Dvd - Vcd

[Robski]

In Thailand there are more movies available at a significantly lower price on VCD than DVD,

I assume that the Thai market favors VCD, so what are the differences?

DVD's always have audio options for English or Thai as well as many subtitle options,

is it the same for VCD?

Can I play VCD on a DVD player? Are there dual players available?

Thanks in advance.

Edited February 17, 2007 by Robski

[Totster]

Most DVD players will also play VCD's (Especially if bought in Thailand)

You may find some DVD players in places where VCD's were not commonly used (UK for example) that may not have the ability, check when you buy..

Regarding audio... some VCD's will have two soundtracks, you can set your sound options on the player to play either "left speaker" or "right speaker"

totster

[meadish_sweetball]

In Thailand there are more movies available at a significantly lower price on VCD than DVD,

I assume that the Thai market favors VCD, so what are the differences?

DVD's always have audio options for English or Thai as well as many subtitle options,

is it the same for VCD?

Can I play VCD on a DVD player? Are there dual players available?

Thanks in advance.

There are major picture quality differences between DVD and VCD. Retail DVDs have far more options, but the movie contents on pirated or cheap DVDs sometimes are lower quality movie formats which have been converted to play on DVD players.

As far as I know there are no subtitle options for VCD, the subs will be hard coded into the video. The SVCD format is generally better quality though.

Here's a comparison lowdown, might require some googling of the key concepts though: DVD vs. VCD from Informit.com

Wikipedia on VCD: VCD

Wikipedia on DVD: DVD

[cdnvic]

VCD is alalog, DVD is digital.

A VCD is basicly VHS quality burned onto a disk.

Many "bargain" DVDs are just VCDs burnt onto DVD.

Edited February 17, 2007 by cdnvic

[konangrit]

VCD is alalog, DVD is digital.

A VCD is basicly VHS quality burned onto a disk.

Many "bargain" DVDs are just VCDs burnt onto DVD.

VCD is digital too, it's just that a single layer DVD has about 7 times more capacity than a CD, so quality will be a lot worse, even when spread across 2 CDs.

[cdnvic]

Ah, you're right. The old CD-V was mostly analog.

All the techy stuff is explained pretty well here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VCD

[monty]

Simple difference: compression ratio & resolution!

On vcd they'll have to put the movie on 1.5 GB (2 times 750 MB) so they need to compress the digital videofile pretty hefty...

One dual layer DVD has close to 9 GB of space available so only little compression is needed.

Plus lots of spare space to put in a short "making of" video, extra subtitles, extra soundtracks etc...

Also big difference is the resolution. To keep the file size small enough to fit the movie on vcd, they will bring down the resolution to 352 X 240 pixels whereas a DVD is at 720 X 576 pixels (for PAL, slightly different numbers on NTSC).

The lower resolution doesn't really show on a TV set, but on a computer monitor you'll really see the extra detail in the images when playing a DVD...

[MarkBKK]

Ah, you're right. The old CD-V was mostly analog.

All the techy stuff is explained pretty well here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VCD

Oh how I love the Wiki!

Please, please, please tell me which bits (geddit?) were analogue?

[monty]

Not VCD, but on a videodisc or LaserDisc(originally called a discovision, developed in 1969!) the pits and lands are created using frequency modulation of an analog signal!

And despite their large physical size, the space-consuming analog video signal of a LaserDisc limited playback duration to 30 or 60 minutes per side. After one side was finished playing, a disc would have to be flipped over in order to continue watching the film, and many films required two discs or more.

So yep, completely analog!!!

[cdnvic]

I can remember a neighbour bragging about his $700 Videodisc player and the three $80 or so movies he owned. I don't think he ever got a fourth.

[Robski]

Great info from you all, thanks a lot, I think I'll stick with DVD then, but I'd consider a dual player as many old films can be bought in Big C etc for around 20baht so as long as they've got English audio it's a bargain for building up the film collection.

[Sophon]

Great info from you all, thanks a lot, I think I'll stick with DVD then, but I'd consider a dual player as many old films can be bought in Big C etc for around 20baht so as long as they've got English audio it's a bargain for building up the film collection.

Just be careful to pick the right ones, as most VCD's bought in places like Big C only have Thai soundtrack.

Sophon

[lotus eater]

My apple ibook won't play vcd. Is this typical for the average laptop or just an apple?

[reasonstobecheerful]

My apple ibook won't play vcd. Is this typical for the average laptop or just an apple?

Try VLC

Edited February 18, 2007 by reasonstobecheerful

[monty]

Yep lotus eater, only need the right software!

VLC is freeware and has macOS versions!

I don't know the software used in a mac for playing video, but if you can force the software to open the .dat file on the vcd then it should play OK.

If you really want to see that one single vcd you own, you can also copy the .dat file to your harddrive and then change the .dat extension to the .mpg extension. Any videoplayer will immediately be able to play the file then...

The .dat file is a standard mpeg file with the extension changed... Works for windows mediaplayer as well...

[lomatopo]

Can anyone explain the format (file structure) on a VCD and what the different files are used for?

CDI, EXT, MPEGAV, SEGMENT, VCD?

MPEGAV contains the audio/video, in MPEG1 format, file (AVSEQ01.DAT).

[meadish_sweetball]

A table on this website has some information.