Once you have finished editing your movie, it is time to output it to an .avi file. For this demonstration I will be outputting using the DIVX codec, which is one of the most popular right now, but feel free to use any codec/format you feel appropriate. The steps are basically the same no matter what format and or codec you choose.

Begin by clicking on the timeline to select it, and press CRTL+M to bring up the Export Movie window. Select a location to save your movie and give it a title. Press the settings button to check your output settings.

The General Settings should be as shown below. Under file Type make sure Microsoft AVI is selected to output using DIVX. For the Range select entire project. Make sure Export Audio and Video are both checked. Click on the next button to go to the Video Settings window.

The Video Setting should be as show below. Select DivX from the list of Compressors. The frame size I have chosen matches the size of the screenshots I used, in this case 640 X 480. The Frame Rate should match the project settings which is also the frame rate you used to export your demo. Keep the check box in the 4:3 Aspect box. This will ensure that you can't accidentally alter the aspect ratio of the movie if you decide to reduce the size of the outputted move from anything other than 640 X480. The Pixel Aspect Ratio should be set to Square Pixels. Click the Configure button to check the setting for the DivX codec.

These settings will take some experimentation on your part. The settings shown below will render a high quality movie but the file size will be a bit large. You might have to try a few test renders to see what works best for you in terms of file size and quality. Basically the least amount of compression (higher bit rates) will yield the best looking image and the largest file sizes. As you compress more (or lower the bit rate) the image quality will begin to degrade and your file sizes will become smaller. Click OK to go back to the Video Settings window and then click next to go to the Audio Settings.

For best audio quality match the setting to those shown below. This will give you CD quality sound. Click the next button to go to the Keyframe and Rendering window.

Leave everything unchecked and under Fields select No Fields.

If you plan on making a lot of movies you should save your setting by clicking on the Save button. This way you can Load these settings next time you go to output your next movie without having to recreate them from scratch. Click OK to return to the Export Movie window and click Save to beging to outputting your movie. Thats it! Your done! Enjoy your hard work!