Compact Disc Digital Video (VCD)

A standard pressed compact disc
Media type:	optical disc
Encoding:	MPEG-1 video + audio
Capacity:	up to 800 MiB
Read mechanism:	780 nm wavelength semiconductor laser
Developed by:	Sony & Philips
Usage:	audio and data storage

VCD redirects here. For other uses, see VCD (disambiguation)

This article is about the all-digital 'Video CD' format. For the earlier (and less successful) analog/digital hybrid, see CD Video.

Video CD (aka VCD, View CD, Compact Disc digital video) is a standard digital format for storing video on a Compact Disc. VCDs are playable in dedicated VCD players, most modern DVD-Video players, and some video game consoles. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... “Optical media” redirects here. ... Graphical representations of electrical data: analog audio content format (red), 4-bit digital pulse code modulated content format (black). ... Defined by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) in December 1998, a mebibyte (MiB) is a unit of information or computer storage. ... Sony Corporation ) is a Japanese multinational corporation and one of the worlds largest media conglomerates with revenue of $66. ... Philips HQ in Amsterdam Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Royal Philips Electronics N.V.), usually known as Philips, (Euronext: PHIA, NYSE: PHG) is one of the largest electronics companies in the world, founded and headquartered in the Netherlands. ... VCD is a three-letter abbreviation with multiple meanings, as described below: Video CD Voice command device Value change dump (IEEE 1364 Verilog) Vocal Cord Dysfunction Visual Communication and Design VCD Peddler Category: ... CD Video (also known as CDV, CD-V, or CD+V) was a format introduced in the mid-1980s that combined the technologies of compact disc and laserdisc. ... For other uses, see Digital (disambiguation). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... “CD” redirects here. ... DVD-Video format logo DVD-Video is a consumer video format used to store digital video on DVD (DVD-ROM) discs, and is currently the dominant form of consumer video formats in the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia. ...

The VCD standard was created in 1993 by Sony, Philips, Matsushita, and JVC and is referred to as the White Book standard. Sony Corporation ) is a Japanese multinational corporation and one of the worlds largest media conglomerates with revenue of $66. ... Philips HQ in Amsterdam Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Royal Philips Electronics N.V.), usually known as Philips, (Euronext: PHIA, NYSE: PHG) is one of the largest electronics companies in the world, founded and headquartered in the Netherlands. ... Logo for the Panasonic brand Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. ... Victor Company of Japan, Limited ) (TYO: 6792 ), usually referred to as JVC, is an international consumer and professional electronics corporation based in Yokohama, Japan which was founded in 1927. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Rainbow Books. ...

Technical specifications

Video

• Codec: MPEG-1
• Resolution:
  • NTSC: 352x240
  • PAL/SECAM: 352x288
• Aspect Ratio:
  • NTSC: 107:80 (0.3% difference from 4:3)
  • PAL/SECAM: 4:3
• Framerate:
  • NTSC: 29.97 or 23.976 frames per second
  • PAL/SECAM: 25 frames per second
• Bitrate: 1,150 kilobits per second
  • Rate Control: constant bitrate

Overall picture quality is intended to be comparable to VHS video, though VHS has twice as many scanlines (approximately 480 NTSC and 580 PAL) and therefore double the vertical resolution. Poorly compressed video in VCD tends to be of lower quality than VHS video, but VCD exhibits block artifacts rather than analog noise. MPEG-1 defines a group of Audio and Video (AV) coding and compression standards agreed upon by MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group). ... NTSC is the analog television system in use in the United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Mexico, and some other countries, mostly in the Americas (see map). ... For other uses, see PAL (disambiguation). ... SECAM, also written SÉCAM (Séquentiel couleur à mémoire, French for Sequential Color with Memory), is an analog color television system first used in France. ... The aspect ratio of a two-dimensional shape is the ratio of its longer dimension to its shorter dimension. ... NTSC is the analog television system in use in the United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Mexico, and some other countries, mostly in the Americas (see map). ... For other uses, see PAL (disambiguation). ... SECAM, also written SÉCAM (Séquentiel couleur à mémoire, French for Sequential Color with Memory), is an analog color television system first used in France. ... NTSC is the analog television system in use in the United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Mexico, and some other countries, mostly in the Americas (see map). ... For other uses, see PAL (disambiguation). ... SECAM, also written SÉCAM (Séquentiel couleur à mémoire, French for Sequential Color with Memory), is an analog color television system first used in France. ... A kilobit is a unit of information, abbreviated kbit, sometimes also kb. ... Constant bit rate (CBR) is a term used in telecommunications, relating to the quality of service. ... Bottom view of VHS cassette with magnetic tape exposed Top view of VHS cassette with front casing removed The Video Home System, better known by its abbreviation VHS, is a recording and playing standard. ...

