Hd Dvd-Video Vs Blu-Ray Video

[BluTec]

I am new to Toast. I recently purchased v.11 mainly to create high definition DVD or Blu-ray Discs. So far installation and initial tests to burn discs went well. I have a question regarding HD DVD-Video vs Blu-ray encoding. I imported 2h20min of 720p EyeTV program into toast and burned a Blu-ray Disc which played very well on my BD player. Then I noticed that Toast also allows me to burn it on DVD media if I select the HD DVD-Video option. The size of the file shows 3.96GB when I select HD DVD vs 20.5GB when I select BD. Since they are both encoded with MP4-AVC codec, why is there a difference in size and also how does it fit to DVD media? I thought toast could only fit ~30min HD video on DVD media. Is the quality of the image inferior (more compressed) when burned on to DVD vs BD?

[tsantee]

The HD DVD video is for short videos that can fit to DVD even though they are high-definition. I'm not certain what is the maximum time limit that will fit but I think it is near 30 minutes. The only way to get a 2h20min video on a regular DVD is to choose the DVD-video setting in which case Toast will re-encode it at standard definition.

[BluTec]

That's what I thought. But, as I mentioned in my post, Toast fits the same 2h30m video to DVD media as 3.96GB file when HD DVD-video option is selected. Or it fits the video to BD media as 20GB file when BD option is selected. Does this mean HD DVD option compresses and encodes differently than BD option even though both use the AVC encoding?

[tsantee]

That's what I thought. But, as I mentioned in my post, Toast fits the same 2h30m video to DVD media as 3.96GB file when HD DVD-video option is selected. Or it fits the video to BD media as 20GB file when BD option is selected. Does this mean HD DVD option compresses and encodes differently than BD option even though both use the AVC encoding?

I'll need to look into this. If it creates a 3.96 GB file then it would have to be standard definition. I've never tried putting a long video in that setting so I haven't seen what you've found.

 

I also haven't compared the encoding settings between the two. My presumption is they are the same unless you manually change the settings in the custom encoder settings window.

Edited February 27, 2013 by tsantee

[BluTec]

Here is a screen shot at HD-DVD and BD settings.

 

[tsantee]

Thanks for sharing that info. My best guess is that Toast plans to span the HD DVD-video across multiple single-layer DVDs. It obviously cannot use those encoding settings to achieve a 3.96 GB outcome. If you chose Save as Disc Image you'd see what Toast actually creates.

[BluTec]

Thanks for your help. Curious to see what the final HD DVD video product would look like, I inserted a blank DVD-R and clicked the burn button. Toast started encoding. After 1.5 hours and encoding status at '59% completed' sign , it got stuck and never finished the process. After waiting for 1/2 hour, and seeing no more encoding happening, I ended up canceling the process and quit the application.

 

At this point, I'm inclined to burn my HD movies on Blu-ray media as it worked well for me. I don't have much time to conduct more tests on HD-DVD burning. I will consider burning HD video on DVD media only when my videos are less than 30 min.

 

Thanks again for your help.

[BluTec]

Less than 30 min HD video seems to be encoded differently when HD-DVD option selected compared to BD option selected. For example when I start a new project and import 17 minutes of HD video, Toast shows 1.91 GB of space allocation on DVD when HD-DVD video option is selected whereas 3.03 GB of allocation on BD when Blu-ray video option is selected.

[tsantee]

Less than 30 min HD video seems to be encoded differently when HD-DVD option selected compared to BD option selected. For example when I start a new project and import 17 minutes of HD video, Toast shows 1.91 GB of space allocation on DVD when HD-DVD video option is selected whereas 3.03 GB of allocation on BD when Blu-ray video option is selected.

That seems to make sense. Toast is automatically using a higher bit rate for the Blu-ray media because there is ample room. But apparently Toast doesn't give you correct information about what it will actually do.