Either VCD, SVCD (super VCD) or XVCD (none standard bitrates) will play on most DVD players. There is a giant compatibility list over at vcdhelp.

What format did you render in? If you haven't already you need to use one of the included templates for VCD or SVCD. For me, the simple way is render to file, then burn as many videos as will fit to one CD with Ulead's DVD Movie Factory. It supports VCD and SVCD as well as DVD plus you get to add chapers just like in DVD.

THANKS for the info !! You both have been very helpful !! I will let you know how it goes !!

Good information, and now I have another question, no doubt a big "newbie." I keep seeing VCD, SVCD, etc., yet I understand a VCD to be simply a CD with video. Still, I am supposed to pick burn to VCD OR CD when I render. When I try VCD, it says I have no support for this. What the heck is the problem? My goal, now that MPEG-2 is a standardized format, is to render to that, and have a CD-R that will play on PCs and (compliant) DVD players, since the new ones recognize CD-R, CD-RW, etc. Is this possible? I have made great stuff using WMV format at 3 - but I do not want everyone to have to view only on PCs and with WinMP. I've been reading thru a lot of forum topics and you seem to do a great job helping each other with issues. So, thanks - if anyone can help me.

Its easy to confuse 'copying' files to a CD simply for storage, which of course allows playback at least on the PC that created them, and 'burning a VCD' which requires the addition of a few overhead files and using a specific file format.

The creation of the overhead files is taken care automatically by the CD burning software. However you do need to make a compliant file. Before we get there lets explain the various kinds of VCD's you can make.

VCD the oldest and simplest kind is based on MPEG-1 and only supports a low bitrate. That limits the quality.

SVCD (the S stands for super) is based on MPEG-2 and supports not only a higher bitrate and larger frame size it also support variable bitrate meaning when the file gets renders the parts of the video that need higher bitrates get it.

XVCD is kind of a odd duck. Between VCD and SVCD. This is the least likely to play on many set top DVD players.

Now to make a VCD pick Main Concept MPEG-1 mpg as file type and use the VCD NTSC or PAL template. These will make complian files allowing you to put multiple videos on one CD using Easy CD Creator, Nero, Ulead DVD Movie Factory, etc..

To make a SVCD pick Main Concept MPEG-2 and the SVCD templates.

To make a XVCD pick Main Concept MPEG-2 and the SVCD template and click the custom button to adjust the bitrates.

You can burn from within Vegas Video (I never tried, so gussing) I think so far that method is limited to a single file. So depending on the size of your video you may be leaving a lot of blank space of the CD, won't have a menu, or sub menues.

Thanks, and I was hoping you'd reply because I've read a lot of your messages. So my best bet is to use SVCD with MPEG-2, and it will play on (many newer) DVD players and on PCs, correct? And it should play whether the viewer is using RealOne or WinMp, or any other PC Player. Then to put in menus (do they also show on PC?), I should use ULEAD, in your opinion. I'm familiar with it. Does ECD Creator also do the menus (have 5.1 already)? The current video I am working on is 13 min., rendered in .wmv format, at 3kbps, large frame size, which I definitely want, and stereo quality of course. Works very well on PCs. It's ~300 Mb, and I'm trying to estimate the file size in MPEG-2. Haven't upgraded to VV yet, because I wanted to make sure it would suit my needs. Right now I'm using VF.

The menus will only show up on PC playback if DVD playing software is used (for example Cyberlynk's Power DVD). The other players you mentioned will only play back the media file itself.

That's what I thought, and that works fine. Just wanted some verification. Thanks.

Just a word of caution. The only video types that can play on pretty much any DVD player are DVD-Video, and VCD. The other formats (SVCD, XVCD, miniDVD) can play on only a very few set-top players at the moment, although you could play them on a PC.

But if you are recording something you want to preserve for many years, I would suggest sticking to a format that is guaranteed to be around. I believe that leaves us with DVD and VCD. It is tempting to use an existing CD burner for recording purposes, but I think for the sake of quality and longevity you're going to have to get a DVD burner. I bought my Pioneer DVR-A04 for just $330, so prices are coming down quickly.

You can play SVCD on Media Player, other players, but because the format is 480x480 it will be badly out of proportion. The solution is install some DVD Player software, some version usually comes with either DVD players or burners or you can find others on the web like Power DVD.

http://www.gocyberlink.com/english/products/product_main.jsp?ProdId=28

Okay, so let's see. I want the MPEG-2 frame size of 720x480. Can I use that for VCD and have a relatively versatile disc? While I'm not averse to buying a DVD burner, I was hoping to wait until the industry standardizes everything - don't want to be on the Beta end, like in the Beta/VHS war. I also have to make two separate discs for my clients as is, but hey - they can always pay for a third, though a 10-15 min. video on a DVD seems overkill. The video portion remains fairly short, so the constraints of CDs aren't a problem. Regardless, I plan to upgrade to VV anyway because it offers a lot more than VFactory, yes? Am I missing anything else?

