What Kind of File Do I Have & VCD or SVCD (& etc.)

Hello,

I have a video clip (this is the "file type designation" that windows explorer gives it). It is 700 meg (or 717,528 kbytes, or 734,748,672 bytes, variously reported. I assume they are all the same with that funky base 2 computer numberating system?) long. Here is what I could figure out by checking its "properties:"
640 width x 464 heigth
25 frames/sec
203 kbps data rate
12 bit video sample rate
Said it is "XVID compression" but the file type is .avi - isn't this an apple file type?
Audio format is MPEG Layer 3 @ 185kbps

Ok, that is all I know(?) about this file. So I want to mail it to my brother and his family on a cd-r so that they can watch it on their DVD player. I know the player can handle VCD's, btw as I did a little test cd-r for them to test it out. But I just grabbed some small video files (different formats each I guess b/c the quality ranged from "less than vcr quality with terrible electronic whine noise" on up to the fourth which they said looked pretty good) and didn't really know what I was doing. I just mainly wanted to test out the vcd creation function of Nero Express 5(?) and their dvd player.

I have a couple(!) of questions. First I can tell just from a quick "scan" here at [bold]afterdawn.com[/bold] that there are programs out there to convert just about anything to something else. Also things to burn them to a cd-r.

But I guess I need to know what exactly I have. It was reported as an avi, a divx, and an mpeg layer 3! Can anyone point me to the faq or guide that will help me determine what kind of file it is, exactly?

Then I need to know whether it would look/sound best as a VCD or an SVCD. I have heard the resolutions & framerates are different. Also, I heard that SVCD is only useful if I want to add extra stuff like subtitles or additional languages! I dunno what to believe. I need to search for a faq on that, I guess.

Nero Express 5 (oem version, came with my computer) is supposed to convert files to VCD format and then burn them. It does, but I converted four little (couple minutes each) files and burned them to one cd-r and the quality was all over the scale with only one getting a good result. I don't know if it was in the converting or the burning.

If it was the burning that is ok, I am currently evaluating a program called Alcohol 120% that is supposed to be able to burn any kind of image to cd or dvd media. I found it after searching for reviews on the newer Nero products and getting a few people's reports saying the programs locked up on certain types of writes. I have tried to have problems with Al 120% and failed. It seems to do what it says. (It also has a feature I wasn't looking for but I like: all those games that force you to have the cd in the drive the whole time you're playing them? Well this program lets you make a "virtual cd/dvd drive" on your hard drive and put the cd there! I love it, it is faster that way and I always turn off the ingame music and listen to my stereo while playing. Now I bet I could play a music cd on my computer while playing a game! But I digress... Ok (relavent content!) It will let me "test out" a vcd/svcd/plain-old-cd before I actually burn it to a cd-r))

If it was in the creating, well, when I tried to make a SVCD with nero express 5 it invited me to purchase the conversion part of the program separately, so I will be looking into the various converters out there regardless of whether I decide to go VCD or SVCD.

There were a few other questions but I guess I can do a little research & reading after I figure out what I have and what I want to convert it to.

Oh, one more. Any way of telling ahead of time what the file size of the converted file will be? Am just wondering if I will have to split it up or not. I know this depends on "compression", I have heard that there are programs to "shrink" dvd's to one or two cd's, and I actually read in ComputerShopper (Maximum PC? Can't remember it was a while ago) that there are ways to put a full-length movie on a pda!

But if the resolutions/framerates of VCDs & SVCDs are fixed is there a formula or something I can use to figure it out?

And (since I'm asking all these questions I'll throw one more out to those who know more than me) another thing, if the resolutions/framerates are _not_ fixed by format (VCD/SVCD) choice, I would want to go the maximum I can - up to the specs of my file, of course...

If that is compatible with my brother's dvd player and television. What is the resolution and frame rate of a "regular" television and dvd player in the US? And is that what they call NTSC? Or PAL?

Well, that's enough pestering off all you good people. Thanks in advance for answering my questions, or pointing me to the locations of the guides/faqs if these particular questions have been "beaten to death" around here. Hopefully I can become proficient enough at this stuff to one day help out the newbies myself so the experts can answer the hard ones. [bold];-)[/bold]

Later,
Luvs His Ex

 

700MB it is.

your video is propably a PAL (as it is 25frames/sec)

XVID compression means that it uses the XVID codec to compress the file.
.avi is a windows type of file.

Mpeg Layer 3 is mp3

you can believe what i said here. and do get that faq.

lets start,
if you want to make vcd using nero, you won't be getting the maximum potential out of it. you need to buy the mpeg2 encoder from nero to make svcd using nero.

i use TMPGEnc Plus to encode all my svcd.

choosing vcd or svcd. standard vcd is 352x240 pixels and svcd is 480x480 pixels (resolution). higher means much more beautiful and detail, just like your monitor.

making vcd means you want to watch it on tv, because you don't have a dvd burner yet. so the most important thing is checking the player supports such media or not. try making short clips and burn on a cdrw if you're cheapskate. if your pllayer supports cdrw.

with TMPGEnc it will estimate the file size with the wizard, only if you're using CBR (constant bitrate)(the same bitrate from start till end)(which i don't normally use as on a higher motion scene the picture will get blocky).
I use 2-pass vbr (variable bit rate)(it scan for the appropiate bitrate that fits the scene)(the encoding time will be 2x of that of cbr)
at 23minutes and a 192kbps of sound i can put the video at a constant(for cbr) and average(for vbr) of 3800kbps.

dvdshrink is to backup a dual layer dvd (9.4GB) to a single layer dvd(4.7GB) which is a no-no for me. i don't compress(if possible) i divide them into 2 dvds.

if you put the unspecified resolution it will mess up if it play on the tv.
the specified is
720x480 -DVD resolution or xsvcd
352x480 -low resolution dvd
704x480 -xsvcd resolution
480x480 -standard svcd
352x240 -standard vcd

resize your video according to the ratio of the resolution you choose. get calculator.

higher resolution means lower bitrate per pixels, try times a resolution i've given and divide with 2000kbps for example.
the lower bitrate per pixels you have the blockier some scenes will get. ecspecially thos with complex shading and motion. if its a bright and flat colour. it will look great.

i mention xsvcd earlier, this is a hacked svcd format, look for glossary on this site. don't bother about this, yet. learn the basics first. check what bitrate is too

USA uses NTSC. at 29.976fps.

svcd is higher resolution and higher bitrate. adding multiple language, i didn't it was possible. if it is, it is a waste of space.