AVI to DVD

[Blakes7]

Hi! I'm new to this. I have some tv shows that are in avi format. I want to convert them to dvd. I've found programs to do the conversion; they convert the files to mpeg or mpg, which I guess is dvd format, but the ensuing file is huge. The avis are all in the 128mb to 135mb range. I've tried some compression programs, but the smallest file size these programs have returned is 1.35 gb. I'd like to compress them so that I can fit several on a single dvd, like you can do from a dvd disk. A normal movie can be compressed to fit on a single dvd disk---I know cause I've done that with some movies I have. I've tried dvdshrink to compress the files (which I used to do the movies), but it only seems to work with a dvd on disk, not from files on a hard drive. Any suggestions on what software I can use to accomplish this? The computer I do this on is not the computer in my profile---that one has enough of everything in it to do any job, but I built it to replace this one when this goes. It has a dvd-rw drive in it. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[guns1inger]

How much you can fit depends on the bitrate and the running time. You can usually get up to 2 hours of good quality, and 3 of average quality on a standard 4.38 GB disc without too much effort.

Personally, I would use FAVC for something like this. It uses a high quality encoder and produces very nice output. However on your old system, it might be an overnight type exercise. DVD Flick is also good, and is a little faster.

[Blakes7]

Thanks, Gunslinger. I see you're from Australia----I hope you're not like Alan Rickman in the movie, Quigley Down Under. I'll try those progams, though I'm not sure what you mean about the bitrate, but I'll look that up. The tv shows are from 49 to 51 minutes in length. It's actually a series, so there are a few of them. I forgot to mention that some of them are 350mbs in avi size, and I guess I can't reduce those files as much as the other ones. The programs I've tried are:
IUtoo (I think that was the name---I've removed it from the computer)
M2 Convert Pro
Blaze Media Pro
Free Video Converter
vsoConvertXtoDVD2
I haven't tried to burn any of these yet as the files are too large, but I used Nero for the movies I did before. Thanks, again.

[guns1inger]

Given Quigley starred and Englishman and an American, I wouldn't hold it up a representative of anything but hollywood fantasy. I am more like Alan Rickman in Die Hard

Of the tools you have listed, ConvertXtoDVD is the only one I would call good. The rest are rubbish.

ConvertXtoDVD should be able to put three episodes on a disc without dropping too much quality. At those running times I would call 350 MB average quality for Xvid, and 130 - 150 MB low quality unless the resolution is very low.

Converting Xvid/Divx source of 640 pixel width requires around 4 times the space as the original file in order to maintain quality. So a 350 MB AVI becomes a 1.3 - 1.4 GB mpeg2 file.

[steptoe]

I've used ConvertXToDVD to convert virtually anything to DVD and it maintains audio sync pretty much everytime, a lot of other software struggles to maintain sync


But, if the source is bad the output will be worse as its compressing an already compressed source, if you can get the source in HDTV then the output will be much better quality as it will be scaled down to DVD resolutions


If you stick to a maximum of 6 30 minute episodes per DVD you'll be fine, if each episode is about an hour upto about 3 or 4 should still be okay

For the filesize you mention, 6 episodes per DVD is no problem, thats what I use and its fine, unless you are watching it on a 60" plasma .....


Also, use the best quality setting in ConvertXToDVD, sure if you have a slow computer it will take longer, but final quality should be what counts, not speed. Until I upgraded my system I just ran it over night

ConvertXToDVD handles MKV and TS videos as well, where some others just can't handle them correctly, that way you can convert those HDTV MKV/TS films/episodes and get even better final quality, but this will take much longer as it has more work to do

[Blakes7]

Thanks, guys. I used FAVC and imgburner and they worked great. FAVC compressed the files to 1gb, as opposed to the other program, which was 1.32gb. The quality is excellent. I did the first four shows on one disk. Now I'll do 4 a day until I get to the 350mb files, and see how they compress. Thanks, again.