Burning video files - Opinions Needed

[DrRaven]

Hi Everyone,

The enjoy collecting cartoons and documentaries and have a number of video files in AVI and MPG format. Over the last year or so I have been convering these to DVD format and burning them to blank DVD's.

Lately I have been questiong the point of doing this and I have been considering leaving the files as AVI/MPG format and simply purchasing or building some hardware that is capable of playing the files direct.

What is everyones opinion on this?? My biggest concern is lasting quality and after that, being able to play them at all on any device.

What does everyone think?? Ideas? Comments?? Opinions??

Brant 8)

[junkmalle]

I have both a Windows computer (with s-video out to a TV) and a set top DVD player that can play MPEG and Divx/Xvid AVI files. I don't bother to convert anything unless I'm making a DVD for a friend.

[bugster]

being able to play them at all on any device.

What does everyone think?? Ideas? Comments?? Opinions??

Brant 8)

For long term playability, stick with DVD.

[waheed]

If your standalone dvd player and PC supports the playback of avi files, then it would leave as it is. Converting means you sacrifice more quality and is a time consuming process.

Besides, you'll fit more on a dvd in avi format than in dvd video format.

[DrRaven]

I have both a Windows computer (with s-video out to a TV) and a set top DVD player that can play MPEG and Divx/Xvid AVI files. I don't bother to convert anything unless I'm making a DVD for a friend.

What DVD player are you using and can you comment on the quality.

Also what sort of resolution are the files your playing??

Brant

[junkmalle]

I have both a Windows computer (with s-video out to a TV) and a set top DVD player that can play MPEG and Divx/Xvid AVI files. I don't bother to convert anything unless I'm making a DVD for a friend.

What DVD player are you using and can you comment on the quality.

Also what sort of resolution are the files your playing??

Most of the files I play range from 320x240 to 720x480. I have a Liteon LVD 2002 (no longer available) but I'm also familiar with the Philips DVP 642. Quality will depend on the source. You can rip VOB files off a commercial DVD and play them back with the same quality as playing the original DVD. Obviously, a low res, low bitrate file will look worse. A good Xvid encode can look as good as a DVD.

Most of the problems you'll run into have to do with codecs. AVI is just a container. It can contain video an audio encoded with any number of compression schemes (codecs). When you're encoding files yourself you can use codecs that your know your player(s) can handle. But downloaded files may use codecs that are not compatible with your set top player. I occasionally convert a file to make it compatible with my set top player.

And, as others have mentioned, the long term availability of hardware to handle your files could be an issue. You can always transcode later if necessary.