VCD newbie: need submenus and file copyability

[ssoltz]

Hi All,

This is my first post here and I'd like to say hello to all.

I have a fair amount of experience authoring DVDs and creating Flash but I am brand spanking new to VCDs. I have a regular client who I have done some major DVD projects for but it sounds like they need a CD-ROM for their current project.

Most of the material is MPEG1, I believe, because the sources are CDs. The client needs to be able to copy the MPEG1s off of the CD I author so that their clients can add these to their own PowerPoint (and other) presentations. When the client spoke of the outline of the proposed CD, they were talking in terms of "tracks" so I assume that means VCD not a multimedia presentation authored in a program such as Flash or Director because then there would be no tracks, correct? They are looking to have a main menu with two items. Each of these selections would bring up a submenu with five or six items each which would be buttons directly selecting the MPEG1s.

I already own TMPGEnc Plus and it's sister authoring program, Nero 6 and some other programs. What programs can anyone suggest that will get this job done? Is VCDEasy the solution? Are there issues with copying MPEG1s from a VCD versus a regular data CD? Will I have audio issues? Can someone point me to a good tutorial for my needs.

I appreciate any and all help I can get on this. Thanks up front!

[jimmalenko]

Are there issues with copying MPEG1s from a VCD versus a regular data CD?

I can help you with this section. Use VCDGear and do a dat to mpeg conversion (Mpeg files on a vcd are converted to dat files when you burn). This will recreate the original MPEG like on a data disc. The dat files are in the MPEGAV folder and AVSEQ1 means first playable title, AVSEQ2 means 2nd....

The first track on VCDs contains info regarding the playlist etc so the first title is always track 2.

[mats.hogberg]

Is VCDEasy the solution?

Yes, it is. You can have one main menu (still image) where button 1 and 2 resp. leads to submenus (still images too) where numeric buttons on remote takes you to different tracks.

Are there issues with copying MPEG1s from a VCD versus a regular data CD? Will I have audio issues?

Yes, there are. The mpegs are slightly altered (some headers added) and they are not in the ISO file system of the CD. They can however be extracted using VCDGear or VCDEasy. If disc space allows, you could add the original mpegs in the ISO file system too, to make them easily available for other applications. There are no sync issues involved.

/Mats