Quick Guide to Easily Determine Your DVD Capacity [2024]

DVC capacity varies depending on their formats, design, and intended use. DVD formats like DVD-5, DVD-9, DVD-10, and DVD-18 each offer unique storage capabilities that can significantly impact how much data you can store. On the other hand, it can also cause confusion, especially with their capacity.

In this article, we are not going to leave you confused. Let’s learn and understand all these types of DVD formats and eventually determine what capacity they can hold. Moreover, we will clarify the difference between claimed and actual capacities on how various factors, such as the number of layers and the type of content stored, can affect the usable space on your discs. Let’s get started!

Part 1. DVD Formats

As introduced earlier, there are various types of video formats, and each is unique and different based on its DVD storage capacity, structure, and more.

• DVD-5 is a single-layer DVD that holds up to 4.7 GB of data, equivalent to approximately two hours of video, depending on compression. It is widely used for standard movies and data storage due to its compatibility with most DVD players.

• DVD-9 is a dual-layer, single-sided DVD, the DVD-9 can hold up to 8.5 GB of data, translating to around four hours of video. It features a solid and semi-transparent layer, allowing for higher-quality video storage.

• DVD-10 is a two-sided DVD that holds up to 9.4 GB of data, or about 4.5 hours of video. While it offers more capacity, it requires flipping the disc to access content on the other side, as there is no interactivity between sides. DVD-10s are often used to combine NTSC and PAL formats on a single disc.

• DVD-18 is the largest standard format among all DVD formats; this features two dual layers on each side, allowing for approximately 17 GB of data storage.

Part 2. DVD Capacity

Choosing the right DVD format can be tricky, especially if you’re unfamiliar with each type’s actual storage capacity. Many users mistakenly assume all DVDs hold the same amount of data, only to find their content doesn’t fit or the quality suffers. With this, in the table below, we simplified how you can compare each of the DVD formats, including their acclaimed capacity, actual capacity, layers, and length.

We can conclude that each DVD format offers different DVD storage capacities, depending on the number of layers and sides they employ. While the claimed capacities provide a general guideline, the actual usable space is slightly lower due to formatting overhead. Single-layer DVDs, like the DVD-5, are suitable for shorter content with a capacity of approximately two hours. In contrast, dual-layer DVDs, such as DVD-9, DVD-10, and DVD-18, provide expanded storage options, accommodating longer video durations and higher-quality content.

Part 3. Bonus: Best Way to Save DVD Capacity

If you’re struggling with your DVD capacity, the only way you can save it is by ripping your DVD contents to digital formats. This way, you can store your movies on your computer or external drive, making them easier to access and share. Plus, you won't have to worry about damaging the original DVD.

To solve this problem, you can use the FVC picked Video Converter Ultimate. This tool is a full-featured converter tool that can read DVDs through a DVD player and supports a number of widely used video output formats, including MP4, MOV, AVI, MKV, and more. With this, users can rip DVDs to the format that best suits their needs and eventually save their DVD capacity. Moreover, it has a built-in editing feature that they can use to further enhance the DVD content before ripping it.

Main Features:

• Convert DVD to digital video for PC and iOS/Android device playback.

• Supports more than 1000 formats and devices, such as MP4, MKV, MOV, FLV, AVI, MP3, AAC, GIF, iPhone, Samsung, and Apple TV.

• Uses Blu-ray hyper technology and advanced encoding technology to enhance the converted video.

• Supports batch conversion for converting multiple DVDs at once.

• Has built-in video editing features like trimming, cropping, watermarks, and effects.

• Customizable output settings like the encoder, sample rate, channel, and bitrate.

• The user interface is very straightforward.

Here’s how you can use FVC picked Video Converter Ultimate to save DVD content:

Step 1. First, you need to have the tool installed on your computer device.

Step 2. Next, launch the tool and click the Add File icon to load the disk.

Step 3. After that, click on the Output Format below and choose the digital format that you prefer from the Video tab. Once done, just simply click on the Convert All button to start ripping your DVD.

With FVC picked Video Converter Ultimate, saving your DVD capacity can easily be done by ripping your DVD to a digital file. Users will not have to worry about the ripping process since the user interface is simple and intuitive. Lastly, they don’t need to worry about the formats that they can choose since it offers a number of output formats.

Part 4. FAQs about DVD Capacity

Conclusion

There you have it! You now have a clear picture of various DVD capacities based on their formats. But regardless of their sizes, what’s important is that you know how to save more DVD capacity by ripping your DVDs. So why wait? Start ripping your DVDs to maximize your DVD storage capacity today!