I am working on a project that's busting the capacity of a 4.7 DVD. A dual layer disc is out of the budget for duplication. The margin is very slim and I am trying to avoid more compression if possible. The question is: Will a 2-pass encode have a different size than a 1-pass encode? Which way, larger or smaller? Or is it completely unpredictable?

Thanks for any advice.

A 2 pass encode will in theory, give you greater quality at the same filesize. If you are trying to squeeze the most out of a 4.7 DVD, I'd definitely go for a two pass encode.

So from what Chris said means... reduce your bit rate and use 2 pass to get just as good quality. You are sacrificing speed of encoding for better quality at a lower bit rate.

It's compressing overnight. 720p HDV to 16:9 SD Mpeg2, 2 pass. Takes some time on my 2 generations ago G5.

I am working on a project that's busting the capacity of a 4.7 DVD. A dual layer disc is out of the budget for duplication. The margin is very slim and I am trying to avoid more compression if possible.

Thanks for any advice.

Sounds like you are already compressing, but for future projects, you could try the BitBudget guide at http://www.recipe4dvd.com/ It will help you balance quality and quantity.

There is a link on the left hand side of the site to download a PDF and an Excel worksheet that will crunch to optimum numbers for you.

Grant

Sounds like you are already compressing, but for future projects, you could try the BitBudget guide at http://www.recipe4dvd.com/ It will help you balance quality and quantity.

There is a link on the left hand side of the site to download a PDF and an Excel worksheet that will crunch to optimum numbers for you.

Grant

That's a very neat spreadsheet, thanks. Thanks to everyone's suggestions, they all helped.

The file came out the exact same size as a 1-pass. Another problem came up which I'll describe in a separate topic.