24-7 DVD prides itself in using professional hardware-based encoding solutions when creating DVD-ready video. The question most commonly asked by clients when supplying video for DVD is "How much can I fit on a DVD?" and the answer is "As much as you want!"
Unlike tape, there is no maximum duration of video you can fit on the disc, but a maximum amount of data. As such, the longer the video is you want to include, the less data per second the DVD will have to 'describe' the pictures.
Before starting a project 24-7 DVD will work out a "bit budget", so that we can assess the amount of information per second the DVD will have to store the video. This is known as the "bit rate". Although this is calculated on a per project basis, the following can be considered a rule of thumb:
DISC TYPE APPROXIMATE
DURATION
DVD-1 45 minutes
DVD-2 1 hour 15 minutes
DVD-5 2 hours 15 minutes
DVD-9 4 hours |
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These running times are based on an average bit rate of 4.7 megabits per second (note: megaBITS not megaBYTES).
The maximum amount of information a DVD Player can accept per second is 9.8 megabits, so this is very much a balance between bit rate and duration.
The second point to consider when looking at the running time of the content you wish to include is what that content actually consists of.
Still 'talking head' footage compresses much better than fast action footage with plenty of movement.
As a result, 4 hours of press conferences and presentations will look better than 4 hours of rock concerts or sporting events.
If you are creating content for your DVD, please feel free to contact us with your specific runtime requirements, and we will be happy to advise you on how to make the best out of your video. |
