I know everyone is interested in this format, but I have come to the conclusion that this format will most likely never live up to one's expectations. First of all, if you make VCD, the quality will never be what you want, but if you make SVCD, the quality is better, but you can't store much data, so its kind of pointless. I know this is meant for some to be a holdover until DVD but is it really worth the effort? And just think of the time you are spending, cutting, clipping, pasting, encoding, capturing, etc etc.

There are only 2 formats that have potential in VCD and that is the Photo CD which is compatible with standalone DVD/VCD players and PCs and the recent new function in WOCD 3.8 called Mpeg Audio Album, not all players have been able to handle this, but some can.

I'd be interested in any thoughts from the pros out there.

Tygrus

-- Tygrus (tygrus2000@hotmail.com), November 28, 2000

Answers

SVCD is about 2 times size of VCD and DVD is about 4 times that of VCD. With the same PC computing power, making a DVD would then be 4 times more tedious and painfull than making a VCD. Add the prohibitive cost of DVD hardware of more than 20 times that of a VCD ... hence, making your own DVDvideo is going be be a long time coming or perhaps never ... because by then another system may supercede VCD, but not by DVD.

VCDs are already accepted and consumed by the millions in Asia and still growing. As more people own DVD players that play SVCD as well, more SVCD titles are now appearing in the shops. SVCDs are quite acceptable if quality of pictures is important.

I see VCDs as suitable for ‘run of the mill’ movies and soap operas, and SVCDs for Karaoke and home make CAM videos. Making your own VCD, SVCD, audio CD and MP3 will be with us as long as CD-R and CD-RW prices continue to be affordable.

-- t_o_ (t_o_@hotmail.com), November 29, 2000.

Yes VCD will live!
I have archived all my Farscape Episodes on VCD.
I also have made some VCD's that they will never have on DVD.
It takes bucks to have a dvd made. Some VHS tapes will never be DVD!
I also can watch my VCD on my laptops cd player using half the juice a dvd would use and I don't have to (or want) to upgrade it.
I can make a VCD movie for less than a dollar, including the jewl case!
VCD is here to stay!
Quality:
Garbage in garbage out!
All my vcd's are TOTALLY comparable to the source they were taken from. It takes a good vcr (if you are doing vhs) a good capture card, a good encoder (and how to use it) and time for the encoder to do it's job. I batch file the files and come back in a day when they are done. (Perhaps it is less frustating for me as I have a networked machine just for encoding) and am able to use another for other projects.
SVCD
I have used SVCD for home movies only. Who wants to watch over a half hour of your home movies anyway? =o)

-- Billy boy boy boy (kilingspam@aol.com), November 29, 2000.

I have to agree with Tygrus. You caanot get the same quality on VCD as you have on VHS. Not if you are going from a VCR using composite cables. It's comparable to copying from one VCR to another. Then with the limits on bits that a compliant Video CD file has any video with a lot of motion or scene changes require more than the VCD format requires. I can make some very nice looking VCD's but they aren't to the standards of the original tape and I have tried eveything. I'll still make then but the enthusiasm isn't there anymore. I'm not sure I would want to charge someone money to convert their tapes to video cd. I did upgrade my Broadway card to mpg2 though so as soon as DVD recorders are affordable I might get more enthusiastic.

-- Al (amccraw@hotmail.com), November 29, 2000.

im stuck in the middle of both opinions. yes i have a ton of things that will never get released on dvd, yet at the same time if i had a dvd recorder all my problems will be solved. the big catch though is "if" as if the pricedoesnt drop i cannot get one, nor can some of these tapes i have wait another 1-2 years (some of them are already 18 years old--and Beta took the downfall to vhs... ha ). Until i get get my hands on a dvd r system (and not a dvd ram which i could techinally afford now)vcd/svcd will be the way and i have made quite a few vcds that do look like their vhs counter parts. svcd/xvcd also usually without say falls into this category as well

-- Doug (mazinz@aol.com), November 29, 2000.

re -phrasing my psycho babble-- Yes i think the time spent on these is worht it consdiering how much it has taught me and how very easily it can be applied to dvds (i have made mini dvds). At the same time i cannot cross my fingers and hope i can afford a dvd-r system. With this in mind, i would rather have vcds then nothing at all.

-- Doug (mazinz@aol.com), November 29, 2000.

Pioneer is comming out with a new model DVD-R next year (Q1). They claim it will be priced considerably less than the $4200 one they currently sell. They expect blanks to be about $10.

-- leebo (leebosay@deathsdoor.com), November 30, 2000.

Doug I agree!

Horses for courses and I agree in principal with Billy about SVCD.

It is a good format for homemovies at a higher quality and 30 minutes is probably a limit for people to look at in one sitting. Depends a lot on the level and "quality of editing," for example, people complain about not having the FF keys, gezzzzzz who would want to use them in a properly edited production, got to be something wrong with the material if thats the case?

The amazing thing to me is that people look at professional broadcast productions but cannot relate what they see and go close to putting it into their home movies, if they did there would be no use for the FF key.

As you know I basically do not get involved in anything but the home movie type of situation but I can understand, I sure have enjoyed the epics from you and from Long on VCD. Epics requiring better quality, but as you say, better a VCD than none at all.

Again horses for courses and people should not look for things the system process cannot produce accept what it gives.

Take a look at this graphic comparison of a DVD encode v's a SVCD encode from the same source and remember that a VCD would be down near the 1000 line and people wonder why DVD is great and a VCD not!

http://www.geocities.com/aussie01au/DVD.html

-- Ross McL (rmclennan@esc.net.au), November 30, 2000.

oooopppps!

http://www.geocities.com/aussie01au/DVD.jpg

-- Ross McL (rmclennan@esc.net.au), November 30, 2000.