Estimating Whether Your Content Will Fit
While you will often hear that a DVD-5 (or a 4.7 GB disc) can hold two hours of video
content, this is really only a rough guideline. The actual amount of video a DVD-5 disc
can hold depends on the bit rate the video is encoded at. Often overlooked is the size of
audio files—if you plan to use uncompressed AIFF (PCM) audio, you must also take the
additional space requirements into account when calculating whether all your content
will fit.
If your project needs to fit on a DVD-5 disc that you can burn on your SuperDrive, you
need to choose an appropriate bit rate. There is a simple formula you can use. See
Fitting
Your Project on a DVD-5 Disc
for more information.
If you are flexible as to the DVD disc type you can use, you can experiment with different
bit rates and determine the disc space required by each. This process is more detailed
and includes more variables, such as taking into account additional audio streams and
DVD-ROM content. See
Calculating Disc Space Requirements
for details on precisely
determining your disc space requirements.