How to shrink the size of an AVI movie?

[Brad J]

I am new to the torrent thing & just downloaded one of the all time best movies ever ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081353/ ) and want to watch it with the kids on the big screen. The problem is the AVI of it is 789 MB. I use Nero (NeroVision Express 2) to make a VCD (Video CD) but it only works if its smaller than 700 MB. Funny thing is when using the VCD mode it shows the movie as 965 MB so it won't work. When trying as a DVD-Video it shows the same AVI as 5.26 GB so it won't fit on a standard DVD. So is the a way to get it to work? I don't mind burning it to a DVD or CD, CD's are cheaper though

Thanks, Brad

 

[Caleb]

You have to re-encode it. There really is no "simple" way to do it. Check in Nero, there should be a setting to fit it on a Single Layer DVD. It'll re-encode it as it rips it to fit on a standard 4.7GB disc.

 

[muleskinner]

Hey Caleb, what was that program you mentioned a few years ago for shrinking movies? It seemed like you could take them to whatever size you specified. (before your Mac days)

 

[Caleb]

Hey Caleb, what was that program you mentioned a few years ago for shrinking movies? It seemed like you could take them to whatever size you specified. (before your Mac days)

hmmm, I'll have to think about that one. It's on the tip of my tongue but I can't remember. I know you can specify size in Handbrake, and Handbrake can now handle most formats as inputs and outputs. (Handbrake is available on all major OSes too, Linux, Windows, and OS X)

 

[Caleb]

Hey Caleb, what was that program you mentioned a few years ago for shrinking movies? It seemed like you could take them to whatever size you specified. (before your Mac days)

Just remembered it, FairUse Wizard. I have no idea how it's progressed over the years though.

 

[muleskinner]

Just remembered it, FairUse Wizard. I have no idea how it's progressed over the years though.

Yep, that was it. it seems like that was a pretty straight forward program.

 

[Brad J]

You have to re-encode it. There really is no "simple" way to do it. Check in Nero, there should be a setting to fit it on a Single Layer DVD. It'll re-encode it as it rips it to fit on a standard 4.7GB disc.

I just tried the Nero Recode program but it doesn't seem to work. The "Next" Button is always greyed out no matter which option I change. I'll give Handbrake & Fairuse a try.

Thankyou Caleb & Muleskinner:bow:

 

[Gravy]

dvd shrink!
it's free

and that movie is sooo long...

 

[Caleb]

dvd shrink!
it's free

and that movie is sooo long...

I've never used DVD Shrink but I'm pretty sure it will only shrink the size of a DVD...an AVI is not a DVD

 

[Herzog]

AutoGK will do the trick. But it can be a little confusing until you get the hang of it.

 

[jet_aj]

I've used handbrake. I like the interface and it does very good quality encoding... I've also used Red Kawa's PS3 video encoder with pretty decent results.

I've never liked Nero or Adobe for their encoding, both are slow and don't give you many options over the encoder

 

[Brad J]

Thanks for the info guys. I wish I had a chance to test them out but my HD crashed I needed to update to a newer Corporate Symantec AV & I should not have listened to the new guy at my Help Desk. He had me edit my registry to try to get rid of Symantec AV manually since Add/Remove Programs would not get rid of it. Rebooted my PC when done and then had "Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt Windows\System32\Config\System" I booted up w/ the Windows CD and hit R for Recovery then typed chdsk. Rebooted & now "disk boot failure, insert system disk & press enter". The Hard Drive is no longer seen in the BIOS of any of my PC's or in any of my external enclosures while in Windows. His reply was "your on your own now, call back if you have any other questions" w/ a I don't care attitude. Now & I'm ticked I only lost 3 months of unbacked up pics but its been a lot longer since I backed up work files:-\ I wish I would have started to pull files right when it first happened

 

[muleskinner]

Any luck yet? Try ConvertXtoDVD 3 if your computer is fixed. It converts an AVI to DVD in about 15-20 minutes so far it has been flawless.

 

[Brad J]

Any luck yet? Try ConvertXtoDVD 3 if your computer is fixed. It converts an AVI to DVD in about 15-20 minutes so far it has been flawless.

Yes & No. I found that there is a little jumper wire (after thought type of deal) from one IDE connector to the logic board that hangs down about 1/8" below and in messing w/ it The bare jumper wire laid up against one of the other IDE pins causing the intermittent problems. I should not have followed Microsofts tips to use the repair registry's files because its like I have a brand new PC. The data is there but its missing all the drivers and all of the programs:-\. I ordered a 500 GB IDE HD for $75 and will ghost this 165 GB HD to it and try to use an older registry to see if I can get it back to good working condition. I tried Handbrake and Fairuse before this happened and didn't play w/ them enough to get the size shrunk small enough to work. I will have to try that program you mentioned since I have a few movies I'm really wanting to watch. Hopefully in the next couple weeks.
Thanks, Brad