Does anyone know anything about this so called "DVD EP FORMAT"...or the extended play option, that is the ability to record 240 mins on a DVD R media. Just wanted to know if you have to "tweak" something on your burner software to get this option.

Not sure what DVD EP FORMAT is ( (E)xtended (P)lay ), but I know for sure that with KDVD we already can get 6 hours at full D-1 on one DVD

-kwag

....I only have a simple question: Just what are the average encoding times for a typical 2 hr widescreen movie using the FULL D-1 704x480 templates ???

It all depends on what processor and speed you have. So it will be different for every machine.

-kwag

....yeah, well, that's why I could use a DVD compatible 544x480 template.

There is no 544x480 DVD compatible template (resolution), because 544x480 is not DVD compliant
However, you can encode 528x480 or 544x480 MPEG-2 and then use DVDPatcher to "patch" the mpeg header to 720x480, and author it and try it on a DVD(+-)RW and test it on your player.
It will play on most players, but not all.
If you want 100% DVD compliance, then encode 352x240, 352x480, 704x480 or 720x480 which are the suported DVD resolutions.

-kwag