Converting .gvi files to DVD files

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zad1

26 posts

Geek

Topic # 11132 4-Jan-2007 16:28

Is there some software I can use to convert Google Video files into DVD files so I can burn them onto a DVD and watch them on a stand-alone DVD player?
Also, if I could convert them to a DVD file or ISO I could then use DVDShrink to compress an 850 MB google video so I can fit it onto one blank CD.

Perhaps someone has an answer for these questions.

zad1

26 posts

Geek

Reply # 57647 11-Jan-2007 17:10

Anyone?
Okay, no replies, but what I've found so far is a google video file is the same as an avi file. All you do is wipe the .gvi off the end and type .avi.
Then there are some types of software that turn AVI files into DVD files. I haven't used them with any success yet, though. Still working on that.
In the meantime, I suspect that if you just burn the AVI file onto the DVD, the normal DVD player should be able to play it anyway. Is that right?
Any pointers?

Jama

1420 posts

Uber Geek

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Reply # 57650 11-Jan-2007 18:52

You either need a DVD player that supports Divx or you need to convert the .avi to the older MPEG2 format supported by all DVD players. Quite a few of the cheaper no brand players support divx.

So, to answer your question - a standard DVD player will not play .avi

zad1

26 posts

Geek

Reply # 57740 12-Jan-2007 18:42

So, indulge me please. What is 'divx' and what is the difference between AVI and DIVX?

grant_k

3539 posts

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Reply # 57742 12-Jan-2007 18:52

zad1: So, indulge me please. What is 'divx' and what is the difference between AVI and DIVX?

DIVX is one type of Codec which has very efficient compression, hence relatively small file sizes compared to earlier codecs such as AVI.

Generally, AVI files are HUGE and this format is frequently used by Digital Video Recorders. I seem to remember that AVI was originated by Microsoft although it is now quite widely used.

zad1

26 posts

Geek

Reply # 58001 15-Jan-2007 23:38

okay, thanks for that. It explains why one DVD someone loaned me with .avi files on it played fine on my normal DVD player, but when I burnt some .avi video files onto a DVD, it said 'unsupported format'.

Jama -
"...you need to convert the .avi to the older MPEG2 format supported by all DVD players."
Could you please explain how to do that? I've tried looking at some solutions off other forums but get hopelessly lost.

stevonz

397 posts

Ultimate Geek

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Reply # 58018 16-Jan-2007 09:37

I use Movie DVD Maker 1.6.6 from www.aone-media.com

Converts to DVD from AVI, DIVX, XVID, MP4, MPEG, DAT, ASF, WMV, MOV, QT...

Cheers, Stevo

zad1

26 posts

Geek

Reply # 58065 16-Jan-2007 13:19

Thanks, I'll look into that.

Last night I burnt some .avi files I got off google video onto a DVD. I stuck it in the DVD player and the video played fine without converting them to DVD files - but there was no sound!

I just got a message that said "unsupported audio".

Does anyone know how to fix that problem?

zad1

26 posts

Geek

Reply # 58602 23-Jan-2007 14:43

Just an update for anyyone who's had the same problem. Thanks to another forum, since I last posted I found some software to repair the sound stream which worked brilliantly. It's called Virtualdub MPEG2. It converts the sound stream into a form the DVD player liked. So, I can take a Google Video file, change the .gvi extension to .avi, then use Virtualdub to correct the sound stream, and it plays perfectly on my DVD player, sound and picture!

I also found some (free - yay!) software for turning the avi file into DVD files. It's called Avi2Dvd (surprisingly) and it works brilliantly, although processing time is long and CPU hungry (don't surf the net at the same time!). But the originally small .avi file becomes quite large, the size of a DVD, 4.3 GB. Since I found my DVD player will play (Divx) .avi files anyway, even when I burn them onto a CD, I think it's probably not necessary to convert them to DVD. Except I can open them in DVD Shrink for cutting/editing, which is nice.