No. HP Envy Phoenix/4thGen i7-4770(4@3.4GHz~turbo>3.9)
Nvidia GTX 960(4GB)/16GB DDR3/
Canon Vixia HV30/HF-M40/HF-M41/HF-G20/Olympus E-PL5.
Tape capture using 6 VCR, TBC-1000, Elite BVP4+, Sony D8 camcorder with TBC.
https://www.facebook.com/BarryAFTT

Quote: No.

Oh my. Well, that's the deal breaker for me. Thanks for the reply, Barry, depressing as it is.

Randy B.

I am aware of the size estimate in Powerdirector can to far off.

It is not something that gives me much, if any problem.

How much the estimate is off is largely depends on the format of the videos on the time line.

AVI seems to be the worst estimate with Mpg-2 HQ is the most accurate estimate. If you alway burn a Disk folder you have less problems with the Disk Creation module. When burning a folder only, the disk estimate makes little difference in the actual burning of a disk with Disk Burning software, as the disk burning software uses what is in the folder.

You can also look at the size of the disk folder to determine the disk you want to burn, Less that 4.7 GB is Single layer disk, over 4.7 GB is Double layer Disk.

Carl312: Windows 10 64-bit 8 GB RAM,AMD Phenom II X4 965 3.4 GHz,ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB,240GB SSD,two 1TB HDs.

Rule of thumb one hour of video on a single sided DVD at best quality for playback on a DVD player More will cause the quality to decrease.

Disregard file size; as you found out, it means very little, .
.
BoilerPlate: To posters who ask for help -- it is nice to thank the volunteers who try to answer your questions !
Anything I post unless stated with a reference is my personal opinion.

Quote: Disregard file size; as you found out, it means very little,

You can disregard the incorrect file-size so long as you know it SHOULD fit on a DVD, and in my case a file from a AV/DV conversion was not estimated correctly, so my 45 minute video would not "fit" on a single-layer DVD. I "ticked" Double-layer in the burn module and it was fine, and just burnt that folder to a single-layer DVD. Aggravating? Yes, but it can be overcome. Maybe we, er..., THEY needed one or two more experienced members of the BETA team... HP Envy Phoenix/4thGen i7-4770(4@3.4GHz~turbo>3.9)
Nvidia GTX 960(4GB)/16GB DDR3/
Canon Vixia HV30/HF-M40/HF-M41/HF-G20/Olympus E-PL5.
Tape capture using 6 VCR, TBC-1000, Elite BVP4+, Sony D8 camcorder with TBC.
https://www.facebook.com/BarryAFTT

Hi, Carl and Steve - Thanks for your additional replies. OH, and there's Barry again - Thanks.

I don't understand at all why I shouldn't be concerned with the file size and/or the predicted size. I always burn to folder, never straight to disc - my disc coaster collection is big enough already! Yes, a full quality 1 hour video is supposed to fit on a disc, but as Barry just now pointed out, a 45 minute video can come out too large to fit a disc, so you have to render again.

That's a new trick, to say it's a double-layer disc when actually you'll be going to a single layer disc. I haven't tried that one, only the trick of saying it's for an 8.5 gig disc instead of the standard 4.7.

Carl - I don't know what burning software you're using that can use a DVD folder larger than a disc's capacity. If I have a DVD folder that's any fraction of a gig over 4.7 - the software refuses to burn it. It shows going into the red - over capacity. No compensation is done. --So, what software are you talking about?

There are times when I'm not concerned with getting The Very Best Possible video on a disc. I'll have a 2 hour project that I'd prefer to fit on a single disc. OK, so I can't use the best quality setting - but I'd certainly like that project to fill up the disc as completely as possible so I have the best possible quality under those conditions of wanting 2 hours on a disc. What PD9 does consistently is squash that kind of project down to 2.2 gigs - and that's an absurd reduction in quality, and as we're all agreeing, and nothing like the 4+ gigs being promised before rendering.

Disregarding the prediction makes no sense to me. I just have to render and re-render over and over in order to accidentally get the biggest file possible that will still fit on a disc. That's so crazy, especially compared to the old video software I used to use (story's too complicated as to why I don't still use it) - because that program had a quality slider. You inched it right up to just a fraction under full disc capacity - The prediction was precisely what the result was. That was one of my first big shocks when getting PD9--this weird struggle to fill a disc, and with so few controls available to accomplish that.

Randy

Your argument would hold water if blank DVD were still in the $$ range.

