I downloaded a television program from the inernet and it is in mp4 format, when I burnt it to a dvd to watch in a normal dvd player the player couldn't play it, do I have to convert it to some other format and if I do how?

Well, there are many formats that can be used to burn to DVD. Also, I don't think ALL DVD players can play home-made DVDs. Check the manual specifications on your DVD player. It should list on there what DVDs it will play.

There are DVD+, DVD- and DVD+- compatible players. Some plyers will play DVD+/DVD- but not DVDRW (rewritable DVDs).

A lot you have to verify.

My dvd player plays DVD video,Video CD, AudioCD,SVCD,CD-R, CD-RW as long as the format is MP# or CD-DA or JPEG I don't know if that helps but it is what's written in the manual

My dvd player plays DVD video,Video CD, AudioCD,SVCD,CD-R, CD-RW as long as the format is MP3 or CD-DA or JPEG I don't know if that helps but it is what's written in the manual

It does not appear your DVD player plays DVDR+ or DVDR- or DVD+- discs. Sorry. What's your make and model of DVD player?

The cheapest ones nowadays can play these, but you DO have to select properly when purchasing. You should be able to get a player at WalMart for less than $40.

Most DVD players will indeed play burnt DVDs without specifying in in their specs though some will prefer -R or +R. What you need is a conversion program to convert the mp4 file to a DVD file. I use: AVI to DVD Video Converter Software VSO ConvertXtoDVD

Normally a DVD player in any case should play avi so I would try mp4 to avi converter to change the format. However it may take a long time as converting video files can be really a troublesome matter especially if the video is long. I would leave the conversion process for night though.

Dvd's you buy from the store are in mpeg format. Unless the dvd player you buy specifies divx as well, avi files will not play. You can buy a new player that plays more formats, or you can convert the mp4 to mpeg but remember every conversion drops your quality. I used to use TMPGEnc to convert until I bought a WDTV Live that plays stuff straight to the TV from any usb drive, no need for discs at all.