Video Encoding - VCD and Super VCD

VCD stands for Video CD. A VCD has the capacity to hold up to 74/80 minutes (on 650MB/700MB CDs respectively) of full-motion video along with quality stereo sound. Videos are stored in MPEG-I streams. A VCD can be played on standalone VCD and almost all DVD Players. VCDs can also be played on computers with a DVD-ROM or CD-ROM drive and software based player. The quality of a VCD is about the same as VHS video tape.

SVCD stands for Super Video CD. A SVCD is like a VCD but the videos are stored in MPEG-2 variabel bitrate and in higher resolution. SVCD standard is set by the China National Committee of Standards. SVCD can deliver up to 2 times sharper video images than the previous VCD standard. SVCD is backward compatible with VCD1.1, 2.0, and Interactive VCD 3.0 formats. Furthermore, while VCD requires text to be embedded in the video, SVCD uses a dedicated text data stream. This allows graphics and text such as multi-language subtitles for movies or karaoke text to be added at any time, while eliminating artifacts common with the compressed graphics and text streams of VCD. A SVCD can contain from about 35 to 80 minutes video/CD (on 80 min CD). SVCD also supports up to 4 removable subtitles but not all standalone player supports SVCD subs.

SVCD is based on the CD-ROM-XA format. This format allows the possibility to add PC playback applications on the same disc enabling the disc to be played on a computer. The "EXT" directory is mentioned to contain such application and setup files. The main root could also contain autorun enabling files.

To create a VCD disc and allow the playback using a VCD player, the following specific formats of the video clip must be followed:

Likewise, the video clip for creation of a SVCD must be: