fansubbed anime episode sizes

it doesn't fit.

what are the exact sizes of things?

first, the sizes in a table:
bytesKiBMiB
80 minutes cd737,280,000720,000703.125
DVD+R single layer4,700,372,9924,590,2084,482.625
DVD-R single layer4,707,319,8084,596,9924,489.25
2/cd episode367,001,600358,400350
13/dvd episode360,710,144352,256344
3/cd episode244,667,733238,933233.333
4/cd episode183,500,800179,200175
26/dvd episode180,355,072176,128172
note that the the size of the media is the ISO image, including headers etc, the actual files need to be a bit smaller. I define a DVD+R as a DVD, because it's the slightly smaller of the 2, so something fitting will fit on both standards.

the sizes shown graphically, making the problem obvious:
sizes comparison chart

A typical anime season is 13 or 26 eps. a season of 2/cd and 4/cd eps is 13*350 = 4550 MiB, which is 68 MiB bigger than a DVD+R, which means anime series never neatly fit on dvd's. You always need another one just for the last 1 or 2 eps. The exact size of a "13/dvd" or "26/dvd" is open for debate. I have seen 170 and 172 MiB used, both are ok. Also animes are released which don't fit on cd's because they have "random" episode sizes, but they are also slightly bigger than a dvd. so they dont fit neatly on any optical disc.

possible arguments:

"it then fits on a dvd, but does it still fit on a cd?"
While it fits on a DVD, it still fits with 2 or 4 on a CD as well, because the eps are slightly smaller, so it's not a compromise here.

"it's smaller so it's less quality"
It's only an 1% lower bitrate, the difference is too small to be significant.

"can't you overburn it?"
Unlike cd's, dvd's cannot practically be overburnt. A friend overburnt only 4 MB, and it failed. Also, an overburnt dvd is not standards compliant. It cannot be read on all dvd drives. It's not reliable. It should not be considered "normal", or be depended on.

"dvds and burners were too expensive in (fill in a year). It's only old animes. We don't know the size of a dvd."
In 2004, cheap dvd burners cost like 80 euro, and top end ones around 160 euro. dvd recordables cost like 1 euro. This is when I first bought a burner and dvds. which means atleast since 2004, dvd recording is affordable and "mainstream". I have no record of prices before that. Releases are still being done which don't fit, see the list below. Finding out the size of a dvd can't be difficult, and could be done by searching on internet or asking others.

"but noone uses optical discs anymore, I store all my anime on hdd's, and only move them over networks"
Most people with this argument probably also use striped RAID-0. Enough people exist who like to burn anime on dvds for various reasons. Backup, offline storage, giving to friends, etc. A dvd can be inserted into any pc with a dvd drive, is small enough to send over mail as a letter, and is cheap enough to give away. Also, hdd's *can* crash/fail. It has happened to me. It has happened to multiple friends. Don't force your choices/habits onto others; if the release fits on dvd, it ofcourse still fits on hdd as well, so it's not a compromise.

"but transcoding is bad."
I know. Release groups should get it right in releases. If you want to transcode to make a downloaded release fit, and the size difference is small enough, I suggest only transcoding one or two episodes, not everything.

"everything is slightly too big for a DVD+R. but is it also too big for the older, and slightly bigger, DVD-R standard?"
Yes. also, DVD+R was completely standard/mainstream in 2004 anyway.

experiences of other people i see:

1910.05 <Dmoz> All of my stuff is now not available, I just download stuff and give people DVD's
1910.15 <beware> and you always need an extra dvd for the last ep?
1910.28 <Dmoz> 99% of the time yes

as an anime release group, how do I make anime episodes fit?

Encode 2 pass VBR, use "file size" as target. take the audio bitrate into consideration; substract the size of the audio from the desired size - for example, 128 kbit CBR is nearly 1 MB per minute, or 23.5 MiB for 25 minutes, leaving 170-23.5 = 146.5 MB for the video stream. You may need to experiment to find out errors in the bitrate calculations of the encoder, and compensate for them in subsequent encodes.

a list of anime releases

This is not an exhaustive list. I may add more examples later. I mark a release as red if it's released after 2004, and slightly bigger than a half, one, or a few dvds. I mark a release as green if it neatly fits on a half, one, or a few dvds.

date (estimate)groupanimesizecomments
2002spectre animepita ten172-219 MiB (irregular)26 eps, size 4.77 GiB, 1.09 dvd
2002-2003anime himitsuGalaxy angel season 3125-243 MiB (irregular)26 eps + special, total size 5 GiB
2002-2003anime-empirespiral149-177 MiB (irregular)25 eps, 4516829184 bytes, 0.96 dvd
2003Triadpopotan175 MiB12 eps (0.47 dvd)
2003AnimeHQSaiyuki120-245 MiB (irregular)27 eps, 4.72 GiB, 1.08 dvd
2003AC' FansubsJungle Wa Itsumo Hale Nochi Guu110-229 MiB (irregular)26 eps. 4494458880 bytes, 0.956 dvd
2004Zhentarim DivXneon genesis evangelion350 MiB26 eps. 2.03 dvd.
2004AnimeHQfull metal panic139-270 MiB (irregular)24 eps. 4757994646 bytes, 1.012 dvd
2005AonE-NandeyaneGreen Green tv173-176 MiB13 eps (2388668416 bytes, 0.508 dvd)
2005anime himitsuGalaxy angel season 4170 MiB13 eps (26 "short eps") (2341072896 bytes, 0.498 dvd)
2005AnimeYuki, AonEAh! My goddess!131-174 MiB26 eps (4605076618 bytes, 0.97 dvd)
2005EclipseShakugan no Shana169-172 MiB (last ep is 241 MiB)24 eps. 4381407304 bytes, 0.93 dvd
2005Triadmahou shoujo lyrical nanoha175 MiB13 eps. (2392670208 bytes, 0.509 dvd)
2005NLA&Ishin&A-Fazumanga daioh172 MiB26 eps, 4.24 GiB (0.96 dvd) (it looks ugly, has this been on VHS?)
2005Eclipsefate stay night171-229 MiB24 eps, 4698892300 bytes (0.999 dvd)
2006Anime Universemagikano171-177 MiB13 eps (2354756162 bytes; 0.501 dvd)

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