Maximum quality for DVDs

Deniz Ahmet · December 4th, 2008, 06:17 PM

What is the maximum bit rate for a DVD ,compiled in Encore/Premiere. PAL.

Is 90min pushing it?

Tripp Woelfel · December 4th, 2008, 08:27 PM

If you're looking for looking for the max legal bit rate from a DVD, you might want to check the spec. It's in there. The Adobe Media Encoder will probably not let you build a DVD with illegal specs.

If you want to know whether 90 minutes of video will look good on a DVD. The answer is probably yes. Using a good transcoder you can put up to about 120 minutes of video on a DVD with very good quality. 90 shouldn't be a problem.

Devin Termini · December 4th, 2008, 09:58 PM

The total data throughput for DVD is 9 mbps. Keep in mind that this is your audio and video data combined.

I've made numerous 120 min single layer DVDs no problem.

If you can get dual layer media the images will look better, but I wouldn't worry about 90 min.

Jeff Pulera · December 5th, 2008, 10:06 AM

As mentioned, 2 hours or so is not uncommon, most of my weddings and stage events are around 2 hours or a little more, have NEVER had a customer complain about quality.

About the 9 mbps figure - that is video and audio combined, on replicated DVDs. In the real world using DVD-R media, a high bitrate like that can cause playback issues with many players, so I recommend a maximum of 7 on the quality. Using AC-3 Dolby audio also reduces overhead and allows more room for higher quality video than PCM audio, which would use over 1GB of space for a 2 hour movie!

A good formula for figuring the video encoding rate is 560/minutes, so for 90 minutes you'd use 6.0 video encoding (with Dolby audio), for 120 minutes, 4.5 setting. I like CBR versus VBR, for consistent quality and playability.

Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor Computers

Quote:

Originally Posted by Devin Termini

The total data throughput for DVD is 9 mbps. Keep in mind that this is your audio and video data combined.

I've made numerous 120 min single layer DVDs no problem.

If you can get dual layer media the images will look better, but I wouldn't worry about 90 min.

Ervin Farkas · December 5th, 2008, 11:45 AM

As defined by the DVD standard, the maximum bitrate is 9.8Mbps for video and audio combined. I have used it with burned discs with no problems (might create issues on very old players only). At maximum allowable bitrate and no navigation, and considering MPEG audio at 384Kbps, 60 minutes of video will fit on the single side disk, video bitrate being 9416Kbps. For 90 minutes of video, the bitrate will drop to 6394Kbps.

If you use DVD navigation, leave a minimum of 2% disk capacity for that. More advanced MPEG2/DVD encoders (Adobe included) have the option of setting the bitrate automatically to the highest possible in order to fit your entire video. Always use VBR two pass (or multiple pass as allowed by the software - CinemaCraft for example allows up to 99 passes).

Also, higher quality encoders will produce a better picture at the same bitrate. Most Hollywood DVDs are encoded at 4-5Mbps, some even lower, but using very sophisticated, mostly hardware encoders, and segments are re-encoded lots of time for best results.

December 4th, 2008, 06:17 PM	#1
Deniz Ahmet Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: LONDON Posts: 178	Maximum quality for DVDs - what duration? What is the maximum bit rate for a DVD ,compiled in Encore/Premiere. PAL. Is 90min pushing it?

December 5th, 2008, 11:45 AM	#5
Ervin Farkas Inner Circle Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Atlanta/USA Posts: 2,515	As defined by the DVD standard, the maximum bitrate is 9.8Mbps for video and audio combined. I have used it with burned discs with no problems (might create issues on very old players only). At maximum allowable bitrate and no navigation, and considering MPEG audio at 384Kbps, 60 minutes of video will fit on the single side disk, video bitrate being 9416Kbps. For 90 minutes of video, the bitrate will drop to 6394Kbps. If you use DVD navigation, leave a minimum of 2% disk capacity for that. More advanced MPEG2/DVD encoders (Adobe included) have the option of setting the bitrate automatically to the highest possible in order to fit your entire video. Always use VBR two pass (or multiple pass as allowed by the software - CinemaCraft for example allows up to 99 passes). Also, higher quality encoders will produce a better picture at the same bitrate. Most Hollywood DVDs are encoded at 4-5Mbps, some even lower, but using very sophisticated, mostly hardware encoders, and segments are re-encoded lots of time for best results. __________________ Ervin Farkas www.AtlantaLegalVideo.com

December 4th, 2008, 08:27 PM	#2
Tripp Woelfel Trustee Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: North Conway, NH Posts: 1,745	If you're looking for looking for the max legal bit rate from a DVD, you might want to check the spec. It's in there. The Adobe Media Encoder will probably not let you build a DVD with illegal specs. If you want to know whether 90 minutes of video will look good on a DVD. The answer is probably yes. Using a good transcoder you can put up to about 120 minutes of video on a DVD with very good quality. 90 shouldn't be a problem.

December 4th, 2008, 09:58 PM	#3
Devin Termini Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Mount Pleasant, MI Posts: 177	The total data throughput for DVD is 9 mbps. Keep in mind that this is your audio and video data combined. I've made numerous 120 min single layer DVDs no problem. If you can get dual layer media the images will look better, but I wouldn't worry about 90 min.