What Is VCD?

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∟What Is VCD?

This section provides basic information on VCD (Video CD).

VCD (Video CD, Compact Disc digital video) is a standard digital format for storing video on a CD. The VCD standard was created in 1993 by Sony, Philips, Matsushita, and JVC and is referred to as the White Book standard. The original name of VCD was "Compact Disc digital video" with logo like this:

VCD (Video CD) Logo

A more popular logo for VCD 2.0 is:

Video CD 2.0 Logo

Main characteristics of VCD are:

1. CD Track Type: CD-ROM Mode 2 - The data sector of 2352 bytes (98 frames with 24 bytes per frame) is divided to:

12 bytes of synchronization
4 bytes of header information
2336 bytes of user information

2. File System: ISO 9660 File System - See other sections in this book for details.

3. Audio File Format: MPEG-1 Layer 2 -

Bit Rate: 224 kbps (kilo bits per second)
Sample Rate: 44.1 kHz (kilo Hertz)
Number of Channels: 2 (stereo)

4. Video File Format: MPEG-1 -

Frame Rate: 29.97 Hz (NTSC) or 25 Hz (PAL)
Resolution: 352x240 pixel (NTSC) or 352x288 pixel (PAL)
Bit Rate: About 1.13 mbps (mega bits per second)

VCD has two flavors to match two television standards: NTSC and PAL.

NTSC (National Television System Committee) - 29.97 fps (frames per second) with 352x240 pixels per frame. NTSC is used in US and many other countries.
PAl (Phase Alternating Line) - 25 fps (frames per second) with 352x288 pixels per frame. PAL is used in China and many other countries.