[orsadude2]

I have a Powermac G5. I was using iMovie to make a DVD. The movie is 2.5 hours. When I tried to burn to DVD, I got a message stating that I didn't have enough room on the DVD or I could use a DL DVD. In researching on DVD's, I've discovred that you must have a Dual Layer DVD burner to use the DL DVD. My question. Don't Powermac G5's come with Dual Layer DVD burners as standard equipment? Asked another way...if I go buy these expensive 9GB DL-DVD R's will they work?

feeling a bit foolish,

BTW...I did hit the about this mac button and selected disc burning. I can't decipher this stuff:

HL-DT-ST DVD-RW GWA-4165B:
Firmware Revision: C006
Interconnect: ATAPI
Burn Support: Yes (Apple Shipped/Supported)
Cache: 2048 KB
Reads DVD: Yes
CD-Write: -R, -RW
DVD-Write: -R, -RW, +R, +RW, +R DL
Burn Underrun Protection CD: Yes
Burn Underrun Protection DVD: Yes
Write Strategies: CD-TAO, CD-SAO, CD-Raw, DVD-DAO
Media:
Media Type: DVD-RW
Blank: Yes
Erasable: Yes
Overwritable: Yes
Appendable: Yes

[Big Mac]

Yes, you seem to have a writer capable of writing +R DL discs. However, if I were in your position I would split the disc into two parts or edit it down because I don't think too many DVD players would be able to play +R DL discs.

[orsadude2]

Originally Posted by Big Mac 

Yes, you seem to have a writer capable of writing +R DL discs. However, if I were in your position I would split the disc into two parts or edit it down because I don't think too many DVD players would be able to play +R DL discs.

That makes sense. How would I go about calculating how much editing to do to? How much time will a regular DVD take up. I figure most movies are about 90 minutes. That means I would have to lose an hour...yipes!

[Uncle Skeleton]

I'm pretty sure the current version if iDVD allows up to 2 hours on a DVD5 (the single layer kind), with the understanding that quality will be reduced somewhat. I don't know how long it would let you fit on a dual layer disc, but I think 2.5 hours should fit.

Also, I don't think DVD players are any more finicky about +R DL vs normal +R. Just about all studio DVDs are dual layer, so obviously your player can read two layers.

[mduell]

This is one thing that irritates me about iDVD; you can fit an arbitrary amount of time on a DVD. The maximum data rate is 9600kbps (which allows 1 hour on a single-layer DVD), but I'm not aware of any minimum bit rate (of course it looks worse as you lower the bit rate) in the DVD standard. Since iDVD arbitrarily enforces a 2 hour maximum for a single layer DVD, I'd guess they also include a 4 hour maximum for a dual layer DVD.

[Cadaver]

Originally Posted by Big Mac 

Yes, you seem to have a writer capable of writing +R DL discs. However, if I were in your position I would split the disc into two parts or edit it down because I don't think too many DVD players would be able to play +R DL discs.

Wrong. Most standalone DVD players will play DVD+R DL (dual layer) discs just fine. All three of mine do.

[mduell]

VideoHelp.com - HD-DVD, Bluray and DVD Player Compatibility List will tell you what type of disks your DVD player will work with.

[Uncle Skeleton]

Originally Posted by mduell 

This is one thing that irritates me about iDVD; you can fit an arbitrary amount of time on a DVD. The maximum data rate is 9600kbps (which allows 1 hour on a single-layer DVD), but I'm not aware of any minimum bit rate (of course it looks worse as you lower the bit rate) in the DVD standard. Since iDVD arbitrarily enforces a 2 hour maximum for a single layer DVD, I'd guess they also include a 4 hour maximum for a dual layer DVD.

Apple apps (especially iApps) are first and formost dedicated to making hard things easy. They "just work." Or to put it another way, they protect the user from options which, though possible, are wrong. A DVD that plays but looks like crap is not "Just working," at least not to most people.

Also, I think there is a lower limit in the spec, at about 2 mpbs. For scenes with any amount of action, even this will be unwatchable. Constant bitrate encoders are more dependable, and that's what they chose.

[OreoCookie]

Please choose more reasonable titles, people!