Recording time on DVD-R?
 

Can anyone tell me if there exists a blank dvd-r which will record up to 180 minutes?

The amount of minutes is not controlled by the disc.

It's the bitrate of the video data that determines how many minutes of information can be put on a DVD.

Consumer DVD recorders have "dumbed down" the bitrate concept, adopting presets similar to VCRs, such as "SP mode" (2 hours), "XP mode" (1 hour), and other modes.

In general, video quality starts to really degrade after 2-3 hours of content, and it's not suggested on a standard single-layer DVD-R or DVD+R. It really depends on the quality of the equipment, be it hardware or software. Most consumer DVD recorders look lousy beyond 2 hours, only a handful can do well at 3 hours. Some discontinued models of machines from several years ago could even make quite decent 4-hour discs.

DVDs created in software can be any length from 1-4 hours, and generally look quite nice, depending on the quality of the encoding engine and the settings used by the person using the software.