AVI to DVD (that works in normal dvd player)
 

Ok...I may be smart about a lot of things, but when it comes to stuff like this I'm an idiot.

I have some AVI files I would like to burn to DVD so that I can watch them on my tv

I spent today reading around and d/l a program and did everything it said and burned the dvd....the dvd plays great on my PC but my dvd player tells me it wont play it because of the format....shoot

I did manage to figure out how to hook the laptop to the tv and play it on there that way, but I would like to burn a dvd player usable dvd to give to my father in law.

Keeping in mind Im a tech idiot, can someone tell me exactly what I need to do to do this right?

what software are you using? NERO is usually the one that works the best for these things. it can convert to the prefered format.

also keep in mind the dvds must be of your region to work. so USA is region 1? etc... same for PAL or NTSC. now i'm sure it can do all this automaticaly, i just remember a few years back what this was like.

Not only do you have to have something that will perform the conversion from AVI to MPEG2 like NERO, you need to be worried about what type of DVD you're burning to.

DVD+R plays on most players but not all players. It works on my home sony, but when i bring same disc over to friend it doesn't work on his sony (different model.)

DVD-R doesn't work on any models that I've ever used.

edit: sorry DVD+R works on more models.

This is a good listing as to exactly what to do and how to make your DVD
http://lifehacker.com/software/dvds/...dvd-232322.php

Odd, I always heard (and it's been my experience) that DVD-R is more compatible with DVD players

It is strange, since most standalone DVD burners are -R.

I had to look at my own cakebox media to make sure, which I recall researching way back when for compatibility. I still have some of the 100pc cakebox. But who knows... it's much easier to think the most important thing is that it works on your pop's player.

Yeah, I've had the opposite as well. DVD-R works on almost everything I've tried using it in. DVD+R is a pain in the tuckus!

It doesn't sit well with me either because I too think that the -R is the more common. You know I edited my post from the -R to the +R becuase I looked at my cakebox which made me doubt my original -R post. But that maybe because the -R didn't work in my player... which brings me to my point of whatever works is really the most important.

All my other players I ever bought after the sony are required to be region free and play DivX and DVD-R/+R, in fact one of my players has a PAL decoder to make sure I can playback those PAL European discs just right.

Did you Finalise the disc?

You sometimes find that drives in computers will play disks that have not been finalised but stand-alone players will most likely not play them.

How you finalise a disc depends on your burning application.

I told it to finalize so Im guessing it did

Dave burned one on his pc, works fine in one DVD player, doesnt work in our other one.

What we had was DVD +r so thats what I've been using.

I found a program last night and d/l the free trial and set it to burn over nite, I tested it this morning and it worked in our "picky" dvd player...only problem is it decided to burn the words "unregistered" on the file and it takes up the top portion of the screen lol...crap. It was easy enuff to use but I really didnt want to shell out 30 bucks for a program

From what I understood +R burners were made by computer companies to prevent people from making video DVDs playable on standard players. :rolleyes:

http://www.videohelp.com/tools?tools...uthorfeatures=

I can't remember at this time but there is a free beta of ConvertXtoDVD that I used all the time to author [AVI] clips I needed. It worked great, did exactly what you need. If I find it, I will post it and update this.

DVD Flick is an OK program to use. A bit of a pain in the ass though, and needs to be fixed into standard format with the aid of DVD Shrink.

Also, whether your final output of files are a set of VOBs and IFOs or an ISO, always, always use ImgBurn to verify the data burnt to your DVD.

. . . . . . . . . .

History of the DVD formats:

-1-
In the beginning, there was DVD-R, a good standard disc, capable of 3.68-GB (modern days, it is 4.382-GB).

-2-
Then a group of electronics manufactures, The DVD+R Alliance, decided they wanted in and made the +R format, with only a 4.377-GB capacity.

-3-
Later on it was seen that the +R format had an advantage of being made into an 8.5-GB dual-layer disc, the modern disc we came to know and love until this HD-DVD and Blu-Ray DVD stuff came out.

-4-
Most modern DVD players can play video from both (+) and (-), just check your burner if it says -, +, or ±.

Okay - 19 months later, so I doubt my solution is still relevant, but from my experience, the easiest way is to use Nero (or whatever burning software you have) to make a Video CD (not DVD). They will play in DVD players. The down side is that you're limited to 700 MB, instead of 4.7 GB.