Can anyone recommend a free program to convert a .avi file to a file I can burn to cd and watch on my dvd player?
I’ve found a few free ones, but they are trial versions only that install a watermark on the finished product. Not a great way to watch a movie.
A CD is not a DVD. You probably meant a DVD even tho they are both round and often silver.
avi’s are getting long in the tooth, but Handbrake still handles them.
-Open source, GPL, Multiplatform.
Yes, that’s what I meant. Thank you so much for pointing my faux pas out.
:rolleyes:
By the way, this is GQ, so if you are going to play vocabulary/spelling/grammar police, at least bring some information with you that can actually be used…
This program really seems to get a ton of negative reviews. Based on what I’ve read, the biggest reason is that the free version has a banner posted to each frame of the converted avi file.
This seems to be a common theme in the free arena. I only have one avi file to convert, so I’d hate to pay for one. However, it may be worth it. ConvertXtoDVD is a tool I looked at, but as you mention it isn’t free. Is it worth it to you, or would you buy a different one if given the chance?
I read the review on cnet, and this seems to handle the dvd to avi conversion, but not the other way around. Have you actually used this program? I’m going to download it and give it a go. I was just wondering if you have used this to go from avi to dvd…
If not, I’ll post a followup with my experience…
Thanks
Do you have Windows Vista, XP or earlier? Windows Movie Maker will take an AVI and turn it into a DVD
Windows Live Movie Maker replaced this in Win7 so I’m not sure if that will make DVDs
Avidemux will also make a DVD but it’s a more complex
DVDFlick is supposed to be good but I’ve never used it
You are correct, Handbrake is an awesome program. You can’t beat it for encoding from DVDs to MKV files (or mp4 files). But it doesn’t do AVI to DVD
I’ve used DVD Flick. It works. It’s free. I use ConvertXtoDVD for most of my stuff though, since it’s easier. If I didn’t already have ConvertXtoDVD, I’d use DVD Flick for sure.
avi and mkv are not video formats! They’re containers! The difference is important.
FreeStudio can convert most format, including avi and mkv, to DVD. They recently came out with version 5.0, but I haven’t tried it yet.
I use Gburner It’s free and simple to use. It also works with all conversions I have ever needed.
First of all, I wasn’t pointing out a grammar error, but a technical, probably inadvertent, mistake. (For all I know, you DID mean CD, and wanted to store a video on a CD, which is an entirely different program and question.)
And that’s a heck of a way to treat someone from whom you are asking free advice.
But… 
no hard feelings.
Windows DVD maker?
Be advised that .avi is NOT a format, but a container hosting a video and audio stream encoded with any number of formats.
If the program doesn’t read the .avi, try installing a codec pack like Shark’s Codec Pack and see if the program will then open the file.
I’m going to recommend TMPEG Xpress 4 or their DVD/Blu-ray making software for ease of use and overall compatibility. They are not free however.
I don’t know where you read that, but I linked you to reviews on videohelp.com and not one reviewer said that, so I tried it for myself. I converted a movie to DVD format and there were no banners on the frames.
It didn’t automatically burn a DVD for me the way ConvertXtoDVD does though; it made a folder on my desktop titled “DVD” with an AUDIO_TS and VIDEO_TS folder inside. I use ImgBurn (free) to burn DVDs from these sort of files and it works perfectly every time. Here are the instructions for using it if you decide to do it. You can skip the step for creating an empty folder titled AUDIO_TS since the Avi2Dvd software does it for you.
Buy software? 
Windows 7 allows you to add the movie to the DVD and will do the converting for you using Windows DVD maker (as ChrisBooth12 mentioned)
That said, you can also burn the AVI to a CD and in some cases, the DVD will play the AVI file. My DVD is divx compatible and plays most AVI files (contingent on the codec).
If you really want to do this: DVDs, CD-Rs and CD-RWs (both kinds), DVD-Rs and DVD-RWs (both kinds), Red Book CDs, and CD-ROMs all have the same compact disc form factor*, which means the same hardware can often deal with more than one element of that set. It is hardly beyond the realm of possibility to have an AVI file on any of them, at least if you take ‘Red Book CDs’ to include audio CDs with non-Red-Book audio data on them.
*(That might well make the compact disc form factor the most successful ever, at least by that metric of success.)
While I understand what you are saying, for all practical purposes it doesn’t matter what they are under the skin, just that something can properly interpret the file and play it.
VLC player handles MPG files. Do I care if MPG is a format, a container or a fish? Not as long as I can view the file.
With respect to stpauler and Derleth’s posts, of course a DVD or CD can store any kind of data, and their difference is only storage capacity. But the OP said he wanted to play it on a “DVD player” – I assume a consumer-grade video player – and that could limit the acceptable file types.
Although it seems like the newer players are getting more sophisticated and can now interpret much more than “standard” DVD formats.
Are you sure about that? I’m reading that Windows 7 DVD Maker does not come with the right codecs to do that.