VCD question

[Gabriel]

Greetings....

Well, i am a novice in video editing using sofeware stuff.. i have some
questions to ask.

1. If you plan to output a edited avi file to a VCR, wat resolution should i
set it to be?
(Currently using 720 X 567)

2. If you plan to make a VCD, how do you go about doing it? (I gave a YAmaha
4X4X16 CD-RW drive). Do you just copy the encoded Mpeg file into the VCD and
burn it? Can a regular VCD player view it?

3. What should the data transfer rate be (the lowest possible without
quality compromise)? I am currently using 500 kb/s.

Thanks in advance.

[Anders Hamre]

> 1. If you plan to output a edited avi file to a VCR, wat resolution should i
> set it to be?
> (Currently using 720 X 567)

720 x 576 is the full-frame resolution for PAL and for the best
quality and proper field rendering you should use this when
outputting to video.

> 2. If you plan to make a VCD, how do you go about doing it? (I gave a YAmaha
> 4X4X16 CD-RW drive). Do you just copy the encoded Mpeg file into the VCD and
> burn it? Can a regular VCD player view it?

You need special software to create VideoCDs. Most of the new software
packages
for CD burning can do this for you, such as Adaptec Easy CD Creator
Deluxe or
NTI's CDMaker Pro. If you want to create playlists, make menus and extra
stuff
I recommend CeQuadrat's VideoPack software.

You can't just copy an MPEG file to a CD and expect it to work.
Video-CDs follow
the "White Book"-standard and require some folders and binary info files
to
be read correctly by VCD- or DVD-players. The MPEG-file is converted
into .DAT
format when the VCD is created, and the data is remultiplexed to
optimize
access and tracking during playback.

Most MPEG playback software will play both MPEG and DAT files just fine.

> 3. What should the data transfer rate be (the lowest possible without
> quality compromise)? I am currently using 500 kb/s.

If you are referring to Video-CD MPEG files, the rate of the encoded
file
must be fixed at 172k/sec, since VCDs are read at the standard CD speed
(1x).

If you are referring to a general data transfer rate, basically use the
highest
rate possible, depending on the wanted quality of the material, your
system
throughput and the avaiable diskspace.

If you are referring to a specific codec data rate, it's really hard to
tell - this
will depend on the type of codec and the compression scheme being
utilized. Generally
it is a better idea to set a relative quality factor rather than a
specific data rate.

Cheers,

Anders