About DVD/VCD Videos

I want to explain how the videos were created so you will understand what to expect from this project.

I accepted films in VHS, VHS-C, Hi-8, or MiniDV format and converted these to DVD format using a Panasonic DMR-HS2 home recorder. The quality of the DVD video is nearly identical to the original videotape quality. If the original videotape is poor in quality, it was not be improved by conversion to DVD. There may be some loss in quality from the conversion, but I have not been able to see a difference.

A DVD can hold from one to six hours of video depending on the quality of recording chosen. Since there was just over three hours of video for 2002, the whole project fits on one DVD without a significant loss of video quality. The number of DVD's in the 2003 project will depend on the total hours of video submitted.

Each submitter’s video is a separate segment on the DVD – so you will be able to play the entire DVD without stopping, or you will be able to pick individual segments for viewing. In order to make the titles fit on the VCD version, I chose to use the last name of each submitter for the segment title.

The technology used for burning DVD’s with home recorders is different from the commercial technology, so not all DVD players will play home recordings. There are several competing formats for home DVD recording. My player records DVD-R discs. I will be printing on generic DVD-R discs or on the more expensive Fuji DVD-Rs for those whose DVD players seem to want pricier discs. Consult your DVD player’s documentation to find out if it is compatible with DVD-R discs – but be warned, even though the documentation claims it will play DVD-R’s, it may not play ALL DVD-R’s. For example, we recently purchased a ‘bargain’ DVD player (under $50) that claimed to play all current formats of DVD’s – it would not play my DVD-R discs but would play my VCD’s (more on this format later). My advice if you have any doubts would be to order a DVD and a set of VCD’s at the same time.

For those who do not have DVD players or whose DVD players will not play home-grown DVD-R discs, I will be creating a set of VCD’s (short for Video CD). A VCD holds about 70 minutes of video, so for each 2002 DVD, there will be three VCD’s. The number of VCD's in the 2003 set will depend on the total hours of video in the project.

There is no single, simple program for doing this, but the best website I have found that explains the various steps is http://www.clonead.co.uk. Because of the way DVD files are stored, you must ‘rip’ the files to your PC, convert to MPEG format, then output to the VCD – involving at least three conversions of your original files. Each conversion can result in a loss of quality. From my own experience, I can tell you that the results vary even when you use exactly the same steps for each segment. The main problem is pixellation - instead of smooth edges on images, you see little blocks on some edges. When playing the video, it may be a little ‘jerky’ – this is usually minimal on the DVD player but can be much more obvious on your PC depending on your system resources. If you expect professional quality output, you will not be happy with VCD’s.

Many DVD players will also play Video CD’s, but may be fussy about the type of disc. Check your documentation to see if it will play a VCD recorded on a CD-R disc. If you have a DVD or CD player in your computer, it should play a VCD, but you may need to download software to take advantage of all of the VCD’s features. This site http://www.vcdhelp.com/vcd.htm has more information on the VCD format, including a compatibility search feature. Please note that I can’t verify that the information about compatibility is correct, so I don’t guarantee that my VCD’s will work on your DVD player(s).

The Screen Savers, my current favorite TV program on TechTV, recommends www.dvddemystified.com as the best site for understanding the mysteries of DVD technology. I had a quick look at the FAQ and it answered a lot of questions I had -- I highly recommend that you check it out!

More specific information about compatibility can be found here.