…in other words, say, if I have an .mpg or .avi or some such file recorded as data on a cd-r, is there any dvd player out there that could play that file directly off that cd? Or would I have to re-record the file in vcd or svcd format?
APEX players seem to be the champ in accepting non-DVD formats. From a message board at UGeek.com:
And from an Amazon review of an AD-1600
I have an Apex 610 that seems to be pretty tolerant of many VCD and SVCD flavors, and I have heard that just putting .mpg files on a data CD will work as well (though not tested). YMMV
Your best bet is to use a program called TmpgEnc. It will convert your video files into the proper MPG-2 format used in the vcd standard. Some players will play these files directly from a computer cd-r.
Otherwise, use a program called VCDEasy to create a VCD or SVCD ((super)Video CD) file structure containing the mpg2 files. This will be playable in any player supporting the vcd format. In general, the cheaper the player you buy, the more likely it will play vcd’s. I just picked up a $59 dvd player from a national computer store chain, it will play just about anything but a coffee can lid
The advantage of the SVCD format is that it allows you to get over 800 mb on a cd, compared to the cd-r format which tops out around 700mb. But you must burn vcds at a slow speed to avoid audio problems, since there is less error correction than on a data cd.
Hope this helps. There is also a VCD how-to document posted on the alt.binaries.vcd. newsgroups every Friday. It goes into much more detail.
MC$E
"Your best bet is to use a program called TmpgEnc. It will convert your video files into the proper MPG-2 format used in the vcd standard.
"
unless things have changed, this is what I learned:
Umm:
vcd=mpg
dvd=mpg2
My el-cheapo Mintek DVD-2580 player will play almost any type of MPEG file (mpg, jpeg, mp3, etc.) It won’t play any other propriety format like avi or quicktime files because they don’t use MPEG compression. I guess that most DVD players work this way, though I did notice that some of the higher end models don’t even have as many features as my cheap one. Go figure.
Yes, when looking for a DVD player to play movies burned from your computer, your best bet is almost always going to be the cheapest one. For instance, the $500 DVD Surround Sound system, everything but the kitchen sink DVD player that I have bought refuses absolutely to play anything but DVD’s and CD’s.
My cousin’s $70 Blue-Light Special Hi-Woo something or other plays everything. :rolleyes:
incidentally, This is my first post. My (few) days of lurking are over! Bwa-Ha-Ha!!!
Creffie
I’m a little unclear. My DVD player plays DVD, CD, CD-R/RW, VCD, and MP3. I have a CD burner, but not a DVD burner. Can I burn my mpgs to a CD and have them play on my DVD player? Or should I have a DVD burner? And should I convert the format first?
lolagranola, yes, you can do just that. You’ll need to make a “Video CD” (VCD) containing your MPEGs. You record this on a regular CD recorder, not a DVD recorder.
You edit video on a computer, make a VCD file, burn it to a CD-R, and it will play on most DVD players. Of course, since VCD is an older format, it doesn’t have the resolution or fancy features of DVD. But it’s a lot cheaper, and perfect for home experimentation.
SVCD is a later expansion of the VCD format.
I’m still learning about this, so I can’t give any specific instruction on how to make them. Your best bet is to check out the Beginners’ FAQs at VCDHelp.com.
Some obligatory references to aid the discussion:
-
VCDhelp.com
Everything you need to know about making your own VCDs and SVCDs. -
The DVD FAQ
Everything about DVDs, including the various recordable ones.
The maintainer of this FAQ has written an excellent (if somewhat expensive) book about the subject, also called DVD Demystified. It comes with a DVD containing test movie segments, demonstrations of various DVD features, programs, etc.
Thank you. I forgot, my DVD player also advertises itself as being able to play SVCD’s. I’m unfamiliar with the format, but I will check out the links.
sunspace and lolagranola , Any fully featured Cd-Burning software, such as Ahead Nero or Roxio Easy CD Creator should be able to make a VCD for you, or even an SVCD.
