Avi Files Onto DVD - How?

[Arby]

My workmate picked up a Mintek portable dvd player which we leave at work. It isn't going to play everything, obviously. And we both have new PCs and are newbies at all things video, although we are trying to learn.

I have an Asus mb, Asus video card (128 mb to 256 using other memory), 1 gig DDR, Athlon 64 3200, an old (24/10/40A) Plextor cd burner and a new Pioneer 110D dvd burner, running on windows xp home.

What I'd like to do (and not be judged for) is cram as many of my avi files (Stargate and Smallville episodes mainly) onto single dvds as possible, with a reasonable tradeoff of quality sacrificed for portability and convenience. We are security guards. My workmate does 2, and sometimes more, 16 hour shifts a week. I do one such, and those nights are long and boring. (Yes, I also do normal 8 hour shifts in addition to the one sixteen hour shift. And the pay stinks.)

Another friend has given us this and that program and, while we have used some of the software he has passed to us, we don't really know fully what it can all do. I find myself wondering whether I can do some of the things I want to do with it, but don't know. And when I read around in here, I'm dismayed to find that (it seems like) I still need a zillion other programs!

I bought (online) Nero 6 Ultra. I also have virtual dub (not the latest, but one that apparently has some useful filters), ISO Buster, DVD Santa, DVD Shrink, DVD Decrypter. I have something else too, but I forget what it is and haven't even installed it yet. I nabbed it after reading in here that there are better alternatives to DVD Santa and DVD Decrypter, which isn't being developed further, something that, I gather, will only become seriously problematic later on.

Am I correct in understanding that for what I want to do, I will need additional programs? I get the gist of what I need to do. I need to encode my avi files (to vcd it seems) so that they will play on any portable dvd player. (Even as vcd files, I assume I'm going to be limited as to how many I can get on a dvd, since avi files are already compressed.) I will be buying some blank large capacity (8 gig) dvds soon. I guess that's optimal for my purposes.

Thanks in advance. Later...
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[thecoalman]

Am I correct in understanding that for what I want to do, I will need additional programs? I get the gist of what I need to do. I need to encode my avi files (to vcd it seems) so that they will play on any portable dvd player. (Even as vcd files, I assume I'm going to be limited as to how many I can get on a dvd, since avi files are already compressed.) I will be buying some blank large capacity (8 gig) dvds soon. I guess that's optimal for my purposes.

Really depends on the player... Some will play MPEG or Divx files burned directly to disc as data files. If not you need to author a disc with authoring software. As far as VCD that is about the minimum I would use. You can go lower to fit more on the disc but even VCD quality is not that great but should look fine on one of those really small screens.

Not positive of the amount but you can get more than 6+ hours of VCD on a DVD, maybe even 8. I foget which, I never use VCD.

[Bjs]

Do yourself a favour .. go download mad right now and grab all the free tool's you can before they disappear ...

Depending on the avi's , and the capabilities of the player , you can use super to encode avi's to mpeg , and burn those to cd .

Or burn them as vcd , but this will depend on the vcd creation tool's , you have if any to create these thing's .

The orginal free version of vcdeasy may still be available , though I dont use it .

Dont forget to grab a few decent , well writen guide's you can study in your own time offline .

[Arby]

Thanks folks. I appreciate the replies. I was beginning to think I annoyed people with my question. I'm very nervous about asking questions here.

Well, I don't know what 'mad' is, but I'm sure that when I type it into the search here at videohelp.com it will pop up, if it's worth having.

Yes, I'm all for reading guides. It's just that video is incredibly complex. This info won't gell with me for a long time, I fear. I get the 'gist' of a lot. But I am not at the point where I can get in the driver's seat with confidence. And time is against me, as it no doubt is for most of us who work in uber busy North America.

Later...

[Arby]

Darn! I thought I was adding my avatar. Oh well. Hope you like it anyway.