12-26-2003, 08:51 PM
Quote:Originally posted by Steve_the_Talking_Pie
They use mpeg or something. I'm not too well versed in the media. Basically they have much better quality than a VHS when they are store bought.
So are DVDs. DVDs are Mpeg2, VCDs are Mpeg1. Also, you can burn VCDs with a regular CD burner, which is why you should be even more vary of cheap copies. A low low quality downloaded AVI file could be converted to a VCD and burnt, making it horrible quality. By the same token, a VCD can be made from the original film print and be near-dvd quality.
There's no way to tell how bad the quality is beforehand. You can guess with DVDs by the number of episodes per DVD (if it has 12 on one disc... you know it won't be good) but VCDs, no matter what quality, bitrate, or options you use, it only first a certain length of time. (3 episodes, usually. I don't know the exact minutes)