jjones wrote:I know there is a way to do this, but can't seem to figure out how. Is there a direct way to convert and burn an avi file (e.g. a divx or xvid file) to a SVCD or do I have to do it in 2 steps?
I thought Nero was able to do it with a plug-in.
That is correct. You can purchase either the SVCD mpeg-2 encoder plug-in for $16 or the DVD/SVCD mpeg-2 encoder plug-in for $24:
https://secure.nero.com/en/secure.asp
Nero includes a free mpeg-1 encoder for burning VCDs.
I haven't used Nero's mpeg-2 encoder, so I can't comment on its quality directly, but I do know from personal experience that Nero's mpeg-1 encoder isn't very good quality. I suppose it is convenient though, allowing you to convert and burn in one step as you describe.
If you are interested in ease of use, the Nero plug-in is probably the way to go. If you are interested in higher quality and the ability to tweak more parameters for greater flexibility, then you should probably investigate tmpgenc or other encoders. A good place to read up on all this is
www.vcdhelp.com .
cfitz