I installed it last night and kinda played with it a bit, then my daughter got sick so I couldn't really get into it. From what I have seen so far it is exactly what I needed when I was looking for a DVD maker alternative. Just watch your install or it'll try to install some toolbars and other crap, so don't just go all willy nilly hitting next
I use Media Player Classic (MPC Classic) as a DVD player. Someone will provide an answer for you. Do you want to create a DVD menu and chapters? Or just burn an AVI to a disk? You want to create a DVD from an AVI? I do not know of any free open source DVD creators that are compatible with 8. I am sure they exist. There are several that are not free. Do you have imaging software, like Acronis? All I can suggest is, before doing many trial installations of DVD makers from your online searches, make an image of your system to restore after you find one that works, otherwise your system may get littered with stuff.