I've spent a whole day trying to author avi files to DVD using variations of WinAvi / DVD FLICK / NERO / DVD Santa.
I just want to find something cheap (i.e. Free) that I can dump the files in and get a DVD on the other end. I don't want to Mux or Demux or faff with conversions. Can anyone help before I kill the PC or myself?
I am desperate, it's a day lost when I have other things to be doing.
Thanks in advance.
I use ulead DVD Workshop, it's not free but you can pick up older copies cheap from PC world and the like.
I also use Ulead Video Studio for editing.
Basically I'm a ulead fan 
Quote: SlagA @ August 13, 2007, 10:33 PMI've spent a whole day trying to author avi files to DVD using variations of WinAvi / DVD FLICK / NERO / DVD Santa.
I just want to find something cheap (i.e. Free) that I can dump the files in and get a DVD on the other end. I don't want to Mux or Demux or faff with conversions. Can anyone help before I kill the PC or myself?
I am desperate, it's a day lost when I have other things to be doing.
Thanks in advance.
Could just get yourself a DivX-friendly DVD player. They go for around £20 up.
Or check my sig 
I always check download.com for good free software. I had a quick look for you and found this:
http://www.download.com/Sothink-Movie-DVD-Maker/3000-13631_4-10669083.html?tag=lst-0-7
But I've never used it so I can't vouch for whether it's any good/contains spyware etc.
Will try that out ShoePie.
Reason I need to author is that the DVDs are for distributing, so I need an end product that will play in any DVD player, so the divx player isnt an option (if I understand that right?).
Ah. Yes. Well, I know my Dad uses Nero (ShowTime, I think?) to re-encode and burn with.
If you want to make DVDs that follow the DVD standard and play in any player they have to be mpeg2 or mpeg4. Forget AVI, that's a computer codec. Convert the edited DV files to mpeg2, demux and import to the DVD authoring software.
There's an excellent free transcoder here:
If you have any problems, PM me. I do this for cash money, so for once I know what I'm talking about.
DVD Maestro is good I think thats free, It's fantastic bit of kit. Yup Taxi is right about video format but any decent video editor will allow you to render a finished film as mpeg2.
Quote: Godot Taxis @ August 14, 2007, 4:17 PMIf you want to make DVDs that follow the DVD standard and play in any player they have to be mpeg2 or mpeg4. Forget AVI, that's a computer codec. Convert the edited DV files to mpeg2, demux and import to the DVD authoring software.
There's an excellent free transcoder here:
If you have any problems, PM me. I do this for cash money, so for once I know what I'm talking about.
Except AVI is a container, not a codec, and in any case it IS mpeg4. 
Been busy filming things but thanks for the responses so far.
Will try DVD Maestro tomorrow.
SoThink was good in that it produced a series of Vobs with only one minor freeze. DVD Santa and Flick were locking up all the time.
Quote: Aaron @ August 14, 2007, 8:47 PMExcept AVI is a container, not a codec, and in any case it IS mpeg4.
You pedantic bastard, Aaron. 
For the sentence 'Forget AVI, that's a computer codec.' read 'forget AVI that's for watching video on a computer.' I was trying to put things as simply as possible following Slag A's initial comment.
AVI is a carrier, but it is not always Mpeg4. Many of the AVIs on the net are indeo or wmv. Or something else altogether - there are some very obscure codecs. Even if the AVI is mpeg4, it still needs to be demuxed to make a DVD. Therefore if you convert your DV files to AVIs you're just adding an unnecessary stage to the process.
And for the slags, who I assume are trying to make a DVD of their sketches, mpeg 2 is a better bet than Mpeg4 (Divx, xvid etc.) because it's quicker to encode and presumably space is not an issue.
Incidentally, before anyone else chimes in I am aware that the DVD specification supports Mpeg1 files and that HD dvd supports muxed mpeg4.