VCD
Players
What is a Video Compact Disc or VCD?
A Video Compact Disc or VCD is a compact disc that plays movies instead of
music it is in multi-platform format which means you can use many
different kinds of equipment to play them VCDs look exactly like a CD or
CD-ROM except that it stores video/audio clips using the compressed and
standardized MPEG-1 (Motion Picture Expert Group) format. It was jointly developed by Philips and Sony and was
introduced in 1993. A single disc can only hold 74 minutes of video
but usually only 50 to 60 minutes is actually used. So a typical movie
will be held in two compact discs that are packaged in a single jewel
case.
Why is VCD gaining
popularity in America, Europe and Australia?
VCDs are very popular in Asia and are gaining popularity in America,
Europe and Australia. Nowadays, VCDs have practically replaced video
cassettes in Asia. The main reason is because VCD is cheap compared to
DVDs and the quality is even better than VHS. It can also last much
longer than VHS and has no drop in sound/picture quality when stored
for a long time. It is much smaller in size, easier to store, that is
why it is ideal for movie collectors! One good aspect is that it can
be played on DVD, LD players, a computer and many other devices. Also,
the popularity of VCDs is on the rise because of the gaining interest
among Americans and Canadians for Hong Kong movies. Have you ever
heard of Chow Yuen Fat, Jet Li, Jackie Chan or John Woo?
What equipment
do I need to play VCD?
VCDs can be played on VCD players but it is not quite popular yet
in other parts of the world except Asia. The second way is to play
VCDs on DVD players. DVD movies are encoded using a compression
technique called MPEG-2. Whereas, VCDs are
encoded in MPEG-1. Because of the similarity of
encoding/ compression technique, most, but not all DVD players can
play VCD and DVD. For example, SONY DVP-S3000 and SONY DVP-S7000
and PIONEER DVD PLAYER DV-505. On the other hand, VCD players
cannot play DVDs. You also can play VCDs on your PC if
your computer is properly equipped. Below are the different kinds
of equipment which will play Video CDs:
1. VCD Players.
2. Some DVD Players with VCD capabilities. For example,
SONY DVP-S3000 and SONY DVP-S7000 and PIONEER DVD PLAYER DV-505.
3. Computers. You need to have a MPEG player software, but
if you want to get high picture quality, you need to install a
MPEG accelerator card accompanied by a good video card.
4. Playstation Consoles with VCD Add-on [ a.k.a. the Movie
Card ]
5. Saturn Consoles with VCD Add-on 6. Doctor V64 / CD 64
7. Some CD-I Players
8. Some 3DO Game Consoles
9. Some Laser Disc Players
What are the
advantages of VCD?
1.VCD is multi-platform.
2.Random Access for quick search.
3.Multiple audio/voice tracks for multilingual support.
4.It's a cheaper alternative for DVDs and Laser Discs.
5.Its the exact size of your regular CDs and its so much
easier to store compared to VHS.
6.Its picture and sound WILL NOT deteriorate with time,
unlike VHS so if you are a movie collector, you can keep your your
collection for a very long time.
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