Help! Will PE4.0 Auto-Divide a Long Movie Among DVDs?

[George Tyndall]

If I burn a large number of songs to CD, iTunes will tell me when I need more than 1 CD, then the program will divide the songs appropriately, that is, equally among the required number of CDs.

If I want to burn a 2-hour movie to SD DVD, will PE4.0 divide the movie appropriately, or must I divide the movie myself?

Am I correct that a 25GB Blu-ray disk can handle a 2-hour Hi Def movie?

[Chuck Engels]

Rather than split the video onto multiple DVDs George it will lower the quality to fit everything on one.
You cannot split DVDs over multiple discs automatically, you can create separate projects and burn them separately.

I was not able to burn more than 1.5 hours of HDV onto a Blu-Ray disc in Encore DVD, it would not fit no matter how hard I tried.
I could have lowered the quality more but didn't want to risk that, there are 50GB discs available that can handle more video.
Two hours is a lot of video George, who are you going to torture

[George Tyndall]

Thanks for the reply, Chuck.

1) With regard to the SD DVD version, would it be acceptable to Save As my PREL file into two 1-hour segments, then put 1 each at Best Quality on two SD DVDs?

2) With regard to the Blu-ray version, it seems I should also put 1 hour each on 2 separate disks. Agreed? BTW, I'm using BD-RE (re-writable) disks. Is that a problem?

Two hours is a lot of video George, who are you going to torture

Hahaha. (=Good one!)

Trust me, Chuck, when I tell you that ALL 2 HOURS of this video will have the viewer glued to the screen. I really tried to edit it down to less, but there was nothing else that I could bring myself to cut. The topic is a dance contest that lasted for 5 hours, and I've alredy whittled 5 hours down to 2.

Also trust me when I tell you that, if I did not include at least a short clip of each contestant, there would be H--L to pay, in other words, the criticism would bre never-ending.

Finally, modesty aside, thanks in large part to the help I've gotten on this site (including numerous links), this movie rivals in both audio and video quality what viewers can currently see broadcast on their HDTVs, because I made very sure that I was fully competent in the use of my Canon HV30 before I took on this project. In addition, I used a Velbon tripod that B&H sells for only $70 but that, if adjusted correctly, provides pans and tilts that are EXTRAORDINARILY smooth.

3) One last question: I'm currently exporting my m2t Timeline as MPEG (only about 2.5 hours to save a 2-hour movie). When it comes time to burn the SD and HD DVDs, should I once again start with the PREL file (m2t), or will I get the same quality if I burn from the saved MPEG file? (Or should I just try a short experiment for the answer, like I did when I went from m2t to HD WMV then to MPEG to burn the SD and HD DVDs?)

[Chuck Engels]

1 - Yes
2 - Yes and the rewriteable disc should be fine
3 - Experiments are always best

I understand about the dance contests, we have one of those videos from when our oldest daughter was in dance class

[Bill Hunt]

George,

When I have done the multiple disc sets, I always give the user some heads up, that they need to change the disc, now.

I've used Menus for this task in most Projects, but that's in Encore, where one has more control. In these cases, the End Action of the last Chapter, or the Play-All goes to a separate Menu with what appears to be two Buttons, but only by graphic layout. One, the real Button will go back to the Main Menu and is appropriately labeled. The other, same font, type size and style, but only a graphic, tells them to Eject and Insert Disc 2, or 3. I could use 2 real Buttons, with the latter going to another Menu, that was just a set of instructions. I'd also put a Back Button, just so they do not get stuck.

Without the benefit of an authoring app., like Encore, you could have a title with the directions, that appears for 20 sec., after "The End of Part (Disc) I." Most folk can figure this out, but I like to offer instructions on how to do it.

Hunt