China Video Disk Trick?

[Timoleon]

I've got an older Emerson DVD/VCR combo player which is somewhat brain-dead; i.e., it doesn't like VCDs or SVCDs. If I create a CVD, with its more "to spec" resolution (half-height DVD), and put the created CD into the player, do I have a fightin' chance of getting the thing to play?

The closest I've got in the past to fooling the Emerson into playing a cd was when I did "the header trick" with Tsunami on an SVCD. The audio played absolutely perfectly, to a blank screen...

I know the way to do it is to try the damn thing out myself, but I wanted to find out whether I was thinking straight or not: Is it a problem with the laser reader hardware that is incompatible with the physical size and layout of the tracks on a cd, or is it more of a resolution problem that could be corrected in the creation of the CVD by someone with some ingenuity?

Hope this makes sense!

[SatStorm]

I don't think it will work.
You see, CVD is about the same compatible with SVCD for PAL users and less compatible SVCD for NTSC users. I have a few rare reports from people able to watch CVD while their standalones which won't play VCDs or SVCDs, but this is questionable.
Only if you try, you gonna learn if it gonna work in your case. And then, report the results to the compatibility list of VCDhelp.com to help others!

About the reasons, I think that it is more of a software thing. With the correct firmware it is possible to make a standalone read VCD and SVCD. There are also some hardware limitations, but those has to do basicly with the Drive. You change the drive and -suprise- many times you succeed support of various -x- formats, DVD-R/+R or compatibility with more media (an older - thanks God - issue when you had to deal with CD-R stuff...)

[yysie]

My DVD player Doesn't play XSVCD but it plays cvd up to 6000 kbps as the bitrate... It also supports every XDVD ---->MiniDVD so if I want to create a XSVCD I'll burn it on a XMiniDVD.

[Cornucopia]

yysie:
What do you mean by XminiDVD? That's a new term to me. DVD spec has much greater latitude than VCD or even SVCD/CVD in terms of bitrate range and resolution choices. Maybe it's just a plain miniDVD?
Sorry to bug you, but there's already too many acronyms around here.

Scott

[yysie]

xDVD is a non-standard dvd burned on a DVD R: Instead of 720 x 480 (29.97 fps) etc. 480 x 480 (29.97fps) This is like putting a SVCD on a DVD.
MiniDVD is a DVD burned on CD-R(W) (Not much players support it!).

XminiDVD is something like (NTSC480 x 480 (29.97fps) video burned as a DVD on a CD-R(W).

How to make it?

Convert a (X)SVCD with TMPGEnc* or another MPEG-2 Encoder (Keep the bitrate lower tha 6500 kbps more isn't necessary)

Use DVDpatcher to change the resolution in the first header to 720 x 480 or 720 x 576 for Pal.
Open your video file(s) with your authoring and burning tool... Burn the disc.

I should test before burning a xDVD or XminiDVD If it's compatible with it!
Use a CD-RW or DVD-RW/DVD+RW


*Warning!

Video: Don't make just a SVCD or non standard MPEG-2 File in TMPGEnc or any other program... In the "GOP Structure" Tab in TMPGEnc you much set it as 18 for NTSC & 15 for Pal!
Audio: Audio must be 48000 Hz or use TMPGEnc DVD Author which will automatically change 44100 Hz to 48000 Hz

[Timoleon]

Just an update ---

The CVD crapped out on my Emerson combo --- wouldn't even begin to load.

On an upbeat note, however --- I stuck the thing in my cheap Apex 1100W and it played beautifully --- it was originally an avi of a TV show, and the CVD translation looked *considerably* better than the same avi rendered to SVCD! I *think* this is because the CVD frame size is closer to the avi frame size than SVCD is, so the finished product looks better.

With this in mind, I think I'm going to do all my avi conversions to CVD, and then stick them on a dvd with DVDLab

P.S.: conversions done with DVD2SVCD