" if
it's better. ( I thought "MovieMaker" was "MovieMaker")

Movie maker in MCE has the ability to burn to dvd using sonic, so you choose
burn to dvd and sonic opens automatically. In XP you need a sep. burning
app.

"Big Picture-wise", I just picked a collection of a wedding. It's 17
minutes long. If I choose wmv format it's 113mb. If I select DV-AVI
(NTSC), it 3896.25mb and specs on left show as 30mps framerate as default.
I see an option to choose 1.5 or 2.1dv-avi (NTSC). THAT shows 195mb.

My Machine is PAL, but in my options I get - going down the list
DV.AVI PAL
High quality video PAL
Video for local playback (2.1Mbps PAL)
Video for local playback (1.5Mbps PAL)

These last three are all different WMV files, not dv.avi, which is 25Mbps
set, does not change.
Look underneath the other settings box and you'll see Setting details and in
here it tells you about the file it will create.

MM only makes on dv.avi and that is dv.avi



So

just to confirm - are we talking the same thing, or are you assuming that
I pick the 1.5 or 2.1 option - which may work fine - I didn't try them -
yet. I WILL select that option now in XP Pro and will check in later with
results.



That all happens by using " MovieMaker on the MCE box". or just any
burning app ( my laptop has Sonic) ?

When you get more advanced apps you can choose the bitrate setting you want,
either by opting for high quality medium/low or by actually setting the
bitrate setting of the file, but it is best to work on one hour of dv.avi
will make a good quality dvd when burned.

Sorry for all these dumb questions - just that I haven't been successful
yet and when I DO see" how it works" I'm hoping a lightbulb will go on
here and I'll "get it".

I've read online but still missing the big picture of .mov vs . avi

MOV is the Mac version of DV.AVI


MOV is a Wrapper
AVI is a wrapper
Inside both wrappers is a dv file.
Mac's can read the MOV, windows pc's can read the AVI.
On a PC you don't want to bother with worrying about MOV



and