I have a bunch of movies on mpeg format that I would like to play on a DVD player which suppoorts VCD's. How can I convert the movies and write them to CD-R?
First of all, www.videohelp.com is a great resource for all things DVD, VCD, and video related, so go there if you need detailed information.
Basically, you have a few options when creating an VCD. A normal VCD uses mpeg-1 video compression at a resolution of 352x240 (NTSC), with mpeg-2 audio. One disc can hold about 74 of video with stereo sound.
A Super VCD (aka SVCD) uses mpeg-2 video compression (the same as a DVD) at a resolution of 480x480 (NTSC) as well as mpeg-2 audio. However, don't expect DVD quality video because SVCDs has a maximum encoding bitrate of 2,600KB/s (whereas DVDs maximum bitrate is ~9000KB/s). However, SVCDs do have superior video quality over VCDs. Of course, better video means larger data files, and depending on what bitrate you choose, you can fit anywhere from 35 to 74 mins on an SVCD.
You mentioned that your movies are in mpeg format, so if its mpeg 1 or 2, you might not need to convert, but if its mpeg4, you will.
There's lots of software out there that converts to mpeg from various formats. A lot of VCD writing software includes mpeg1 codecs, but will ask you to pay for mpeg2 codecs. This is most unfortunate, but I use a program called TMPGEnc (www.tmpegenc.net) that provides a 30-day mpeg2 trial. The program contains a wizard, so it shouldn't be that difficult to follow. Simply remember that when converting into mpeg format, you need to have separate video and audio files. You can extract audio from video in most editing programs, or Quicktime Pro.
I use Nero to burn VCDs, but there are a fair amount of other packages out there.
So good luck, and don't get too discouraged if your first attempt or two doesn't work, it can be a tricky procedure.