The problem with 720x480 and VCD is that it's not supported as part of the standard so it's difficult to encode it from Vegas that way. Also 720x480 needs a lot of bits for all that resolution so you get blocking and other motion artifacts. You can use a program like TMPGEnc to encode at 720x480. Now you've got a XVCD which is only playable on some DVD players. By the way, I bought Beta and am proud of it and I just got a HP 200i DVD +RW. Come on and join the crowd.

Hope this helps...

Al

A little confusing. Molly, the format for making a SVCD needs to be 480x480. The template is setup that way if you take a peek by hitting the custom button once you load the SVCD template for NTSC. So playing off a regular viewer like Media Player on your PC it will be boxy looking. When played on a DVD set top player it automatically gets expanded to the 720x480 size, so too if your use a computer based DVD player.

I know what you mean about the BetaMax VHS war. I have a hardly used BetaMax player still collecting dust from about 10 years ago. I went with a HP 200i DVD +RW second generation DVD burner because I know it supports DVD +R also. The other older format works good too. At this point there are two warning camps so I don't think there is going to be any standard anytime soon. Don't really matter much if whatever version you pick plays on the DVD player you have unless you plan on selling them or something like that.

Mollymac,

Unfortunately, you are on the envelope of technology, and there is NO format that exists that will play on EVERY PC & EVERY DVD. For example, after buying a Pioneer DVD-RW A03 (which I love), I was surprised to find out that there are a number of Home DVD players out there that will not play any Burned DVD-Rs

If the video you want to put onto CD or DVD was just for yourself, there are a lot of inexpensive, high quality options (if interested, email me I can go into those in more detail), but since the purpose is for client copies, your choices are extremely limited, and the problem is only compounded by incompatibility worries.

I cannot emphasize the point of REALLY READING and knowing the full descriptions of each format from the www.VCDHELP.com I'd say they are just about the best authority/resource out there. (For some reason, right now, their site is down). They hold the largest DVD player compatibility/ratings/comments database, anywhere, and all authoring software companies to the site for compatibility references.

The reason I stress this so much is that, I don't want you to possibly make a poor business decision based on something any one person tells you, not even me. If you are going to distribute a particular format to a business client, you need to know whether it will work or not, and under what circumstances. From my own experience, it's very embarrassing when you give them a SVCD and it doesn't work. They seem to lose faith in your abilities. Don't let them catch you off guard.

What I do is I present my clients with a chart showing the main formats, pros cons, and then let them decide. They can also see if their DVD is compatible or not. This may sound drastic, but some of my repeat clients (I edit a lot of their videos), were quite pleased to spend $90-150 on a new, more compatible DVD players like Pioneer or Apex, overall saving them in the long run.

I also noticed that customers were more likely to believe the fact that a particular CD didn’t work as on account of their DVD player’s incompatibility, rather than my inabilities, when they saw it in print.

I don't mean to criticize the previous posts, but I didn't want you to be under informed/misinformed regarding the SVCD format. I agree with the fact that the SVCD format is MPEG2 with restrictions on dimensions, bit rate & Audio, but any illusion that MPEG2 decoding software is somehow native or included with the windows OS, is an incorrect assumption. It is, however, an easy mistake to make considering everyone on this board owns vv3, which has such an Mpeg decoder integrated.

I'm sorry I didn't have betters answers, but I am hopeful for the future. Since most new DVD players sold are being sold with SVCD/XVCD capabilities. Most PC are sold with DVD players, CD burners, and Fire wire ports, it won't be long before the whole video process of DV Camcorder to PC to SVCD (or similar) is accepted & embraced. I see that as a much more viable possibility, than everyone learning how to author DVDs. $.30 coasters are easier to swallow than $3 ones.

Jeffy82@aol.com

I'm starting to detect a certain one-upmanship attitude taken by some posters which I don't find particularly helpful. Video Editing is a complex, broad topic. There are people here that are "professionals" raw beginners, and lots in-between. Some perhaps have a business, others may want to start one, still others are just in it for the fun of it. While I'm at it I may as well express my displeasure at a certain poster suggesting in not very friendly language that hey you better use search before you ask a question, because I'm busy snobbery. Boy, that's telling. Last time I checked nobody is getting their arm twisted. If you want to reply to someone you do, if you don't, then don't.

The purpose of this forum as I see it is to get quick answers, and yes, just chat. For me at least unless someone specifically indicates they need to know some particulars for a limited or special situation, I respond as others do in generalities and I don't see anything wrong with that. I hope we don't get to a point that each response needs a disclaimer or fifteen footnotes explaining under what circumstances the answer applies.

