My experience with VCDs

Posted by Adam from spider-tm031.proxy.aol.com on September 11, 2000 at 00:16:13:

In Reply to: To answer my own question: posted by Aaron on September 11, 2000 at 00:04:39:

The quality of VCDs, a format similar to DVDs, but with a far less resolution refinement, are often misunderstood. They're quite a popular format in Asia and Japan, as well as laserdiscs.

However, from my own experience, the quality of the INDIANA JONES series series on VCD is relatively substandard. Even the VHS rerelease of the films last year are superior in picture quality and sound. VCDs are more comparable to the short-lived American CD-i discs from about five or so years ago, with heavy pixelated images and fuzzy colors.

The advantage is, of course, "that VCDs last forever", as they are a digital format. But when you consider that the release of the INDY films is eventually inevidable -- if not soon -- investing in the foreign VCDs isn't a great idea. Also, there are sometimes complications in playing some VCDs on US/Region 1 DVD players -- I haven't had problems myself, but the make, model, and year of the DVD player has been known to effect whether of not the machine can understand and play a VCD.

As the owner of a DVD, laserdisc, AND VHS VCR, I recommend them in that exact order of preference -- thus, the laserdisc INDY trilogy is the best format currently available to American Indyfans.

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: The quality of VCDs, a format similar to DVDs, but with a far less resolution refinement, are often misunderstood.  They're quite a popular format in Asia and Japan, as well as laserdiscs.

: However, from my own experience, the quality of the INDIANA JONES series series on VCD is relatively substandard.  Even the VHS rerelease of the films last year are superior in picture quality and sound.  VCDs are more comparable to the short-lived American CD-i discs from about five or so years ago, with heavy pixelated images and fuzzy colors.

: The advantage is, of course, "that VCDs last forever", as they are a digital format.  But when you consider that the release of the INDY films is eventually inevidable -- if not soon -- investing in the foreign VCDs isn't a great idea.  Also, there are sometimes complications in playing some VCDs on US/Region 1 DVD players -- I haven't had problems myself, but the make, model, and year of the DVD player has been known to effect whether of not the machine can understand and play a VCD.

: As the owner of a DVD, laserdisc, AND VHS VCR, I recommend them in that exact order of preference -- thus, the laserdisc INDY trilogy is the best format currently available to American Indyfans.

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