Super Video CD
Encyclopedia
Super Video CD is a digital
format for storing video
on standard compact disc
s. 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. Although SVCDs proved more sophisticated than VCDs, the format ironically remains in the latter's shadow.
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 has to come in twice the number of discs of their VCD equivalents.
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 disk anyway.
Interlaced video is supported for SVCD video, though not required. 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.
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.
s, karaoke
lyric
highlighting, four selectable overlay graphic subtitle
streams, chapters, playlists, and DVD-quality still images/slide shows, along with audio, with a resolution of 704x480 (NTSC) or 704x576 (PAL/SECAM).
, SVCD, and DVD
horizontal resolutions (352, 480, or 720) and only one analog low pass filter is provided, 2 out of the 3 formats will suffer aliasing
when presented on the screen. Usually, the best resolution—DVD 720—dictates filter design, with SVCD display suffering from "foldover". While displays should follow correct theory, the objectionable aliasing artifacts that result are usually buried in noise from other sources, such as camera, quantization, and MPEG artifacts
.
Because 352x480/576 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. CVD also supports all of the additional features (selectable subtitles, multiple audio tracks, and so on) which are supported by SVCD.
SVCD players are required to be fully compatible with the CVD standard. However, "SVCD compatible" DVD players sold in North America
have no such requirement, and may not be able to play CVDs, or utilize the interactive menus and subtitle
s found on some CVDs and SVCDs.
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.
in creating SVCD-compliant discs. RSVCD was popularized on the Doom9
forum.
. MVCD can encode either MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 video to VCD, SVCD, or DVD standard resolution. Many players accept MVCD encoded discs.
-sponsored effort to create a next-generation CD-based video standard. The primary motivating factor was the need for an alternative to the DVD format that would not be restricted by technology 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 C-Cube Microsystems
(a major producer of chips for Video CD players), was the earliest entry, having completed its specification in 1997, before the other two had even reached a draft stage. Super Video CD (SVCD) was second, being developed by the government-backed China Recording Standards Committee, under direction from the Chinese Ministry of Information Industry, with technical support from ESS Technology. High-Quality Video CD (HQ-VCD), developed by the Video CD Consortium (consisting of Philips
, Sony
, 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.
The SVCD and CVD standards were combined into one composite standard known as Chaoji Video CD 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.
Philips has added an SVCD logo to its canon of official Compact Disc logos. SVCD titles are available commercially in China, Hong Kong, and several other Asian countries (except the Philippines). In the Western world, the format is more commonly used to store home videos or movies copied from DVD and Laserdisc
.
Digital
A digital system is a data technology that uses discrete values. By contrast, non-digital systems use a continuous range of values to represent information...
format for storing video
Video
Video is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.- History :...
on standard compact disc
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
s. SVCD was intended as a successor to Video CD
Video CD
Before the advent of DVD and Blu-ray, the Video CD became the first format for distributing films on standard 120 mm optical discs. The format is a standard digital format for storing video on a Compact Disc...
and an alternative to DVD-Video
DVD-Video
DVD-Video is a consumer video format used to store digital video on DVD discs, and is currently the dominant consumer video format in Asia, North America, Europe, and Australia. Discs using the DVD-Video specification require a DVD drive and a MPEG-2 decoder...
, and falls somewhere between both in terms of technical capability and picture quality. Although SVCDs proved more sophisticated than VCDs, the format ironically remains in the latter's shadow.
Technical specifications
SVCDs are authored (or "burned") using the CD-ROM mode 2/XA format, allowing roughly 800 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.Container
In an SVCD, the audio and video streams are multiplexed in a MPEG program stream (MPEG-PS) container.Video
- Codec: MPEG-2MPEG-2MPEG-2 is a standard for "the generic coding of moving pictures and associated audio information". It describes a combination of lossy video compression and lossy audio data compression methods which permit storage and transmission of movies using currently available storage media and transmission...
- Resolution: 2/3 D1D1 (Sony)D-1 is an SMPTE digital recording video standard, introduced in 1986 through efforts by SMPTE engineering committees. It started as a Sony and Bosch - BTS product and was the first major professional digital video format.- Format :...
