Difference between DVD, VCD, SVCD, DivX

[pablo1999]

So far I have learned about the different formats pertaining to video. I just want to make sure I have everything clear.

DVD - just refers to the media, the actual disk that can hold more than 4GB. Is this also a format?

VCD - refers to a format that can be burned in DVD or CD-R and can be played in a DVD player that supports DVD and Video CD.

SVCD - refers to a format that can be burned in DVD or CD-R and can be played in a DVD player that supports DVD and Video CD.

Divx - referes to another format that can be burned (authored) in DVD or CD-R and can be played in a DVD that supports DivX.

Is there such a thing as converting a VCD or SVCD to DVD? In other words can I burn VCD or SVCD to a DVD disk and play the video in a DVD that doesn't support Video CD??

Thanks in advanced,

pablo1999
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[yoda313]

Hello,

Is there such a thing as converting a VCD or SVCD to DVD? In other words can I burn VCD or SVCD to a DVD disk and play the video in a DVD that doesn't support Video CD??

YES!

I'm glad you did some basic research first

https://www.videohelp.com/convert

That has many guides to help.

The audio for vcd needs to be 48khz for dvd but the resolution can be the same.

SVCD needs the audio AND video converted to dvd specs to be compatible.

Programs like tmpgenc can do this for you

Kevin

EDIT - https://www.videohelp.com/dvd

That has more on dvd specs.

It is mpeg2 formated to .vob inside a video_ts folder. It is USUALLY higher than 3000 video bitrate with audio of 48khz. Though it can have three resolutions NTSC - 720x480 halfd1 - 352x480 VCD 320x240 (assuming audio converted to 48khz)

[ZippyP.]

I'll take a stab at defining some of the terms, or perhaps confusing the issue more. Don't forget to check out the "What is" and glossary sections on the top left of this page.

DVD: It's a pretty generic term that gets thrown around a lot and can refer to several things depending on the context. Usually it's a type of media (disk) that stores digital information and there are several types like DVD-R and +R, DVD-9, DVD-5 etc. It can also refer to a disk that has DVD-video recorded to it as in, "I just bought the Star Wars DVD." which perhaps should be, "I just bought Star Wars on DVD."

DVD-video: A file format that is sometimes also just called "DVD." Consists of .bup .ifo and .bup files in a VIDEO_TS sub-folder. This is produced after a dvd compliant mpeg is authored. As in, "I authored the dvd and burned it to disk."

VCD and VCD-video: Used interchangeably, the actual disk and the type of video that is specified for that format. As in, "I converted it to VCD then burned it to disk."

SVCD and SVCD-video: see above.

A DVD player can support DVD and not VCD or SVCD, as well a player can support DVD and VCD but not SVCD. VCD is more widely supported so if a DVD player supports SVCD it will usually also support VCD.

VCD, SVCD and DVD video is produced from specific types of mpeg files. VCD video is acceptable to DVD but not in the VCD format, it must be authored and burned as a DVD. SVCD video is not DVD compliant because of the resolution. If SVCD video is authored and burned to DVD it will usually only play if the player supports SVCD already. Alternatively an SVCD can be converted to make it DVD compliant.

Mpeg: A type of video compression (codec) used in making VCD,SVCD and DVD video. Uses the file extension mpg. Can be Mpeg1 (used in VCD and DVD) or mpeg2 (used in SVCD and DVD).

Divx: A video codec and file type that is more more highly compressed then mpeg. Usually has the file extension avi. Note: Video in an avi can be one of many different types of compression. An avi is not necessarily divx, but a divx is usually an avi.

Some terms get thrown around and when people aren't specific about what they mean it can get confusing to a new comer that is learning the lingo, especially if English is not their first language. Hope that helped a bit.

[pablo1999]

thanks yoda313 and ZippyP

The audio for vcd needs to be 48khz for dvd but the resolution can be the same. SVCD needs the audio AND video converted to dvd specs to be compatible.

So if the VCD and SVCD can be converted to DVD format and then burn to a DVD (disk), will it improve the resolution? In other words, if the VCD resolution is 352x288, after converting to DVD, will it change to 720x480 and keep a good video quality?

thanks in advanced,

pablo1999

[yoda313]

thanks yoda313 and ZippyP

The audio for vcd needs to be 48khz for dvd but the resolution can be the same. SVCD needs the audio AND video converted to dvd specs to be compatible.

So if the VCD and SVCD can be converted to DVD format and then burn to a DVD (disk), will it improve the resolution? In other words, if the VCD resolution is 352x288, after converting to DVD, will it change to 720x480 and keep a good video quality?

thanks in advanced,

pablo1999

Hello,

NO! In fact sometimes it will introduce a quality loss because it's either adding pixels or just messing with it in the first place.

Use HALFd1 for VCD upconversion if you want to change the resolution. BUT you only need to change the audio to 48khz for it to be dvd compatible

Kevin