VCD ( Video CD ) is a form of video on a CD which could be played on a computer, and  VCD player. Most of the DVD player also play Video CD. VCD is very polupar in Asian and European countries and is used for Karaoke Video and Audio. Videos are digitized and compressed into MPEG-1 data stream ( MPG file ), at a constant bit rate ( 1150kbit/s max. for video and 224kbit/s for audio, which is in a MPEG layer II format, CD quality, stereo sampling at 44.1kHz ). The MPG file is then output to a special format on a CD along with other control files so that it is compatible with VCD players and most of the DVD players . The video quality of VCD , at a resolution of 352 X 240 for NTSC,  is slightly lower than a VHS tape ( with a horizontal resolution of 240 and 525 scan lines for NTSC system  ) A VCD could have only up to 80 minutes of video, and the compression quality is lower than that of a 2 hours long DVD by a margin. Unless you absolutely need your video on a VCD, we recommend  transfer to DVD rather than VCD.

      We provide the service of VCD authoring, tape to VCD conversion (  VHS to VCD, 8mm to VCD, Betamax to VCD, miniDV to VCD ) at an affordable price. There are a few advantages for your videos on DVDs, instead of tapes:

• Tape won't last long, but VCD could last for a long time as long as you don't scratch it.

• You could access certain section of a video on a VCD much faster than video on a tape.

• VCD is much smaller in volume to store compared to a tape.

• Once converted to VCD, you could make many copies of the video without losing any video quality.

    We convert the following kinds of video tapes to VCD: ( NTSC, PAL, or SECAM ) VHS-C and VHS to DVD, ( NTSC only ) super VHS to DVD, ( NTSC or PAL ) Digital8, Hi8, 8mm to DVD, ( NTSC or PAL ) mini DV to DVD, ( NTSC or PAL ) Betamax to DVD.

     The simple process  ( which is also used by most of other service places and DVD recorders) to transfer video to DVD is real time digitizing and encoding . The quality of the encoded video is OK , but not the best . If your video is noisy, or full of fast motions, there will be compression artifact in the compressed video because the microprocessor have difficult time to do the high quality motion compression in a limited time frame.

     All our VCD transfers employ a better, but lengthier way to encode the video: capture the video into a DV AVI file first and then use sophisticate software to do the high quality compression to MPEG-1. This process takes three times more time than the simple process, but the quality of the compressed video is  noticeably better ( Less compression artifacts ) , especially in cases of noisy and fast motions original videos.

   There are 2 VCD standards : NTSC and PAL. NTSC VCD stores video at 352x240 pixels and 30 fps , while PAL DVD at 352x288 pixels and 25 fps. Normally we transfer without standard conversions ( it means NTSC video to NTSC DVD and PAL video to PAL DVD. ) Indeed, to our knowledge, all the VCD players can play both PAL and NTSC VCD on both PAL or NTSC TV. If you choose Option VTV04 in the following table, we will convert the video standards before MPEG compression and DVD authoring. We use software conversion with pixels and motions interpolation to ensure high quality. It takes another 2 hours for every hour of video and that is why we have to charge extra for it. Please note that most service places use video standards conversions box to do the job while capturing the video. It doesn't take extra step and time. But the video has less details and the motion is not as smooth .

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       Each VCD conversion includes a menu with a title of your choice and video entry points ( chapter points ) at approximate equal time intervals. A thumbnail of the picture at each entry point is displayed in the menu and you can  jump into that video section by selecting that thumbnail or entering  a number on your remote control which is displayed on the thumbnail. We also include a slim VCD case ( unless you request other sizes of case ) with printed covers on top ( picture of the main menu ), bottom ( instruction ) and side ( Title of your tape ).

      VTD03 combines more tapes to the same VCD if the combined length of video is less than 120 min. For example, if you want to transfer two tapes, 40 minutes each ,  to a single VCD, the cost would be $23  ( VTV01 + VTV03 )

        We could create a custom menu with custom video entry points. For this extra service, specify the starting  time of the video sections you want to jump in  and add $ 1 / link .