I would like to take sections of the avi video and put it on to DVD

[NEWBIE1981]

Hi I would like some advise on the tools availble hardware / software to help me process some video

I have some video files .avi etc I would like to take sections of the video and put it on to DVD (Raw format that any standard DVD player will play) for exmaple I start to play some video I dont need the whole thing just 5 mins or 10 mins I would like to be able to capture it and burn it to DVD

Someone I know does a similar thing but they have the following setup:
Standard computer with Matrox parhelia apv graphics card and powerdesk HF software
2 outputs from the card one to the monitor (VGA) the other output goes from VGA to Svideo to a DVD player. The dvd player has a tv attached via scart. the powerdesk HF software then uses somthing called a feature display when a hot key is pressed a screen grab is availible which outputs to the dvd player they can then hit record and stop on the DVD player when they have the part of the video they want.

The computer I have is a standard build dual core processor windows XP 3gb Ram with an old G55 graphics card just used to give dual screen ability.

I would just like to use my computer to do the whole process but need standard DVD players to be able to play the video.

I have played around with some freeware but would like an expert opinion on some tried and tested stuff.

Any help much appreciated.

[hech54]

I have some video files .avi etc I would like to take sections of the video and put it on to DVD (Raw format that any standard DVD player will play)

I would just like to use my computer to do the whole process but need standard DVD players to be able to play the video.

DVD players play DVD Video:
https://www.videohelp.com/dvd#struct

Without this AUTHORED file/folder structure....it's just a DATA DVD.....not a DVD that

standard DVD players to be able to play

.

[NEWBIE1981]

Thanks Hech54 just need some software recomendations now

[sanlyn]

hech54's recommendation is appropriate and correct. But you're not giving us enough info. To say you have "some video files .avi etc" doesn't say very much. "AVI" is not a format, it's a container. It can contain video encoded with several encoders/compressors including DivX, XVid, DV-AVI, Quicktime, MS-MPG4, Sony dvsd, or something else. What does your "etc." mean? Does that mean that in addition to "AVI" you also have flv, mov, mp4, mkv...? What you have for input will determine the "processing" software you would need.

If you want "to take sections of the video and put it on to DVD (Raw format that any standard DVD player will play)", then your statement is confusing. DVD players can't play "raw format", nor do we know what you mean by that term. Some DVD players can play DVD discs that contain discreet video data files encoded as mpeg, Divx, etc., -- assuming your video is correctly encoded and the audio is of the correct sampling rate and bitrate -- and many DVD players can play only standard DVD. Some DVD players in PAL country can play both PAL DVD and NTSC DVD, but many can only play PAL. All "standard DVD players" in your area can play "Standard PAL DVD". Standard PAL DVD is encoded and authored MPEG2. It can't be anything else. You should first get acquainted with what Standard PAL DVD looks like. In addition to hech54's link to what a DVD disc looks like, the encoding info is shown here: https://www.videohelp.com/dvd#tech .

There are free programs that can accept various formats including many "AVI" encodings and will decode it, re-encode to MPEG or other preferred formats, and output program stream or author-and-burn to DVD disc. Take a look at AVS2DVD. If you want something that can pretty much read your mind but output arguably lesser quality, outlay a little cash and get something from Pinnacle, Adobe, or SONY at your nearest mass-retail outlet.

Otherwise there's no way we could be more specific.

[NEWBIE1981]

To be honest I am not as knowledgeable as yourself Sanlyn I do enjoy posting questions only to be told I have not been technical enough If I had your knowledge I would not be asking the question. By Raw DVD format I meant a format that most standard DVD players would play. My etc did mean other formats such as mp4.

I simply want to record what I am playing on my desktop, be it through windows media player or power dvd or anymedia play. Once it has been recorded I would like to burn it to DVD, to a format that a standard uk DVD player will play. Apologies if I have not used the correct wording.

Thanks for friendly and helpful reply Sanlyn

[sanlyn]

Standard DVD players will all play standard DVD -- which means MPEG2 properly encoded and authored. Nothing else. Some later DVD players will accept a very narrow range of other formats, but mp4 isn't one of them. If you want to play more formats, you will have to buy a BluRay player that plays what you want, if possible, as well as standard DVD.

There are free packages that will help you assemble, convert, re-encode and author to DVD. Unfortunately, all of the freebies require that you know somewhat more about video than you seem to know now. Your better option would be to look into popular paid software from SONY or Adobe in their consumer-priced range -- I doubt you would find any use in paying for the "pro" versions. I would advise against Pinnacle or Cyblerlink . The SONY and Adobe websites list the available products and tell you what they can accept as input and what they will output. Your DVD player's user guide will tell you what your player can play or can't play.

[usually_quiet]

If you haven't already tried it, AVStoDVD may be worth a look even though it is freeware. It does a decent job at converting many types of video to a DVD file and folder structure, and you don't need to know very much about video and audio to use it. The Help file is pretty good and there is a tutorial here. Options for menu creation are limited, but the most easy-to-use commercial packages are limited in that respect too.