An easier way may be to get either a set top box player or a DVD player that can play avi and divx files. Instead of converting to DVD you make a data DVD with Imgburn with the .avi file on. I bought Philips DVP 5990 for about $60 a couple of years ago. The adavantage of a set top box such as WD HDTV player for USB, if you have an HDTV it will play HD avi files. On my Philips player if the avi is 720P I'm out of luck. I have to convert to DVD first. With the WD set top player, I just copy to a USB drive and play it right off the drive. I use a docking station to avoid removing and hooking up a USB every time I change movies. I just slide an internal Sata drive into the dock. If you go that route get a docking station with a power switch. It just makes things easier.
edit: btw if you do want to convert to standard DVD the free programs FAVC and AVStoDVD are also good. I was using FAVC for a couple of years but it seems the programmer has given up on it. AVStoDVD is actively developed. The new alpha version has a nice feature where you can set your favorite Up sizing filter and Down sizing filter. That way if you are sizing Up from avi to DVD or going Down from mkv to DVD you don't have to keep going in and changing the sizer setting. Set all your defaults once and just drag & drop the video file onto the program.
edit2: some of the tutorials may be a bit dated but the best site I've found with a database of converters, players, video and audio editors etc is www.videohelp.com
Also has a list of stand-alone DVD players, with user reports what they can really do and often with the "remote hack" to set them region free.
My Computer
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
HP Media Center
OS
Windows 7 32 bit
CPU
AMD 5200+ dual core
Memory
2 GB
Graphics Card(s)
NVidia GeForce 6150SE 128 MB
Monitor(s) Displays
CRT
Screen Resolution
1280x1024
Hard Drives
500 GB Sata internal :
SIIG USB 3.0 docking stations w/WD Caviar Black 6 Gb/s drives
I just posted this on another topic,
I burn my tv series and movies that were downloaded (.avi format) using software onto my dvd
I suggest you read this guide I found: How to burn AVI to DVD
I would try Movie DVD Maker from aonesoft, they give you a free trial that puts a watermark on the output but is otherwise unrestricted. (that at least gives you the "try before you buy" scenario).
+1 for ConvertXtoDVD. I have tried about every software out there for this and I always go back to ConvertXtoDVD. It is small, easy to use, but a powerful video conversion and burning software. If you have a burning engine there is a free open source converter called Handbrake that is very powerful, but not quite as easy to use. You can check it out here. HandBrake
