# Help me figure out video space **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 7, 2006, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-figure-out-video-space/347398 "2006-03-07T17:19:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2006, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-figure-out-video-space/347398/1 "2006-03-07T17:19:46Z")
I need to transfer some video from a camera ([this one](http://www2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/vModelDetail?storeId=15001&catalogId=13401&itemId=96082&cacheProgram=11002&cachePartner=7000000000000005702&surfModel=PV-GS59&catGroupId=25002&surfCategory=Digital%20Camcorders&displayTab=S)) to my computer. I need to know how much hard drive space to have free. I can’t seem to figure it out. There’s about 50 minutes of video. Not sure what the resolution is - does the link above say what the resolution would be? Can anyone figure out how much hard drive space 50 minutes of film from this camera would take, or do you need more info? ---
**Author:** ![RyJae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9d8465/32.png) [@RyJae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RyJae)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2006, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-figure-out-video-space/347398/2 "2006-03-07T17:29:27Z")
> [@](#): > > A 60-minute MiniDV tape will hold approximately 13 Gigabytes > **[DV](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DV)** > > DV refers to a family of codecs and tape formats used for storing digital video, launched in 1995 by a consortium of video camera manufacturers led by Sony and Panasonic. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, DV was strongly associated with the transition from analog to digital desktop video production, and also with several enduring "prosumer" camera designs such as the Sony VX-1000. DV is sometimes referred to as MiniDV, which was the most popular tape format using a DV codec during this time. Not sure how much the resolution would change the GB’s ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2006, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-figure-out-video-space/347398/3 "2006-03-07T17:58:49Z")
It’s also going to depend largely upon what file format is being used, and what type and level of compression you apply. You can squeeze quite a bit of video in a relatively small space using a lossy compression algorithm, but you pay for it with a loss of quality. It’s possible to squeeze down a full-length feature film in high-quality MPEG-4 format into an .AVI file small enough to fit on a CD, but it’ll look like crap. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2006, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-figure-out-video-space/347398/4 "2006-03-07T20:16:39Z")
Thanks Abbie. I still need to acquire the software I need to get the stuff OFF of the camera, so I might have a better idea then. That is a good rough estimate for me, though. I just needed to know how much room to make on my hard drive. > [@Q.E.D.](#): > > It’s also going to depend largely upon what file format is being used, and what type and level of compression you apply. You can squeeze quite a bit of video in a relatively small space using a lossy compression algorithm, but you pay for it with a loss of quality. It’s possible to squeeze down a full-length feature film in high-quality MPEG-4 format into an .AVI file small enough to fit on a CD, but it’ll look like crap. I’m not trying to burn it just yet. It WILL be going on DVDs…but my main concern here now is how much space I need on my hard drive to get the movie, unprocessed, from the camera to the drive. Information on how to get it from the hard drive to a disk seems more readily available than the info Abbie supplied. Thank Og for Nero 7! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2006, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-figure-out-video-space/347398/5 "2006-03-07T22:52:16Z")
Uncompressed video with stereo audio takes up 1GB per 5 minutes. Compression rates vary widely between formats and within formats. I like to use Sorenson; it takes forever to compress, but is nearly impossible to tell it’s compressed once it’s done. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2006, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-figure-out-video-space/347398/6 "2006-03-08T00:11:56Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > Uncompressed video with stereo audio takes up 1GB per 5 minutes. No, this isn’t always true. Compressed or not, it depends on numerous factors – dimensions, frame rate, bitrate, file format, etc. You need to specify more info. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2006, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-figure-out-video-space/347398/7 "2006-03-08T00:46:40Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > No, this isn’t always true. Compressed or not, it depends on numerous factors – dimensions, frame rate, bitrate, file format, etc. You need to specify more info. Fine. 480x640 (standard) 30 (60i) fps (standard NTSC) bitrate? 16 or 24 bit color, can’t remember .mov (Quicktime) It’s a rule of thumb, that’s all. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2006, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-figure-out-video-space/347398/8 "2006-03-08T02:49:51Z")
I won’t even bother trying to quote relevant bits from the page below but it seems to have what the OP needs. > **[Best Codecs and Video Processing Software, Promo Codes & Deals](https://neuron2.net/)** > > The Best Video Conversion, Compression & Editing Software, Promo Codes & Deals January 4, 2021 This article has been just updated: January 4, 2021 In this article, we will talk about some of the various technical details of video files and...