- NTSCNTSCNTSC, named for the National Television System Committee, is the analog television system that is used in most of North America, most of South America , Burma, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, and some Pacific island nations and territories .Most countries using the NTSC standard, as...
: 480x480 - PALPALPAL, short for Phase Alternating Line, is an analogue television colour encoding system used in broadcast television systems in many countries. Other common analogue television systems are NTSC and SECAM. This page primarily discusses the PAL colour encoding system...
/SECAMSECAMSECAM, also written SÉCAM , is an analog color television system first used in France....
: 480x576
- NTSC
- Aspect RatioAspect ratioThe aspect ratio of a shape is the ratio of its longer dimension to its shorter dimension. It may be applied to two characteristic dimensions of a three-dimensional shape, such as the ratio of the longest and shortest axis, or for symmetrical objects that are described by just two measurements,...
: 4:3 - Framerate:
- NTSCNTSCNTSC, named for the National Television System Committee, is the analog television system that is used in most of North America, most of South America , Burma, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, and some Pacific island nations and territories .Most countries using the NTSC standard, as...
: 29.97 frames per second - PALPALPAL, short for Phase Alternating Line, is an analogue television colour encoding system used in broadcast television systems in many countries. Other common analogue television systems are NTSC and SECAM. This page primarily discusses the PAL colour encoding system...
/SECAMSECAMSECAM, also written SÉCAM , is an analog color television system first used in France....
: 25 frames per second
- NTSC
- Bit rate: Up to 2.6 megabits per second
- Rate Control: ConstantConstant bitrateConstant bitrate is a term used in telecommunications, relating to the quality of service. Compare with variable bitrate.When referring to codecs, constant bit rate encoding means that the rate at which a codec's output data should be consumed is constant...
or variableVariable bitrateVariable bitrate is a term used in telecommunications and computing that relates to the bitrate used in sound or video encoding. As opposed to constant bitrate , VBR files vary the amount of output data per time segment...
bit rate
- Rate Control: Constant
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 has to come in twice the number of discs of their VCD equivalents.
Unlike other CD-based formats, such as China Video Disc and Video CD
Video CD
Before the advent of DVD and Blu-ray, the Video CD became the first format for distributing films on standard 120 mm optical discs. The format is a standard digital format for storing video on a Compact Disc...
, Super Video CD video is incompatible with both the DVD-Video
DVD-Video
DVD-Video is a consumer video format used to store digital video on DVD discs, and is currently the dominant consumer video format in Asia, North America, Europe, and Australia. Discs using the DVD-Video specification require a DVD drive and a MPEG-2 decoder...
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 disk anyway.
Interlaced video is supported for SVCD video, though not required. 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
- Codec: MPEG-1 Audio Layer IIMPEG-1 Audio Layer IIMPEG-1 Audio Layer II or MPEG-2 Audio Layer II is a lossy audio compression format defined by ISO/IEC 11172-3 alongside MPEG-1 Audio Layer I and MPEG-1 Audio Layer III...
- Frequency: 44,100 hertzHertzThe hertz is the SI unit of frequency defined as the number of cycles per second of a periodic phenomenon. One of its most common uses is the description of the sine wave, particularly those used in radio and audio applications....
(44.1 kHz) - Output: MonauralMonauralMonaural or monophonic sound reproduction is single-channel. Typically there is only one microphone, one loudspeaker, or channels are fed from a common signal path...
, dual channel, stereoSTEREOSTEREO is a solar observation mission. Two nearly identical spacecraft were launched into orbits that cause them to respectively pull farther ahead of and fall gradually behind the Earth...
