Video CD Frequently Asked Questions Video CD - White Book Frequently Asked Questions About VideoCD... The White Book specification for Video CD, which was announced by JVC, Philips, SONY and Matsushita in July 1993, is a special implementation of CD-ROM/XA designed to store MPEG-1 video. MPEG stands for Motion Picture Experts Group, which is a joint committee of the International Standards Organization and the International Electrochemical Commission. The White Book specification defines a Mode 2, Form 2 disc that can contain up to 74 minutes of VHS-quality, full-screen, full-motion video. Video CD can be played on a personal computer with a CD-ROM/ XA drive and an add-in MPEG video card, a CD-i player with an FMV cartridge, modified stand-alone VideoCD players available from several electronics manufacturers, many DVD players or with software video decoding only. In Southeast Asia, VideoCD has entirely replaced the VHS tape for movie sales and rentals. The problems with storing video data on compact discs are twofold: too much data and a slow rate of output. One second of uncompressed VHS-quality video would require five megabytes of storage space. A 680MB compact disc could contain about two minutes of video. Obviously, the data must be compressed for storage, then decompressed for real-time display. MPEG-1 uses various techniques to compress video data by a factor as high as 200:1. Because MPEG is an international standard, any manufacturer can make hardware capable of recording, compressing, and playing MPEG video. Because it is not limited to any one platform, MPEG video can also be recorded and played back from Red Book and Yellow Book CDs, given the necessary hardware and interface. MPEG can be used by any CD-ROM publisher to include video clips in multimedia applications. The rates of video and audio compression can be varied according to the application. However, VideoCD extends MPEGs usefulness by authoring the video in standard bitrates into a format that removes redundant MPEG1 video information, and adding a CDi runtime application for use in CDi, DVD or VideoCD players. Many CD-ROM formatting packages claim to format VideoCDs, but do not include this required CDi application and also do not offer interactive authoring capabilities. The White Book, since its original inception as version 1.1, has been supplemented over the years by VideoCD 2.0 (1995), VCD-ROM (1997), VCD-Internet (1997) and SuperVCD (1998). VideoCD 2.0 is for interactive PAL and NTSC video, including hi-resolution stills and fastforward/rewind capabilities. VCD-ROM allows for creation of hybrid CD-ROM and VideoCD discs. VCD-Internet is a standardized way to 'link' video and the webpages coming from the disc or on-line. SuperVCD is hi-bitrate MPEG1 and/or variable bitrate MPEG2, using inexpensive CD-R drives and media instead of DVD drives. Frequently Asked Questions About VideoCD Used with permission of Compact Data Inc. Q. What is VideoCD? A. VideoCD is a delivery mechanism for visual or aural data that anyone can view and control easily using many different kinds of playback screens. Basically, audio and video signals are formatted into an internationally recognized binary standard on a compact disc. Interactive control is embedded into the disc. VideoCD uses the same CD as CD-Audio and CD-ROM, but is optimized for playback of audio and video. Interactivity, can be controlled by an easy-to-use remote control and/or mouse. An Audio-CD is defined by the Red Book. A CD-ROM is defined by the Yellow Book. CD-Recordable is defined by the Orange Book Part II. VideoCD is defined by the White Book. Q. Is VideoCD video full-motion and full-screen? A. Yes, VideoCD plays back in full-motion, full-screen S-VHS resolution on a television. (On a computer, the motion video resolution is 352 x240, the still resolution is 704 x 480 in NTSC). It is also possible to combine 352 x 240 video, with 704 x 480 'stills' and a common audio back ground to make very effective presentations. You can time the stills so they're on the screen for only an instant, or hours. Q. What is the difference between VideoCD 1.1 and VideoCD 2.0? A. VideoCD 1.1 works only in a PAL or NTSC VideoCD players (not both). Also you can't scan in fast forward or rewind within the file. Also, there's no selection lists, PhotoSlideShows, high resolution pictures, interactivity, menus, trigger bits, scene numbers or other kinds of interactive control. Control in VideoCD 1.1 can be done with hardware, but with hardware only. Q. Why do some VideoCDs look so lousy? A. Bad MPEG encoding hardware, poor video sources, unskilled encoder operators, old technology, etc. are some of the reasons. As with any technology, there are always improvements as time goes on. A major problem is encoding that is done using 'preset' parameters only with no tweaking being done. Unfortunately, you just can't dump VHS video through an MPEG1 encoder and expect to get a great picture out of it. As with anything, you get what you pay for. If you use good encoding hardware, from Beta Cam or better source and operate the encoding hardware properly, your clients will be amazed by VideoCD. Q. What is the difference between MPEG1 and MPEG2? A. MPEG2 is a superset of MPEG1. Generally, MPEG1 is used for CD-ROM or VideoCD and MPEG2 is used for broadcast or DVD. One current difference between MPEG1 and MPEG2 is that MPEG2 has implemented variable bit rate. MPEG1 variable bitrate is not excluded in the specification, and it's coming... Q. How many minutes of video fit on a VideoCD? A. In a two disc set, you can have 2 hours and 24 minutes of video, (74 min. per disc on each CD-R) including 16 bit stereo audio. 