Super Video CD

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Compact Disc Super Video (SVCD)

Media typeOptical disc
EncodingMPEG-2 video + audio
CapacityUp to 800 MB
Read mechanism780 nm wavelength semiconductor laser
StandardIEC 62107
Developed byPhilips, Sony, Panasonic, JVC
Usageaudio and video storage
Extended fromVideo CD
Extended toDVD
Released1998
Optical discs
General
Optical media types
Standards
See also

Super Video CD (Super Video Compact Disc or SVCD) is a digital format for storing video on standard compact discs. SVCD was intended as a successor to Video CD and an alternative to DVD-Video, and falls somewhere between both in terms of technical capability and picture quality.

Technical specifications

Structure

Similar to

megabytes
of data to be stored on one 80 minute CD (versus 700 megabytes when using Mode 1). One CD can hold up to 35 minutes of full quality SVCD-format video and audio.

Video

  • Compression: MPEG-2
  • Resolution: 2/3
    D1
  • Aspect ratio: 4:3
  • Framerate:
    • 59.94 frames per second (analog NTSC compatible)
    • 50 frames per second (analog PAL/SECAM compatible)
  • Bit rate: Up to 2.6
    megabits
    per second

Because of its 480x480 resolution, SVCD picture quality is more than double that of VCD. On the downside, this increase in picture resolution sacrifices video length capacity by over 50%. Because of this, titles released on SVCD had to come on twice the number of discs.[1]

Unlike other CD-based formats, such as

China Video Disc and Video CD, Super Video CD video is incompatible with both the DVD-Video and Blu-ray
standards due to a conflict in resolution. However, many DVD and Blu-ray players will play back SVCD resolution video from a DVD or Blu-ray disc anyway.

Interlaced video is supported for SVCD video. 23.976 frames per second video is supported by use of interlacing and 3:2 pulldown.

The combined audio and video bit rates should not exceed 2.7

Mbps
. This data rate was chosen, in part, to ensure compatibility with slower and less expensive "2 × speed" CD drives.

Audio

  • Compression: MPEG-1 Audio Layer II
  • Frequency: 44,100 hertz (44.1 kHz)
  • Output:
    stereo
    , and multichannel support up to 5.1 output
  • Bit rate: from 32 to 384
    kilobits
    per second, inclusive

As with most compact disc-based video formats, SVCD audio is incompatible with the DVD-Video standard due to the difference in frequency; DVDs require 48 kHz, whereas SVCDs use 44.1 kHz.

SVCDs may have two separate stereo, or four mono audio tracks (for commentary or additional languages).

Audio may have up to 6 channels (in a 5.1 arrangement) using the MPEG Multichannel surround sound format, although space constraints and inconsistent hardware support make it impractical, and very uncommon.

Variable bit rate encoding, while not supported by the MPEG-1 Audio Layer II standard, is part of the SVCD specification. However, variable bit rate audio is not consistently supported by standalone players, and thus the format is rarely used.

Additional features

The SVCD standard supports several other features, including interactive menus,

subtitle streams, chapters, playlists, and DVD-quality still images/slide shows, along with audio, with a resolution of 704x480 (480i, analog NTSC compatible) or 704x576 (576i, analog PAL/SECAM compatible).[2][3]

Playback issues

Play back of SVCD titles is impaired when played on most DVD players, causing dropped frames, choppy video playback or skipping of sound. This is due to the chosen two-thirds video ratio in the SVCD format specifications, which doesn't align well with the other more common video formats

MPEG artifacts
.

Similar formats

CVD

China Video Disc (CVD) is a CD-based video format which was created during the development of the SVCD standard and is almost identical to SVCD. The primary technical difference is a lower (horizontal) video resolution of 352×480 (NTSC) or 352×576 (PAL/SECAM).[4] Because 352×480/576 is a recognized DVD resolution, CVD video (but not audio) is fully compatible with the DVD-Video standard, and avoids the "foldover" (or aliasing) problems encountered when playing SVCDs on DVD players. The lower resolution also allows the bitrate to be reduced while keeping compression artifacts to a minimum.[5] CVD also supports all of the additional features (selectable subtitles, multiple audio tracks, and so on) which are supported by SVCD.

