Converting from .avi to iDVD Compatable?

[pixelize]

Myself, and a few others that I know, have been interested in converting some .avi files into iDVD ('05, don't have '06 yet) compatible files.

Now, running the .avi file through ffmpegX I'm able to create a .mp4 video which is compatible with iDVD; however, when imported into the iDVD program the files size is nearly tripled (A 233.5mb files becomes 2.9gb).

This, of course, is no good... It would be useless to burn only one movie on the disc, when I could burn a whole bunch of movies in plain old .avi format. But leaving in the .avi format means I can watch them on a normal DVD player.


So am I missing a step, or is this just something that can't be done?

 

[pixelize]

n/m... by the sound of it... we're SOL.

 

[joelwnelson]

Try the Flip4Mac WMV Import tool. It's not free, but it should do what you want.

Also, I noticed when importing video from a digital camera that file formats like .mpg and .avi DO inflate in size when imported to DVD format (mp4 or mpeg2). That is normal.

 

[road dog]

it's not something that you can do in idvd 5 or 6.

toast can handle avi just fine though... as well as just about any other video file you want to throw at it.... mpeg1, mpeg2, vob, dvd titles, etc.

 

[steelphantom]

DivX Doctor II will convert your .avi files into .mov files, and shouldn't increase the file size all that much. Not sure if .mov would work though.

 

[Kernow]

Like it says in this thread, you can also use Quicktime Pro to convert the .avi files to MPEG-2, which can be imported to iDVD. I'm not sure how this affects the file size though.

 

[MisterMe]

Myself, and a few others that I know, have been interested in converting some .avi files into iDVD ('05, don't have '06 yet) compatible files.

Now, running the .avi file through ffmpegX I'm able to create a .mp4 video which is compatible with iDVD; however, when imported into the iDVD program the files size is nearly tripled (A 233.5mb files becomes 2.9gb).

This, of course, is no good... It would be useless to burn only one movie on the disc, when I could burn a whole bunch of movies in plain old .avi format. But leaving in the .avi format means I can watch them on a normal DVD player.


So am I missing a step, or is this just something that can't be done?

Making your .avi files iDVD-compatible is as simple as installing the DivX 6 codec.

 

[Leonida]

Try MPEG Streamclip

FEATURES
MPEG Streamclip lets you play and edit QuickTime, DV, AVI, MPEG-4, MPEG-1; MPEG-2 or VOB files or transport streams with MPEG, PCM, or AC3 audio (MPEG-2 playback component required); DivX (with DivX 5.1.1) and WMV (with Flip4Mac WMV Player). MPEG Streamclip can export all these formats to QuickTime, DV/DV50, AVI/DivX and MPEG-4 with high quality encoding and even uncompressed or HD video.