Check your software. If you’re using the stuff that was bundled with your burner, chances are you will want to switch. However, some of the company-produced software (the one that jumps to mind is Sony) is actually pretty good. Look through your help section! More likely than not, you won’t have to download anything extra to make a VCD to play on your DVD player.
Creffie
My concern is, I have a crapload of video files I’ve already burned to cd as data, not as (s)vcds, mpg files and avi files mostly. I’d like to be able to play these on a dvd player without having to go through the hassle of copying them back to my hard drive and then reburning them as vcds.
You might be out of luck then, Wierd_AL.
Unless your DVD player specifically states that it will play an AVI or whatever from a CD-R, it won’t. In my recent search for a DVD player, I found many that would play MP3 files from CD-R, and a few that would play Windows Media files. None would play AVIs, Quicktime files, or RealMedia files.
Check your DVD player manual if you already have a player. If you haven’t a player, before buying, look through the player feature comparisons at VCDhelp.com to see what formats are supported on which players. You can do searches: for example, showing all the players that will play MP3s.
Sunspace: Yeah I’ve been there, you can search using various features as criteria, unfortunately the ability to play mpg or avi files isn’t one of them.
I don’t own a DVD player yet, I am looking to buy one that has this feature.
Thanks, everyone. I checked out the links, Sunspace, and burned some working VCD’s today.
Next project? To figure out what kind of physical connection and if I need software to connect my VCR and/or video camera to my computer so I can edit home movies and such.
Wierd_Al, you might be able to find a DVD player that will play your mpg’s (though no avi, wma, mov, rm, or asf that I know of) from a data CD, but even those mpegs must follow some specs. Video and audio bitrates, frame rate, and resolution must be considered. There are several standards (NTSC, PAL, NTSCFilm) and as long as your existing mpegs come fairly close to these standards they might play. Take one of your CDs with you to the store and try it out. Make sure your test mpegs are appropriate for public viewing. :eek:
lolagranola, I have used a cheap WinTV tuner card and plugged my VCR into the coax jack provided. The TV card came with some low-end capture software that was good enough for me. I found out if you want to capture at a decent resolution and frame rate you’ll need a pretty speedy CPU and a large chunk of free hard drive space. Your chosen capture codec will make a difference too. Unless your talking about a DV camera, in which case a Firewire card would be necessary, where your (good) editing software or bundled software can control the camera so the fast CPU isn’t neccesarily needed (but recommended for the editing process).
Hmmm. Looks like the hamsters are about to take their nightly 45 minute break, so I’ll post this later.
"My concern is, I have a crapload of video files I’ve already burned to cd as data, not as (s)vcds, mpg files and avi files mostly.
"
It’s not that much work. We talked about this before. If you use a newer version of Nero that comes
with cd writers you just drag them & it converts to the right format. Sometimes Nero requires their external
converter program that I found is so slow its not worth it.
How fast should my CPU be? I’m running a Pentium 3 right now. Is that fast enough? I’ve got 37 gigs of HD space right now, and an 8 gig slave drive that I never use.
Windows Movie Maker seems to have the software to record, so I should be covered there.
I only have a ten year old analog video camera. Most of my home movies have been transferred to VHS as well.
Now I need to turn this tower around and see what kind of connection I need.
I meant 37 gigs of FREE HD space right now.
:eek: 37 gigs… You just wait till I get my new machine… a gig of RAM, 60-gig boot drive, twin 80-gig RAIDed data drives… <pant><froth>
Er. Sorry.
You should be okay with any Pentium 3. What speed is yours? What are you using to bring your (analog) video into your computer?
That 37 gigs may not last as long as you expect, lolagranola.
My friend and I imported 1 hour and 20 minutes of full-resolution NTSC home movies from a Mini-DV camcorder; they took up 20 gigs, for a usage of about 1 gig per four minutes of video.
You’ll also need working space for your programs, as well as space to build the CD image that you will eventually write to a CD disc.
DON’T buy an Apex!
They’re wonderful and versitile but if they break they’re impossible to get fixed.
It’s been 8+ weeks waiting for a call-back on the status of my Apex DVD player
Fenris