352 horizontal pixels was chosen because it approximates the resolution of an analog VHS tape, assuming a 3 MHz bandwidth. In addition 352 equates to a DVD resolution of 704 divided by 2, making it easy to convert from one standard to another with ease.

VCD video is mostly compatible with the DVD-Video standard, except for any video encoded at 23.976 frames per second. DVD-Video requires all MPEG-1 video to be encoded at either 25 or 29.97 frames per second. DVD-Video format logo DVD-Video is a consumer video format used to store digital video on DVD (DVD-ROM) discs, and is currently the dominant form of consumer video formats in the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia. ...

Audio

• Codec: MPEG-1 Audio Layer II
• Frequency: 44,100 hertz (44.1 kHz)
• Output: Dual channel or stereo
• Bitrate: 224 kilobits per second
  • Rate Control: Constant bitrate

As with most CD-based video formats, VCD audio is incompatible with the DVD-Video standard due to the difference in frequency; DVDs require 48 kHz, whereas VCDs use 44.1 kHz. MPEG-1 Audio Layer II (MP2, sometimes Musicam) is an audio codec defined by ISO/IEC 11172-3. ... This article is about the SI unit of frequency. ... This article is about the spacecraft and the mission. ... A kilobit is a unit of information, abbreviated kbit, sometimes also kb. ... Constant bit rate (CBR) is a term used in telecommunications, relating to the quality of service. ... DVD-Video format logo DVD-Video is a consumer video format used to store digital video on DVD (DVD-ROM) discs, and is currently the dominant form of consumer video formats in the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia. ...

Other information

Video CDs are authored (or "burned") using the Mode 2/XA format, allowing roughly 800 megabytes of VCD data to be stored on one 80 minute CD (versus 700 megabytes when using Mode 1). This, combined with the net bitrate of VCD video and audio, means that almost exactly 80 minutes of VCD content can be stored on an 80 minute CD, 74 minutes of VCD content to a 74 minute CD, and so on. This was done in part to ensure compatibility with existing CD drive technology, specifically the earliest "1x speed" CD drives.

Similar formats

The DVCD or Double VCD is designed to squeeze the most out of a CD. A non-standard CD is overburned to include up to 100 minutes of video. This format is seen only in China (although such titles can be found outside China, they're extremely rare), and the DVCDs are playable on many DVD or VCD players. However, some CD-ROM drives and players have problems reading these CDs, mostly because the groove spacing is outside specifications and the laser servo is unable to track it.

The XVCD (eXtended video CD) does not act around standard-conforming video CD (VCD) for storage of video data on a normal CD-ROM or CD-R (W), and thus offers a longer playing time.

A normal VCD is coded in the MPEG-1 format with a constant bit rate (CBR); i.e. all scenes are encoded with a standard 1150 kbit/s videostream independent of the content, whether it is a fast, movement-rich scene or a mostly-static, fixed-image scene.

The eXtended VCD is coded with a variable bit rate (VBR); i.e. the bit rate for fast scenes can be raised to approximately 2000 kbit/s, however, with very calm scenes it may drop to 300 kbit/s. In addition, one works with a changed Quantize matrix and around further storage location will win the bit rate of the MP2-Tons reduced, as well as if necessary additionally extended the GOP (Group OF Pictures).

By implementing these changes a feature of approximately 2 hours of length can be accommodated on only one CD.

Besides VCD there are further variants for resolutions from 352 × 288 to 720 × 576 pixels and for the television standards PAL and NTSC, which are found under the column “eXtended”. Colloquially, XVCD for MPEG1, VCD resolution and a 1-CD datasize for a video file became generally accepted.

By close compliance (here “variable bit rate”) to the SVCD standard most DVD players can play XVCDs in the VCD resolution (352x288 PAL and/or 352x240 NTSC). Historically this extension of the format comes from the Asia, in order to store and show complete feature films on the simplest videoplayer using CDs, without incurring DVD licensing fees.

XVCD variants (XVCD, MVCD, KVCD, AVCD et alii) essentially differ by resolution, bit rate, GOP and the assigned Quantize matrix. Here attention should be paid if necessary to possible compatibility problems, e.g. within the range of permitted resolutions and/or extreme GOP values. MVCD/KVCD, e.g. CD formats (VCD), are priority. The DVD video specification is considerably stricter and leads to potential playing errors. This is very dependent upon DVD player model. MVCD (for Mole Video Compact Disc) is a XVCD format for storing up to 120 minutes of VHS-quality video, or up to 70 minutes of VHS-HQ-video, on a 700 MB CD-R or CD-RW, and a non-standard competitor to the SVCD format. ... KVCD stands for K Video Compression Dynamics which is a non-standard modification of the MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 video standards for encoding digital video. ...

