To Jeff (and others) about VCD at DVinfo.net

Alfred Okocha · December 6th, 2004, 12:59 PM

"VCD have the quality of a VHS tape, maybe a little lower. There are scripts you can put on the VCD to make it self starting when put into a computer. Some (most?) DVD players can play VCDs as well. I agree with Glenn, Toast is the easiest way to make VCDs on a Mac."

Hi Jeff, You helped me out in a VCD thread here sometime ago.. What were those scripts you mentioned to make it self starting? And.. how do you do it?

Thanks.

Alfred Okocha · December 8th, 2004, 03:47 PM

Can somebody please point at where I can find info about "auto starts"?

please??

Mark Sloan · December 8th, 2004, 04:58 PM

This is the most recent thread:
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...threadid=35840

Try a search on auto run and not just auto start/autostart for possibly more options.

If you are making a VCD it may or may not work (I've never done it with a VCD, just DVD-ROMs and CD-ROMs).

Alfred Okocha · December 8th, 2004, 07:59 PM

Hii Mark. I had already read that thread and I thought it was a solution for PCs only? Does it work for Macs too? Same thing..?

Thanks..

Mark Sloan · December 8th, 2004, 11:37 PM

I haven't set it up on a Mac in a long time because it is turned off by default ever since a worm exploited the autostart feature and caused some havoc back in 1998 or so. The user has to have QuickTime and have it set to allow AutoStart. The easiest way to make it is to use Toast.

This example is OS9, but you can just do a search in Toast help to get the instructions that work for you:
http://www.keiserphoto.com/resources/cdauto.htm

In the end though, I don't think you can make a VCD do autoplay, only a Mac Volume or an HFS/ISO Hybrid... check the Toast documentation though...

Alfred Okocha · December 9th, 2004, 04:28 AM

Hi Mark.

It doesn't really need to autorun on Macs. But can I create an autorun for PCs on my Mac?
(Some people have had problems to make a VCD play..) It's not enough to double click on the icon in this case.. ;)

Mark Sloan · December 9th, 2004, 12:26 PM

I would bet you could use the method you saw for PCs and it would be fine... You might have to author the VCD, then do a copy of that Disc with your added files for the autostart feature... try it and see.

If you have problems I might have time during the weekend to do a little experimenting... or hopefully someone else will post an answer that has done this before....

To clarify, are your users having issues with Mac or PCs with getting the VCD to play?

Alfred Okocha · December 9th, 2004, 05:24 PM

Yes, what I meant was that many of the people who will watch the VCD are not very computer experienced.. They will double click the icon and expect something to happen..
Most of them are also PC users. (I suggested a MPEG 4 instead but my client want it to be VCD.. what you gonna do?)

Mark Sloan · December 9th, 2004, 06:34 PM

Even an experienced computer user won't necessarily have ever seen a VCD or know what to do with it. If you are only delivering it to computer users, then I'd suggest a CD-ROM with different versions and an HTML page as an introduction. You would have a lot more control over the presentation of your video AND be able to provide extra info like website URL and email address along with other stuff... I'll play around with a VCD and see what your options are... (I'll see if Apple's DVD player can do VCD as QT alone does not, and I'll see how my XP box handles a VCD as well).

Mark Sloan · December 10th, 2004, 12:28 PM

So my memory was correct, without downloading VLC or some other software, Macs cannot play a VCD with quicktime or the DVD Player.

On the PC side (at least my Win XP Dell) if you put in a VCD it just treats it like a normal data disc. I added the autorun.inf and vcd.asx files as mentioned in the thread referenced earlier and THAT VCD opens automatically in Windows Media Player. In fact, clicking on the DVD/CD drive runs AutoPlay by default... I wasn't expecting that.

So the autorun.inf has:

[autorun]
ShellExecute=vcd.asx

And the file vcd.asx file has:

<ASX Version = "3.0">
<Title>Test VCD</Title>
<Entry>
<Ref href = "MPEGAV/AVSEQ01.DAT"/>
</Entry>
</ASX>

Alfred Okocha · December 10th, 2004, 04:32 PM

Thanks for all your work Mark. I now only have one little detail to overcome.. I never programed in my life and I have no idea what I'm supposed to do with the info you gave me.. What do I put where and how.. =)
I'm going to TOAST the VCD.. Can I both include media and data without hazzle?

Thanks alot.

Alfred Okocha · December 10th, 2004, 04:35 PM

THe thread should be dedicated to you I guess (instead of Jeff, who never bothered.. ;)

The edit time has run out though.

Mark Sloan · December 10th, 2004, 04:42 PM

Sorry I was late with my reply... here is how I did it...

1) I used Toast to create a VCD.
2) I then put that CD back in my computer, copied all of the folders to my desktop, and then ejected the disc.
3) I opened Toast again, copied all of those folders from the VCD to it and did a Mac/PC hybrid disc and added two text files. One named autorun.inf and the other vcd.asx...
4) I then burned a new disc with the VCD folders PLUS the two new text files.

I didn't test it on a consumer, stand alone DVD player, so I don't know if it would mess that up, and I didn't bother checking the official spec of VCD either... but it did play on both my Mac (using VLC) and auto-started on my Win XP box in Windows Media Player.

