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Given that the input is VHS and I want to convert to digital, does it matter in terms of output quality if I convert either to VCD or DVD?

friedbeef — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 04:13:18 -0800

I want to convert VHS to a digital format. Given that the input is VHS, does it matter in terms of output quality if I convert either to VCD or DVD? In my area, converting to DVD is 25% more expensive than converting to VCD. I'm wondering if it is worth the premium.

What software should I use to write a VCD?

gregb1007 — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 16:30:22 -0800

What software should I use to write a VCD? I would like to put my video files in VCD format on CD using my CD-RW drive so that I can watch them on my DVD player (I have no DVD writer.) The problem is that I can't figure out what software I should use. Please recommend a software package that writes MPEG files to VCD. Hopefully it is a low-cost program or even a freeware one. (P.S: I did try Aurora Video Converter but the program froze in the middle of writing the CDRW, so I won't use it again.)

Why is copying a DVD so hard? No, seriously.

AmbroseChapel — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 15:17:10 -0800

Why is copying a DVD so hard? No, seriously. Just to get this out of the way, I don't need help ripping DVDs. I was just puzzling over two things -- how is it that a DVD is just a long string of bytes on a disk, just like anything else, but it's so hard to get them off? I know quite a bit about computers, but next to nothing about files and I/O and the bits of computing this relates to.

Specifically:

How do the film companies introduce stuff into a DVD which causes a $3,000 computer to choke, but my $50 DVD player happily plays it without question? Same with a disk that's a little scratched or worn.
What's the difference between the laser in the DVD player and the laser in my DVD drive?

Why doesn't the computer just read whatever bytes are on the disk, or at least, why isn't there a preference for it to do so? For instance, I was just trying to copy a VCD with Toast. It's a little scratched, let's say at about 20 minutes in, the video goes all artefacty and the audio is stuffed for a few seconds. But I don't care. I'll live with it. Toast, however, won't let me. It says there's an error and it can't continue. I'd live with the error if it let me just click "burn anyway".

I guess my fundamental question is, why can't my computer just provide me with an exact copy of every byte on a disk? That seems, to me, simpler than what it's actually doing. Then I would burn it back, and leaving single/dual layer issues aside, I'd have a copy of the DVD.

How do I burn a 1-Disc VCD from a DivX with Subtitles on MacOSX?

Rev. Syung Myung Me — Mon, 19 Sep 2005 00:26:52 -0800

Help with burning a VCD from a DivX/AVI file -- with added fun of both Subtitles and Mac OSX! So, I downloaded a rare, unavailable film (basically if I could get it legit, I would, but...), and because it's in Japanese, it's subtitled. The guy who ripped it though, was fancy, and put the subtitles into a .srt file. I've been trying to burn a VCD of this, but haven't had much luck. I've tried ffmpegX, after reading a few testimonials online that have basically said "This program is the greatest thing since sliced bread!", but I couldn't get it to VCD format, nor would the subtitles actually go on.

I've watched it in Mplayer, and the subtitles work, so I know the subtitles are actually there and will show up, but nothing seems to be going on. I've also tried converting to XviD and DivX -- I'll convert it to the file format, and the picture will look a-OK, but, sadly, no burned in subtitles. So, basically, I'm having no luck.

What I want is just a one-disc VCD of this movie that I can play in a DVD player. My stats are that I've got OSX (Tiger), and my burning program of choice is typically Toast (though I'm not necessarily married to it if there's a good freeware one that I tend to need to do this.) The file information:
DivX/AVI: DivX 4.1.2, 640 x 448, Millions
MPEG Layer 3, Stereo, 48.000 kHz
683.23 MB
874.54 kbits/sec
Duration: 01:44:23.56
640 x 448 pixels

And the subtitle file is an SRT format, 40KB.

Thanks a lot -- I would love having this as a VCD (instead of a DVD, really), and I spent an hour or two on Google and didn't have much luck until I found the praises for ffmpegX, and then spent the entire day getting stuff that wouldn't work (finally finding the online tutorial thingy and following that... only to have it a) Split the Video across two discs and b) Choke on the subtitles), so I'm thinking that ffmpegX isn't going to be in the equation. Unless there's something else I need to have done to make this go.

(Thanks -- I'm pretty good at video stuff, but I am pretty idiot-dumb when it comes to the ways and the rules of VCDs.)

AVI to VCD

nonemoreblack — Thu, 28 Apr 2005 16:40:25 -0800

I've got a 689MB AVI on a machine with a CD burner, and I'd like to create a VCD that I can watch on my home DVD player. Google pulls a number of options, but if anyone's had direct experience with such a thing, I'd appreciate your advice.

Which movie(s) have been available on all sorts of format?

icontemplate — Wed, 13 Apr 2005 05:34:47 -0800

Which movies(s) have been available on most, if not all, the different movie formats? I was just wondering, has there been any movies released that have been available on all the consumer-level home video formats, like Beta, VHS, VCD, Laserdisc, DVD - heck even 16mm? I guess it would have to be a classic film of sorts.

And, in a semi-related question, which movies have been released in all sorts of different editions in those format - like a Fullscreen version, a Widescreen version, a 25th anniversary version, a collector's version with souvenir book, an "unrated" director's cut, etc.

WIll Customs seize my robot pals?

ruddhist — Fri, 04 Feb 2005 18:08:14 -0800

PirateFilter: Question about bringing VCDs into the good ol' U.S. of A. Yarrr. {MI} I'm an American studying in Germany. My latest Internet nerd hobby is collecting MST3k episodes with BitTorrent. I consider it a labor of love - helping to keep a great show alive. I've burned about fifty episodes onto CD so far - and I'm now thinking about problems I might have getting back into the States with them.

I know Best Brains only takes issue with people downloading episodes that are available for sale (and rightly so), so I try to avoid those. What I have, then, are fifty CDs of gray-area intellectual property, material that isn't exactly legal, but that isn't being actively pursued by its owner. That is to say: BBI would have to defend its property in court, but they aren't threatening to sue trackers like the MPAA has.

My question is this: if I try to waltz through U.S. Customs carrying this stuff, am I going to be hassled, arrested, deported, or whatever? Will it be a better (or worse) idea to send them in the mail? And, if so, labeled as what?

Please - help me save my hobby!

Anyone know who makes good blank CDRs nowadays?

skallas — Mon, 19 Jul 2004 04:01:26 -0800

VCD headaches. I used to be able to burn VCDs (or super VCDs) that would play on multiple DVD players until recently. Its not the drive as I've tried two different ones. I'm suspecting the media. Anyone know who makes good blank CDRs nowadays? Or if there's a brand that is DVD player friendly? I've tried burning at lower speeds too. Same results. I'm really thinking its the media, but I'm out of the loop on who makes quality blanks nowadays.

Playing MPG1 on DVD player from DVD-R?

scarabic — Fri, 09 Jul 2004 17:29:09 -0800

MPG1 + CD-R = VCD

MPG1 + DVD-R = ???

Preferably, something I can play on my console DVD player.

Freeware/shareware VCD player for Mac?

turbanhead — Sat, 03 Apr 2004 17:19:50 -0800

VCD Player for Mac - Is there a freeware or shareware program that y'all recommend for playing VCDs on a mac running OS X? As a Windows user, I was shocked to find that my VCD wasn't even recognized by any of the applications on the mac.