[mythtv-users] down sizing

[Daryl McDonald]

On Fri, Jan 10, 2014 at 2:43 PM, Michael T. Dean
<mtdean at thirdcontact.com> wrote:
> On 01/10/2014 02:23 PM, Daryl McDonald wrote:
>>
>> But can you trancode a 14+GB recording small enough to fit on a 4.7GB DVD?
>
>
> The important part is how long the recording is***.  If it's a 14GB, 2-hr
> recording, you can transcode it to a DVD-compliant stream that will fit on a
> DVD.  If it's a 14GB, 14-hr recording, you can't transcode it to a
> DVD-compliant stream /of useful quality/ that will fit on a single DVD.
>
> Note that size is dependent on bitrate and length of the video--where
> bitrate is basically an indicator of the quality of the video.  So, if you
> need extremely low bitrate over a long time to get the video small enough to
> fit, you'll have low quality.  If, instead, it's rather short--1 to 2 hrs of
> video--you should be able to get "up to DVD quality" video to fit on the
> DVD.  And, as you may guess from this paragraph, taking a 7GB/hr video and
> transcoding it down to a 2GB/hr video that fits on a DVD will mean a
> reduction in quality.
>
> Note, too, that if you're not trying to make a DVD-compliant DVD, but
> instead just trying to stuff data on a DVD data disc (i.e. a video file on a
> disc), you have more options in that you can choose to use a more-efficient
> CODEC, such as H.264, rather than being constrained to MPEG-2, as required
> by the DVD spec.
>
> Mike
>
> *** And, to a lesser extent, the type of imagery in the video.  Real-world
> images require much higher bitrates to get useful quality than would, for
> example, animated shows.
>
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It is  a 14 GB two hour movie. What is the process to shrink it? My
grandson's tastes are not that discriminating at this point, he's two,
but I think he'll like "Happy Feet"