VCD Authoring and Compatibilty Issues

[powermark]

Anyone that knows anything of use please help!

I live in America and need to create training material for use overseas. My boss wants the training videos on VCD. Don't most people viewing a VCD need a VCD player or a program they have downloaded to play VCD's? The issue is that VCD's I have created work on my machine in Windows Media Player, but don't on my bosses computer. So what he is wanting is a way that the VCD will auto-launch when put in a computer and will contain all that is needed to play the disc on the disc itself. Is this making sense?

I am under the impression that I can't account for everyone's circumstance or set up but I want to get as many people as possible. Can anyone validate my thoughts or is it possible to include a VCD player on the disc and a auto-play script of some sort...!??

Thanks

[vitualis]

You should only make VCDs if you expect your clients to view the video on a stand-alone device -- for example, a VCD or DVD player.

If you intend the disc to be viewed on the PC, you should just encode the video as an MPEG-1 file and put it on a CD-ROM. Anybody with Windows 3.1 and up will be able to view it then.

Regards.

[BillyB]

What you're talking about is certainly possible, since I do that with VCD discs. You can either include an autorun script that will launch windows mediaplayer, or create a menu with buttons that autoruns (a bit more complicated).

Here's a link to a help page on this site.
https://www.videohelp.com/autorun.htm

You could also look at Smartplay.
http://www.illusionsoft.net/products/smartplay.htm

Also, do a search on this site for 'Autorun VCD' and see what comes up.[/url]

[mats.hogberg]

I agree with Vitualis - VCD is meant for standalone playing - not computer. There are computer VCD player software (PowerDVD is one) that play VCD, but no standard Windows installation can play VCD. It might play the avseqnn.dat file but that's just a roundabout way of playing a mpeg.
For real "cross platform" computer video playback, take a look at eMovix.

/Mats

[powermark]

Despite what the VCD is best for or meant for, I have to account for people using computers to view the VCD. I am trying to get it where the user dosen't have to do anything with the disc but put it in the drive....let's face it, many people can barely use a computer much less figure out how to open certain files and such. I just don't know if there is a way to make it cross-platform, user, and player compatible. If anyone else has any info or advice it would be appreciated.

I am using EasyCD Creator 5 Platinum to create the VCD's on Windows XP Pro

Thanks for the help

[shutterbug]

Powermark--
I'm working on something similar (U.S. compatible only). I want my VCD's to work in most DVD players and auto launch if popped into a cd-rom drive.

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but If you want the VCD to work in a US DVD player, it needs to be in the NTSC format. For the disc to work overseas, you'll need your disc in PAL format. So I don't think it's possible to do in a straight-forward manner. Unless you create the same training video in NTSC format and PAL format and burn them to 2 different discs--then send them out as a package.

Here's what I'm working on: Creating my VCD using VCDeasy. Before burning, I'll add an autorun.inf file and a version of Windows Media Player classic in the root directory of the VCD. (You can try searching here for Windows Media Player 6.4.72 - mplayerc.exe if you need it. Best all in one Media I';ve seen! )

---Autorunfile below---
[autorun]
open=Player \mplayerc.exe /play /close \MPEGav\avseq01.mpg
--------------------------

I've burned it to a cd-rw and it auto launches using the Media Player fine in my PC. You may have to dump the Roxio software and try or buy something like VCD Easy and/or Nero. The key is being able to add the autorun.inf file and the media player to the root of the SVCD cd-rom before you burn it. Some software won't let you do that.

[tlegion]

[Poppa_Meth]

you could also consider DivX. I think there is a new tool in the tools section that automatically installs DivX and runs the movie file you specify.

[vitualis]

Powermark, you are missing the point entirely.

I don't know what you think a "VCD" is but please read this first: https://www.videohelp.com/vcd

A VCD refers to a specific format and what we are saying, is that for your purpose it doesn't sound like VCD is the solution for you. From what I can understand, you want to have video distributed on a CD that even newbies can play on their computer.

This really precludes using the VCD format.

VCDs require specific software to play on the PC and no version of Windows natively comes with a VCD compatible player. Sure, you can can use Windows Media Player to play the "DAT" file, but this is not a good solution.

The only reason you would want to make VCDs for distribution if you are planning for people to view your disc on a stand-alone device (e.g., a DVD player).

