I am interested in archiving my old home video and possibly getting a new digital camcorder. I know how to capture the video to the PC but can the new Cd-R write these to a CD that can be watched on lets say a new DVD player that plays video CD as well (ie Sony).

And what type of resolution can I plan on?

If it was written to the CD as a MPEG-2 format (instead of MPEG-1) will the DVD player recognize it and play it?

Thanks

Shane Grundy sgrundy@ufl.edu

-- Shane Grundy (sgrundy@ufl.edu), September 05, 1998

Answers

I have the same question. I create Architectural walkthroughs using 3D Studio. Currently i am outputing to video tape, i would like to output to VCD. I have a CD-R drive, the software that runs it says it can make a VCD. I have tried to make VCD's but they wont play on my DVD player. Does anyone have any idea what the problem could be? Does anyone have an alternate solution?? Thanks for your help.

-- John Colby (jcv@la-arch.com), September 13, 1998.

I haven't done this myself, but....

Once you've got the video captured on your PC, you should be able to use a tool like Adaptec's Easy CD Creator Deluxe ($99) to author the VCD and burn it to a CD-R.

*However*, not all DVD players can read CD-Rs. Some can, some can't. See the DVD FAQ for more details.

I don't think you can record a VCD using MPEG-2 format, only MPEG-1 -- it seems unlikely that DVD players are intelligent enough to figure out that you've got a VCD with MPEG-2 video on it. The resolution for NTSC is 352x240.

-- Russil Wvong (rwvong@geocities.com), September 13, 1998.

Let me try and answer you. I have a Data Translation - Broadway 2.5 It captures both MPEG-1 files and AVI files DVD only gets files from MPEG-2 which currently is quite expensive to do The creation of VCD is via MPEG-1 file Get the file ready in MPEG-1 VCD format With NTI CD-Maker which bundles together with Broadway 2.5 creates a good quality VCD. If anybody interested indepth email me. I'll be glad to corresponce with you

-- Abdul Jamil (pemajar@xchg.emy.ericsson.se), September 21, 1998.

Their is a Video Capture Device Called Dazzle and that makes excellant video cds it costs $179.99

-- Brent Nickel (Alundra17@aol.com), October 01, 1998.

What you need is initially an encoder to be fitted in your PC which converts your VHS to MPG file with desired frame rate. Be carefull unless your system is configured properly you may get frame losses. Then your CD recorder comes in to picture for burning the CD or cutting the VCD. We are consultants for the same in Bombay India. You acn get very good encoders at 400 to 500 US $.

-- Pramod dalmia (spurelec@bom3.vsnl.net.in), November 02, 1998.

I bought the Adaptec VIDEOH! software, which is bundled with the New Adaptec EZ CD Creator Deluxe Edition ($299.00). It creates Video CD's, which are playable on my Sony DVD-P500S Dvd/CD player. I have had no problems, and use the Memorex CD-R's, and have a Yamaha 400X CD Writer. However, the quality is far less than a VHS tape. It is clear, then blotchy or grainy in spots, then clear for another second or two. The color is great, but the overall picture quality is not that great. The sound is in sync with the picture, and I can even add titles, and edit the video with exact transition cuts. However, the picture quality is far less than I expected, and according to Adaptec, this is as good as it gets! I am curious about the other post out here that suggested another piece of software that produced good results at $179.00. Is the quality of the final product with that product better than that which I have explained?

-- Mel Mattson (Mel.M7@cwix.com), February 12, 1999.

To make a cd that can be read in DVD players first make sure the DVD player is stamped with Video CD on the front or in the manual. Next to save headaches and crashes get a hardware internal encoder. Snazzi is the best one. You can use a parallel port capture device but frame dropout occurs frequently(that's why it looks good). The IOmega Buz is not good for this. Again use a Snazzi to capture the video and sound from the player(btw Snazzi is the only solution I found that has all the connectorions on it). You then use the file that you got from Snazzi and feed into Easy CD Creator Deluxe/Pro. If you want to save your self some more space and headache, make sure the first disk is 60-65 minutes of the movie then use the other disk to capture the rest. Hope this helps.

-- T (btp_shomchuen@hotmail.com), February 12, 1999.

what ever you choose , dont buy snazzi & broadway encoder board. because brodway encode bad picture quality. and snazzi encode not compatible with stand alone vcd player. the sound will cut off every 3 sec.

-- submarine (sub_marine99@yahoo.com), May 22, 1999.

We have a Interactive Video CD for sale that is title VIDEO CD PRODUCTION. It covers all the fundamentals of Video CD creation. If you are interested, please e-mail us.

Also, it is NOT TRUE that Broadway produces bad encoding. Broadway's double-pass encoding is one of the best around. Broadway is an excellent encoder.

-- Digital Human Multimedia (wired@tm.net.my), June 28, 1999.

I tried making VCD on CD-R with Nero 5.5.6.4 but it can only play back on my cdrom drives but not my sony DVD player. However if I cut using a CD-RW media, all drives and DVD player can play back!! The Sony player is capable of playing VCD and CD as well....tested. Just can't figure out what's the problem with CD-R. Wonder what media is being used to make those VCD which can play back on the DVD player..hmmm

-- munsung (ymunsung@yahoo.com), January 01, 2002.

I have also tried it with Nero 5.5 but it will not play the VCD burnt thru Nero 5.5 in my RCA DVD Player which normally plays VCD's and CD's. Does any one know if quality of the CD's we use contribute to the failure to play in DVD Players? Would a higher quality CD burnt as VCD, play in our DVD Players? Anyone??

-- Amer Ahmed (Amerube@aol.com), March 16, 2004.