2 minutes per disc are required for the overhead for interactive control. Q. Why is the compact disc superior to tape? A. Random access, longevity, price, available supporting hardware, inexpensive duplicators, publishing services, upgrade path to DVD and SUPER VCD, inexpensive players, CDs don't wear out, and more. Q. Is VideoCD PAL or NTSC? A. Both, if made properly in VideoCD version 2.0 using either standard. Q. Can I use my CD-Recorder to make VideoCDs? A. Yes, if you have a Yamaha or some SONYs (many recorders have different brand names but internal Yamaha and SONY drives inside). Q. Can I play VideoCDs on a CD-ROM drive? A. Yes. There is software decoding and/or hardware decoding. Q. Is VideoCD DVD? A. No, DVD is a brand new format. Q. Will VideoCD work in a DVD player? A. Yes, but only some DVD players play VideoCD's. Q. Can I use VideoCD in a kiosk? A. YES! All you need is a TV and VideoCD player. It is possible to connect touchscreens to some VideoCD players via RS-232. Or, control them with a keypad, or programmable remote control. To say your client will like the price is an understatement. Q. Is VideoCD interactive like CD-ROM? A. Yes, but since the video and interactivity is in a internationally recognized format, there are no complex, title-specific hard drive space wasting installations required. As soon as you've installed your software (and/or hardware) for VideoCD, every VideoCD will work using this software installed for your CD-ROM drive. Or if you use the VCD-Internet standard, the disc will auto-play. The discs also work in many other types of devices. You don't have to be a computer whiz to author interactivity into a VideoCD. VideoCD complements your existing equipment by giving you another output option for your clients. Almost you can do with a CD-ROM, you can probably do better using video equipment, stills, VideoCD and interactive markers based on timecodes. You can blow away any Internet video presentation. Q. Can I control VideoCD with a mouse? A. Yes. In VideoCD 2.0 authoring software, you can define 'hot spots'. Q. If I have an MPEG1 file, can I record it to CD-ROM and have it work in a VideoCD player? A. No. Formatting software for CD-Recorders record prepared files to VideoCD tracks. Even if the file is in the correct bitrate and aspect ratio, it has to be authored to the VideoCD format using VideoCD 2.0 authoring software. Q. How do I make a VideoCD? A. First, you have to capture video and/or audio to a computer hard drive using an MPEG1 encoder board or MPEG1 software. Or convert digital assets to MPEG1. Second, convert any still images to the mpeg 'still format'. Then, you combine the audio, video and still formats (assets) you have as required. Then you register how the assets are linked (to items or timecodes within items) and assign keypad functions to the assets and/or links. Finally, you write (record) the video, stills and control data to a CD-Recordable disc. Q. Can I edit MPEG on VideoCD? A. Yes. There are Macintosh and Windows MPEG editing programs. You can also edit down to an "I", or reference frame within an MPEG file in the VCD 2.0 format. Or from an unedited track (MPEG1 file), author links to timecodes within an MPEG file. You can specify both in and out points. These points are called 'entry points'. Generally, you would MPEG directly from your AVID or Beta Cam, using EDL (edit decision lists) to an MPEG1 encoder. Alternately, you can run edited material on any system directly into component, S-VHS or composite inputs directly into an encoder. Stills can be converted from any graphics packages into the mpeg still format. Q. Can I make a VideoCD that loops continuously? A. Of course. You simply create a loop in your playback control diagram that never ends. Q. How can I put commercials on a VideoCD? A. One section of the VideoCD specifications specifies if the user can use his/her remote control. So, while a commercial is playing you can make the remote non-operational until the commercial is over. Full functionality in the remote is returned once the commercial is finished, or the 'still' has stayed on the screen for the programmed amount of time. Q. Can I make different parts of video play at different times? A. Yes. Just have one type of video loop for let's say 16 hours and then have another video sequence loop for 8 hours. Q. How many links can you have on a disc? A. Up to 5,000 per disc, or two disc set. One interactive program control we are aware of has 39 play back control 'pages' of links. (Each page has many links.) Q. What kind of CD-R media works best for VideoCD? A. Generally, lousy CD-R media causes all kinds of problems on VideoCD's that the error correction scheme in CD-ROM catches. Saving a few pennies on CD-R media might just really anger one of your clients when your discs don't work. Q. Can any compact disc factory that makes Audio-CDs or CD-ROMs make VideoCDs? A. Generally, but use due diligence to make sure, they do have to purchase a little more equipment on the mastering side. Q. Are there differences between VCD and Enhanced - 'Blue Book' CDs? A. Yes. ECD is an out-of-date CD-ROM/CD-Audio hybrid format. Playback of video is restricted to the CD-ROM format which was never designed for video. Also ECDs do not work in DVD, CDi or VideoCD players. Any more questions? Please e-mail: glennsan@videocd2.com