VCD(s) to DVD-R ... Actually, .mpg(s) to DVD-R...

[vratner]

Hi, all. First of all, forgive me if I'm posting this topic in the wrong place. Secondly, I've read a lot of articles, did a lot of research, but have yet to find the answer(s) to what I'm looking for. So... before you point me in the direction of one of those "How to convert VCD to DVD" articles, please read carefully of what I'm trying to do. Thank you. Here it goes:

I've downloaded several .mpg files (Now, I am not sure which .mpg format it is. How can I tell?) First, I just burned one .mpg to CD-R as a data file. It played fine on my DVD player. However, I couldn't do any FF and/or Rewind. That kinda sucked, since after I watched about half an hour of video and then stopped it, next time I had to go through watching the same half an hour of video again. So, I take it those .mpg files were not in a "VCD" format, right? What I did is downloaded one of the conversion programs (AVOne Video Converter - you can also Burn with it), and using it did a Burn to a VCD (CD-R). That worked perfectly! I could watch it on my TV, do FF and Rewind. I was happy. However, I had 7 of those .mpg files. Having 7 CD-R's is a bit uncomfortable. So, I figured it would be nice to have them all on one DVD. Once again, first, I just burned them as a DVD-Data disk. And once again, I can watch them, but can't do any FF nor Rewind. Next, I've tried the same AVOne Video Converter to burn all those files to DVD-R, but failed. I'm not sure exactly what's going on, but it looks like it's "choking". So, my main question is: How do I burn these .mpg's onto one DVD-R (without converting format), so I could watch them on my TV, and do FF and Rewind? What tool(s) should I try? What technique? Time is obviously very important, meaning that I don't want to spend half a day converting between various formats and then another half a day burning.

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[psx_pirate]

Use TMPGenc DVDauthor (see tools section) ... theres a free trial version and its simple to use ... just load in all the mpegs and select to create a dvd... if the resultant dvd files are to big for a dvdr use dvdshrink to make it fit ... the whole process shouldnt take more than an hour or so

[vratner]

Thanks for a quick reply. What about avi's? Will that TMPGEnc DVD Author tool work for avi files too? Or will I need to convert them to mpg's first? Thanks again.

[mats.hogberg]

AVIs have to be converted to DVD specs mpg first, yes, to be authored as DVD. Many, many guides to be found under convert left.

/Mats

[psx_pirate]

TMPGenc 3.0 Xpress is my tool of choice for converting AVI's to DVD compatitable mpegs

[vratner]

Thanks for your help. BTW, it looks like it's the hardware limitation (I have a D-Link DSM-320RD media DVD player). The manual says that Divx format is supported, which it does. However, like I already mentioned, it doesn't let you Fast Forward and/or Rewind. So the only way around it is to convert it to VCD or DVD format. Now, I have another DVD player in my bedroom, Oppo Upconverting Player, and that one not only plays everything that I've burned, but also lets me do everything else with it, including FF and Rewind. I also have an old Sampo DVE620, but that one doesn't support Divx format. It'll probably be easier for me to get another Oppo (although it's pretty expensive, but it's worth it), or maybe even Philips DVP642. I hear good things about it. It'll probably do what I want, and it's only around $50. I'd rather spend a little more money than go through the hassle of converting/encoding/burning/etc. Thanks again.