If you want to make a disc that is designed to be played on the PC, you should do as I suggested above. Encode your video as MPEG-1 and simply burn it on a disc as a CD-ROM. If you want autoplay, then create a file named "autorun.inf" and put the following in it:

[autorun]
open= mplayer2.exe video.mpg

... where video.mpg is the name of your MPEG file. mplayer2.exe is the original Windows Media Player and it can play MPEG-1 files "out of the box" and is included in every installation of Windows 98 and up (not too sure about Win95).

If the person has set their CD drive to autorun, then putting the disc in will automatically launch Windows Media Player (classic) and start playing the video file.

Even if they haven't set their CD drive to autorun, simply browsing the CD will yield an obvious .mpg file on the root directory. A simple note on the case jacket to "double-click" on this file should do.

This as I explained before is the best solution as the autorun is as close to flawless as you can get on a Windows PC and even if you don't use autorun, it will work easily and obviously on just about any PC, be it Windows based, MacOS based, Linux, etc. No installation of software or drivers is required.

Regards.

[shutterbug]

Actually, I can't think of a better way than a VCD to do what Powermark is attempting. I'm doing basically the same thing. I have one disc that will play in both a DVD player (whether it's a living room or a conference room setting) and will still play in a PC--with no need for a user to do anything other than close a disc drive. So how the heck is this wrong???

The modified version of Windows media player that I included on my discs https://www.videohelp.com/tools?tool=220#comments by Gabest plays virtually ANYTHING---Svcd', DVDs, CD's, Real Media, even capture devices. Including the player on the SVCD eliminates the need to worry if the end user has compatible software. There are even ways to change reg keys to turn ON autorun if a user has it turned off...Sure seems dummy proof to me.

[mats.hogberg]

There are even ways to change reg keys to turn ON autorun if a user has it turned off

Could you please explain how this can be done (without user action) on a system where autorun is off?

/Mats

[Cornucopia]

Vitualis, normally I quite agree with your assessments, but this is one where you might be missing the boat.

I make Autorun capable VCD's all the time. Barring a few ideosyncracies, the Roxio VCD_PLAY.EXE is a great on-board player that supports the VCD 2.0 spec and has a small footprint--no installations required.
All that's usually needed is the...
AUTORUN.INF
MYICON.ICO
README.TXT
VCD_PLAY.EXE
LICENSE.TXT
...and that's it! Put them all in the root directory and go.

Works on Win95b on up (havent tried NT 3.51 or NT4, though).
Of course, if autorun is disabled it won't go right to the player, but thet's what the readme is for. I figure, if they're such computer noobies that they need a simple player, they won't know how to disable autorun.

My 2cents,
Scott

[Amerzone]

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but If you want the VCD to work in a US DVD player, it needs to be in the NTSC format. For the disc to work overseas, you'll need your disc in PAL format.

This is not correct; I have downloaded from Streamload at least 10 mpg's encoded as NTSC and created VCD v2.0 NTSC out of them with VCDEasy and, of course, they play just fine in my standalone Pioneer DV-535 PAL player.

[vitualis]

Vitualis, normally I quite agree with your assessments, but this is one where you might be missing the boat.

I make Autorun capable VCD's all the time. Barring a few ideosyncracies, the Roxio VCD_PLAY.EXE is a great on-board player that supports the VCD 2.0 spec and has a small footprint--no installations required.
All that's usually needed is the...
AUTORUN.INF
MYICON.ICO
README.TXT
VCD_PLAY.EXE
LICENSE.TXT
...and that's it! Put them all in the root directory and go.

Works on Win95b on up (havent tried NT 3.51 or NT4, though).
Of course, if autorun is disabled it won't go right to the player, but thet's what the readme is for. I figure, if they're such computer noobies that they need a simple player, they won't know how to disable autorun.

My 2cents,
Scott

That is fair... but it is not cross-platform. Use anything but a Windows PC and it won't work...

And some people do turn off autorun -- or it could have been swtiched off if they use a burning proggy.

IMHO, for discs designed to be played back on a PC, MPEG-1 encoded at a 1:1 aspect ratio + HTML is still the best solution.

Regards.

[powermark]

Well, I appreciate all the help I am getting. I don't think I am missing the point of what everyone is saying, I am of the mindset that DVD is the way to go, period. But I was told that I HAVE to make a VCD version of the training DVD's I have already built, and so I am trying desperately to make something work that I don't think is the best option.

