1. I have encoded my files, how do I copy them to a VCD/DVD/SVCD?
'AVI to VCD / DVD' is just the file encoder. You will still need a CD recording application which can create all the required structures required for a VCD/DVD/SVCD, as well as write the mpeg files to individual tracks on the VCD/DVD/SVCD. There are several such packages out there such as NTI CD Maker, the full (Deluxe or Platinum) version of EZ CD Creator, InstantVideo, Nero, etc. YOU CAN'T JUST RECORD THE MPEG TO A CD AND EXPECT IT TO PLAY IN A DVD PLAYER! If your CD recording application can create VCD/DVD/SVCD's, there will be an explicit setting for creating a VCD/DVD/SVCD. Check your manual. For example, with Easy CD Creator, you need to use the EZ VCD Creator application which comes with it. For InstantCD, you need to use the InstantVideo selection in the startup menu.

2. I made a VCD, but my DVD player cannot play it.
Not all DVD players can play VCDs. Some DVD players that can play commercially stamped "silver" VCD's cannot play VCD's on CD-R. You need to try both CD-R and CD-RW media. I have found that even different brands of CD-RW get different results.

3. I get a "FATAL ERROR: Could not retrieve video frame xxxx" error".
If the frame number is 0, then you either do not have a properly installed codec for the compression method this video uses, or the codec in question is not accessible from DirectShow or Video-for-Windows, and cannot be used with 'AVI to VCD / DVD' . You might also need to upgrade the version of DirectX installed on your system.
If the frame number is higher than 0: Most likely either your video is corrupted (the video frame in question is "damaged") or the codec has a bug. 'AVI to VCD / DVD' tries to skip over the corrupted frame to the next good frame (it will skip up to 15 bad frames for most codecs, or 60 frames for Divx, where this is much more common
a problem). This is most usually caused by downloading video from the net, and having the download fail. When you restart the download where it left off, often the video is corrupted at the point of resumption. If this is the case, you need to re-download the avi in one single, unbroken session.

4. Why is 'AVI to VCD / DVD' so slow?
Depending on your computer system, you may experience anywhere from 1 to 10 frames (more or less) encoded per second. Some systems will be slower, some faster. This means it might easily take from 3 to 30 hours to encode 1 hour of video to mpeg. Mpeg encoding is a computationally intensive, and slow, process. The characteristics of the video also have an effect. If your video is 720x480, for example, 'AVI to VCD / DVD' needs to resize each frame to 352x240 (or 352x288 for PAL), which adds to the time required. Some codecs are also slower than others.

5. When I encode a video the resulting mpeg is larger than the source?
The resulting mpeg will always be 176400 bytes x # of seconds in source video. This is a result of the VCD standard

6. When I encode an avi file that uses the Cinepak (or other) codec,the resulting mpeg is very "blocky".
The encoded mpeg can be no better than the original source file for video quality, in fact it is usually significantly worse. This applies to all codecs. To obtain maximum quality, you must use a high quality original video that is only slightly compressed, or not compressed at all. Simply encoding miscellaneous avi's you may have lying around will probably not work very well. The encoder is paricularily sensitive to noise, if the source avi has visible noise in the picture (as from VHS video tape), it will not encode well

7. When I encode a screen capture sequence, or a computer generated animation, the resulting mpeg is not very clear.
Mpeg was intended to compress real world video images, not artificial computer generated images.

8. Why in the conversion window and preview show the vedio upside down?
Please have the checkbox of "Flip vertical" checked.

9. When I play back the resulting mpeg, the video occasionally
freezes, or it plays like a slide show with a new still frame every few seconds while the audio continues. Try turning your screen saver off completely before starting the encode. Many users have reported this solves the problem for them, though I have never experienced it myself. Also make sure you have the latest version of DirectX and the codec your video uses. The DIVX codec exhibits this behavior on many PC's. This is a bug in the Divx codec. Divx is aware of the problem and expects a fix in the next release of the divx codec. (Current version of Divx codec as of this writing, 5.05).