most efficient way to burn .avi files?

[Jayhawk328]

i have a bunch of individual .avi files that i want to burn to dvd-R's. What is the best way to do it? Should I just be going to DD video and dragging the files and burning, or should I be saving disk images? Also, this might be a stupid question, but if i convert .avi files to HD or 1080P does it actually improve the quality to HD and i just throw it in my DVD player and HD will appear, or is it not even worth it to convert files to HD? Any help would be appreciated...

[Jayhawk328]

sorry if i'm confusing. i bought DIVX Pro, which has the converter with it and it gives me the option whether to convert it to home theatre, high definition, or 1080P. i do have an HDTV from which i can run an hdmi cable from dvd player to tv, so i'm wondering if i can take a standard .avi file and convert it to HD instead of standard quality? isn't there also an option in Toast where you can encode .avi files to high definition?

[tsantee]

sorry if i'm confusing. i bought DIVX Pro, which has the converter with it and it gives me the option whether to convert it to home theatre, high definition, or 1080P. i do have an HDTV from which i can run an hdmi cable from dvd player to tv, so i'm wondering if i can take a standard .avi file and convert it to HD instead of standard quality? isn't there also an option in Toast where you can encode .avi files to high definition?

Thanks, it now makes sense to me. There is no benefit and several detriments in converting standard definition video to HD. You are better off keeping it in SD and letting your DVD player's hardware do the upscaling in playback.

 

If you have a way of creating HD video, such as an HD camcorder, then you either have to play the video on your HDTV from the camcorder or encode the video in H.264 for playback on an AppleTV. Otherwise the HD format is relegated to being played on computer screens or HD-capable video projectors connected to a computer.

[tsantee]

All video DVDs are standard definition so it will do no good to convert the files to HD. In fact, it will make them worse when converted back to SD plus take a huge amount of time.

 

Dragging AVIs to the Video window with DVD video selected as the format and clicking the burn button is the simplest process but not always the wisest should there be any problem burning the disc. I always choose Save as Disc Image when there is a lot of encoding required. That way I don't have to start at the beginning if the burn stage fails for some reason.

 

Be sure to install the Perian codec if you are making video DVDs from AVIs or you may end up with some that have no audio.

 

Another option is to get a DVD player that plays DivX discs. In that case you often can burn the AVIs as a data disc and play them without having to encode them to the video DVD format.

[Jayhawk328]

what is even the point to have the option of encoding files in HD or 1080P if you can't watch files in HD?

[tsantee]

what is even the point to have the option of encoding files in HD or 1080P if you can't watch files in HD?

Where do you see the option to encode in HD or 1080P? Maybe I'm misunderstanding what you're asking. I thought you were wanting to make video DVDs from your AVIs. Your existing AVI files are most likely standard definition. A video DVD can only be standard definition because that is what the spec is for video DVD. There are some upscaling DVD players that upscale the playback to HD resolution if connected to a TV via HDMI cable.

 

If you do have a HD video source (such as an HD camcorder) then you should convert the video to the H.264 specs for AppleTV and get an AppleTV if you want to play them on something other than your computer monitor. But if you wanted to make a video DVD from the HD source you'd get an anamorphic 16:9 standard definition DVD that's just like the widescreen movies you buy or rent on DVD.