How to Convert AVI to DVD: A Quick Look at the Facts

This post is a companion to my earlier post on How to Copy DVDs, which explored how to burn DVD movies with freeware and open source software.

When I examined the traffic logs, I realized that quite a few of you are looking to convert your AVI files to something that can be burned to a DVD. I assume the reason is because you are using a digital video camera of some sort, and when you transfer the video to your PC, you have no idea what to do with it from there.

There are several options available to convert AVI files to DVD format, and which one you choose will likely depend on your tolerance for bugs and errors, and your knowledge of topics like conversion and burning. I’ll cover each briefly below.

Convert and Edit AVI Files to Burn to a DVD

 If you’re copying files from a digital video camera to your PC, you will probably also want to edit them, unless you’re looking for a strict 1-to-1 copy of what’s on film. To do this you’ll need more than just the converter — you’ll also need a video studio. 

Video studios (or video studios that work) won’t be found for free, and they’ll range in price from anywhere in the neighborhood of $50 up to around $500. I use Pinnacle Studio for converting and editing my digital video, but that is one bloated piece of software! If I recall correctly, it loaded on multiple software discs, and requires a ton of horsepower to operate, but it does just about everything you can think of and is a really mature piece of software. 

A bit cheaper than that is the Movavi video studio, which is packed with features for about as cheap as this kind of software gets. You can convert AVI files to DVD and just about any other format — so if you want to move a video to your iPod, PSP, Zune, PDA, cell phone, etc. you can do it. You can also live record narrated screencasts, like you can in Camtasia. And then you have all of the typical editing features like transitions, joins and splits, burning capabilities, etc.

This installs and uninstalls much more cleanly than Pinnacle, and they have a fully functional trial available, so you can give it a shot to see if you like it. You can download the free trial here — it’s a secure download from Digital River, who also handles downloads for companies like Norton.

Convert Multiple File Types to Multiple File Types

If you want to be able to convert files between different file types, you had better be prepared for some headaches. The software I previously used was called Super, and is a free download available here. Super is infamously error prone, and it frequently locks up, crashes, and doesn’t convert for reasons that are largely unknown to me! It also requires some technical knowledge or experimentation as you select different codecs to work with. But it does work at least occasionally.

Once you convert the files with Super, you’ll need a separate program to actually burn those files to DVD. That is, it handles conversions only, not getting files onto your PC or getting them onto disc.

Simple AVI to DVD Conversions

If you just want to do a straight conversion from AVI to DVD, a good piece of software for that task is Cucusoft AVI to DVD. It will handle the conversion and the burning to disc. There’s nothing fancy about Cucusoft, but it gets the job done, is very easy to use, and runs without error. It is also a clean install and uninstall and like Movavi, a free trial from Digital River is available. You can download the free trial here.

When choosing your software, just keep in mind that nothing works all of the time for everyone, and everyone has different needs. Just keep your technical ability, and your willingness to experiment and encounter errors in mind as you choose the right software for you.

Also watch the PC requirements for each piece of software. Everything listed here will run on Windows machines, Windows 98, 2000, XP, and Vista, provided you have sufficient RAM. I would consider 256 MB of RAM sufficient for the basic converters, at least 512 MB for Movavi, and at least 1 GB for Pinnacle. I have a dual-core processor and 4 GB of RAM and Pinnacle is still slow as molasses for me!