Burning a VCD/SVCD using VCDEasy

Introduction	DVD DIGEST

VideoCD (VCD) is the predecessor to DVD, and exists on CD media. Most DVD players will support the playback of VCDs. Super VideoCD (SVCD) is an improvement upon VCD (uses DVD's MPEG-2 video compression - better picture quality) - both VCD/SVCD exists on CD media. Most DVD players will support the playback of VCDs, but only a few will playback SVCDs - not all DVD players can playback CD-Rs either (check your player's manuals for more information).

This guide is intended to teach you how to burn a MPEG-2 MPG file onto a CD-R to make a VCD/SVCD. VCDEasy can be used in two different ways. It can be used to author a BIN/CUE image set (complete with all the proper CD-R formatting to make a compatible VCD/SVCD) for burning with most other CD burning software titles, such as Nero Burning ROM. It can also be used as a complete VCD/SVCD authoring solution, including both authoring and burning of the VCD/SVCD (using CDRDAO Integration). This guide covers both methods.

Requirements	DVD DIGEST

Software :

• VCDEasy

Hardware :

• CD Writer
• Blank CD-R (650 MB or 700 MB)

What's New	DVD DIGEST

• Version 1.0 - 6 July 2002 - First public version of this guide.

Instructions	DVD DIGEST

1. Ensure your MPG file is MPEG-1 file is VCD compliant if you are making a VCD. Similarly, ensure your MPEG-2 is SVCD compliant if you are making a SVCD. In order for your MPEG-1/2 file to be VCD/SVCD compliant, it must have one of the following properties (although it may still work in your VCD/SVCD player if it doesn't follow these standards, it cannot be guaranteed) :
   
   

   Video System	Resolution (width x height):
   VCD - NTSC	352x240
   VCD - PAL	352x288
   SVCD - NTSC	480x480
   SVCD - PAL	480x576

   
   
   To check which type of MPEG-1/2 file you have, load it into a DVD player like PowerDVD or WinDVD and check the information that is displayed in the "information" section of these players.
   
   
   
   If your MPEG-1 file is not VCD compliant, you will have to re-encode it so that it is (eg. using TMPGEnc). Please refer to this guide for more information on how to do this. The same applies to your MPEG-2 file.
   
   





2. Start up VCDEasy and click on the "Settings" button on the left to enter the settings section.
   
   



3. Most of the other options are optional can be left alone, but below are the options that are of some importance to you :
   • VCDEasy section
     • Enable CDRDAO Integration : you should make sure this option is enabled if you want VCDEasy to burn your VCD/SVCD. You will need to restart VCDEasy for the changes to take effect.
     • CD Image Type : the default BIN/CUE option is probably the best one to select here for maximum compatibility.
     • Delete CD Image file if burn successful : if you are using VCDEasy to burn your VCD/SVCD, then enable this option to delete the BIN file that was generated for the burning process.
   • CDRDAO section
     • CD Writer : select your CD-Writer hardware from this pull down menu. If your CD writer is not listed here, you may need to install the latest version of the ASPI drivers.
     • Force Driver : If you leave this option as "default", then CD burning within VCDEasy may not work. To find out which driver suits your drive best, please have a look at the table on this page. If your drive is not listed, then you may have to select "generic-mmc".
   





4. Now click on the (S)VCD button on the left hand side. You should be presented with a screen like this :
   
   





5. VideoCD Type : Select "VCD 2.0" for making VCDs. Select "SVCD 1.0" for making SVCDs.





6. CD Writer : Make sure your CD writer hardware is selected here. Enable the "Burn" option to the right if you want to use VCDEasy to burn your VCD/SVCD. If you prefer to use an external CD burning software (eg. Nero Burning ROM), then make sure the "Burn" option is disabled.





7. Bin output file : Select the location where you want to save your BIN/CUE image set. If you are using VCDEasy to burn your VCD/SVCD and you have selected the "Delete CD Image file if burn successful" option (see above), then this will be the temporary location of any files VCDEasy generates for the burning process (any files will be deleted after the burn is sucessful).





8. Press the "Add file" button to start adding in your MPEG-1/2 files. You can drag as many MPG files as you wish (the MPG files must all be the same type/properties), and each MPG file will represent a track on your VCD/SVCD (which can be forwarded/rewinded to using the DVD/SVCD player's skip track button). The order in which the files are displayed here will be the order they are played back in, so if you wish to change the ordering, just drag the various files around until you get the right ordering.
   
   





9. When you have finished, press the "Go" button to start authoring your VCD/SVCD.





10. If you selected the "Burn" option (see above), then VCDEasy will start burning your VCD/SVCD after it has finished authoring the VCD/SVCD. However, if VCDEasy cannot burn your VCD/SVCD, or you didn't select the "Burn" option and want to use an external software to burn the movie disc, then procesed to the next step. Otherwise, you are finished here.

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Burning BIN/CUE files using Nero Burning ROM

1. Start Nero Burning ROM and from the "File" menu, select "Burn Image". Locate your CUE file and load it into Nero.





2. Nero will now let you select the burning options. If you've used Nero before, then these settings should already be familiar for you (if not, please refer to Nero's help files for more information on these options). Just make sure the "Write Method" option is set to "Disc-At-Once".





3. Click on the "Write" button to start burning.