making a vcd

[splurge]

how can i crop avi files to fit on a vcd? i filmed loads on holiday but i dont yet have a dvd recorder so the next best thing is to make a vcd but the footage is 1 1/2 hours. please help!

[LeMarchand]

Pretty sure that Windows Movie Maker (free with XP) will do the job, and it's fairly easy to use. Be warned, save often as video editing is a very processor-intensive task and may well lock up/crash your machine (unless you have a cutting-edge super-spec jobbie).

VirtualDub (free download) will also do the job, but is a lot more basic. Watch out for the settings, as it can create HUGE files if not properly set up.

More info than i could possibly give you here: http://www.videohelp.com/ but feel free to post if you have any more specific questions.

P.S. re-reading your Q, VDub is probably the easiest way to simply split the footage into 2 or 3 parts. I do have another AVI splitter at home, but can't remember what it's called.

[stevie21]

DVD recorders are unbelievably cheap. I'd just buy one.

[splurge]

i have a laptop though - there isnt any room for an extra drive

[LeMarchand]

I think stevie21 means a "full size" DVD recorder. It is possible to buy external USB DVD recorders, and you could probably upgrade your laptop's optical drive to a DVD writer (the latter won't be cheap!).

Bobytes AViSplit Classic is the other free splitter, btw.

[Hammer]

kvcd is the way forward. You need to encode it with a program called TMPGEnc. It's a bit fiddly to start with but you should get there in the end. Google for "kvcd"

[Hammer]

Here's a good tutorial that explains it all quite well:
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/themxmaster/makek vcd.htm

[stevie21]

splurge, I was assuming you had a PC. Buy the DVD drive, and a PC to go with it ;-)

To crop avi files... you could import them into Windows Movie Maker and edit them there as LeMarchand says.

Or my plan A part2 : an external DVD drive?
http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/109006