Lidl Webcam better than LPI?

I think you can convert them to AVI files by typing .avi at the end of the file name.

Absolutely not!. All this does is rename the file. MPEG and AVI are two totally different file structures. You can get conversion software to convert MPEG to AVI but don't bother if it's for astrophotography - the quality of an mpeg is not up to the task.

Thanks for that John.
Downloaded K3CCD Tools. Works great.
Registax is a steep learning curve but I'm getting there!

Did you ever get an IR filter for the Philips SPC900NC?

I did get a Celestron IR and UV blocking filter. I had a friend on a trip to the US pick one up for me. Typically this cost $60. I will use this primarily for plantary imaging, as it should sharpen up images by blocking IR radiation which will saturate the CCD chip. It's of no benefit to purely visual observing.

Registax is a steep learning curve but I'm getting there!

Registax will do most of it for you automatically. Try to get as many frames as possible 600+. And when its finished aligning and stacking use the Wavelet Processing tool to sharpen up the end result. It really is amazing to watch what looks like a mediocre picture of the moon become crisp clear and full of detail after messing about with the wavelet processing. My advice is to start with something relatively easy like the moon you'll be amazed at what you can produce.

I think you can convert them to AVI files by typing .avi at the end of the file name.

Absolutely not!. All this does is rename the file. MPEG and AVI are two totally different file structures. You can get conversion software to convert MPEG to AVI but don't bother if it's for astrophotography - the quality of an mpeg is not up to the task.

I've used astrosnap and k3ccdtools and VRecord, and amazingly I get my best images using VRecord, infact all my planetary images over the last 18 months or so are done with VRecord. As for the format, its selected below where you write in the capture file name, my only option is in AVI, I have no choice to select anything else there, no mpeg option.

IMHO, you need to capture ATLEAST 1500 frames to get a repectable image and always process your captured avi in registax, even if you think the avi is complete rubbish, you'd be amazed what registax can do.