DVD Storage

[DisneyExplorer]

Hi Dissers!

I'm sorry if this is in the wrong area :(
I'm trying to record my Florida holibag on to DVD but the capacity isn't enough (4.7GB) and will end up with about 5 discs.
wanted to know if you can buy bigger capacity DVDs?

Thank You!

[Groucho]

You can buy dual layer discs, but they're usually much more expensive (well over 5x the price, closer to 10x) and hold about 8.5g vs 4.5g. You also have to make sure that your burner can handle dual layer media.

Other than that, you need to go BluRay if you want more storage, and that's still pretty pricey.

If you're trying to burn video, you will need to lower the quality of the footage, edit some out, and/or just deal with multiple discs.

[DisneyExplorer]

Would i have to change my DVD player for dual-layer

[Groucho]

Probably not. Most any PC DVD drive will play back dual-layer burnt discs and any reasonably modern standalone DVD player will. Some early DVD players may not - but some won't play any burnt DVDs, either.

[Nicsmom]

I'm in the boat of having to upgrade my DVD drives etc...or make many discs.

While this is a little pricey for my taste, I'm considering going this route:

http://www.iogear.com/product/GMD2025U120/

I can keep the video files on my computer and move them back and forth as I intend to watch/show them.

[drcandon]

Video can be a pain no matter how you do it..but I would try running the video through a decent converter program and convert the video from AVI format to mpeg2 you will see a 750 meg file go down to at least a quarter of that size. Certain buring programs like Nero can and will convert avi files down to mpeg2 DVD format and then burn the DVD for you.

I would recommend staying away from all proprietary storage solutions like the iomega one...not that I don't like them it is just they can lock you into a format..I always try to stick to a storage format that any device can handle like avi or mpeg2..like a USB HDD

And dual layer DVD is a bit more expensive that is true but all DVD players produced in that last couple of years can play them..only the very early players will give you a problem..

[dr_zero]

DVD drives have gotten lots cheaper

I put in 2 of these the other day
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827129018
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827129020

and one of these
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151161

The pioneer are great drives and the samsung is not bad for the price.

Oh and another vote for Nero! :thumbsup2

[Groucho]

Video can be a pain no matter how you do it..but I would try running the video through a decent converter program and convert the video from AVI format to mpeg2 you will see a 750 meg file go down to at least a quarter of that size. Certain buring programs like Nero can and will convert avi files down to mpeg2 DVD format and then burn the DVD for you.
The problem with that is that avi and mpeg2 are apples and oranges. Avi is a "container" format - it's not a compression codec like mpeg2. Nowadays, most avi files are compressed with mpeg4 (divx/xvid/x264/etc), which can offer better quality in a smaller file than mpeg2. But avis can have any of countless different compression schemes "contained" inside them - both for audio and video, and each one can be really efficient (like x264/h264) or really lousy (like some early codecs.)

.mpg files, on the other hand, contain only mpeg2 video. DVDs use vob containers, which store mpeg2 video, audio in a few different choices of compression including none, subtitles, and menus.

I guess the point is that avis can be all over the map in terms of quality and compression, while mpeg2 content for DVD playback is always going to be pretty consistent in terms of compression, resolution, etc. Generally, though, a modern avi file that's the same size as an mpeg2 file will have much better quality due to more modern compression (mpeg4).

[drcandon]

Exactly..that is why I suggested converting it down..there are a whack of video converters out there.. "all- in ones", that can take in just about any avi format (divx, xvid etc etc) and convert them down to a standard mpeg2 thay is DVD burnable using Nero or even simpler DVD burning programs. Nero itself can contain ( notice I said can depeding on the version and what plugins) the necessary converters to change a weird variant AVI and change it over.

However the quality from these is variable..so it is trial and error to find a good one.

I wish that avi would stick to DIVX 6x and standardize at that one...

[Groucho]

Avi is only a container, it really can't standardize on anything. Avi itself is ancient and obsolete, anyway, which is why mkv (Matroska (http://www.matroska.org/)) is gaining in popularity. Avi really just carries one audio and one video stream (though you can hack it a little more, but messily), while mkvs can carry many different streams - easier for subtitles, multiple audio tracks, etc.

Besides, Divx is a commercial codec, not a free one - I'd hate to see it become a standard for anything. ;) And things change so quickly that what's good today may not be good tomorrow. Nowadays, you can find x264-compressed video in 720P (1280x720) resolution that takes up the same amount of space as a mpeg2-compressed DVD video would, but the x264 looks vastly better - but you need a decent amount of CPU power to decode it realtime, much more than your average DVD player has.

Ultimately, though, mpeg2 is generally going to take up more space for comparable image quality versus an mpeg4 or better video (in an avi, mkv, whatever container) just because it's an older, less efficient format.