AVI to DVD freeware converter

Hi, I need a little advice. I've got a bunch of old AVI videos that I'd like to be able to watch on my TV, but I don't have a converter. Normally, I'd convert and burn them with Nero, but it seems my Nero isn't compatible with my Windows Vista. Oops. Can anyone recommend something for me?

 

WinAVI (not free), ConvertXtoDVD (not free), DVDFlick (F R E E ! ! !)
http://www.majorgeeks.com/DVD_Flick_d5530.html
...and the how-to guide for DVDFlick http://www.dvdflick.net/guide.php
DVDFlick works great. I've used it 100's of times and I don't think I've ever had a bad burn. It will convert the files and burn 'em all in one shot, and it's really easy to use. The default settings are usually fine, so you just add your file(s), and click create DVD and make sure a blank disc is in your DVD burner before you start....

 

Thanks a lot. Since you use this software, could you recommend the average bitrate I should use? Having only two hours fit on a Dual layer DVD seems a bit... silly.

 

Sorry for the double post, but this DVD Flicks has frozen up on me, I guess. It's finished the encoding and SHOULD be burning my DVD, but my DVD burner isn't even spinning. It shouldn't be my hardware, I burned my AVI files to a data disc before I started this project. Any clues as to why it's behaving this way?

 

You can try posting in the DVDFlick forums (here http://www.dvdflick.net/forums/) or look thru their FAQs (here http://www.dvdflick.net/forums/viewforum.php?f=3&sid=7273ebfb1533daacab48b83f5c333bf8) and see if anything there helps. I have never had trouble with it, and I've always used the default bit rates. I have been able to get about 3 or 3.5 hours on a standard DVD using default settings. If it converts the file and doesn't burn it, the problem may be in ImgBurn which is built-in to DVDFlick and does the burning. Go into C:\Program Files\DVDFlick\Img Burn and launch ImgBurn from the .exe. You can then go in and check all the settings to make sure it's working OK. I usually set the burn speed to 4x. You can find out more about ImgBurn here http://www.imgburn.com/ They have a forum and a guides section too. However, if DVD Flick is doing the conversions OK, then you can disable the option to burn the movie, and use a different burning tool. After the conversion, you will have an .ISO file of the movie, and the standard DVD folder structure (AUDIO_TS and VIDEO_TS). You can then burn the .ISO as an image or burn the two folders to a blank DVD using your favorite burning software. BurnAware and AShampoo Burning Studio 6 are both free, Vista compatible, and available here at Major Geeks. Both will burn movie DVDs and image files with ease.
BurnAware http://www.majorgeeks.com/BurnAware_Free_Edition_d5839.html
Ashampoo Burning Studio 6 http://www.majorgeeks.com/Ashampoo_Burning_Studio_6_FREE_d5937.html