? re vcd

[pymcat]

i burned a vcd( i have all the codecs etc) my question is this..i want to send this movie to my mother who has comp but is comp illiterate..
would she be able to view the vcd without her having to dl codecs as the movie is already perfectly burned on the cd?

[Gazorgan]

Yes. Pure VCD MPEG1 is support on 98 and newer PC's. The Audio is PCM. So, if she has a working Media player, it should work(even 6.x WMP). She will have to browse to the .DAT file to see it. Another way is to simply burn the MPG to the disk and create an autorun.inf file with the name of the file so when whe slips it in, it will start (usually).

[pymcat]

well actually its not mpeg 1..i kept the avi format as I didnt even want to hassle with encoding it and using 2-3 cds...
so if she slips in in her cd rom drive it should just play if she browses to her d drive? yes?

[mujahid7ia]

If it's still an AVI, it's not actually a VCD. Depending on the OS, as soon as she puts in the CD, it may aske her what she wants to do... but it would be beter to have a autorun.inf file telling the computer to open the file asoon as the disc is inserted.

[ZippyP.]

Putting a video file on a cd does not create a VCD. VCD has a specific structure and file type (mpeg-1). Avi files require codecs (audio and video) to be installed in order to be played on a PC. Other than mpeg-1, most codecs are not installed with the operating system. So, if you want to send an avi then you'll need to send the required codec(s) and instructions on how to install them. Either that, or convert it to mpeg-1.

[Cornucopia]

You want universality--go for VCD! If you've got any other "codec", its not VCD. Also, if you didn't "author" the disc, it's not VCD.

make it a hybrid with autorun, as per some of my past threads, and all your mom should have to do, would be to put the disc into the drive.

actually, mpeg 1 is on all Win95b and up, and is available as upgrade for Win 3.1 or Win95(orig). (sorry Gazorgan).
Also available on Macs OS 7.5 and above with QT 3 and above. So it's still the most universal.

also, do the right thing and include instructions in case autorun won't work.

HTH,
Scott

>>>>edit
Another bonus with using VCD.
If she has a capable DVD player, you can skip the computer altogether. Less hassle for her, bonus points for you.