What program are you using to burn the folder to a disc? .
.
BoilerPlate: To posters who ask for help -- it is nice to thank the volunteers who try to answer your questions !
Anything I post unless stated with a reference is my personal opinion.

Quote: Your argument would hold water if blank DVD were still in the $$ range.

What program are you using to burn the folder to a disc?

Ha, well that's a pretty funny justification for wasting discs. How about the wasted time of rendering over and over just to get a decent copy?

I've often used Nero Express for burning, but recently have been using ImgBurn which is behaving more reliably.

Randy B.

arl - I don't know what burning software you're using that can use a DVD folder larger than a disc's capacity. If I have a DVD folder that's any fraction of a gig over 4.7 - the software refuses to burn it. It shows going into the red - over capacity. No compensation is done. --So, what software are you talking about?

My Burning software is Nero Burning ROM. As soon as you put a Double layer Disk in the drive, the ruler shows the capacity of a Double layer disk. If the folder is too big for a single layer disk, put in a double layer disk.

In PD if you go into Disk preferences and choose the 8.5 GB disk option when your disk estimate is greater than 4.7 GB, Powerdirector will create the disk folder.

It is easy to check the size of the AUDIO_TS and VIDEO_TS folders with Windows Explorer. If your Disk Folder is less that 4.7 GB you can burn to a single layer disk (4.7 GB), if it is over 4.7 GB, then burn to a double layer disk.

The only difference is the capacity of the Disk. The file structure is the same for both single layer and double disks.

You do know you can uncheck the Burn Disk in Create Disk, and Check Burn Folder. No reason to burn coasters. All you have to do is look at the size of the Disk folder.

Carl312: Windows 10 64-bit 8 GB RAM,AMD Phenom II X4 965 3.4 GHz,ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB,240GB SSD,two 1TB HDs.

Burn the folder, even to double-layer, and then burn that folder to a single-layer disk (provided it's less than 4.7 gb.), I use Power2Go and make a DATA DVD, it has photos, disc label, maybe the video in a different format, as long as it fits, then that DATA DVD will play on a TV, or I can browse the additional content if I want to print, but I am going off course here. The fact remains that PD is BLIND when guessing Megas and Gigas (in certain formats). HP Envy Phoenix/4thGen i7-4770(4@3.4GHz~turbo>3.9)
Nvidia GTX 960(4GB)/16GB DDR3/
Canon Vixia HV30/HF-M40/HF-M41/HF-G20/Olympus E-PL5.
Tape capture using 6 VCR, TBC-1000, Elite BVP4+, Sony D8 camcorder with TBC.
https://www.facebook.com/BarryAFTT

Quote:
My Burning software is Nero Burning ROM. As soon as you put a Double layer Disk in the drive, the ruler shows the capacity of a Double layer disk. If the folder is too big for a single layer disk, put in a double layer disk.

In PD if you go into Disk preferences and choose the 8.5 GB disk option when your disk estimate is greater than 4.7 GB, Powerdirector will create the disk folder.

It is easy to check the size of the AUDIO_TS and VIDEO_TS folders with Windows Explorer. If your Disk Folder is less that 4.7 GB you can burn to a single layer disk (4.7 GB), if it is over 4.7 GB, then burn to a double layer disk.The only difference is the capacity of the Disk. The file structure is the same for both single layer and double disks.

You do know you can uncheck the Burn Disk in Create Disk, and Check Burn Folder. No reason to burn coasters. All you have to do is look at the size of the Disk folder.

Thanks for the reply, Carl - I see I haven't been clear on a number of things:

--I never burn to disc. I always burn to folder. I meant that I want to avoid making any coasters. I still manage to make them sometimes when *other* PD problems come up that make a disc useless. But I always burn to folder first.

--I do indeed burn to 8.5 folder size often as as way of tricking PD into giving me a better/larger file size. Sometimes I end up with something that fits on a 4.7 disc, sometimes I don't.

--I always look at the actual size of the burned folder. That's why I know when a video has been rendered in a size that's absurdly too small, like the constant 2.2 size I'll get for what should be more like the predicted 4.5+ size.

--I misunderstood you earlier. I thought you were saying that your burning program adjusts the folder size automatically to fit on a disc. That's how I interpreted your earlier feedback,

Quote: When burning a folder only, the disk estimate makes little difference in the actual burning of a disk with Disk Burning software, as the disk burning software uses what is in the folder.

I thought you were saying that file size doesn't matter, because the burning software would make it fit- shrink an over-sized folder on the fly to fit it on the disc.

