Software which can tell me certain sizes of multiple files (fitting onto a 4.37 DVDR EXACTLY)

jason69uk · 30-01-2013

Hi people

Im burning loads of videos onto a 4.37GB DVD-R.

I'm wondering if theres a piece of software out there which can work out which files would need to be selected exactly to make 4.37 GB.
For example i have 250 GB to burn onto disc and dont want to waste space by filling it with nothing.
So a piece of software (if such a thing exists) to tell me which files would make up 4.37 GB in size?

Thanks people

Mastus · 30-01-2013

In Linux, there's a very versatile program called Gaffitter which does that http://gaffitter.sourceforge.net/

And there's a Python script (probably runnable in Windows) "fittosize" which does the thing also. See http://users.softlab.ntua.gr/~ttsiod/fillupDVD.html

ChristineBCW · 30-01-2013

There are PKZIP-style programs that will break up files into X-size chunks. And I've done Data Backups to CD and DVD that the burning program understood was "too large to fit on one disk - span disks for a backup set?" mentality. (Roxio, Nero, etc.)

I learned to avoid those because, should one disk or file-set be corrupt, then none of the files can be restored easily, if at all.

So now I use the manual "fill it up, back it off" approach and I know I've got a 'full enough' disk that can serve as both a backup 'set' by my own labeling, and a standalone disk. Time-consuming, yes, but Restoring Files is the name of the game. Making that more certain, and easier, is more important to me than "easy backups" - if I can't restore them, then why pretend to back them up?

*DrageMester* · 30-01-2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by jason69uk

So a piece of software (if such a thing exists) to tell me which files would make up 4.37 GB in size?

There are some utilities that can help with this, but none I have tried worked satisfactorily for me.

Some burning programs can also do this, and as far as I know the free CDBurnerXP can do it (disc spanning), although I haven't tried it myself (I don't really need such a feature anymore).

**olyteddy** · 30-01-2013

Long ago and Far Away...I had a PC that came with Roxio loaded and it had that feature. IDK if it still does. YMMV

**Seán** · 31-01-2013

If it's a single folder of videos or other bulky files with most in the range of 100MB and 1GB, I mainly do the following manual method with the help of ImgBurn. This generally leaves little wastage (typically under 40MB/disc left over, which works out at roughly 1 DVD of space wasted per 100 DVDs written):

Sort the folder by size and create a new folder called 'Done'.
Add roughly 4GB of the largest files into ImgBurn.
Click the calculator icon in ImgBurn to see the 'Free Space' figure.
Now scroll down the list of videos for largest file that fits within this free space and add it.
Click the calculator icon once more to check that this compilation still fits.
Burn the compilation.
Move these burned files into the 'Done' folder.
Click the 'Remove all items' trash icon in ImgBurn and repeat from step 2.

If there is a good variety of different size files, this method will usually result in very little free space wastage apart from the last few discs where there are few small files left to fill the free space left over.

From my experience helping people back up their photo collection, this manual method also works well backing up folders of photos, such as a large "My Pictures" collection. Instead of selecting files, I select folders to roughly fill the disc space and then add a small folder or unsorted pictures (not in a folder) to fill the last bit of free space on each disc.

jc836 · 31-01-2013

AShampoo Burning Studio offers this in a horizontal bar graph along with spanning.

*coolcolors* · 31-01-2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by jason69uk

Hi people

Im burning loads of videos onto a 4.37GB DVD-R.

I'm wondering if theres a piece of software out there which can work out which files would need to be selected exactly to make 4.37 GB.
For example i have 250 GB to burn onto disc and dont want to waste space by filling it with nothing.
So a piece of software (if such a thing exists) to tell me which files would make up 4.37 GB in size?

Thanks people

Is there a reason you can't use BD media or DVD+R DL aka DVD9 media???? If you going to burn to them and what format is the video in and you sure it will play on standalone dvd/bd player?

jason69uk · 01-02-2013

thanks for all suggestions people ill go through them one by one until satisfied with it allowing me to do what i want it to.

