Here is my question:

Lets say i download an avi file off of the internet, what is the best format to convert to so that it may play on my stand alone DVD player without losing any picture quality? and what is the best program to use for the conversion?

I have tried converting avi files several different times but i always end up with an extremely poor quality DVD and when i play the dvd, the picture looks pixelated & distorted.

If i watch the original on my computer before converting, it looks fine.

How can i do the conversion without losing so much visual quality?

DivXtoDVD from VSO works great.

TMPGEnc and Main Concept are very good. I use them to convert avis to DVD of family things sent from across the world so the rest of the family can have copies.

But Jay, i tried to use TMPGENC and it did not work. It said that there was a problem with the source AVI file.

Its bit like a flat tyre on your car, until you fix the problem, your not going anywhere. Try Divfix and Divxrepair.

In the meantime, I'd suggest you have a look in the Guide & Tutorial section on how to do quality AVI to DVDR conversions.

Well if there is a problem with the source file it does not matter what you use, after all rubbish in = rubbish out. When you have fixed that problem then give it a go.

Use winavi program with the batch conversion. Open using the batch conversion option. You open as many avi files as you want to you. This option will take care of naming all of the files. You will be converting the avi files to dvd format. I tried this with 4 avi files. They got converted with the batch option to dvd format. I burned them to a DVD+RW for testing. My burner was a NEC nd-3520a with the bitsetting changed so that DVD+R is set to a DVD-ROM. The playback worked great. Now I have to get a good program for authoring.