Copying VCD's

If you have a show on VCD and if you can make CD-R's on your computer, there is no reason to bother to copy to a VHS tape anymore as long as the person you're trading with has a VCD player. You should verify this last point before copying a VCD; you don't want to get stuck having to copy to tape, too. Most DVD players can also play VCD's; if you have a DVD player, check your manual if you're not sure if yours does.

What is a VCD?

A VCD is exactly the same physically as an audio CD, but it contains up to about an hours worth of digital video in MPEG-1 format. Thus, you can make VCD's from CD-R's. VCD's never caught on in the US, but they're popular in Asia. VCD's have the advantages of being much more compact than video tapes, and allowing anyone to make digital copies as good as the original source VCD. However, the video quality may not have been that great to begin with: it's hard to compress a show into the available space so that it looks decent, though it's possible. VCD's do not have region coding, and the format is the same worldwide.

VCD's are vastly inferior to DVD's in a whole host of areas (video quality, sound quality, capacity, subtitling, etc.), and, since writable DVD's are becoming cheap, VCD's will likely be abandoned soon.

Where do the Original VCD's Come From?

A few Japanese doramas and movies are available pirated in Asia subtitled in English on VCD. The subtitling job is often a poor one in both readability and English proficiency. Also, the shows are crammed onto as few disks as possible to save money, usually 6-8 VCD's per dorama, resulting in episodes split between discs, cuts in non-show parts of the episode (opening/closing credits, previews, etc.), and sometimes poorer video. For these reasons, it's not worth trading for an Asian pirate VCD version, unless you really want to see the series no matter what and there is no better version available.

Now that CD burners are cheap, many dorama traders are using the format, too. In this case, the dorama has come from broadcast TV, where it's important to go a good job subtitling the show. Also, since the VCD's are created by fans instead of pirates out for a quick buck, these VCD's are more likely to be better done. Fans usually use 1 VCD per episode.

Copying From a VCD to a VCD

Here are instructions for copying using Ahead Software's Nero 5.0 & 5.5 on a PC (based on helpful information provided by Peter Truong). Nero is not freeware, but it comes free with many CD recorders. It can also be purchased at software stores. It has a Mac version.

I'm sure there are a number of other programs that can copy VCD's, too; I'm using Nero as an example only because it's the software that came with my CD recorder. If you don't have Nero, check the software that came with your CD recorder as it's likely whatever CD-burner software you have supports copying VCD's. It's possible, though, that you may also need to upgrade the software to a more recent version. For example, Adaptec/Roxio's Easy CD Creator didn't support creating VCD's until version 5.

Also, if your VCD has extras -- like menus -- you'll need a more sophisticated program. CloneCD is a program that will make exact copies of VCD's, so you can use it to preserve the extras.

However, if you just need to copy the MPEG video, the way to do it should be similar to these instructions for Nero:

Insert the VCD you wish to copy in your CD drive, and copy the .dat file(s) found in the MPEGAV folder to your hard drive.
Put an unused CD-R in your CD recorder. Any CD-R will work: all write speeds work, and either data or music CD-R's are OK.
Open Nero.
- In version 5.0: in the New Compilation dialog box, select Video-CD from the CD types on the left, and then press New. You do not need to change any of the controls in the tabs, but for easy reference later you might want to edit the Volume Label name in the Volume Descriptor tab from New to an abbreviated title and CD number.
- In version 5.5: in the Nero Wizard dialog box, choose Compile a new CD, Other CD formats, Video CD, and then press Finish. You can edit the Volume Label name to an abbreviated title and CD number by selecting the Properties menu item in the Edit menu, and then selecting the Label tab.
Go to the folder where you stored the .dat file(s), and drag the .dat file(s) to Nero's bottom left window. This window should be a grid box with columns for Track, Title, Duration, etc.
Nero will check the file(s) to see if it's(they're) in MPEG-1 format (this should take about a minute).
Select Write CD in the File menu.

Burn

Burn CD

Verify written data

Write CD

That's it! Nero will do the rest. While it's writing, don't run any other applications on your computer, especially if your CD recorder doesn't have BurnProof.

A few tips:

Package (or store) the VCD's in a spindle box that fits all the CD's. Spindle boxes are available that fit about a dozen CD's, and this is perfect to store an entire dorama's worth of VCD's (assuming one VCD per episode). Some CD-R's are sold prepackaged with this sized spindle box. It's a lot less bulky and messy than storing VCD's in individual jewel boxes or putting a rubber band around a set of VCD's. You can find places that sell spindle boxes on the web by doing a google search for beehive spindle or cake box spindle. (Many of these places also sell jewel cases that store 1-6 CD's or DVD's.)
Label each VCD as you make them with the title and episode number. It's safe to write on the less shiny side with a magic marker. You can purchase magic-marker-like pens that are made specifically to write easily on CD's. Regular permanent magic markers work, too. You can test if your magic markers are OK by writing a dot on the CD, waiting a minute for it to dry, and then seeing if you can smudge or erase the dot by rubbing your finger over it.
Try to play every VCD after you've made your copies. Sometimes, they won't be written correctly, especially if you don't have BurnProof on your CD recorder, and it's best to find that out before you mail the CD's.

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