Here is the scoop (I haven't read the whole thread so this may be redundant).

Almost all DVD authoringware will burn a DVD to CDR (miniDVD). Almost none of the set top players will play them. I happen to have 2 of the hacked region free Sampo players that play them fine as long as the bitrate isn't set real high and I use good quality blank media.

All DVD players play VCD so that is an alternative choice for quick and dirty previewing.

If you are lucky enough to have a DVD-R/-RW drive AND a set top player that likes DVD-RW media that is the way to go. I think all new Pioneer set top players now support DVD-RW.

One more good alternative is to use a software DVD player. If your Authoring tool will make a DVD Title Set (VIDEO_TS folder) you can trick software players into thinking that the folder that contains the title folders is a DVD drive using the old DOS subst command.

^^^^Almost all DVD authoringware will burn a DVD to CDR (miniDVD). Almost none of the set top players will play them.

not true. More and more set top players will play them. If you go to vcdhelp.com and search for DVD players supporting miniDVD, you will find more than 100 models, including some from Hitachi, Philips, RCA, and Sony.

I found miniDVD to be the ideal choice for home video. Families get tired of watch a 60+ minutes home video, while 20 minutes seems to be the best stopping point, when they still want more from you :)

JEEZ - ask a "simple" question and find there is no simple answer, just like life, eh? Thing is, the .wmv format works great for me, since PC and Mac users can download the player. Looks like I will have to wait and see what I'm going to do about the DVD burner, but I'll eventually make a decision. I think everyone has helped me. Al, be PROUD of your BETA purchase! Jeff, clients losing faith in me means my losing money, so I'm careful about ANY claims I make. Billy, thanks for all the tips so far. Can't check the peek since I haven't bought the program, but I think I will, and learn its ins and outs (with the help of you guys) so that I'll be ready when I decide to go the DVD route. I'm still listening. Just about anything is better than dealing with fixing McAfee, like I did most of today... Thanks.

You, too? My McAfee is acting up, too. I'm about this close to switching to Norton. What exactly was your problem, and how did you fix it? My McAfee problem is dozens of update pop-ups a day. If this is your problem, too, maybe I could share with you what I've got so far.

Sorry about the off-topic post, but my Vegas is running problem-free these days, so I don't have any Vegas issues at the moment. All software should be this solid.

BTW, regarding the thread topic, my 2¢, for what it's worth: If you don't have a DVD burner yet (neither do I), good old-fashioned VCD is my preferred method of distribution. It'll play on just about every set-top DVD player made in the past 3 years or so, and if you open up the AVSEQxx.DAT files (that's your video) of a VCD's MPEGAV folder, it'll play in anybody's Windows Media Player, since it's MPEG1, a pre-installed codec. Sure, the quality isn't as good as DVD or SVCD, but the beautiful SVCDs and XSVCDs I'm lucky enough to have a player that supports, don't play in a lot of other people's DVD players, I've found, so my SVCDs are a home-brewed treat for myself, for the most part.

Now, about that pesky McAfee...?

Dear p... you really want to know? It's a boring story and a testament to the want-it-right-now attitude that ususally causes mistakes. Had a trial version of Active Shield running and didn't really like it. Went to the store to buy Norton AV on sale and they were out, so I bought McA VS 6. Brought it home, loaded it up, and everything went haywire. Nobody said you couldn't run both AS and VS - it never occurred to me, since they're really two different approaches. I talked to them on chat (very slow, kissy-face, and likely to get you a standard FAQ answer page), then uninstalled VS and tried to uninstall Active, to no avail. Would not uninstall thru either Programs or Control. Had to manually uninstall per their directions involving regedit, then reinstall VS. Still got error messages for Active! Nothing worked to get rid of it, so after several chats with them and the same instr. pages, I put my system back (have XP to thank for that) to before the first install of VS 6. Then I uninstalled Active thru regedit and still had to search for all McA files and delete them, except Agent, which the system refuses to delete. Then I reinstalled VS and it seems to be working so far. It had better, because now I'm stuck with it. Of course, the multiple installs meant I had to re-register and download the updates every time. No small matter as I live in the boonies and have a dial-up (I can hear most of you groaning with pity). The only reason I didn't wait for Norton is because I wanted something THAT DAY. Sure ended up being a time-saver, didn't it?!

I ran across an extremely convoluted post the other day on how to remove McAfee Virus Scan 6 from XP. Hard to buy you need to go through all the listed steps, but who knows... Just passing along, no idea if it works or not. Geez, I'm glad I went with Norton.

http://groups.google.com/groups?q=McAFee+problems&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&selm=%23B2s8gJECHA.1108%40tkmsftngp04&rnum=3