>Phillip Williams wrote:
> >  I have been working on burning video files to DVD. One project I have
> > saved on my HD is just over 8 gb and I really don't want to split it.
> > I have a Sony DVD RW DRU 530a drive and am wondering if I can use the
> > dual layer media or if it requires a special burner.
> >  I am burning in DVD format (as opposed to mpeg, etc.) with menu and
> > chapters pages. If I use another format, will it still play in a
> > typical DVD player with menus intact?>>


There/s no such thing as a typical DVD player. Some players are more 
versatile than others.

The players built into computers will play stuff domestic players won't. 
That's because the computer players are using your computer software, 
whereas domestic players can only use whatever software the manufacturer 
decides to build into them  (which is generally pretty limited).

So the short answer is that you can play just about anything on your 
computer, but not on your domestic machine.

To shrink a dl movie to single layer, you can use DVD Decrypt first to 
decrypt it (if necessary), then DVDShrink to compress it down to 
single-layer size. This does a great job and you will not notice any loss 
of quality on normal movies. HD movies might be a different story. But I'm 
assuming you're not using HD or Blueray.

You might have difficulty finding a free version of DVD Decrypt since Sony 
tried to have it removed from the internet.

DVDSanta also does a good job of conversion if you can find a free copy of 
it. It is around, but hard to find. I haven't used it for reducing a dl 
disk, so don't know if it will do that. It works well on existing video files.

Don Penlington

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