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sunandsurf

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 23, 2008
130
3
Sorry for a naive question but I'd like to use Compressor to create a self-contained video file of the highest quality to fit on a single layer/4.7 gig DVD. I do not want to create a playable DVD. Instead, I want to create an m4v or QT movie.

If I use the preset settings at 10 Mbps, it's too big for a single layer DVD.

If I use the preset settings at 5 Mbps, it's about 2.9 gigs; there's more room on the DVD and I assume that kicking it up a bit to create a larger file may create a video that looks better... but maybe that's a false assumption? Perhaps the difference will be unnoticeable?

So I'm turning to you guys who may have had experience with this situation. In Compressor, if I select a new setting, it does NOT give an estimated file size. So I could wait for 2 - 3 hours only to find that it was a waste of time because the file size is too big for a single layer DVD.

Is there a generally accepted custom setting for people who want to create the best quality video file and burn it to a DVD?

This video is going to be given to parents and they are NOT all Apple users. Some have PCs, some have iPads, some don't. So rather than create 5 different versions for different users, I want to create a single video file that should be viewable by both PC and Mac users.

Sorry to ramble on but if you have any suggestions, would you tell me what you'd recommend?

Thank you.
 
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