Now I see you're saying that if the video folder is too large, then to use a double density disc. OK, guess I need to start doing that. I have never bought double density discs. I just now returned from Office Depot to get more discs - they didn't even have any double density, only the regular 4.7 discs I've always bought. But yes, it would be nice to go ahead and burn a video that's come out at 5.3 gigs, instead of having to re-render, in hopes of getting something decent that will fit on a 4.7 disc.

But I guess that's the key to why you guys are saying you don't care about what the predicted size is. The secret ingredient is just using whatever capacity disc is needed for the job, when all I've ever used - all I can ever Find at my store, are regular 4.7 discs.

--Barry - a DATA disc that plays in a DVD player--? I don't get that.

Randy

That's why I always render to file and not burn first. That way you know what the file size actually is so you know which DVD size to use.

Barry is right on on doing that way... Besides I still don't use PD to burn a DVD anyway... If and that's a big I need a menu which I seldom bother with, I use another software to create my PD rendered file to a folder with menu. ONLY because PD still has no menu I like and the one I like to use is in some other software ... and I then always use a separate DVD burning software anyway as it is MUCH MUCH faster than PD has ever been.... as I normally need 40 to 250 copies or more of my projects....

Some people shudder with disgust at the usage of other software in conjunction PD. All I have to say is... I bet I have a lot less frustration than you when I make my long projects doing that way.... as I seldom ever have a failed render or burn the way I do it..... and even using three different software packages, it is still faster than having PD do it all when yo need more than one copy.....

I get all my DVD D/L DVD off ebay in bulk packages..... have for years. I get up to 500 regular DVD's and 250-300 D/L DVD's at a time....

If you don't have a dual layer burner get one. They are cheap now days... I have 2 in my desktop...... and one external I can use between my laptop and desktop.

__________________________________________
Windows 8 Pro 64 bit

CyberLink PowerDirector 10 Tutorials
PDtoots PowerDirector Tutorials

**NOTICE**
When you are asked to provide a DXDIAG you go the following link and do part "B". Your posted specs are NOT what we are looking for as they tell us nothing. The specs on the box of your computer mean nothing. The DXDIAG shows us how your computer is configured as it runs.

DXDIAG Link

Quote: That's why I always render to file and not burn first. That way you know what the file size actually is so you know which DVD size to use.

Barry is right on on doing that way... Besides I still don't use PD to burn a DVD anyway... If and that's a big I need a menu which I seldom bother with, I use another software to create my PD rendered file to a folder with menu. ONLY because PD still has no menu I like and the one I like to use is in some other software ... and I then always use a separate DVD burning software anyway as it is MUCH MUCH faster than PD has ever been.... as I normally need 40 to 250 copies or more of my projects....

Some people shudder with disgust at the usage of other software in conjunction PD. All I have to say is... I bet I have a lot less frustration than you when I make my long projects doing that way.... as I seldom ever have a failed render or burn the way I do it..... and even using three different software packages, it is still faster than having PD do it all when yo need more than one copy.....

I get all my DVD D/L DVD off ebay in bulk packages..... have for years. I get up to 500 regular DVD's and 250-300 D/L DVD's at a time....

Thanks for the reply, Bubba

I'll say it again - I ALWAYS BURN TO FOLDER - I have never burned directly to disc with PD. What's enlightening to me is to get some double density discs. I've never had any. Today, my store didn't even have them, so again I bought regular 4.7 discs. But I see of course it would be very handy to get some double density discs. I'll seek them out.--my budget's small, I'm worried about the price, but deal with that when I have to.

I've always used other software to do the actual burning to disc. My problem has been in getting a burned folder size which is decent. It comes out either way too small, or too large. PD is so odd in the way it can't accurately tell you ahead of time what the size is going to be.

I don't understand this process of using another program to create the menu. Like most people, I Cannot Stand PD's awful menu program, but I put up with it, because I always want menus. - You're bringing in a Produced file into the other program when you want a menu? There's no degradation? Or do you somehow bring in DVD files into that program? I don't get it.

Randy

I bring my rendered project into the "other" software...... The "other" software literally sucks at video editing, but there are a couple menus that I always use in it. I produce that project to folder (vob file), it never fails and it come with windows.... (hint), then use the third software to burn the DVD's. (free and I have been using it for over 10 yeas now to exclusively burn DVD's, and it now does Blue Ray also) It burns quickly on my computer. Less than 4 minutes for a full 4.7 normally and about 8 minutes or less for a full dual layer DVD.

