combing avi's

[halekon]

I have a number of avis that:
1. I want to cut certain sections of the avi's and save that section
2. When I get a number of those saved avi's together I want to put them on one
DVD
I am working on a PC thus my first thought was doing the entire project on Windows Movie Maker
Suggestions/Ideas?
Thank you

[redwudz]

Generally, with combining AVI type files, (Or most any other video file types) requires that all files be exactly the same. Same codec, same framerate, same frame size, same audio type and specification. If they're not, you usually have to re-encode the odd ones to fit.

I would try AVIDemux or maybe VirtualDub for combining AVI type files. WMM, IMO, doesn't do much of anything right.

There is also an additional problem with highly compressed formats like Xvid/Divx/H.264. They only have keyframes about every 300 frames by default. And keyframes are the only place you can make a cut, unless you re-encode, at least at the cut point. Those formats are really bad for frame accurate editing. The newest version of VirtualDub has 'Smart Rendering' that will only re-encode at the cut points. Re-encoding usually causes quality loss, so best to avoid if possible.

Alternately, you may be able to add all those AVI type files to a all-in-one DVD converter like ConvertXToDVD and let it do the combining and conversions. Some freeware alternatives are DVD Flick or FAVC.

[halekon]

thank you for the suggestions
I have a plan on how to cut these avis into smaller segments
but again how do I put them together to have them be a continuous playing piece on a dvd?
thank you

[royphil345]

You really need more of a full-fledged DVD editing / authoring software. Something like Ulead DVD MovieFactory would probably get the job done and be easier to use than more professional software. It seems to play well with different file types.

You may be able to find a good freeware DVD authoring program in the "tools" section here (DVD Flick would probably work, but I don't think it does editing). You could use a video editor in addition (check out the "tools" section again) to edit your files before adding them to your DVD project if the DVD authoring software you choose has no built-in editing functionality.

[ZQX]

Like redwudz said, cut with Avidemux then put the pieces back together with same. Export the finished edit as elementary mpeg2 streams (VIDEO = DVD(lavc) & FORMAT = MPEG-PS(A+V)) then author 'em back together with Muxman, then burn with Imgburn. If you want a menu, use DVDStyler or DVDAuthorGUI instead of Muxman.