The background of the development began with the first availability of cheap DVD players in the East, which were not only limited to the rendition of not pressed DVD and video CD, but for the first time could show video CDs, MP3-Data and pictures also burned to CD. One of the first surface-covering Multiformat Players appeared in the trade was (predominantly from existing PC components) the Yamakawa AVPhile 713/715^{[citation needed]}. The equipment did not take it not so exactly with playing conformal CDs, while DVD Player burned blanks rejected other standard immediately.

The largest hurdle^{[citation needed]} was however the refusal of the usual burning programs of the day to be able to burn non-conforming MPEG1 video CD Streams. These were rejected directly with a lapidary error message. A lengthy search of all the burning programs available on the market succeeded by exchanging a certain older DLL of the CD burning program NTI CDMaker^{[citation needed]}, overcoming this barrier so that everyone could burn non conformal video CD formats.

The solution method for the production of a XVCD was made accessible after long test runs in the spring 2000 in the DVDBoard.de of the public for the first time and assigned to the again gekürten video CD standard the designation XVCD (eXtended video CD). From there from distributed itself the production a XVCD with better image quality and higher data rate soon around the whole world. Manufacturers in the following published devices recruited generously with the support standard XVCD, technical periodicals wrote guidances for production such film home CDs and also update of usual burning programs finally permitted non-conformal video files.

Since the use of the MPEG1-Formats with high data rates found however many standard Player overtaxed and the format SVCD on MPEG2 basis, as well as the rendition of DivX AVI files slowly to spreading, providing/burning these drilled out video files took care of itself with the time and today is not no more used. Likewise the availability displaced the use/use of selbsterstellter video CDs of DVD burners for home users.

(x)VCD

There are many non-standard variants of the standard Video CD, called (x)VCD. DVD players can have trouble playing these.

Popular (x)VCDs are KVCD, CVCD (a Spanish xVCD), S(x)VCD (a VCD but with vbr mpeg 2) and miniDVD. There is also SKVCD (or KSVCD) which does much the same thing as KVCD, but uses MPEG2 and adds some luxuries such as multiple audio streams and chapters. Some later flexible standalone players now support (K)SVCD, as the format has been endorsed by Philips, the custodian of all the CD standards. KVCD stands for K Video Compression Dynamics which is a non-standard modification of the MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 video standards for encoding digital video. ... There are two types of MiniDVD cDVD, which are 80-mm versions of the 120-mm DVD mini-DVD, which are standard CDs filled with the DVD-video format // cDVD A Mini-DVD-RAM with DVD Round Holder. ...

SXVCD

Super eXtended VCDs are another hack of VCDs. They have the same bitrate as DVD (9.8 Mbits per second) and are read by most DVD players. The only major disadvantage is that very little video can be stored on an SXVCD and is therefore often used for short home videos.

Adoption

The neutrality of this section is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page.

While never gaining a foothold^{[citation needed]} in the United States, Europe or Japan, commercial VCDs are very popular^{[citation needed]} throughout Asia (except Japan) because of the low price of the players, their tolerance of high humidity (a notable problem for VCRs), and the lower-cost media. Ease of duplication and the negligible cost of the media gave rise to widespread unauthorized copying in these areas. Image File history File links Unbalanced_scales. ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Asia (disambiguation). ...

The advent of recordable CDs, inexpensive recorders, and compatible DVD players spurred VCD acceptance in the US in the late 1990s and early 2000s^{[citation needed]}. However, DVD burners and DVD-Video recorders were available by that time, and equipment and media costs for making DVD-Video fell rapidly. DVD-Video, with its longer run time and much higher quality, quickly overshadowed VCD. In addition many DVD players made before 2003-2004 could not read recordable (CD-R) media, and this limited the compatibility of VCD. Almost every modern stand-alone DVD-Video player can play VideoCDs burned on recordable media. This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Many commercial Video CDs of blockbuster Hollywood, Bollywood, Manilawood and other Asian movies and television series are not widely available in the Western countries^{[citation needed]}; however, they are available in certain ethnic communities and several commercial web sites (although quality and authenticity may sometimes be questionable). These VCDs are often produced and sold in Asian countries such as Pakistan, Hong Kong, Mainland China, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines. In many Asian countries, major Hollywood studios (and Asian home video distributors) have licensed companies to officially produce and distribute the VCDs, such as MCA Home Video in Pakistan, ERA of Hong Kong or Sunny Video in Malaysia, Berjaya-HVN and InnoForm Media in both Malaysia and Singapore, as well as VIVA Video, Magnavision, and The Video to C in the Philippines. Legal Video CDs can often be found in established video stores and major book outlets in most Asian countries. ... Bollywood (Hindi: , Urdu: ) is the informal name given to the popular Mumbai-based Hindi-language film industry in India. ... The culture of Asia is the artificial aggregate of the cultural heritage of many nationalities, societies, religions, and ethnic groups in the region, traditionally called a continent from a Western-centric perspective, of Asia. ... ... The Music Corporation of America was a United States based corporation in the music business. ...

