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  #9  
Old 2005-08-24, 08:50 PM
yeltzin_4
 
Re: Getting the Correct Audio/Video Bitrate on PCs and Macs

Here are a couple of programs you can use to determine the average bitrate for a VOB/m2v file.

Bitrate Viewer v1.5
http://www.tecoltd.com/bitratev.htm

DVD-Lab
http://www.mediachance.com/dvdlab/

Although DVD-Lab is an authoring package, it includes a built in bitrate viewer. Just import the VOB/m2v file into the assets bin and then drag it onto the main screen. In the menu there is an option to run the bitrate viewer.

Regarding PowerDVD - this will give you the actual bitrate in real time for any point in the video. Just right click on the video while it's playing and select "Show Information". The audio bitrate and codec (ie. AC3/PCM/etc.) will also be displayed on the screen.

None of these programs are freeware, but they do have 30 day trials.

FYI, if you have a regular single layered DVDR (4.7 GB) you can fit approximately 60 minutes of video footage at the maximum DVD bitrate (9800kbit/sec). Therefore if you completely fill the disc with 2 hours of footage the average bitrate will effectively be halved.
Note: this is a simplistic way of looking at it. There are many factors that may affect the average bitrate (such as the audio bitrate (PCM vs AC3), the size of the menus (motion menus can be huge!), multiple audio streams)

Some people have reported incorrect results from Bitrate Viewer v1.5, so it would be best to try your DVD in a number of programs. Only the original encoder will have the correct information as they are the ones entering the min/averag/max figures in their encoder (assuming they're doing VBR encoding). If they're using a standalone encoder then this information won't be as readily available, but people shouldn't be using standalone recorders to encode footage anyway...

I hope this helps.
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