DVD burning?

[Jeikobu]

I want to start burning my Japanese Pocket Monsters eps on my computer to DVD (only because the Japanese version is obviously not licensed thanks to the endless evil of 4Kids Entertainment, don't worry I won't burn licensed stuff to DVD, if I like it I'll buy the official stuff). But I was talking to this guy over MSN today and he told me that with 4.7 GB -R DVDs I will only be able to burn 3 eps to each DVD, and that after 6 minutes it loses quality. Is this really true? That doesn't make any sense. He also suggested I burn them as data DVDs, but I want to be able to watch them on an XBOX/DVD player. What's the deal? Is this true? If not, what's the deal? Someone please fill me in on burning DVDs, this is all new to me. ^^;

[shooraijin]

How big are your source files and in what format?

If you convert them to MPEG-2, then you can probably get anywhere between 30 to 120 minutes on the DVD, depending on how much quality degredation you're willing to put up with. Unless you have a high-end encoder (which I doubt), it will apply the same compression settings to the entire video stream, so you choose your poison -- more quality or more eps. On the other hand, by encoding it into MPEG-2, then it's a "standard" DVD and you can play it on any DVD player that accepts the media you choose (I prefer DVD-R because it has the highest compatibility).

What the other guy is proposing is making it a data disk, i.e., DVD-ROM, and just burning the *files* to it (not transcoding them into a standard video DVD). Then you're limited by the 4.7GB capacity -- if your files are bigger than this, they won't all fit. You'll get exactly what you started with -- no change in codec or quality -- but you will only be able to play it on something that can browse a DVD-ROM, which basically means a computer and not the vast majority of set-top DVD players.

What were you going to use to burn the disk?

[Jeikobu]

The files I want to burn are in between 100 and 200 MB each. They are in .avi format, and I have no idea how to convert them to MPEG-2. What burner am I using? All I know is it's a TDK DVD burner. BTW, if I wanted the eps to retain their quality, how many would I probably be able to burn?

[Jeikobu]

Sorry for the double post, feel free to delete this one. ^^;

[shooraijin]

Well, a DVD-ROM holds around 4.7GB, so you can extrapolate from that. You can burn them to disk as a DVD-ROM; just keep in mind you won't be able to play it on much other than a computer. If this is not a big deal, then go for it.

[Jeikobu]

That's the thing, I want to be able to watch it on my XBOX, or a just plain DVD player. But will I be able to put much on each disc without it losing quality? What do you recommend?

[shooraijin]

You'd have to transcode it to MPEG-2, then (most DVD burning packages should offer some option for this). I don't know how well it would translate or how much the filesizes would change, though.

[Jeikobu]

So you don't know if it would retain its quality? What about coverting to MPEG-2? How do I do that?

[shooraijin]

You need a DVD authoring program of some kind. That will allow you to transcode the video, and then make a directory structure that a set-top DVD player can understand.

[Jeikobu]

Any suggestions? Gomen, I don't know anything about this. ^^;

[agasfas]

But I was talking to this guy over MSN today and he told me that with 4.7 GB -R DVDs I will only be able to burn 3 eps to each DVD, and that after 6 minutes it loses quality. Is this really true? That doesn't make any sense. He also suggested I burn them as data DVDs, but I want to be able to watch them on an XBOX/DVD player. What's the deal?

I only use 4.7 GB -R's and I haven't had one problem. No it doesn't loose quality and no, it wont start to skip. Depending on your dvd player depends on what dvd's to use. If you have a really old DVD player, then -R's are the way to go. If it's current, then either one will work. My PS2 also plays DVD-R's perfectly too. And no, if you want to watch them on a PS2 or a stand alone dvd player, don't burn them as DATA, they have to be burned in a certain way.
I rip a tun of dvd's and I've fit as much as 4-5 full episodes on one dvd- each episode being a little over 1GB. It really depends if you have any extras or not... But if your using your own video files, each being 100-200mbs in size, I believe it works off of length usually. Hardly ever would you get past 4.7gb before using up all the video minutes... if all the eps are 100-200mb like you said. PLus, you are most likely going to have to convert them to mpeg-2 like shooraijin stated. (But the site belowe will tell you how to do it all).

I have one site to anwser all of your questions....
http://www.videohelp.com

It has every kind of guide you can think of... How to take your own video files and make a dvd-video to play on your dvd player to making your own dvd menus. It's easier to point the source then explain step by step . But it has it all. Many of the guides give you where to download the tools/convertors then how to burn it. Many Photo based guides too. I use it all the time to make my own dvd movies from my downloaded *avi files. Hope it helps.

[Jeikobu]

Excellent, I'll check it out. Thank you both. ^^