DV is DV, no matter what BUS you use to transfer it. The video/audio is mildly compressed inside the camera at 5 to 1 using the DV algorithim. It doesnt matter how you capture it its going to be the same size. MPEG-2, the algorithim used as the standard for DVD, on the other hand, can be adjusted for size.
MPEG= MotionPicturesExpertsGroup. MPEG-2. In it you can make video and audio streams separate,or, make them together.
What is actually on the DVD itself is the 0's and 1's of MPEG-2 and the audio. These 0's and 1's are burned at a per second rate, or bytes called "bits". A higher bit rate give you better video/audio quality but will allow you to fit less on a DVD. A lower rate gives you visa-versa. Generaly when you have a small enough file to burn you want to use a CBR, or constant bit rate. A larger movie to burn might do best with a VBR, or variable bit rate. Video files that have a lot of action and movement in them wont burn well at a low bit rate. The more movement, or worse lighting, the higher the bit rate you want to use.
With a VBR the software decides at what rate to burn the material. You give it parameters to follow, like a VBR high of 7500 per sec, and low of 4500 per sec. The software will adjust the bit rate for the type of material being encoded.
When I make a professional video I shoot in DV, dump it to hard drive, edit it, and then convert the material to MPEG-2. With that I build the DVD project with menus, surround audio streams, and linked chapter buttons just like any other DVD you buy.
But DV is DV. You have some control over file size by adjusting how you capture the audio but generally your going to get 4&1/2 minutes of video/audio per gigabyte of storage. Thats why I have 1200 gigs of super fast storage. For a typical project I will need 150 gigs. While on paper USB-2 can move data faster it doesnt do it with video/audio files as effeciently as does 1394 which is a data bus made specifically for digital video. Now we have 1394b, I have two cards in my system and a 1394b external hard drive. 1394b is twice as fast as 1394, much faster then USB-2, and is constructed to be most effecient with video.
We are living in wonderful times when anyone, with a small investment, can make lovely video librarys of their lives and familys. And they can do so easily with plug and play that really is plug and play. You should see what we went thru in the early 90s, we DV pioneers. Back then a 4 gig hard drive was big and we spent more time with our systems apart then together.
Its a wonderful time to be involved in video. And your uncle Rich is here to help if you need it.................Uncle Rich................
