AVI to VCD

[Demon Hyo]

Hello. I was wondering if anyone can help me find a way to fit large AVI files on a regular CD-R (700 MB/80 Min). I use Cucusoft converter Pro v7.07 to convert my AVI movies. But I can only fit about 2 anime episodes with a little room left on the disk. I am not able to fit full movies because they're too large... so if you can help me find a way to compress these AVI files that would mean a lot. Please help me if you can. Thanks.

[redwudz]

VCD is very limited. It has a fixed bitrate of 1150Kbps. And a CD is limited to 650-900MB. You are not going to get a whole lot on there. If you need to show them from a CD, you are pretty well stuck, even with a few VCD 'tweaks' to compress it more. Better would DVD. You should be able to get about 7 hours at VCD encoding rates. Otherwise, look to converting it all to a 'AVI' format like Xvid/Divx and using a Divx type of player instead.

[Demon Hyo]

I would convert my movies to dvd if I had a dvd rw but I don't. Anyway why is it that when I convert AVI movies they become much larger than the original size? For eg. I convert Family Guy, 174 MB (before conversion). And after converting it becomes 210 MB. I can't watch anything longer than about 53 min (525 MB) Thanks for the reply. If you have any more advice please help me out.

[guns1inger]

Different encoding methods by the different codecs. Mpeg1 and 2 are not as efficient as mpeg4 in some areas, including compression ratios. If you encode a VCD correctly you will get 74 minutes (or there abouts) on a 650MB CD.

If you want more on a disc you have a few choices

1. Get a DVD writer for your PC
2. Get a stand alone player that can play Divx/Xvid encoded avis
3. Do both and put 6 movies on a single layer DVD
4. Hook your PC up to your TV and play straight from the HDD

[jman98]

A few random suggestions....
If you really must stick with VCD, do a web search for 90 minute CD-Rs and buy some. They'll hold 90 minutes of video in VCD format and most burners can burn them. The downside is that these discs don't follow CD standards. My experience has been very good in getting them to play, but there are no guarantees.

You might also check on current DVD burner prices. I have found that most Americans who don't have them haven't checked the prices in years and have no idea how cheap they are now. One of my friends resisted buying a DVD writer until a month ago and he was embarassed to tell me that the reason he waited so long was that he thought they still cost $200. Try $30 for some models. I've seen other posts here from people who think DVD writers are just as expensive as my friend thought.