, and multichannel support up to 5.1 output. - Bit rate: from 32 to 384 kilobits per second, inclusive
- Rate Control: ConstantConstant bitrateConstant bitrate is a term used in telecommunications, relating to the quality of service. Compare with variable bitrate.When referring to codecs, constant bit rate encoding means that the rate at which a codec's output data should be consumed is constant...
or VariableVariable bitrateVariable bitrate is a term used in telecommunications and computing that relates to the bitrate used in sound or video encoding. As opposed to constant bitrate , VBR files vary the amount of output data per time segment...
bit rate
- Rate Control: Constant
As with most compact disc-based video formats, SVCD audio is incompatible with the DVD-Video
DVD-Video
DVD-Video is a consumer video format used to store digital video on DVD discs, and is currently the dominant consumer video format in Asia, North America, Europe, and Australia. Discs using the DVD-Video specification require a DVD drive and a MPEG-2 decoder...
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
Audio commentary
On disc-based video formats, an audio commentary is an additional audio track consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with video...
or additional languages).
Audio may have up to 6 channels (in a 5.1 arrangement) using the MPEG Multichannel
MPEG Multichannel
MPEG Multichannel is an extension to the MPEG-1 Layer II audio compression specification, as defined in the MPEG-2 Audio standard , which allows it provide up to 5.1-channels of audio...
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, hyperlinkHyperlink
In computing, a hyperlink is a reference to data that the reader can directly follow, or that is followed automatically. A hyperlink points to a whole document or to a specific element within a document. Hypertext is text with hyperlinks...
s, karaoke
Karaoke
is a form of interactive entertainment or video game in which amateur singers sing along with recorded music using a microphone and public address system. The music is typically a well-known pop song minus the lead vocal. Lyrics are usually displayed on a video screen, along with a moving symbol,...
lyric
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
highlighting, four selectable overlay graphic subtitle
Subtitle (captioning)
Subtitles are textual versions of the dialog in films and television programs, usually displayed at the bottom of the screen. They can either be a form of written translation of a dialog in a foreign language, or a written rendering of the dialog in the same language, with or without added...
streams, chapters, playlists, and DVD-quality still images/slide shows, along with audio, with a resolution of 704x480 (NTSC) or 704x576 (PAL/SECAM).
Playback issues
Presentation of SVCD titles on most players is marred by an unfortunate violation of sampling theory almost built into the specification. The two-thirds choice of resolution is rarely consistently implemented end to end, through the full player electronics. Because a DVD player might include provisions for various VCDVideo CD
Before the advent of DVD and Blu-ray, the Video CD became the first format for distributing films on standard 120 mm optical discs. The format is a standard digital format for storing video on a Compact Disc...
, SVCD, and DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
horizontal resolutions (352, 480, or 720) and only one analog low pass filter is provided, 2 out of the 3 formats will suffer aliasing
Aliasing
In signal processing and related disciplines, aliasing refers to an effect that causes different signals to become indistinguishable when sampled...
when presented on the screen. Usually, the best resolution—DVD 720—dictates filter design, with SVCD display suffering from "foldover". While displays should follow correct theory, the objectionable aliasing artifacts that result are usually buried in noise from other sources, such as camera, quantization, and MPEG artifacts
Compression artifact
A compression artifact is a noticeable distortion of media caused by the application of lossy data compression....
.
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 352x480 (NTSC) or 352x576 (PAL/SECAM).Because 352x480/576 is a recognized DVD resolution, CVD video (but not audio) is fully compatible with the DVD-Video standard, and avoids the "foldover" (or aliasing
Aliasing
In signal processing and related disciplines, aliasing refers to an effect that causes different signals to become indistinguishable when sampled...
) 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. CVD also supports all of the additional features (selectable subtitles, multiple audio tracks, and so on) which are supported by SVCD.
SVCD players are required to be fully compatible with the CVD standard. However, "SVCD compatible" DVD players sold in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
have no such requirement, and may not be able to play CVDs, or utilize the interactive menus and subtitle
Subtitle (captioning)
Subtitles are textual versions of the dialog in films and television programs, usually displayed at the bottom of the screen. They can either be a form of written translation of a dialog in a foreign language, or a written rendering of the dialog in the same language, with or without added...
s found on some CVDs and SVCDs.
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
Group of pictures
In Video coding, a group of pictures, or GOP structure, specifies the order in which intra- and inter-frames are arranged. The GOP is a group of successive pictures within a coded video stream. Each coded video stream consists of successive GOPs...
