Can one play computer files on DVD machine?

[kevs]

I once burned a computer clip to DVD and tried to play on my DVD player/TV, disaster.
Is this even possible? thanks.

[guns1inger]

If you have a standard DVD player then you have to convert the file to a DVD compliant format. There are plenty of good programs to do this, including free ones. Top of the list would be AVS2DVD (free) or ConvertXtoDVD (not free) in the Windows world. You can check the Mac section of our Tools area (menu to the left) to find Mac alternatives.

If you DVD player can play Divx/Xvid files (check the manual) then you can play some other files, if they have been encoded appropriately.

Some other players may play a wider range of formats, but you would have to check the manual.

[Case]

Could you be a little more detailed about your source file?

[kevs]

Gun,
I got a JVC player. I don't see in manual any talk about "files"
it just says,
readable discs:
dvd video, dvd-r video, dvd rw, mp3/wma format, jpeg.

[kevs]

The source files will probably be .wmv or .mov, or .avi etc etc what out there...

[guns1inger]

What model number ?

Chances are it only plays standard DVDs, and if a newer model, might play some Xvid/Divx encoded AVI files. Everything else will have to converted.

[Ai Haibara]

WMV playback in a standalone DVD player is rather rare (I only know of one that does it, offhand - the Phillips 5990, and even then, it doesn't play all types of WMV out there (same limitations as DivX/Xvid-encoded AVIs, plus it doesn't handle all of the Windows Media video encoding codecs, and certainly won't play any file with DRM).

No DVD players handle Quicktime .MOV videos, that I'm aware of.

From the 'readable discs' list you posted, it looks like it doesn't handle AVI videos, either. Just allows for playback of MP3, WMA and JPEG/JPG from a data disc.

[kevs]

Thanks guys, ok, so to sum up:
I'm out of luck?
It's 2010, and I'm downloading video, clips, movies etc from the world wide web, and I cannot burn these to a DVD and play them in the next room on my DVD player. Not angry, just want the facts....

[guns1inger]

Get a WDTV and a portable HDD and play most formats easily.

[terryj]

I don't understand all the fuss on this question?

You download files from the web that are in .avi, .wmv, or .flv format right?

You want to burn these files onto a DVD-R ( essentially author a DVD)
that will play on your JVC player in the next room? right?

Go get a copy of Toast Titanium 10 at Best Buy, Apple Store, Amazon,etc.

Install on your Mac. Launch it on your Mac.

Open the Video Tab Window, select "DVD-Video".

Drag and Drop your internet video files onto the open window.

Insert a Blank disc, click burn.

When it's done, it will spit out the disc, take to the other room
and put it into the JVC and watch your movies.

it really is that simple.....

[kevs]

Terry,
thanks!
worked great.
Just tested two short internet clips. One was bit grainy, and one was bit choppy and erratic-- that said they came from dubious sources -- maybe if I sign up for a more legit download place they will work nicer?.

Gun/ I was going to explore WDTV -- Terry what you think?

I like the old fashioned DVD thing becuase I can then watch and edit out parts of clips I don't like onto another DVD via my DVD burner.
With WDTV I would pretty much have to just own whole clips or movies corect? You can't edit out parts like you can with DVD to DVD burning.
and I think with DVD is bit cheaper on the whole vs. having to own more terrabytes for hard drive storage?

Terry, I have Toast 9, any reason to upgrade? I don't like to fork out the $75 unless i need too. thanks.

[terryj]

In reverse order:

Toast 9 will suffice. Toast 10 works great under Snow Leopard,
and I have a copy on my SNL MBP. But at home, I am still
using Toast 8, and it suffices just nicely. At home, I've built my
own Toast Menus, and don't have a need for the TIVO components,
so it works fine for me. Apply something similar to your Toast 9,
and you'll see that it is just fine for your needs.

WDTV and for that matter AppleTV, are great if (1) the clips are in
their final format and (2) you only need a huge disc to play them back from, and never want to edit them, make compliations, etc.
You can pull the footage off and copy it back to a computer
( at least in the WDTV IIRC) and transcoded them into other formats.
That being said, a finalized DVD-R has the video in a finalized format,
and it can be taken off and re-transcoded to do something else
with....My suggestion is How is your home theater set up and
what do you play the most of? Do you often share your movies
with relatives? What can they handle?

Glad it worked for you. Yes, GIGO rules apply with Internet Video,
so try to get the highest quality downloaded you can, to make the best DVDs from.

[kevs]

Terry, what is:
Gigo, and what are Toast menus?
--------
No one is seeing these clips but me:
But here is the rub:
If you do WDTV you have tons are clips/ parts you may not want.
If you do DVD, I can edit out all stuff don't like, then in future, just see the good bit's -- kind of like one does with music. right?
Only thing that scares me, it on my short test. one of the clips on DVD playback was super chopy. Went back to the computer, and that little clip, played fine. Do you think this will be an annoying re-occuring issue if I went the route of doing DVD burns? that test clip, to be fair was a low quality clip. but still seems like it would be issue down road that could drive one crazy?