__________________________________________
Windows 8 Pro 64 bit

CyberLink PowerDirector 10 Tutorials
PDtoots PowerDirector Tutorials

**NOTICE**
When you are asked to provide a DXDIAG you go the following link and do part "B". Your posted specs are NOT what we are looking for as they tell us nothing. The specs on the box of your computer mean nothing. The DXDIAG shows us how your computer is configured as it runs.

DXDIAG Link

Hi Randy,

Have you tried DVDshrink a free video compression program.
If your video in the folder is only slightly over the 4.7GB limit DVDshrink will
use the minimum amount of compression to make it fit.
I do not think it can handle HD video but haven't tried it.
I personally haven't used it for home produced video as none of my creations
are that large, but it does a very good job of fitting commercial 90Minute movies
onto a single 4.7GB DVD, with very little quality loss.
It might be worth a try.

Patrick

Check online shops for DL DVD disks.

I buy mine mostly from Newegg.com.
Amazon.com is a good source also.

Carl312: Windows 10 64-bit 8 GB RAM,AMD Phenom II X4 965 3.4 GHz,ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB,240GB SSD,two 1TB HDs.

You guys are great! Thanks for all the help:

Quote: Check online shops for DL DVD disks.
I buy mine mostly from Newegg.com.
Amazon.com is a good source also.

Great, thanks for the shopping tip, Carl. It's actually kind of funny that I've never bought double density discs before. I'll do it!

Quote: I bring my rendered project into the "other" software...... The "other" software literally sucks at video editing, but there are a couple menus that I always use in it. I produce that project to folder (vob file), it never fails and it come with windows...(hint), then use the third software to burn the DVD's. (free and I have been using it for over 10 yeas now to exclusively burn DVD's, and it now does Blue Ray also) It burns quickly on my computer. Less than 4 minutes for a full 4.7 normally and about 8 minutes or less for a full dual layer DVD.

Ah ha--Yes, I know the "other" software from Windows that you're talking about. I was using it for making quick-n-dirty DVDs, but after encountering the dreaded "silent soundtrack" syndrome (verified online as a common problem, especially with AVI files) I stopped using it. That program is the guiltiest party for adding to my coaster collection.

But I guess you're indicating that when you use that program for getting a menu quickly put together (its menus Do look nice!) - you're not getting any reduction in quality? You're rendering in PD to mpeg or mp4, bringing that into That Other Program and then making the disc - that doesn't degrade the picture or sound?

Quote: Hi Randy,

Have you tried DVDshrink a free video compression program.If your video in the folder is only slightly over the 4.7GB limit DVDshrink willuse the minimum amount of compression to make it fit.I do not think it can handle HD video but haven't tried it.
I personally haven't used it for home produced video as none of my creations are that large, but it does a very good job of fitting commercial 90Minute movies onto a single 4.7GB DVD, with very little quality loss.
It might be worth a try.
Patrick

Patrick! - as helpful as everyone's been on this thread, you win a special prize for this post. Yes, I have DVDshrink and have used it for making archive copies - but GET THIS - I never understood that you could use a DVD folder as the source! I can't believe I didn't get that before.

Your post made me run to DVDshrink to check it out--there it is, plain as day "open folder." Just now I chose one of my DVD folders that ended up too large for a disc - and sure enough, DVDshrink did its thing, squeezing the data down to 75% of the original, making it fit on a disc. EXCELLENT!--- Of course, using a double density disc would be preferable, since the quality of the files would be preserved, but this is still a very good tip - I slap my forehead and say "Dur!"--Thanks much, Patrick.

Randy

I've tried to burn to a file first, but it keeps giving me the "the output files exceed the available disk space", and I have 118GB available on my hard drive! What gives?

Quote: I've tried to burn to a file first, but it keeps giving me the "the output files exceed the available disk space", and I have 118GB available on my hard drive! What gives?

Hi - That would have been a good topic for a whole new thread, Theresa - this is a pretty old thread you responded to. But I'm here because I got an email about your post - so, I can help you out with that.

That error message is talking about is referring to the folder size you've chosen, either 4.7 or 8.5. It's not referring to the space available on your hard drive. So, if the project is too big for the 4.7 size folder, choose 8.5. Trouble is, Power Director is completely inaccurate in predicting how large the final output will be. You'll very likely find that even though it's saying it won't fit in a 4.7 folder, when you burn it to the 8.5 folder, it'll be much smaller, ending up not too large for a 4.7 disc. That's what my thread was about originally.

So - get it? Choose the larger size. If it's even too large for that - well, then you're up against a wall because there isn't a DVD size larger than 8.5. At that point, you have to, unfortunately, reduce the quality of the video so it's smaller.

rbowser