AVI is a Microsoft multimedia container format that needs to be converted to VOB before burning to DVD. VOB contains audio, video, and subtitle streams for DVDs. The conversion process can take up to four hours, and menu creation options are available in some software programs. Freeware programs for Windows include SUPER, AVI2DVD, and DVD Flick. Free burners include ImgBurn, CDBurnerXP, and Burn.
Audio Video Interleave (AVI) is a Microsoft® multimedia container format that contains audio and video streams for synchronous playback. Before you can burn AVI files, you need to convert AVI to DVD Video Object (VOB) file.
Like AVI, VOB is a container format that contains audio, video and subtitle streams for DVD discs. VOB is a Motion Picture Experts Group (MPEG) standard, but it has unique specifications that are not shared by all MPEG streams.
In addition to the VOB file, a DVD disc normally has an information file (IFO) which provides navigational data for the DVD player, essentially a map for locating chapters, subtitle streams, audio streams, special comments, and so on. The last type of DVD file is the Backup file (BUP), which mirrors the IFO file in case the latter becomes unreadable due to damage to the disc surface caused by scratches, for example, or improper handling. When you convert AVI to DVD, the necessary files will be created along with two Title Set (TS) directories: VIDEO_TS and AUDIO_TS.
To convert AVI to DVD, the files must be re-encoded to the correct format. There are various software programs available to do this, some of which are faster than others, but this is not a quick process. It can take up to four hours or more to convert a two-hour movie, depending on the software you choose and optional quality settings. Then the resulting VOB files still need to be burned to disc, which can take another 20 minutes. Some programs that convert AVI to DVD also burn the resulting files to disc, while others just convert, then automatically open a secondary program like ImgBurn© to do the actual burning.
If you are interested in creating your own menu, you can use the configuration settings to create chapters for easy navigation through the movie. You can manually add a title to each chapter and choose a still image to visually represent the chapter in the opening menu. The background of the menu can also be customized, with the stock images provided or using an image file from your computer. Converters that also burn might include optional menu creation, or you can burn the files with a different program if needed. Menu creation options are easier to find and more abundant in shareware programs such as Nero Burning ROM®, but can be found in freeware.
Some freeware programs for Windows® that convert AVI to DVD include SUPER© (Simplified Universal Player Encoder & Renderer) by eRightSoft, AVI2DVD© by TrustFm, and the easy-to-use and open source DVD Flick©. Linux® and Mac® could try Avidemux©, also open source. Free burners, if required, include ImgBurn© for Windows® and Linux®, CDBurnerXP© (also works with Vista® and Windows 7®), and Burn©, an open source burner for Mac® OSX.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
