| Convert AVI to DVD with Avi2DVD | Viewing Page 1 -- Go To |
How to convert AVI files (DivX, XviD etc.) to DVD with Avi2DVD
In this guide, we look at using a simple piece of sofware called Avi2DVD to convert AVI files to DVD-Video, so that we can watch it on any DVD player. Avi2DVD is completely free and comes fully loaded to do the job with just some input settings from you.| Follow the Guide Author on Twitter: jamesdela@twitter |
Introduction & Requirements
 | Software you must download and install |
 | Avi2DVD |
| Required: You must download and install the Avi2DVD package (30MB). Choose all of the available install options to maximize compatibility. Download! |
For encoding to DVD, you would really want to have about 15GB free space. When Avi2DVD is done you will have a VIDEO_TS folder with your DVD files. There will also be some temporary files taking up some space. Also, it is worth mentioning that Avi2DVD will allow you to add subs (.srt or .txt).
Introducing Avi2DVD
Avi2DVD has five main tabs in the program, separated into steps; Step 1 Input, Step 2 Output, Step 3 Encoders, Step 4 Subtitles and Step 5 DVD Menu. As we progress through the guide, we will change tabs. The program is not as complicated as it might first appear; in fact you really should only have to read over this guide one time and after that you will have the whole process down.
By default, Avi2DVD is in AVI Mode. It can load .avi files, or Matroska video files, or OGM video files in this mode. In DVD Mode, it will read directly from a DVD-Video compilation on your hard disk drive. The program will also be on the Step 1 Input tab by default, and this is exactly where we will start. First however, you must click the Load File button and locate the AVI file you wish to convert to DVD.
Note: If you have a movie in two halves, then change the filenames of both to be the exact same except they include CD1, CD2 etc. before the extension. So for example, video_cd1.avi and video_cd2.avi. If you do this, then you will not need to merge the AVI files together. Additionally, if you have subtitle files (SRT etc.) that are associated with the videos, name them the exact same filenames and they can also be included in the same manner. For example, video_cd1.srt and video_cd2.srt.
AVI Input Settings
With an AVI file loaded, the Step 1 Input tab displays information. In the screenshot above, I have marked out areas to pay attention to for now. Firstly, as mentioned in the previous paragraph, the program has to be in AVI Mode. Unless the program was looking for a .IFO file when you tried to load a file, it is already in AVI Mode. Notice that you have an option to "Choose Audio Stream" and "Choose Audio Language"; with AVI files there will only be one audio stream 9 times out of 10.
Declare the language of this audio stream as whatever it is, so your DVD player can identify it. Now look at the Aspect Ratio settings. If your video is 16:9 (widescreen - has black borders on top and bottom during playback), then select 16/9, otherwise choose 4/3 for Full Screen mode. Now notice that I also included a dark-green box.
This is just for your own information about your video file. If you have an Fps of 25, then you have a PAL video (Europe, Australia), whereas if it is 23.97 (or 24) or 29.97 (or 30), then you have an NTSC file (North America, Japan). Just remember for the next screen whether it is PAL or NTSC. Move now to the Step 2 Output tab.
DVD Output Settings
These settings will determine important factors about your resulting DVD. To make sure all settings are understood and marked correctly, I have numbered all of the settings in the screenshot above so that you can easily identify the area you need to edit.
- 1: Output Format - Select DVD or SVCD (selecing VCD would produce a very low quality MPEG-1 VideoCD compilation).
- 2: Choose Disk Size - Choose the size of the disk you intend to burn to. Select DVD-5 4.7GB for a single-layer regular blank DVD, or DVD-9 8.5GB for a dual-layer DVD. In the vast majority of cases, DVD-5 will suffice. Just to note, you cannot burn DVD to regular CDs.
- 3: Aspect Ratio - This time you will set either 16/9 (for widescreen) or 4/3 (for fullscreen), and it will directly affect the appearance of the video on Output.
- 4: Audio Bitrate - I highly suggest using an Audio Bitrate of 384kb/s. Only use a lower rate if you have a very long video (over 5 hours) and need to save space to boost video quality.
- 5: PAL - NTSC Converson - Nevermind the spelling mistake on the program. Remember earlier how I told you to remember if the video is PAL or NTSC? Here is where that is important. If you live in Europe or Australia, having either PAL or NTSC should not be a problem (although black and white playback might occur on older TVs for NTSC in PAL regions), but if you have PAL video and are in North America or Japan, I strongly suggest convering it to NTSC. However, please note that a framerate change, especially 29.97 -> 25, could cause some playback problems.
- 6: Chapters - Here you can set the program to automatically create Chapters on your resulting DVD, so that you can navigate through them with your remote control. I suggest one about every 5 minutes for an average length film. You can alternatively choose when chapters are created yourself, but you have to know the exact seconds you want them; it's much easier to use the "Chapter every" option.
- 7: Temporary Folder: When Avi2DVD is working, it creates a temporary folder to store files, this is that location. Only change it if you need to for space reasons.
One suggestion that I have here is to not create an ISO file. I never marked it out in my image, but there is a Make ISO option on the screen. You don't need to make an ISO, Avi2DVD will leave you with two folders to burn to a DVD (VIDEO_TS and AUDIO_TS) and you will get instructions for that at the end of the guide. If you don't create an ISO, it makes it easier to test out the result before burning it to a blank DVD disc. Now with that complete, move on to the next page of this guide to enter our Encoder settings, Subtitles settings (if any), DVD Menu settings (if any) and to start the program converting to DVD.
Continue Guide - Move to Page 2On the next page, we will first look at selecting the HCEnc encoder to prepare the video. After that, we can load in supported subtitles that will be included on the DVD if you should wish to have Subtitles. Then we can setup a DVD Menu to be created too, if you wish to have one. After all of that, it will be time (already) to start the program converting from AVI to DVD.Page 2 - Encoder, Subtitles & Menu. Start Job |
| Convert AVI to DVD with Avi2DVD | Viewing Page 1 -- Go To |
Written by: James Delahunty
