Is there a freeware avi to dvd converter that will compress to fit on dvd?

[Rudyard]

At my inlaws they have a version of nero that takes any avi's (say I select 7 40min avis) and then compresses them to fit on a 4.7gb disc (quality is not an issue, just comfrtable to watch which nero does).

My nero is the version before and does not have this feature.

I can do them individually with super but then have to guess bitrates and reencode (my super conversions always need reencoding in vegas before dvd architect accepts them as dvd compliant) but dont want any hassle or mucking around - fire and forget if you know what I mean (remember ultimate quality is not an issue).

Does this exist?

[Jeremiah58]

DivXtoDVD, older freeware version.
http://www.free-codecs.com/DivXToDVD_download.htm

[guns1inger]

7 x 40 minutes must look very average after Nero has done it's thing.

You could also look at AVI2DVD, TheFilmMachine, DVD Flick. All are free.

As for bitrates - there is no guess work involved - you know the running time so use a bitrate calculator. SUPER can also encode at VCD resolution, which is what you should be using at these running times.

[Mr_Odwin]

FAVC can also do this. If you select Half-D1 resolution I'd think the output would be acceptable.

[45tripp]

I think when importing multiple clips to DVD flick it just appends them rather than create a vts for each.

[Robert Simandl]

The FilmMachine is pretty good at that, though all the clips have to be the same resolution. And it does not do separate VTS'es for each clip.