In recent years, one type of file conversion has become more and more popular as the use of digital video cameras has gotten more prevalent: AVI to DVD conversions. Recording the video is easy, but many people get stuck there, with no clear idea of how to get that footage onto a computer or a DVD. Here are a few options.

Edit Your Movie

After moving your video footage to your computer, most commonly with USB 2.0 or FireWire, you will in all likelihood want to modify it, and that requires a video editing package. In recent years, these packages have not only gotten more affordable, but they have also gotten easier to use. For simple home recordings, you can find a package for between $60 and $90 in many cases. For professional editing, expect to pay upwards of $300 to $500.

This type of software will enable you to cut your original footage into clips that you can then mark up as you wish. For example, you can add transitions like fade effects, pixelation; you can add track titles or captions; you can even create an entire menu system with custom or supplied graphics.

Copy Your Movie to a DVD

Converting from AVI to DVD format is really only half the battle. Once you get it in that format, you need a program to burn it back to DVD format. Most computers ship with an entry-level DVD burning software like Nero already installed.

Play Your Movie on a Portable Device

Often, you’ll want to view your movie through a device other than a DVD player. For example, many new media devices support video, so a further option you have is to convert your movie so that it plays on iPods, PSP’s, Zunes, and other portable media players. That’s an additional consideration when learning how to convert AVI to DVD format.

No single piece of software is adequate for everyone. But as a rule of thumb, the more conversion options a piece of software has, the more cognitive overhead you can expect there to be associated with it! Simple utility converters do one thing only and usually require just a few clicks; however, multi-purpose converters, while more powerful, will also require you to get your hands dirty in choosing codecs and the like.

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