Gi'day to all you guys and gals, The only player that consistantly will play any or all avi's, no matter what format is made by VideoLan & it is called VLC PLAYER! I guarantee it 100%, with VLC you dont need any codec package on your computer at all, you can fully adjust the Aspect Ratio & watch everything in Dolby Surround. As for those who wish to convert there avi downloads to DVD I highly recommend VSO's ConvertX to DVD. It is simple to use, has a lot of useful options, fits 2 movies onto 1 DVD & does so without any loss of quality during the conversion.
However no matter what software you use and no matter how powerfull your Computer is the Conversion Process takes a lot of time and in most cases ties up all the resources of your computer. The average P4 will take around 2 to 4 hours, sometimes longer depending on the Chipset and available Ram. Your computer will be running at 100% of its capacity during the entire Conversion Process which absolutely flogs the hell out of the Computer & shortens its lifespan quite considerably. Video Processing is very hard on the CPU so dont try to perform other tasks at the same time or you will A: Freeze or crash your computer. B: Cause inconsistancies in the conversion Process.
In my experience the best way to avoid a lot of wasted time, effort & wear and tear on your expensive computer equipment is to plug your PC into your TV through an S-Video Connection lead. This along with a 5.1 Surround Sound system also plugged into the Computer turns your computer into a what is commonly known as a HT/PC [Home Theater / Personal Computer]. Once you have achieved this there is no more need to flog your computer and waste your time converting avi's to DVD! You simply watch any media directly through the computer onto your TV screen and in Dolby Surround. Do it you will never look back and you will have a lot more time to enjoy what you have downloaded instead of wasted time & cost in converting everthing to DVD. All you need is an S-Video output on your video card and from then on the sky is the limit. Google it guys, you dont have to take my word for it. HT/PC is the future in Computing, you can watch any dvd through your DVD -rom or DVD Burner, check your emails, chat to your mates, Surf The Net, play games etc etc etc all from the comfort of your own lounge chair