I have a size issue...

[blarb]

But seriously, folks...

I have some 700 MB or so .avi's that I would like to encode to 800MB or less .mp3s so that I can burn them as VCD's. But it seems that every time I try it they come out way too big! Like 1 or 2 GB too big! So what is the best way to decrease the file size so that it will fit on one CDR (up to 800MB)? I know I will probably have to sacrifice some quality, not too much I hope, but I'd like to fit the movie(s) onto one CD each. But, if there is going to be a big rediction in quality, how can I span it to two CDR's?

Thanks in advance to your advice to my newbile questions...

[Truman]

I am afraid, you will loose a lot of quality if you convert a 700 MB avi (DivX I guess?) to a 800 MB MPEG-1.
Use a bitrate calculator from the tool section.
You will end with a XVCD, that is off-standard and that's why you may have playback problems with few dvd players.

I suggest to use 2 CD's. Have a look at Sefy's guide, how to use TMPG's source range or split the MPEG afterwards.