hhhhancock

When I had my old XP PC I had no trouble converting legitimate downloaded AVI film files to a DVD that was playable on my DVD player which is an older model and doesn'tt support DIVX. Now I have a Vista PC I'm finding this a real nightmare. I just cannot find a way of converting an AVI file to a conventional PAL (or NTSC) disc.

Any help would be gratefully received.

Lord Lionheart

I use Nero, download a trial version and see if it works for your issue. There's a free version too. I bought the full version after trying it out, easy to use and simple. You will have to see if this works for you and then decide;

Nero - Downloads Overview

Rude, antagonistic,tiresome, sarcastic, yet aloof and sensitive.. and those are my good points

CaptainWaggett

ConvertXtodvd is also very good.

Tony Pendrey

I'd second the Captain in recommending ConvertXtoDvd. Only drawback is the length of time it takes.


I addition I would also recommend getting one of the newer DVD players with Divx support.

I got a real nice Toshiba in Argos last month for £27. Plays all my avi files which have a variety of codecs.

Ah Yes, the Soviet Union. All them wheatfields and ballet in the evenings

GoggleboxUK

Mainconcept H.264 encoder is all you'll ever need. Its freeware so just Google and download the program.

Nero does an excellent job of burning but its encoding leaves a lot to be desired so use Mainconcept to encode to DVD then throw the files into Nero to burn them.

Best results on all levels.

"There's always something"

Arthur Linden-Jones

That to me would suggest you're not actually "converting" avi to DVD format, but simply copying the avi file to a DVD disk and using a DVD player that recognises avi files.

Properly converting to DVD would involve creating AUDIO_TS and VIDEO_TS folders, the latter which should contain vob, ifo and bup files.

+1 above suggestion for ConvertXtoDVD.

That way, it won't matter what the capabilities for plating computer video files (avi, mp(e)g, mov, rm, DivX, Xvid. etc) the DVD player has, you will have produced a truly playable DVD.

My Mood? ... Brooding? ... Oh, I thought that said "Breeding" ....

Bernardo

Problem is length. DVD maximum is less than 4.7gb which is about an hour's play unless you have dual layer technology but even then there is a break while layers are changed (I think).

I play the avi on a 'stock disk' of avi's with a cheaper player-only that does DIvX and record it on to my DVD recorder set for the most suitable bit rate for the lenth using the HDMI cable if possible but even with scart the digital technology gives an excellent copy. It takes how ever long the film is, while most rendering and burning processes on a PC takes approximately double unless your PC is Colossus.

hhhhancock

Thanks for everyone's advice. I have 6 DVD players at home none of which are DIVX compatible, + 2 portables,so I will eventually buy DIVX players when the existing ones die (DIVX is the same as AVI I believe, correct me if I'm wrong) but at the moment I am trying to convert AVI files to full DVD files.

In the past when I had an XP PC this was no problem, I simply used Nero 5 to input the AVI file and it would convert and burn. With Vista, even with Nero 9 (trial version) the Nero software doesn't seem to recognise the AVI files so I have come to a full stop. Therefore conversion software as recommended seems the best bet. A bit more long winded than the old method but if it gets me there I'm quite happy with that.

Thanks again for all your help.

Wolfgang

Does Nero actually play these files? It might just be codec problem.

Bernardo

I looked at my collection and I noticed the AVI and MPEG files stored on DVD discs are quite numerous. I don't really bother to change the format, I just have a player equipped with Divx and MPEG codecs (cost about £24 + p&p) and the DVD recorder. The two are useful as I can play a DVD while one records a programme. Problem is finding sites with old movies on for download in AVI format that would not have made Mary Millington (see thread) blush.

hhhhancock

Mary Millington?? Never heard of her. Was she the lady on Songs of Praise?

autolycus

As wolfgang says, maybe the codec is the problem, not Vista.

DivX and avi are NOT the same thing. The latter is simply a container which can hold video encoded using many different codecs, including divX, Xvid, x264 etc. And if it's not encoded in divX or Xvid, it may be that an 'avi' DVD player will not play the video either.

Similarly, the audio could be the problem.

You could download mediainfo (free) which will tell you what codecs have been used for the video and audio in the files you have downloaded, though this is not the solution. Coversion software would appear to be the answer. Many here swear by convertX; DVD flick is another application (and it's free) which i have used successfully.

Arthur Linden-Jones

Yes, Nero probably does play them. Nero burns and plays, but that doesn't mean the disk is available for other players.

The Nero "suites" are, to me, annoying monsters.

Whilst it's convenient to have a self-contained suite of programs - stick in a CD/DVD, burn multimedia files, play/view the resultant disc ... all from the one suite of burning/viewing programs - the user gains no experience, insight or understanding of what's happening and how things are done.

My Mood? ... Brooding? ... Oh, I thought that said "Breeding" ....

woody123

Nah,I think she was the one who used to moan about how much naughty stuff the world was watching,her and her mate Lord longship.