The other catch is that I need to simulate some type of menu system with the VCD's which I couldn't get to work very well with Nero. They need to function just like a DVD with a main menu that allows the user to choose each of the movies from there.....I have that figured out in EasyCD Creator though.

Oh well, thanks for all the help. I will see what I can do!

[vitualis]

Again, I emphasies this...

If you already have a DVD version of a training video, what is the point of a VCD one?

Unless yoru clients have a certain degree of technical savvy, a VCD version of the disc will be no more compatible than the DVD version. Both will play on a stand-alone DVD player, but neither will necessarily play on a PC without additional software.

If you need something that will play on a PC (especially cross-platform), then a VCD (as per the specific video disc format as described in the White Book by Philips) I don't think is a good choice. A CD-ROM with HTML and MPEG can play almost universally.

If you do need advanced VCD authoring capabilities, I suggest that you abandon Roxio and Nero. Rather, get VCDEasy and then learn the underlying VCDImager system. My site here: http://www.michaeltam.com should offer some assistance though I should warn you that there is a significant learning curve.

Regards.

[RabidDog]

As somebody else pointed out .. using divx and and an autoplayer would allow better quality and more video per disc than any other solution. You could try using the inbuilt windows media tools, wmv and html, this is good for windows PCs. However you have not been specific enough in your requirements.. eg multi-platform pc &mac ? PC and DVD player?? interactivity required?? how much video?
why vcd? why not svcd /dvd /divx/ flash/ power point ?
Also burning as low-res DVD resolution on a dvd disc with menus would be the easiest way to go.

is this the chairmens crimbo message to the troops??

[akrasna]

Hi All,
This thread looks to address my same ?.
I think I have it down to - how do I add files (the autorun.inf for example) to a VCD and still allow it to play ...

I tried lots of burning SW
also tried VCDeasy - some some reason that disk did not work at all - but that could have been my bin-iso conversion

can someone give an easy way to take ana exisitng (working VCD)
add a file or 2 onto the root - burn a new disk that still works in the VCD player?

Thanks
Allen

[mikesbytes]

---Autorunfile below---
[autorun]
open=Player \mplayerc.exe /play /close \MPEGav\avseq01.mpg
--------------------------

Does it play on all versions of windows? Some machines have mplayer2.exe. is the c a typo?

I make Autorun capable VCD's all the time. Barring a few ideosyncracies, the Roxio VCD_PLAY.EXE is a great on-board player that supports the VCD 2.0 spec and has a small footprint--no installations required.

This is about the saftest option for compatibility, as there is almost no dependency on the target computer.
The quality is crappy for slide shows, whats it like for video?

As somebody else pointed out .. using divx and and an autoplayer would allow better quality and more video per disc than any other solution.

The problem with Divx is that there are some really old PC's out at some client sites that don't have the grunt for Divx. VCD standard mpeg will play on a P120.


What about a laptop.

If you have enough space, you can have another copy of the video on the cd and use a browser booter in your autorun script. Most computers have a browser.

[Cornucopia]

Look at some of my past posts regarding info on Autorun options. You're right in being wary of the "Mplayer" script--too many variables there. If you really want to go that way, you should create a batch file.

VCD_PLAY.EXE has worked well for me. Don't know what you mean when you say slideshows look bad. Maybe you are making a video of the slideshow and using video resolution (352x240) as opposed to leaving as stills and using still resolution (704x480). That looks quite good on both TV and PC.

You don't really have to duplicate your media on a disc either. You can use an ASX metafile to reference any AVSEQ##.DAT files you want. This can also be played with mplayer if you desired (obviously not needed for the VCD_PLAY.EXE).

Scott

[mikesbytes]

Thanks Scott,

The slide show was using standard 720/704 * 576 resoultion. Just looked inferior on the PC, as distinct from using a software DVD player. I suppect that VCD_PLAY.exe was reducing the resoloution.

I was thinking that the second PC copy could be a better resolution or bitrate to the .DAT files.

You can use an ASX metafile to reference any AVSEQ##.DAT files you want.

Have you got an example?

You're right in being wary of the "Mplayer" script--too many variables there. If you really want to go that way, you should create a batch file.

Have you got an example?

[lordsmurf]

Use a standard MPEG1 file.