any advantage to a vcd over a dvd?

[ericd]

i'm new to all of this and am going to buy a dvd player.i may start buying dvd's and vcd off the web is there any advantage to either? why do people even make vcd movies?why not just dvd? or is it because of all the illeagel stuff.but some of the vcd's are legit. i know,a lot of questions.thanks

[vitualis]

If you are going to BUY your movies, the only advantage VCDs have over DVDs is price. Also, pirate releases of VCDs tend to come out earlier as well.

However, any normal DVD will have MUCH better quality video than a VCD.

The reason people make VCDs is that they can be made, and that they are a standardised format that will play in stand-alone players. Until recently, the average hobbyists wouldn't have been able to make a DVD at all (DVDs ARE NOT CD-based media). Even now, it is probably still more cost effective to BUY the original DVD than to copy it onto DVD-R/W media.

Regards.

[sullen]

Also cost is an issue for some people. Some people like to convert and play with stuff. You can "copy" your DVD to VCD and not have to worry too much about scratching it and then being stuck with a $20 disc that doesn't work. Also people make VCDs of stuff that don't come out on DVD such as music video compilations of their favorite band. Also, people record live streaming media from the internet at times and convert it. Also, VHS tapes are much larger than CDs. CDs may not hold as much, but they are easier to store. Some people also do captures from television straight to the comptuer. I like the Jeopardy segments on SNL. I have a few downloaded and would capture them if I had a capture card.

So, there are a lot of different uses for VCD, the main one being you can put what YOU want on it instead of buying something that someone else has made and thinks you want on a disc.

[hitechjunkie]

if you are considering an actual purchase of a movie and it is available on DVD and VCD, you can usually purchase the much higher quality DVD for about the same price as the VCD by joining a DVD club and taking advantage of those "buy 4 at 49 cents each, plus take a fifth now for $14.95, plus buy only two more" deals and closing the account right after meeting the clubs minimum purchase requirements, then re-opening a new account with the same deal. this is a perfectly acceptable and common practice (just call the 800 number and ask the reps) and effectively limits your cost to about $9 per DVD.

[hitechjunkie]

creating VCDs is a hobby and should be treated as such. nice thing is that it can be a relatively cost-free (except for the time) hobby, what with all the rebates on CD-R/RW media and freeware available. i buy all my media from my local Circuit City whenever there is a rebate available and usually wind up paying only sales tax for spindles of 25 or 50 discs. i just picked up a 5 pack of CD-RW media for $4.99 plus there was rebate of $8 - go figure!!

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: hitechjunkie on 2001-07-23 12:45:04 ]</font>

[Chopper Face]

Well there's compatibility with any computer and ease of copying and propagation of files across the internet. Can't get that with a DVD.

[gambit32]

Plus w/VCDs you can do all kinds of stuff like make your own menus, put irritating watermarks on video, put your own movies made in other programs on CD, just all kinds of good stuff.

[hitechjunkie]

i've just started lending out some of my VCD backups of my 200+ DVD collection to let my dad watch on his PCs CD-ROM drive.

[mijman]

Well, 95% of the things I make onto VCDs are simply not availiable on DVD, whether they are Tv shows, or out of print movies which I'd had on video tape for a decade. There's no denying that the VCD quality isn't up to DVD quality, but sometimes the quality isn't too crucial, like with cartoons, for example.

[Chopper Face]

!

Quality's never more crucial than with animation! It's the greatest form of video and must be of the highest possible quality!

[lhorwinkle]

VCD recording on CD-R media is the current substitute for VHS tape. Picture quality is similar.

Eventually, I expect DVD recorders to overtake VCDs. But DVD recorders are still expensive, and the media price is outrageous. You can buy a movie DVD for little more than the cost of a blank DVD disk. But that will change, in time.

Meanwhile, think of VCDs as a replacement for VHS. Instead of "taping" a show/movie, you "disk" it.