Hi! I recently started encoding and burning vcd's. And when I wanted to add some interactivity, I began looking for some free software to do it, but I didn't find any... So I thought that the vcd's menu, must be a program that manages the remote's input and sends output to the screen.

So my question is, What programing language is used to do it and what compiler creates the necessary files?

-- Jacek L. Kustra (kustra@teleweb.pt), January 19, 2001

Answers

It's not that easy. The "menuing" is part of the VCD authoring (burning) program. When a VC is burned, the files are "adjusted" adding pointers etc. This cannot (AFAIK) be done "before" or "after" the burn. When the burn is happening .. those menu points and many other things are incorporated. Not all VCD burning software "has" menu options. One that does is EZCD Video Creator (deluxe). It's a "simple" one-level menu. Another is I-Author .. (very expensive) and I believe that one has more advanced menu content ability.

-- Rich (rich@pcphotovideo.com), January 19, 2001.

Such is a complex program and anyone who does it will soon find out that demand is such that why make it freeware?? If you're using Win98SE the best route at minimal cost is CeQuadrat's WinOnCD Power Edition 3.8, which may or may not be available where you are. CeQuadrat is now also owned by Adaptec, which has its own klutzy and kitschy Easy CD Creator Deluxe 4. At one point it will decide that only one remains and so if WinOnCD dies it doesn't bode well for you and me, so get it now.

-- Mehmet Tekdemir (turk690@yahoo.com), January 20, 2001.

Thanks for the answers, it helped me clarify a bit how all this works specially the mention to the pointers.. So this means that a VCD, is nothing more than a byte stream, and the inicial "program" is suposed to indicate the memory adress to where to go. But I have been looking around some VCD's structure and found that they contain *.vcd files, which I found out to be the ones wich are suposed to "tell" the interpreter what to do... So, in what language are these files written? From what it seems, it must be some that can handle memory preety well, like C, right?

-- Jacek L. Kustra (kustra@teleweb.pt), January 22, 2001.

From what I understand, it can be written in a variety of languages low-/hi-level (C is just one of them); either way, the files created adhere to White Book standards that Philips, for one created. The files in the VCD directory are unique in that they will have to be read by ANY VCD player, which may or may not have firmware written in, operating in C or any particular language. The idea here is to follow the White Book VCD structure and write your own app (if you can and want) that will follow and implement this structure using your language of choice. Okay that's a broad way of putting it but there U are :D

-- Mehmet Tekdemir (turk690@yahoo.com), January 23, 2001.