Thread: Windows DVD Maker?

  1. #1
    and the hat of sweating
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Toronto, ON
    Posts
    3,545

    Windows DVD Maker?

    I'm wondering if anyone knows why Windows DVD Maker does this?

    1. It only lets you record 150 minutes of video on a DVD, even if the total file size is WAY less then 4GB? Shouldn't it let you store as much video as you have room for?
    2. I already converted my .avi files to .VOB files which are supposedly in DVD format, but Windows DVD Maker still spends 30-60 mins "encoding" the data before it even starts writing to the DVD. What the hell does it need to encode?
    "I am probably the laziest programmer on the planet, a fact with which anyone who has ever seen my code will agree." - esbo, 11/15/2008

    "the internet is a scary place to be thats why i dont use it much." - billet, 03/17/2010

  2. #2
    (?<!re)tired Mario F.'s Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    Ireland
    Posts
    8,446
    Isn't the 150 minute limit imposed by the standard? I suspect you'll need to either create a dual-layer disk or use another program that allows for time compression... at the expense of quality.
    Originally Posted by brewbuck:
    Reimplementing a large system in another language to get a 25% performance boost is nonsense. It would be cheaper to just get a computer which is 25% faster.

  3. #3
    Registered User carrotcake1029's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Posts
    404
    I have always used the following freeware to author DVDs. I can't recall though if it allowed for content more than 150 mins per DVD though. I really haven't authored a DVD in years.

    home (favcfavc)

  4. #4
    and the hat of sweating
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Toronto, ON
    Posts
    3,545
    Quote Originally Posted by Mario F. View Post
    Isn't the 150 minute limit imposed by the standard? I suspect you'll need to either create a dual-layer disk or use another program that allows for time compression... at the expense of quality.
    Why would the standard impose a time limit? Wouldn't it make more sense to let people put as much data on the DVD as they can fit?
    "I am probably the laziest programmer on the planet, a fact with which anyone who has ever seen my code will agree." - esbo, 11/15/2008

    "the internet is a scary place to be thats why i dont use it much." - billet, 03/17/2010

  5. #5
    (?<!re)tired Mario F.'s Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    Ireland
    Posts
    8,446
    My answer is I don't know. I just know that normal single-layer disks are limited to 150 minutes without compression. You get the same type of limitations if you try to make audio CDs for instance. I'm not much into this stuff. I never even once made a movie DVD or a audio CD for that matter. But my guess is this is just a normal limitation when CD/DVDs are read by their traditional devices as data limitations are to our computers when we are making data CD/DVDs. But I confess my total ignorance on this area.
    Originally Posted by brewbuck:
    Reimplementing a large system in another language to get a 25% performance boost is nonsense. It would be cheaper to just get a computer which is 25% faster.

  6. #6
    Just a pushpin. bernt's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Posts
    426
    My guess is that the makers of that program figured it would be more natural for their users to think of DVD space in terms of time rather than data. There isn't a limit on the length of video on a dvd, though, since every DVD player has to decode the MPEG file anyways.

    There is a limit on bitrate in the sense that it can't be over 9.8 MB/s, but nothing says you can't drop it as low as you want. The reason commercial movie DVDs don't ever run over 2 hours per layer is that the producers don't want to sacrifice quality (that's what DVDs are... well, now there are Blu-Rays... but that's what DVDs were all about).

    Unfortunately DVD maker doesn't seem to have a bitrate option. I would suggest other software but I have no idea what else there is (maybe Avidemux + Dvdstyler?).

Popular pages Recent additions subscribe to a feed

Similar Threads

  1. Windows 98/2000 programming in Windows XP
    By Bill83 in forum Windows Programming
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 07-22-2005, 02:16 PM
  2. Dialog Box Problems
    By Morgul in forum Windows Programming
    Replies: 21
    Last Post: 05-31-2005, 05:48 PM
  3. dual boot Win XP, win 2000
    By Micko in forum Tech Board
    Replies: 6
    Last Post: 05-30-2005, 02:55 PM
  4. SDL and Windows
    By nickname_changed in forum Windows Programming
    Replies: 14
    Last Post: 10-24-2003, 12:19 AM
  5. IE 6 status bar
    By DavidP in forum Tech Board
    Replies: 15
    Last Post: 10-23-2002, 05:31 PM