playing .avi files on DVD player…

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‘lo again, one and all!

i have a lot of .avi files that i have downloaded via limewire. i can play them on the computer just fine, but i would like to be able to play them on the television (a slightly bigger screen, better sound, and i don’t have to boot it up every time i want to watch something.) the .avi files are television shows, to be specific (we have no television reception here, no, no network reception, no cable, and no dish, before anyone asks); this is my way of getting to watch a few of the shows that i got hooked on while i was out in the real world, caring for my mom while she was still alive.

the television is a 24 year old toshiba, with no digital hook-ups at all; the DVD player is about 10 years old (i think). the hookup between the two is a cable that plugs into the VHF connection on the television. eventually, if i decide that i’d like to keep the files long-term, i will buy the series/sets, as they become available, but this is a cheap way to watch them, and see if i like them. i raise this point because i get a lot of people asking why i bother to download the shows in the first place. i guess they don’t realize how lucky they are to have actual, real, live, television reception, not to mention cable and/or dish!

i also have a lot of .mov and .mpg files, too (for some reason, there’s someone, or a great many someones, that like/s law & order SVU in those formats.) anyway, i tried using nero (nero 7 ultra edition), to no avail. i can play the DVDs on the beast (my ‘puter), but not on the stand-alone DVD/CD/VCR player. i don’t know if i am not doing something right, or if nero doesn’t permit it. i have managed to almost fill up a 500GB external hard drive with all the files, so i’d like to get them off it onto discs for that reason, too.

i am open to using other programs, too, so long as they are not: 1. too complex, and 2. too costly (i am very short on funds now {aren’t we all?}). please feel free to drop me an e-mail is you have any questions that are too long for the forum. any help that y’all can send my way will be greatly appreciated. thanks bunches. until the next time, take care and God bless.

smiles-
ladyleadfoot!!!

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I think your problem is that the DVD player is too old to play computer generated DVDs or CDs. This was a common issue when burning capabilities became readily available on computers. If you can, try one of your DVDs on a newer DVD palyer and seeif that makes a diference. If so, new players today are around $60 or less from some of the online retailers.

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hi doc!

i hadn’t thought about the age thing. as far as a new player is concerned… we have a new one, one that not only plays discs of all formats (not including blu-ray or the other hi-def one; those discs are way too ‘spensive!), but also records, and transfers vhs to dvd (since we have so many vhs tapes that aren’t available on dvd- figures….). the problem with that is that there is no way to connect the new player and the television together; the connectors are incompatible. i hate to get rid of the television, as the picture on it is perfect (okay, so it’s not a 50 inch screen {only nineteen}), with beautiful color and clarity of image. the sound runs through our stereo, which is over thirty years old. it’s beginning to get to where it needs replacing, but i hate to get rid of something just because it’s old. heck, if that were the case, i’d have to get rid of my husband, and then find someone to throw me away!

i’ll try copying the files to a dvd disc, and ask someone that has newer equipment to play it for me. maybe that will help, or, at least, give me a starting point.

y’know… it’s hell being a ’60s gal in a 21st century world. i guess maybe i’ll simply have to upgrade the entire house, when the funding becomes available. until then, i’ll just keep on doing the best i can with what i have, and asking for help here in the lounge. thanks for your help, doc. until the next time, take care and God bless.

smiles-
ladyleadfoot!!!

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It seems Joe’s question was more insightful than mine and he appears to have found the real issue. Just copying the files over will not work. Follow the instructions he linked to and if that doesn’t work in your player, see if someone with a newer DVD player can play it.

Good luck and let us know how you make out.

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Are you creating a video DVD capable of being watched on any DVD player? Often it is easy to create a DVD copy of files that you can still play on the PC but is not a VCD type of DVD.

Joe

--Joe

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hi joe!

i think that is what i am trying to do, and haven’t been able to do. that’s what i am asking help for. i don’t know if i am using the program wrong, i.e. not making the right choices from the menus, or simply that i don’t know what i am doing.

here is what i want to do, plain and simple: i have a whole lot of .avi files that i want to be able to watch on my television, using the dvd player that is hooked up to it. copying the files to a dvd doesn’t do it; i can only watch them on the ‘puter. what do i need to do in order to watch them on the television? is nero capable of doing what i need? if so, could/would you, or someone else here, please tell me what or how to do it? if nero won’t do it, is there anything out there that will let me do so? of so, what is it? what is it named? how much, if any, does it cost, and where can i find it? my hard drives are close to being completely full, and i am close to !

i hope that i have explained myself somewhat better than i did before. thanks for any help that you have sent, or will send, my way. until the next time, take care and God bless.

smiles-
ladyleadfoot!!!

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This thread, how do i burn avi movies to dvd with nero 6 ultra edition, has a step-by-step process.

Joe

--Joe

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