December 6th, 2004, 12:59 PM	#1
Alfred Okocha Major Player Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: London Posts: 427	To Jeff (and others) about VCD "VCD have the quality of a VHS tape, maybe a little lower. There are scripts you can put on the VCD to make it self starting when put into a computer. Some (most?) DVD players can play VCDs as well. I agree with Glenn, Toast is the easiest way to make VCDs on a Mac." Hi Jeff, You helped me out in a VCD thread here sometime ago.. What were those scripts you mentioned to make it self starting? And.. how do you do it? Thanks.

December 8th, 2004, 03:47 PM	#2
Alfred Okocha Major Player Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: London Posts: 427	Can somebody please point at where I can find info about "auto starts"? please??

December 8th, 2004, 04:58 PM	#3
Mark Sloan Major Player Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Venice, CA Posts: 346	This is the most recent thread: http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...threadid=35840 Try a search on auto run and not just auto start/autostart for possibly more options. If you are making a VCD it may or may not work (I've never done it with a VCD, just DVD-ROMs and CD-ROMs).

December 8th, 2004, 07:59 PM	#4
Alfred Okocha Major Player Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: London Posts: 427	Hii Mark. I had already read that thread and I thought it was a solution for PCs only? Does it work for Macs too? Same thing..? Thanks..

December 8th, 2004, 11:37 PM	#5
Mark Sloan Major Player Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Venice, CA Posts: 346	I haven't set it up on a Mac in a long time because it is turned off by default ever since a worm exploited the autostart feature and caused some havoc back in 1998 or so. The user has to have QuickTime and have it set to allow AutoStart. The easiest way to make it is to use Toast. This example is OS9, but you can just do a search in Toast help to get the instructions that work for you: http://www.keiserphoto.com/resources/cdauto.htm In the end though, I don't think you can make a VCD do autoplay, only a Mac Volume or an HFS/ISO Hybrid... check the Toast documentation though...

December 9th, 2004, 04:28 AM	#6
Alfred Okocha Major Player Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: London Posts: 427	Hi Mark. It doesn't really need to autorun on Macs. But can I create an autorun for PCs on my Mac? (Some people have had problems to make a VCD play..) It's not enough to double click on the icon in this case.. ;)

December 9th, 2004, 12:26 PM	#7
Mark Sloan Major Player Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Venice, CA Posts: 346	I would bet you could use the method you saw for PCs and it would be fine... You might have to author the VCD, then do a copy of that Disc with your added files for the autostart feature... try it and see. If you have problems I might have time during the weekend to do a little experimenting... or hopefully someone else will post an answer that has done this before.... To clarify, are your users having issues with Mac or PCs with getting the VCD to play?

December 9th, 2004, 05:24 PM	#8
Alfred Okocha Major Player Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: London Posts: 427	Yes, what I meant was that many of the people who will watch the VCD are not very computer experienced.. They will double click the icon and expect something to happen.. Most of them are also PC users. (I suggested a MPEG 4 instead but my client want it to be VCD.. what you gonna do?)

December 9th, 2004, 06:34 PM	#9
Mark Sloan Major Player Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Venice, CA Posts: 346	Even an experienced computer user won't necessarily have ever seen a VCD or know what to do with it. If you are only delivering it to computer users, then I'd suggest a CD-ROM with different versions and an HTML page as an introduction. You would have a lot more control over the presentation of your video AND be able to provide extra info like website URL and email address along with other stuff... I'll play around with a VCD and see what your options are... (I'll see if Apple's DVD player can do VCD as QT alone does not, and I'll see how my XP box handles a VCD as well).

December 10th, 2004, 12:28 PM	#10
Mark Sloan Major Player Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Venice, CA Posts: 346	So my memory was correct, without downloading VLC or some other software, Macs cannot play a VCD with quicktime or the DVD Player. On the PC side (at least my Win XP Dell) if you put in a VCD it just treats it like a normal data disc. I added the autorun.inf and vcd.asx files as mentioned in the thread referenced earlier and THAT VCD opens automatically in Windows Media Player. In fact, clicking on the DVD/CD drive runs AutoPlay by default... I wasn't expecting that. So the autorun.inf has: [autorun] ShellExecute=vcd.asx And the file vcd.asx file has: <ASX Version = "3.0"> <Title>Test VCD</Title> <Entry> <Ref href = "MPEGAV/AVSEQ01.DAT"/> </Entry> </ASX>

December 10th, 2004, 04:32 PM	#11
Alfred Okocha Major Player Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: London Posts: 427	Thanks for all your work Mark. I now only have one little detail to overcome.. I never programed in my life and I have no idea what I'm supposed to do with the info you gave me.. What do I put where and how.. =) I'm going to TOAST the VCD.. Can I both include media and data without hazzle? Thanks alot.

December 10th, 2004, 04:35 PM	#12
Alfred Okocha Major Player Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: London Posts: 427	THe thread should be dedicated to you I guess (instead of Jeff, who never bothered.. ;) The edit time has run out though.

December 10th, 2004, 04:42 PM	#13
Mark Sloan Major Player Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Venice, CA Posts: 346	Sorry I was late with my reply... here is how I did it... 1) I used Toast to create a VCD. 2) I then put that CD back in my computer, copied all of the folders to my desktop, and then ejected the disc. 3) I opened Toast again, copied all of those folders from the VCD to it and did a Mac/PC hybrid disc and added two text files. One named autorun.inf and the other vcd.asx... 4) I then burned a new disc with the VCD folders PLUS the two new text files. I didn't test it on a consumer, stand alone DVD player, so I don't know if it would mess that up, and I didn't bother checking the official spec of VCD either... but it did play on both my Mac (using VLC) and auto-started on my Win XP box in Windows Media Player.