burning question -- data disc vs. svcd/dvd etc

[coffeecup-sf]

Hey there. Have numerous video files, many of them... In various formats, mpeg, avi, realplayer, etc... just a large bunch. Many of them are large at 300 or 500 megabytes and up.

Was thinking this... Although it would be nice to have a way to find out how all various files could be easily converted into the appropriate DVD (mpeg2?) format and then burn them as real DVDs and SVCDs with a nice authoring program, I thought about something else.

How about I just take all those files the way they are on the hard drive, the whole lot of them, and burn them onto cds and dvds strictly in the data disc mode with Nero, and then when I want to watch them again, just play them off of the data discs (whether cd or dvd disc) just the same way you would click and open and play it off of your hard drive disc?

QUESTION. Would watching video files straight off of a cd-rom (that were burned as data, not authored) be "harder" on a cd drive than it would be if you had burned it as an SVCD for play? Does a cd-drive work harder when it reads data off of a cd-rom than it does when it reads authored video off of the same type cd-rom? Any knowledge or expertise on this, anyone?

Also if anyone knows of a simple way of taking a whole lot of various video files and simply converting them all into an appropriate DVD format (mpeg2?), please let me know. Otherwise I'll have to do a data disc burn, but worried about putting excess usage on the cd-drive in playback. Thanks much.

[coffeecup-sf]

** would just like to ask once again, if anyone who has a bit of knowledge in this area whether they think yes or no on the above? If so, please take a shot.

[David K]

No I do not think it will be any harder for your CD rom drive to read them as data. DVD video is actually in the data format (mode 1).

So what program will you use to play your video, some DVD software like PowerDVD or WinDVD or even Windows Media Player? That should work. These have a play from file option.

The truth of the matter is that to convert those odd formats to DVD compatible files you'd probably have to re-encode and you would lose some video quality in the process. The only real advantage to having them as DVD video is that you can play them on DVD players, not just your computer (and do things with Menus if you care about that). But if you're happy watching video on your computer then there's no problem storing them as data and playing back the files that way.

[redwudz]

I burn my mixed mode videos onto DVD as data. I may get around to moving them to DVD Video compatible some day. I like VideoLAN player to play them back so I don't have to jump around on players to do the different formats. I try not to mix formats on a disc, but sometimes there are a lot of short files and it's easier to sort them by subject, not format.

[johns0]

i got tired of converting svcd to dvd compatible cvd resolution so i just patch the svcd when authoring with tmpgenc dvd author,saves time and plays properly on both home dvd players.

[coffeecup-sf]

David, red and John thanks for the replies. Very informative and just what I was looking for.

Yah basically it's just going to be a straight dump. Take a lot of them, all mixed around a bit and burn them as data (with Nero). So that'll be nice to be able to watch them off of cd or dvd without worrying.

The reason I thought it would be harder is basically because it seems when you load "data" by cd/dvd drive, it seemed to spin quite hard and loud. but when you play either a dvd or authored svcd it was quite low on sound, or it seemed; therefore seemed easier on the drive.... Thankfully most likely not the case.. Will most likely use the basic WinMedia Player to watch them off of cds/dvds after burn.

[mats.hogberg]

If you just want to store video or watch it on the computer - no need to convert, author &c
If you want to watch on TV via DVD player, you must convert & author to specification.
I don't think the wear and tear differs.

/Mats

[junkmalle]

Or you can get a Divx DVD player and play most of the AVI and MPEG files on it. Many regular DVD players will play MPEG files on ISO data disks.

[David K]

CoffeeCup

As to the drive noise problem, there are some utility programs like Nero's Drivespeed by which you can set your drives to run more slowly when accessing data. I've haven't used them myself so I do not know which one is the best. But I think there are several. Check the tools section.

And as others have pointed out, some DVD players will play "raw" mpeg files on disc. (My own old Sampo player does for example.)