How To: Encode Video to MPEG-2 for DVD
From GEAR Software Knowledgebase
How to Encode Video to MPEG-2 for DVD
In order to make a DVD-Video disc from your captured video files, you must first encode the video into the
appropriate format. GEAR Video makes it easy.
To encode your DV video, DivX, or DVR-MS files for DVD-Video, select "Encode Video" from the Encode
menu. This will bring up the Video Encoder window...
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Technical Details
The details of GEAR Video's encoder are described below, but if you are not so technically inclined, don't
worry about it, you can skip the details. As long as you choose the appropriate disc type when you
encode, your video will be ready to use when you author a DVD-Video. Just keep in mind that if you
choose a higher bitrate, your video will be encoded with higher quality, and if you choose a lower bitrate,
you will have lower video quality, but you will be able to fit more video on a disc.
Encoding video for DVD-Video
DVD-Video uses MPEG-2 variable bitrate encoding at a resolution of 720 x 480 for NTSC (30 frames per
second), and 720 x 576 for PAL (at 25 frames per second). DVD-Video discs must have a bitrate of less
than 10.08 Megabits per second (Mbit/sec). This total bitrate includes the video, audio, subpictures. DVD-
Video players in NTSC regions support uncompressed (PCM) and Dolby Digital (AC-3) audio. In PAL regions,
DVD-Video players support uncompressed (PCM), Dolby Digital, and MPEG-1, Layer 2 compressed audio.
To leave enough headroom for the audio and subpictures, the maximum bitrate for the encoded MPEG-2
video should be no more than 8 Megabits per second (Mbit/sec). For maximum compatibility, it is
recommended that you use a bitrate of 7 Mbit/sec or less. The lower the bitrate, the more video you will
be able to store on your DVD. However, the higher the bitrate, the less chance you will have of seeing
compression artifacts (visible noise or defects in the video caused by poor compression). You must decide
what tradeoff you would like to make between playing time and video quality.
The following table shows how many minutes of video content you can fit on a DVD, using various bitrate
settings. A normal single-layer DVD+/-R or RW has a capacity of DVD-5 (actually, about 4.37 Gigabytes). A
dual-layer (a.k.a. double-layer) DVD-R or DVD+R has a DVD-9 capacity (actually about 7.95 Gigabytes).
GEAR Video will leave the audio as uncompressed PCM audio, with a bitrate of 1,536 thousand bits per
second.
Minutes of Video | |||
Video Bitrate | Audio Bitrate | DVD-5 | DVD-9 |
3000 | 1536 | 129 | 235 |
4000 | 1536 | 107 | 194 |
5000 | 1536 | 91 | 165 |
6000 | 1536 | 79 | 144 |
7000 | 1536 | 70 | 127 |
8000 | 1536 | 63 | 114 |