A little known format, pretty much a failed one, is the CD Video → [Wikipedia article]. I always wanted to have one and suddenly had the opportunity to get one.
Don't mistake CD Video with the widely known digital Video CD (MPEG-1 based) format. Everybody can still create compatible video files nowadays with a command like this:
ffmpeg -i SomeVideo.mp4 -target ntsc-vcd SomeVideo.mpg
and create some VCD image. I'd recommend VCDEasy v1.1.5.2 for this task (last freeware version). Afterwards any burning application should be able to write this to CD-R(W) and the result – in poor video quality – should play on virtually any standalone DVD player. Searching information about CDV online results in tons of stuff about VCD.
But… back to the topic. I'm talking about a different format. It is analog video storage, LaserDisc. Opposed to the huge LaserDisc resembling vinyl records from their size, CD Video has the standard 12cm diameter. For the most users nowadays it is a standard CDDA (Compact Disc Digital Audio) and will be detected as such in PC drives as well as in normal CD players.
(Ignore the smudges and strange lines in the pictures. There is nothing wrong with the disc: My scanner would need a cleaning on the inner side of the glass)
The inner ring is normal CDDA (up to 20 minutes) and the outer part is LaserDisc video (up to 5 minutes). Dedicated CDV players are rare, but "newer" LaserDisc players can also play them just fine. The video still works. Due to its high age (produced 1988) and no error correction in the analog part, the video quality isn't perfect anymore – albeit a lot better than a VHS tape that old. For copyright reasons I can sadly (but obviously) not share the video – as much as I'd like to present it to show the quality and defects.
Cover image:
Backside with instructions and information:
I know of no direct method of backing this thing up (dumping the video part). And I know of no method of producing such a thing (burning a copy). Computer drives don't allow arbitrary data to be written and will not allow access to the RAW analog signal. Best I can do is connecting the LaserDisc Player to a DVD recorder to get a digital version.
Don't mistake CD Video with the widely known digital Video CD (MPEG-1 based) format. Everybody can still create compatible video files nowadays with a command like this:
ffmpeg -i SomeVideo.mp4 -target ntsc-vcd SomeVideo.mpg
and create some VCD image. I'd recommend VCDEasy v1.1.5.2 for this task (last freeware version). Afterwards any burning application should be able to write this to CD-R(W) and the result – in poor video quality – should play on virtually any standalone DVD player. Searching information about CDV online results in tons of stuff about VCD.
But… back to the topic. I'm talking about a different format. It is analog video storage, LaserDisc. Opposed to the huge LaserDisc resembling vinyl records from their size, CD Video has the standard 12cm diameter. For the most users nowadays it is a standard CDDA (Compact Disc Digital Audio) and will be detected as such in PC drives as well as in normal CD players.
(Ignore the smudges and strange lines in the pictures. There is nothing wrong with the disc: My scanner would need a cleaning on the inner side of the glass)
The inner ring is normal CDDA (up to 20 minutes) and the outer part is LaserDisc video (up to 5 minutes). Dedicated CDV players are rare, but "newer" LaserDisc players can also play them just fine. The video still works. Due to its high age (produced 1988) and no error correction in the analog part, the video quality isn't perfect anymore – albeit a lot better than a VHS tape that old. For copyright reasons I can sadly (but obviously) not share the video – as much as I'd like to present it to show the quality and defects.
Cover image:
Backside with instructions and information:
I know of no direct method of backing this thing up (dumping the video part). And I know of no method of producing such a thing (burning a copy). Computer drives don't allow arbitrary data to be written and will not allow access to the RAW analog signal. Best I can do is connecting the LaserDisc Player to a DVD recorder to get a digital version.
