VCD

Read this page to learn about VCD, including its definition, features, brief history, differences between VCD and DVD, and supported applications.

What is VCD?

VCD, or Video CD, is abbreviated for Video Compact Disc. It is a digital format for storing video and audio data on a compact disc.

Generally, the term "VCD" refers to the combination of the format and the physical CD-ROM disc.

What Format is a VCD?

A VCD can hold approximately 74–80 minutes of video on a 650MB/700MB CD-ROM.

The VCD movie uses the MPEG-1 codec for video compression and MPEG-1 Layer II for audio compression. VCD video quality is roughly comparable to VHS.

Other parameter settings of a VCD format file are:

Aspect ratio: 4:3
Resolution: 352x240 (NTSC) or 352x288 (PAL/SECAM)
Frame rate: 29.97 frames/second (NTSC) or 25 frames/second (PAL)
Video bitrate: 1150 kbps (constant)
Audio sample rate: 44.1kHz
Audio channel: Stereo, or Dolby Surround
Audio bitrate: 224 kbit/s (constant)

Brief History of VCD

The Video CD (VCD) format was standardized in 1993 by Philips, Sony, Panasonic, and JVC. It was created to store video and audio using the MPEG-1 compress standard.

In 1998, SVCD (Super Video CD) was introduced as a potential successor to VCD. Unlike VCD, SVCD utilized the MPEG-2 compression standard, offering better video and audio quality.

VCD gained peak popularity between 1995 and 2000, mainly in Asia like China, India, and Southeast Asia. However, with the advent of DVD technologies in the late 1990s, the VCD format gradually declined. Now, it remains a nostalgic format for collectors and legacy systems.

Is a Video CD the Same as a DVD?

No, they differ in many aspects, including storage capacity, compression standard, and video and audio quality. Compared with VCD, a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) contains better quality video (MPEG-2) and audio, with a resolution of 720x480 (NTSC) or 720x576 (PAL). Besides, a DVD can hold more than one hour of video.

How Do You Play a VCD?

Most standalone DVD players as well as some older Blu-ray and HD-DVD players support VCD playback. You can also play VCD on a computer with an external CD/DVD drive. In addition to this, you can view Video CDs on some CD- and DVD-based video game consoles, including the original PlayStation. (Source from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_CD)

There is another way to play VCD films across different devices – converting the VCD movies to a digital format like MP4 using a reliable converter. WonderFox HD Video Converter Factory Pro is a top pick.

Working with a disc drive, it enables you to convert the VCD movies (with a .DAT extension) to MP4, MOV, iPhone, Android, TVs, PS4/PS5, or any format you need. Batch mode is also supported.

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