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If you have a DV camcorder and a CD (not DVD) burner, aside from exporting your footage to VHS tape, how can you share your movies with others? Video CD (VCD) or Super Video CD (SVCD) may be the answer...

How do the formats compare?

Using Nero 6 on the PC I created a VCD and a SVCD containing footage in both 16:9 and in 4:3 format. I then attempted playback on a PC, a Mac, a consumer DVD player, and extraction and conversion to alternative video formats on a Mac.

VCD

• VCD has a 352 x 288 resolution at 25 frames per second (PAL) , MPEG-1 encoding at fixed bitrate, allowing approx. 70 mins of video, discs are playable on almost all DVD players, quality approximates that of VHS tape.
• On Windows, RealPlayer v.10 and Windows Media Player v.9 both recognized the difference in 16:9 vs 4:3 aspect ratios during playback; neither player displayed the disc menu.
• On Windows, WinDVD v.4 recognized difference in 16:9 vs 4:3 aspect ratios during playback and displayed the disc menu.
• On the Mac, VLC recognized the difference in 16:9 vs 4:3 aspect ratios during playback but didn't display the disc menu.
• On the Philips DVDR890/051 DVD re-recorder
• I could extract footage from the VCD (using Gumby) and convert it to other formats on the Mac.

SVCD

• SVCD has 576 x 480 resolution at 25 frames per second (PAL), MPEG-2 encoding at a variable bitrate, allowing approx. 35 mins of video at highest quality, discs are playable on many DVD players, quality approximates 2/3rd that of DVD.
• On Windows, RealPlayer could not play back the footage (it tried to download an MPEG-2 Support Plugin but still failed, saying additional software should be purchased).
• On Windows, Windows Media Player could not play back the footage.
• On Windows, WinDVD played back the footage but didn't recognize difference in 16:9 vs 4:3 aspect ratios, and didn't display the disc menu.
• On the Mac, VLC didn't recognize the difference in aspect ratios during playback (but this could be manually adjusted) and didn't display the disc menu.
• On the Philips DVDR890/051 DVD re-recorder
• I cannot extract footage from the SVCD and convert it to other formats on the Mac, unless I extract it on the PC first.

So it actually seems like VCD may be the better (i.e. more compatible) choice, even though it is technically and visibly inferior.

The following instructions assume Windows XP + SP2 with Nero 6.3.1.17. Remember, the better the quality of your original footage, the better the quality of your VCD or SVCD. Where possible, try to work with full-quality Digital Video format as your source material.

How to create a Video CD (VCD) with Nero 6

1. Start > All Programs > Nero > Nero SmartStart
2. Move the mouse over the 4th menu icon from the left and click on "Make Video CD":

   

3. A NeroVision Express 2 window will open. If the video footage you want to capture is on the camcorder, with the camcorder switched on and connected, chose "Capture Video"
4. Otherwise, if your footage is already on your computer, click "Add Video Files" and navigate to the location of your footage. Note that you can select more than one file by holding down the Ctrl key (each file will be a sperate menu item on the finished CD):

   

5. A blue bar will show you how much space your footage will occupy on the CD:

   

6. Click the "Next" icon
7. If you want, mess about with the CD menu options e.g. background picture, button shape etc, or just accept the defaults and click "Next" again:

   

8. Preview the VCD using the virtual remote control, then click "Next" and then "Burn":

   

9. Sit back and wait, as the ?transcoding? (conversion) of your footage into the MPEG-1 format will take some time, and the computer will probably be unusable during this time. Enter a blank CD-R disc when prompted (if you haven't already):

   

10. After the successful burn message, click "Exit". You can decide whether or not to save your project: "Yes" if you might want to burn the same CD again, otherwise "No":

    

11. You'll need player software (e.g. WinDVD; see above) to play the disk on your PC. Most consumer DVD players will be able to play back VCD disks.

How to create a Super Video CD (SVCD) with Nero 6

1. Start > All Programs > Nero > Nero SmartStart.
2. Move the mouse over the 4th menu icon from the left and click on "Make Super Video CD".
3. If the video footage you want to capture is on the camcorder, with the camcorder switched on and connected, chose "Capture Video".
4. Otherwise, if your footage is already on your computer, click "Add Video Files..." and navigate to the location of your footage. Note that you can select more than one file by holding down the Ctrl key: each file will be a sperate menu item on the finished CD.
5. A blue bar will show you how much space your footage will occupy on the CD using the default "Standard" quality setting.
6. To change the quality setting (e.g. the make it high-quality, or to lower the quality in order to make your footage fit on the CD), click on the "More" icon then "Video Options" then the "Super Video CD" tab. Use the quality setting pull-down menu; when you're done, click the "Next" icon.
7. If you want, mess about with the CD menu options e.g. background picture, button shape etc, or just accept the defaults and click "Next" again.
8. Preview the SVCD using the virtual remote control, then click "Next" and then "Burn".
9. Sit back and wait, as the "transcoding" (conversion) of your footage into the MPEG-2 format as used on DVDs will take some time, and the computer will probably be unusable during this time. Enter a blank CD-R disc when prompted (if you haven't already).
10. After the successful burn message, click "Exit". You can decide whether or not to save your project: yes if you might want to burn the same CD again, otherwise no.
11. You'll need player software (e.g. WinDVD; see above) to play the disk on your PC. Some consumer DVD players will be able to play back SVCD disks.

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