PAUL PAVLIK wrote: > i just got some cds labeled 'vcd's' What, if anything do i need to > play these on my Win 98 machine. What if anything will I need to play > these on my Mac OS 8.6 machine.
VCDs, or Video CDs, are actually a standard CD with an MPEG file. The VCD format is actually a standard which allow something such as DVD players locate the MPEG file automaticly, and play it after you insert it, as if it was a "normal DVD video". Ofcourse, the quality is much less better then DVD, and you are limited by the low compression of MPEG 2 on a restricted 650MB space, buts its quite good for home movies and etc'. To play this on your PC, all you need is a program that can read the MPEG video file format - very easy to handle - and then find the file on the CD. (extension: .MPG, or .DAT . Probebly .DAT in the VCD case.) I know for a fact that the Windows Media Player on Windows 95 and above supports the MPEG format right out of the box, that the media player of 3.11 require a codec installation, and that in the worse case: You can always use a DOS player. Quickview is a good choice: http://www.multimediaware.com NOTE: Quickview also has a command switch for automaticly detecting and playing a VCD disc, without you haveing to bother with looking for the file internaly. Try it out! :) ... dunno abuot Mac software, though. Its obvious that there's planny Mac software that can play it, and infact there's a high possibility that this software is availble with the MacOS on default, but since I dont own a Mac, I cant tell which. :) To unsubscribe from SURVPC send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with unsubscribe SURVPC in the body of the message. Also, trim this footer from any quoted replies. More info can be found at; http://www.softcon.com/archives/SURVPC.html