XSVCD

XSVCD (eXtended Super VCD) is the name generally given to any format that stores MPEG-2 video on a compact disc in mode 2/XA, at SVCD resolution, but does not strictly meet the SVCD standard.

To reduce the data rate without significantly reducing quality, the size of the GOP can be increased, the maximum data rate can be exceeded, and a different MPEG-2 quantization matrix can be used. These changes can be advantageous for those who want to either maximize video quality, or use fewer discs.

RSVCD

RSVCD (RoBa SVCD) uses the Robshot-Bach (RoBa) method for encoding MPEG-2 video using CCE[6] in creating SVCD-compliant discs. RSVCD was popularized on the Doom9 forum.

MVCD

MVCD (Mole VCD) is a XSVCD variant that can be created using the MVCD templates included with TMPGEnc. MVCD can encode either MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 video to VCD, SVCD, or DVD standard resolution. Many players accept MVCD encoded discs.[7]

History of development

Super Video CD was developed as part of a late 1990s

royalties. The Chinese government was concerned that the DVD format was too tightly controlled by foreign companies, and that a significant opportunity existed for the development of a domestic format that could deliver comparable quality without the restrictions of DVD. It was also hoped that SVCD's development would help to drive down the cost of consumer DVD players and DVD licensing fees in China
. Three independent efforts attempted to solve these problems: CVD, SVCD, and HQ-VCD.

China Video Disc (CVD), developed by

Matsushita and JVC — creators of the original Video CD
specification) was a relatively late entry.

The Chinese Ministry of Information and the Video CD Consortium agreed to join forces, incorporating the features of HQ-VCD under a unified SVCD format. But by the time the SVCD specification was ready in July 1998, CVD had already been adopted by major manufacturers and had quickly established a significant installed base of about 600,000 players. This prompted the Chinese government to force a compromise between the competing standards in order to maintain compatibility.[8]

The SVCD and CVD standards were combined into one composite standard known as Chaoji Video CD ("Chaoji" in Pinyin or 超级 in written Chinese, meaning "super") in November 1998, which was adopted by the Chinese government as the "official" next-generation video disc standard. Chaoji VCD is effectively synonymous with Super VCD. A Super VCD player must be able to play a variety of formats, including SVCD, CVD, VCD 2.0, VCD 1.1 and CD audio discs.

On July 15, 2000, the IEC certified SVCD an international standard CD format, as IEC 62107.[9]

Philips added an SVCD logo to its canon of official Compact Disc logos. SVCD titles were available commercially in China,

Laserdisc
.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Understanding Video DVD formats and VCD and SVCD". DeskShare Incorporated. Retrieved 2011-03-20.
  2. ^ Glossary, SVCD, allformp3.com, archived from the original on 2008-03-19, retrieved 2008-03-20
  3. ^ Leon (March 21, 2001), Making Super Video CD (SVCD), labdv.com, archived from the original on March 8, 2008, retrieved March 20, 2008
  4. ^ Glossary, CVD, allformp3.com, archived from the original on 2008-03-19, retrieved 2008-03-20
  5. ^ What is SVCD?, videohelp.com, retrieved 2008-03-20
  6. ^ The RoBa method for CCE encoding, doom9.com, August 9, 2005, archived from the original on February 23, 2008, retrieved February 22, 2008
  7. ^ MoleVCD 2003, March 18, 2005, archived from the original on November 5, 2003, retrieved February 22, 2008
  8. ^ Aho, Jukka (May 31, 2001), Super Video CD Overview, archived from the original on 2012-09-14, retrieved 2008-03-20
  9. ^ Super video compact disc - Disc-interchange system-specification, International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), July 15, 2000, retrieved 2008-03-20

External links

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