Why AVI?

[shadow74uk]

Can someone answer something that has been nagging me since I started trying to make DVD's please?? Is there a way of converting an avi file to play on a stand alone DVD player or do you have to convert it to mpeg format?

If you have to convert it then why are any clips I've captured in avi format? Am I missing something? I've only used cheap camera's (haven't got round to investing in one a decent one yet!) and it seems a long winded way of putting these clips on disc.

This may seem like a silly question to you 'pros' but it's something that is driving me mad!!!!

[gadgetguy]

Read "What is DVD" over on the left. Mpg is required to meet DVD standards. However, MPG is a compressed, "end product" and not suitable for editing (adding transitions, special effects, etc.) Uncompressed video is the best format to edit in, quality wise, but the massive filesizes required become problematic. Most video cameras capture to the DV-AVI format which is a compromise that allows excellent quality, while reducing the filesize to reasonable sizes.

[thecoalman]

Is there a way of converting an avi file to play on a stand alone DVD player or do you have to convert it to mpeg format?

Some support DIVX playback which is another type of AVI. If it's DV-AVI from a cam AFAIK no. The data rate exceeds what a DVD can be spun at. Might be possible with a 16x drive but I haven't tried it nor have I seen anyone say they can.

If you have to convert it then why are any clips I've captured in avi format?

AVI is not a format but a wrapper file or container file, whichever you want to call it. It can contain many types of video. DV-AVI is the type that digital cams produce, the data rate is far larger than that of MPEG allowing a higher quality video. note: most lower end cams can't take advantage of this higher data rate.

You can convert while your capturing directly to MPEG.... BUT.... you need a fast machine. Additionally you'll get better results converting it after capture since your not forcing the encoding softwre to keep up with the input.

[presto]

mpg is a highly compressed format. DVD's use .mpg format but the authoring programs adds some extra data and calls it .vob

You can check this yourself by taking a .vob file and renaming it .mpg. It will play fine but it will be bigger than expected because it has extra data needed for DVD's.

In simplified terms avi's are uncompressed. They are better for capture because it takes less computer power to create an avi and because they are easier to edit.

If you have an avi it has to be converted to mpg at some point in the work flow in order to produce a standard DVD. However there are DVD players that will play divx and other formats now.

mpg has come a long way and it is possible to capture, edit, and output all in mpg format now. Die hards will insist that you must edit in avi but this is less and less true, especially for the home hobbiest.

[edDV]

Big picture:

Video is huge, DVD is ~25x smaller. To get from huge to tiny you need to apply a squeeze. Best to edit before you squeeze because the stuff that gets squeezed out can't be recovered.

Someday computers and media will be fast and large enough to store in "huge" format, but the trend is going the other way. People find tiny (MPeg2 DVD) still too large so micro (MPeg4) is what people want.

[shadow74uk]

My eyes are open and I understand now! Thanks guys. It makes enough sense to stop it bothering me. Once again Videohelp Forum saves the day