How do you backup VCD's?

[Sgt_Strider]

I'm sorry if I posted this in the wrong forum, but there is no VCD forum, so I decided to post here. I'm not sure if DVD Decrypter backups VCD/SVCD, but what do you guys do to back it up 1:1? Thanks.

[Latexxx]

Well, there is a vcd forum here. But to back up a vcd you only need Nero or some other burning program and use it in cd copy mode. If you want to extract the mpeg file from mode 2 to your HD, you need vcdgear.

[Sgt_Strider]

Originally posted by Latexxx
Well, there is a vcd forum here. But to back up a vcd you only need Nero or some other burning program and use it in cd copy mode. If you want to extract the mpeg file from mode 2 to your HD, you need vcdgear.

Oh oops, I guess I didn't see it. I want to move the VCD files to the computer and then move it back to a CD at a time of my discretion. I want to do this 1:1 so that I don't lose any quality along the way. Do you understand what I'm saying? Like how you can use DVD Decrpyter to copy the DVD to the hard drive as ISO or .vob files and view it via the computer and you can burn it back 1:1 on dual layer discs w/o losing any quality.

[Mug Funky]

yep, anything that'll copy CDs directly will do this. use image mode if you like.

my preferred method (if you've got a DVD burner) would be to demux everything and whack it all in a DVD project - DVD specs can handle 352*2xx mpeg-1 and mp2 audio, so you can put several VCDs onto 1 DVD and have them play back nicely (you can even make animated menus and stuff if you feel like it).

this leaves the question of what authoring packages out there will allow this - i can't answer it because i just use Maestro, which is both unsupported and extremely expensive (in fact, you can only get it from resellers now, because Apple shut Spruce Technologies down).

[Nick]

DVD Lab and TMPGEnc DVD Author both support authoring with menus from VCD source.

Change from $100 US either way :)

[Paulcat]

The simplest way is to open the vcd and copy the file from the vcd to your hard drive. An svcd disc will have the .mpg or .mpeg extension while a vcd will have a .dat extension (you can rename it to .mpg)

Assuming that this is an unprotected vcd, not a commercial one...

[Trahald]

Originally posted by Paulcat
The simplest way is to open the vcd and copy the file from the vcd to your hard drive. An svcd disc will have the .mpg or .mpeg extension while a vcd will have a .dat extension (you can rename it to .mpg)

Assuming that this is an unprotected vcd, not a commercial one...

Those files have extra data in them and although WMP can play them (it ignores the extra stuff) they arent proper mpeg files. thats why vcdgear or isobuster is used to strip the extra info out.

[Bexley]

my preferred method (if you've got a DVD burner) would be to demux everything and whack it all in a DVD project - DVD specs can handle 352*2xx mpeg-1 and mp2 audio, so you can put several VCDs onto 1 DVD and have them play back nicely

Yes, but... I believe DVD specs require all audio to be sampled at 48khz, whereas VCDs (if they follow specs) will be 44khz. That means that you have to re-encode the audio at 48khz and suffer the loss in quality, unless you know a trick that I've missed. :)

[Trahald]

i started doing (x)svcd/vcd backups at 48khz since these work fine on my player... although for the most part i find it easier to just redo the entire dvd from the original than deal with the xsvcd (which are often hard to get data off of due to scratches.)

if this is a original vcd then it will be 44khz. i honestly cant tell the difference when a good resampler does the conversion 44->48

[ronnylov]

I use VCDEasy to extract the mpg from VCD or SVCD image files. It has a VCDRip function built in.

[Paulcat]

Originally posted by Trahald
Those files have extra data in them and although WMP can play them (it ignores the extra stuff) they arent proper mpeg files. thats why vcdgear or isobuster is used to strip the extra info out.

True, but all he wants to do is backup the files, he can re-burn them again as vcd's with Nero or whatever application he has. In fact, why not just make a directory on your HD and copy the entire file structure of the vcd there?