Newbie questions re VCD burning in Nero 5.5.8.2.

[Hong Kong Phooey]

Sorry if the following questions seem silly,but I'm a newbie to the creating/burning VCD's & using Nero in particular.
I follow the Nero Wizard,to select the VCD option on Startup, & have no problem dragging over the mpeg1 files to burned,(rendered in TmpGenc).
However I have the following questions....
1)Once I have burned the CD in Nero,it is listed in burning programs as an XVCD. I have only selected the options in TmpgEnc to make it a standard PAL VCD 352x288 25fps,4:3 625PAL for it to be played back on a standalone DVD player.
Will this mean I actually would have to find a DVD player capable of playing XVCD's rather than just VCD? How do I ensure its a true VCD?

2) Under the File Properties of the VCD in Nero, eg "TestCD" the Nero template has Test for VCD compliance selected,but do I need to select the CDI checkbox if I'm going to play it on a standard DVD player?

3) Creating the VCD Menu/Chapter Display. Using the Thumbnail option I can select a picture from the Mpeg footage to display as my menu. However on the first tab of the VCD properties,do I need to select "Save in the Pictures folder", or can I leave it unchecked?

4) Also on the menu display,it mentions showing it in 704x576. Should I keep it to the standard VCD size of 352x288,to ensure DVD playback compatibility on a TV?

4a)Although not a Nero question,whilst on the subject,TMPGEnc gives two ration options of 4:3 625 PAL,& 4:3 704x576 625 line PAL. Which selection will ensure compatibility of playback on a standard,(Non widescreen) PAL TV set, what's the difference?

Thank you for everyone's help with my silly FAQ's.

[cmacleo]

1) not sure - what program tells you it is an XVCD?
2) CDi is not needed for a standard DVD Player, only for a CDi player (older technology)
3) Yes unchecked - if you check it Nero will save the original jpg/bmp files on the CD for backup purposes
4) leave at 704x576 - VCD format allows for still pictures of 704x576 (PAL resolution). This wil mean the menu is clearer.
4a) this issue is to do with the size of the pixel in the source file. I don't think they make any difference for compatibility as VCD is in 4:3 format anyway. The main difference would be if the output mpg file may be a bit shrunk vertically. Maybe another person can answer this better.

[KingJohn]

When you use TMPGEnc, load a VCD template, do not change anything. Sounds like you changed something, which would make it non standard.

[Hong Kong Phooey]

Thank you for another posting reply cmacleo!
Another burner program I have called NTICD Maker 2000plus actually reads the VCD CD's afterwards as XVCD.
@King John. In using TMPGEnc, I actually use the Project wizard option on startup, to allow for any last minute editing & of course setting the formats. That is one of the options that isn't frozen & hence I can choose the 4:3/16:9 ratios etc. I was just curious why there were two options given that I understood the resolution to be 352x288, thats all.
I guess it's safter to stick with the 4:3 625Pal line format choice then.

[cmacleo]

By the way, the 4:3 or 16:9 is just how TMPGEnc treats the input file and will then resize the file to 352x288 resolution. THe end result should always be an mpg file of 352x288 resolution.

It seems strange to me that NTICD Maker reports them as XVCD. I assume when you burned the VCD's using Nero you left the check box 'make standard compilant VCD' checked? If not try checking it and see what Nero reports.

Otherwise good luck with your VCDs

[Hong Kong Phooey]

Would the two different iso 9660 standards make any difference? The options that are presented are ISO2 standard,(31characters are selected) along with the top two checkboxes in the Relaxed ISO standards at the bottom of the preferences tab.

[cmacleo]

I am not aware these make any difference. They relate to how filenames are stored in the CD's directory/FAT. These settings will affect (as it says) if you can read the VCD under DOS. I have never had any problems with my DVD player (or Windows) with any variation of the settings. The settings relate to long file names and filename length etc.

[KingJohn]

When you load a template into TMPGEnc, it then greys out settings, so you are not able to change anything, there is a unlock, but that's another story.

Once a VCD template has been loaded, the output will be exactly right
Video-CD PAL (MPEG-1 352x288 25fps CBR 1150kbps, Layer-2 44100Hz 224kbps)

If any of those Items are changed, the the VCD is now non standard, or a Xvcd.

You don't need the Project wizard that's there for kids you can still edit the image ratio type from the settings button, full screen keep aspect ration is the default anyway, unless you change it for some reason.

A XVCD can be exactly the same as a VCD with just one item different, usually this is "Bitrate" I have seen many programs edit a fully compliant VCD mpeg and then save it with a non standard bitrate, this would then produce a XVCD, in other words a non standard VCD

I must admit, I don't use Nero for making VCD's, although it does do them ok, I prefer Video Pack 5.1. If you load a non standard VCD into Video pack 5, it immediately throws up a list with the items listed in red that is non standard.

Nero is OK, for simple projects like a single mpeg, but you should consider using Video Pack 5.1 for more advanced functions. Roxio has VP 5.1 "Upgrade" available for download.

When you try to install it, you will be asked for your old Video Pack 5.0 CD, then your serial number before it will install. Why not give it a try, drop me an email if you do

[Hong Kong Phooey]

Thank You for your in-depth info about VCD/XVCD's King John. I suppose to also clear a little confusion, I have been testing out NTI CDMaker 2000 plus,(updated from the NTICDMaker2K), on some VCD test burns & that is what that particualr program is reading out the finished results of it VCD's as.
Cmacleo did actually clear up my confusion over those template settings by pointing out that the output is fixed/frozen likje you said,& I was confusing that with the source footage settings.

Although the Wizard might be for kids,(& given my newbie status in all things capturing/editing,thats about right! ), I do make use of that editor in the Wizard to delete a couple of things I might've forgotten about in Vdub,(Or for joined files as Vdub is rejecting any non-multisegmented appending at the moment...but thats another story.).
To be honest,I wish that editor was used instead of the cut/join one in the mpeg tools.
As for Roxio Easy CD Platnium-if I had my time over again,(& if it actually were for retail here in Australia),I wish I could've gotten it! I've blown the budget on getting Nero 5.5,(not a cheap buy), & have to say that for a program with such a big reputation,I've found it quite dissapointing.

It's functional,but to be honest,I found my OEM CD burner software NTI CDMaker 2000,far more user friendly & straightfoward. I'm not saying it'd be ideal for VCD stuff,but for other stuff,it was far more straightfoward. But I'm really ticked off to learn that Nero's so called "full-retail" version of it's burner software doesn't come with an unlimited mp3 encoder,thats a ripoff!
In any case, I don't have the money now to get the roxio stuff.
In any case,they work in WinDVD,so I assume that the VCD's are genuine & working then?
But certainly thanks for your thoughts,they're appreciated,thank you!

[KingJohn]

I sent you a PM