Around 2003–2006, VCDs were given away by Greek newspapers to boost declining sales^{[citation needed]}. Because of this documentaries, films and even soft porn VCDs became very common in Greece^{[citation needed]}. Below is a list of newspapers published in Greece. ...

Due to relatively small storage capacity, feature-length films sold on VCD are usually divided into two or three discs and television series may come in a box set package with multiple discs. In both cases, most films run at roughly 60 minutes per VCD, before viewers are prompted to change discs. In many Asian movies, subtitles are not removable on standard VCDs, unlike DVDs.

VCD is gradually being replaced by DVD, which offers most of the same advantages to Asian buyers as VCD^{[citation needed]}, as well as a much better quality picture (higher resolution with less digital compression artifacts) and sound (often in Dolby Digital and/or DTS), due to its larger storage capacity. Size comparison: A 12 cm Sony DVD+RW and a 19 cm Dixon Ticonderoga pencil. ... Dolby Digital is the marketing name for a series of lossy audio compression technologies by Dolby Laboratories. ... DTS Coherent Acoustics is the full name for the audio format standard usually known as just DTS. It is covered in U.S. Patent 5,956,674. ...

VCD does however have a few points in its favor:

• Like VHS and unlike DVD-Video, the VCD format has no region coding. Many VCD players are capable of compensating for the different frame rate and pixel count between NTSC and PAL TV systems, which means that discs can be played on any compatible machine worldwide.
• Some titles available on VCD may not be available on DVD and/or VHS in the prospective buyer's region.
• VCD is also a very popular format for karaoke in East Asia, where picture quality concern is not paramount.

These factors may ensure a steady market for VCDs for many years to come^{[citation needed]}. Regional lockout is the programming practice, code, or chip used to prevent the playing of media designed for a device from the country where it is marketed on the version of the same device marketed in another country. ... It has been suggested that Karaoke clubs in Sri Lanka be merged into this article or section. ... East Asia Geographic East Asia. ...

References

This article does not cite any references or sources. (March 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

Image File history File links Question_book-3. ...

See also

• Virtual CD (VCD) - The terms used in stock photography industry
• Super Video CD (SVCD) - The direct successor to Video CD
• China Video Disc (CVD) - An alternative successor to Video CD
• miniDVD - DVD video on a CD
• DcVD - A non-standard MPEG-1 format for playback on one platform only
• KVCD - A non-standard variant of Video CD with better storage capacity, supported by many modern standalone players
• CD Video - a 1980s format combining the laserdisc and the CD
• MovieCD - a commercial 1990s format using the MotionPixels codec

Vitrual Compacted Disc, is a term widely used in stock photography industry. ... Stock photography consists of existing photographs that can be licensed for specific uses. ... Compact Disc Super Video (SVCD) logo/trademark Super Video CD (Super Video Compact Disc or SVCD) is a format used for storing video on standard compact discs. ... The China Video Disc (CVD), developed in the late 1990s, is a Chinese government-sponsored competitor to the SVCD standard. ... There are two types of MiniDVD cDVD, which are 80-mm versions of the 120-mm DVD mini-DVD, which are standard CDs filled with the DVD-video format // cDVD A Mini-DVD-RAM with DVD Round Holder. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into GD-ROM. (Discuss) // The proprietary video format based off the MPEG SOFDEC exclusively for the Sega Dreamcast. ... KVCD stands for K Video Compression Dynamics which is a non-standard modification of the MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 video standards for encoding digital video. ... CD Video (also known as CDV, CD-V, or CD+V) was a format introduced in the mid-1980s that combined the technologies of compact disc and laserdisc. ... Not to be confused with disk laser, a type of solid-state laser in a flat configuration. ... CD may stand for: Compact Disc Canadian Forces Decoration Cash Dispenser (at least used in Japan) CD LPMud Driver Centrum-Demokraterne (Centre Democrats of Denmark) Certificate of Deposit České Dráhy (Czech Railways) Chad (NATO country code) Chalmers Datorförening (computer club of the Chalmers University of Technology) a 1960s... Box, inside and outside, to MovieCD edition of The Rutles - All you need is cash MovieCD was a format for digital video storage and consumer playback during the mid to late-1990s, marketed by SIRIUS Publishing, Inc. ...

External links

• What is VCD? - from VideoHelp.com
• VCD Help
• How Do You Play VCDs?
• How to Play VCD on Mac/Windows computer, DVD Player - from Mireth Technology
• VCD / SVCD / miniDVD FAQ - from Doom9.org