AVI to MPEG2 for DVD

[zenzen1]

I have always created my DVDs by encoding my AVIs to Mpeg2 (with Procoder) and then authoring to create the final DVD (PAL in my region).
However there was always a slight loss of picture quality when comparing the AVI to the finished product, due to the encoding and authoring.
I note that now you can purchase DVD players that will play AVIs, and so, two questions come to mind....
(1) How to compress the AVI so that you can fit a reasonable amount of play time onto a DVD -R (I guess Xvid or DivX is the answer, but I am not sure)?
(2) Is the finished product (compressed AVI) going to look any better than my original AVI to Mpeg2 to DVD process ? If it is, then which path should I take....Xvid, Divx, or something else?

[Baldrick]

No, you wont get better quality using divx or xvid....or it depends on how many minutes/dvd you want and the source quality.

What is your source? avi doesn't say anything. avi-dv? captured avi with what video codec? interlaced? or what kind of avi.

[zenzen1]

My source is an high quality progressive AVI created by ProShow Producer.

[Krispy Kritter]

You will also want to do a test on your dvd player to see what types/specs of avi that it supports. The is a link for a test cd on the DVD Players page.