I might start using BD media but isn't it meant to be more weak than others or something?
I know by now things may have changed.....
I wouldnt mind starting the 50GB discs but they arent as stable are they?

Thanks people again for the help

ChristineBCW · 01-02-2013

"BD is weak" is probably a reference to "compatibility concerns" or "quality of media". The BluRay's laser is much finer than any previous technology, so tolerance and precision are much higher requirements for the media's quality, plus we're seeing extra-layer burners ("BDXL") which may create Read issues with some older BD drives.

This site tries to keep up with BluRay (and DVD and CD) media quality, but every marketplace has so many variables that it's difficult to deliver complete evaluations.

If there are concerns about compatibility or future-use, then a similar concern should be raised about Disk-Spanning software because some may change every few versions, so an old backup set may not be restorable years later. That's why I prefer raw manual time-consuming backups, though - because it's so much easier to locate and restore what I want, even a decade and several OS's later. And for me, "restore" is the name of the game - not the easiest or fastest backup.

*DrageMester* · 01-02-2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChristineBCW

If there are concerns about compatibility or future-use, then a similar concern should be raised about Disk-Spanning software because some may change every few versions, so an old backup set may not be restorable years later. That's why I prefer raw manual time-consuming backups, though - because it's so much easier to locate and restore what I want, even a decade and several OS's later. And for me, "restore" is the name of the game - not the easiest or fastest backup.

I agree with this, when the disc spanning feature is using some proprietary format.

As far as I can tell from the CDBurnerXP documentation, its disc spanning feature doesn't use a proprietary format but simply selects which disc each file should be burned on. I haven't tried it myself, however.

Zunhs · 12-02-2013

Windows
A long time ago I used a program called BurnToTheBrim but it hasn't been updated for years now. I haven't tried http://sourceforge.net/projects/discfit but it sounds like it could be useful.

Linux
Thank you for telling us about GAFFitter Mastus.

*_chef_* · 25-02-2013

Burning to the MAX is and was never be useful.

**Liggy** · 25-02-2013

On good quality media this shouldn't be an issue. I've got many self-burned DVDs with only 1 or 2 MB left and - according to CD Speed - no issue regarding quality on the last MBs.

30-01-2013	#1
jason69uk MyCE Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Brisbane, AU. Posts: 381	Software which can tell me certain sizes of multiple files (fitting onto a 4.37 DVDR EXACTLY) Hi people Im burning loads of videos onto a 4.37GB DVD-R. I'm wondering if theres a piece of software out there which can work out which files would need to be selected exactly to make 4.37 GB. For example i have 250 GB to burn onto disc and dont want to waste space by filling it with nothing. So a piece of software (if such a thing exists) to tell me which files would make up 4.37 GB in size? Thanks people __________________ Jay PC: Intel P4 - 2.80 GHz - 512 MB RAM Writers: BenQ 1620 - Pioneer 107-D - NEC 2500A Monitor: TFT Hard Disk: 120GB Western Digital (External) 40GB Maxtor 160GB Seagate.

30-01-2013	#5
olyteddy Senior Moderator Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: In the present, the past was so long ago... Posts: 6,596	Long ago and Far Away...I had a PC that came with Roxio loaded and it had that feature. IDK if it still does. YMMV __________________ It's been at least 20 weeks since I had a sig...

31-01-2013	#6
Seán Senior Administrator & Reviewer Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Republic of Ireland (North West) Posts: 9,698	If it's a single folder of videos or other bulky files with most in the range of 100MB and 1GB, I mainly do the following manual method with the help of ImgBurn. This generally leaves little wastage (typically under 40MB/disc left over, which works out at roughly 1 DVD of space wasted per 100 DVDs written): Sort the folder by size and create a new folder called 'Done'. Add roughly 4GB of the largest files into ImgBurn. Click the calculator icon in ImgBurn to see the 'Free Space' figure. Now scroll down the list of videos for largest file that fits within this free space and add it. Click the calculator icon once more to check that this compilation still fits. Burn the compilation. Move these burned files into the 'Done' folder. Click the 'Remove all items' trash icon in ImgBurn and repeat from step 2. If there is a good variety of different size files, this method will usually result in very little free space wastage apart from the last few discs where there are few small files left to fill the free space left over. From my experience helping people back up their photo collection, this manual method also works well backing up folders of photos, such as a large "My Pictures" collection. Instead of selecting files, I select folders to roughly fill the disc space and then add a small folder or unsorted pictures (not in a folder) to fill the last bit of free space on each disc.

