If your dvd player is an cheap asda type one, then chances are it will be svcd compatable.....

If you make sure you download films that are MPEG2/SVCD format, and then just burn the raw data on to a dvd, your player will play them as normal.......no chapters, menu's etc though.

www.videohelp.com

Check that site out, put in the make and modle of your player, and it will tell you what you can/cant play. It also contains guides on how to convert avi files in to compatable files.