GB-PVR worked but my file is too big

[ibdman]

For quality purposes I changed the capture settings in CUSTOM1 to VBR = 8000kbps but now my 1hr & 30 min MPEG file is 6GB and Ulead VideoStudio says the file is too big and it can't burn my 1hr & 30 min program on a 2 hr DVD-R. Can someone explain why the file size takes precedence over the running time. I'm obviously new to all this and can only relate it to burning audio CDs where it does not matter what size the MP3 files are, the audio running time is all that matters whether or not the data will fit on a disc.

[sub]

A DVD can hold 4.7GB of data. Duration of the movie is irrelevant. A 6GB video file wont fit (unaltered) on a 4.7GB disc.

[reboot]

Filesize is directly related to bitrate. More bitrate = larger file.
If you want to fit any given amount of running time, onto one dvdr, you must use the appropriate bitrate.
Even your mp3's have a given bitrate. When burned as an audio CD, the bitrate is standardized, so a given running time is allowed on the CD.
The same principle applies to dvd, but we can choose any bitrate we want, in order to fit the running time we need, onto the media.
A dvdr is NOT limited to 2 hours. You can burn 16 hours on one, if you want, it's all up to the bitrate and aspect ratio you choose.
A 720x480 video may have a bitrate average of 8000kbps. If you cut the aspect in half, to 352x480 (known as "Half D1") you can use about half the bitrate for the same quality, and get double the time on the dvdr.
Do a few tricks with non-standard GOP and you can use 1/4 D1, and get between 4x and 8x the running time on one dvdr.
http://www.videohelp.com/calc.htm will allow you to figure it out.
If the file is irreplacable, you can author it anyhow, then use DVDShrink to make it fit.

[pwtenny]

For quality purposes I changed the capture settings in CUSTOM1 to VBR = 8000kbps but now my 1hr & 30 min MPEG file is 6GB and Ulead VideoStudio says the file is too big and it can't burn my 1hr & 30 min program on a 2 hr DVD-R. Can someone explain why the file size takes precedence over the running time. I'm obviously new to all this and can only relate it to burning audio CDs where it does not matter what size the MP3 files are, the audio running time is all that matters whether or not the data will fit on a disc.

When you burn MP3's onto a CD so it'll play in a regular CD player, the MP3's are converted to another format (raw pcm or something). Then the length of the MP3 (time wise) can directly corollate to the capacity of the disk (time wise).

When you burn DVD-ready MPEG2 files onto a DVD disk, they are not converted, they are burned as-is because they are already in the right format. In this case, the bitrate AND length determine how big the files are, and DVD's have a fixed capacity (I think it's supposed to be 5.7 or 6.xGB). If the disk says 2 hours, it's probably guessing the file will have the same bitrate as a DVD standard play which is definitely much lower than 8000kbps. It's probably more like 4. So at 8000kbps, the file is going to be quite a bit larger than you'd normally find on a retail DVD and hence will have to be shorter.

Hope that helps.

[ibdman]

Damn! Y'all are smart! Thanks for all the replies. All my blank DVD-R's are labeled "120 min". What a joke.

[sub]

Its just a marketing ploy...

[reboot]

That's opposed to the "old" blanks that were marked 60 min, and the newer ones that are marked 240 min. It's all BS
I have some KDVD ones I made, multi episode TV cartoon caps, using 1/4D1 at 16 hours per.

"Standard" DVD bitrate IS about 8000kbps, but also remember that they are Dual Layer, (DVD 9) thus about 9.2 gig's per, for a commercial DVD.
In the real world, we're just barely getting into DL stuff, and finding things are not so standardized. DVD 5 (what you're using now) has been around long enough for things to get sorted into a (somewhat) set of standards.