31-01-2013	#7
jc836 MyCE Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: PA-USA Posts: 270	AShampoo Burning Studio offers this in a horizontal bar graph along with spanning. __________________ Oldtime Recording Engineer-retired.

01-02-2013	#9
jason69uk MyCE Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Brisbane, AU. Posts: 381	thanks for all suggestions people ill go through them one by one until satisfied with it allowing me to do what i want it to. I might start using BD media but isn't it meant to be more weak than others or something? I know by now things may have changed..... I wouldnt mind starting the 50GB discs but they arent as stable are they? Thanks people again for the help __________________ Jay PC: Intel P4 - 2.80 GHz - 512 MB RAM Writers: BenQ 1620 - Pioneer 107-D - NEC 2500A Monitor: TFT Hard Disk: 120GB Western Digital (External) 40GB Maxtor 160GB Seagate.

30-01-2013	#2
Mastus MyCE Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 75	In Linux, there's a very versatile program called Gaffitter which does that http://gaffitter.sourceforge.net/ And there's a Python script (probably runnable in Windows) "fittosize" which does the thing also. See http://users.softlab.ntua.gr/~ttsiod/fillupDVD.html

30-01-2013	#3
ChristineBCW MyCE Die Hard Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: USA-Canada Posts: 1,351	There are PKZIP-style programs that will break up files into X-size chunks. And I've done Data Backups to CD and DVD that the burning program understood was "too large to fit on one disk - span disks for a backup set?" mentality. (Roxio, Nero, etc.) I learned to avoid those because, should one disk or file-set be corrupt, then none of the files can be restored easily, if at all. So now I use the manual "fill it up, back it off" approach and I know I've got a 'full enough' disk that can serve as both a backup 'set' by my own labeling, and a standalone disk. Time-consuming, yes, but Restoring Files is the name of the game. Making that more certain, and easier, is more important to me than "easy backups" - if I can't restore them, then why pretend to back them up?

Today
Adbot Always the best offers Join Date: Today Location: Myce HQ Posts: Zillions

12-02-2013	#12
Zunhs MyCE Rookie Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Sweden Posts: 31	Windows A long time ago I used a program called BurnToTheBrim but it hasn't been updated for years now. I haven't tried http://sourceforge.net/projects/discfit but it sounds like it could be useful. Linux Thank you for telling us about GAFFitter Mastus.

25-02-2013	#13
_chef_ MyCE Resident Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: @FX labs .de ...playing LLAMATRON :-] Posts: 30,611	Burning to the MAX is and was never be useful. __________________ Enable DMA with micrAp$0ft Enable DMA free at your will busTRACE => Upper/Lower Filters Util DevCon *HOW TO ... Delete the Upper & Lower Filters!* If you expect help then please use the powerful SEARCH. Try ThreatFire I am looking for DVD-R for Authoring & HD DVD media. Please PM me if you can help me. Vamos Tribbles! V-a-m-o-s!!

25-02-2013	#14
Liggy Senior Administrator Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Monkey Island Posts: 8,240	On good quality media this shouldn't be an issue. I've got many self-burned DVDs with only 1 or 2 MB left and - according to CD Speed - no issue regarding quality on the last MBs. __________________ You need to flash or dump your NEC DVD burner firmwares on your Mac, Windows, DOS or Linux machine? Just try Binflash. Visit Liggy's and Dee's Optiarc and NEC firmware and tools page for all kind of information about NEC and Optiarc drives. Unrequested PM about drive problems will not be answered!

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