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 CCECinema Craft Encoder
Cinema Craft Encoder or CCE is a video encoder for MPEG-1 and MPEG-2. It is written in assembly and optimized with SIMD multimedia instructions of compatible x86 processors....
in creating SVCD-compliant discs. RSVCD was popularized on the Doom9
Doom9
Doom9 is a website featuring information on digital audio and video manipulation, mostly video, and digital copyrights. It is also the forum username of the author of the page, an Austrian then college student at the time of the creation of the site...
forum.
MVCD
MVCD (Mole VCD) is a XSVCD variant that can be created using the MVCD templates included with TMPGEncTMPGEnc
TMPGEnc or TSUNAMI MPEG Encoder is a video transcoder software application primarily for encoding video files to VCD and SVCD-compliant MPEG video formats and was developed by Hiroyuki Hori and Pegasys Inc.. TMPGEnc can also refer to the family of software video encoders created after the success...
. MVCD can encode either MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 video to VCD, SVCD, or DVD standard resolution. Many players accept MVCD encoded discs.
History of development
Super Video CD was developed as part of a late 1990s Chinese governmentGovernment of the People's Republic of China
All power within the government of the People's Republic of China is divided among three bodies: the People's Republic of China, State Council, and the People's Liberation Army . This article is concerned with the formal structure of the state, its departments and their responsibilities...
-sponsored effort to create a next-generation CD-based video standard. The primary motivating factor was the need for an alternative to the DVD format that would not be restricted by technology royalties
Royalties
Royalties are usage-based payments made by one party to another for the right to ongoing use of an asset, sometimes an intellectual property...
. 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 C-Cube Microsystems
C-Cube
C-Cube Microsystems was a pioneer in video compression technology as well as the implementation of that technology into cost-effective semiconductors...
(a major producer of chips for Video CD players), was the earliest entry, having completed its specification in 1997, before the other two had even reached a draft stage. Super Video CD (SVCD) was second, being developed by the government-backed China Recording Standards Committee, under direction from the Chinese Ministry of Information Industry, with technical support from ESS Technology. High-Quality Video CD (HQ-VCD), developed by the Video CD Consortium (consisting of Philips
Philips
Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. , more commonly known as Philips, is a multinational Dutch electronics company....
, Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
, Matsushita and JVC
JVC
, usually referred to as JVC, is a Japanese international consumer and professional electronics corporation based in Yokohama, Japan which was founded in 1927...
— creators of the original Video CD
Video CD
Before the advent of DVD and Blu-ray, the Video CD became the first format for distributing films on standard 120 mm optical discs. The format is a standard digital format for storing video on a Compact Disc...
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
Installed base
Installed base or installed user base is a measure of the number of units of a particular type of system—usually a computing platform—actually in use, as opposed to market share, which only reflects sales over a particular period. Because installed base includes machines that may have been in use...
of about 600,000 players. This prompted the Chinese government to force a compromise between the competing standards in order to maintain compatibility.
The SVCD and CVD standards were combined into one composite standard known as Chaoji Video CD 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
International Electrotechnical Commission
The International Electrotechnical Commission is a non-profit, non-governmental international standards organization that prepares and publishes International Standards for all electrical, electronic and related technologies – collectively known as "electrotechnology"...
certified SVCD an international standard CD format, as IEC 62107.
Philips has added an SVCD logo to its canon of official Compact Disc logos. SVCD titles are available commercially in China, Hong Kong, and several other Asian countries (except the Philippines). In the Western world, the format is more commonly used to store home videos or movies copied from DVD and Laserdisc
Laserdisc
LaserDisc was a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to interally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical...
.
See also
- DVDDVDA DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
- Video CDVideo CDBefore the advent of DVD and Blu-ray, the Video CD became the first format for distributing films on standard 120 mm optical discs. The format is a standard digital format for storing video on a Compact Disc...
- cDVDCDVDcDVD discs, sometimes called mini-DVD discs as well, are regular CDs that contain MPEG-video structured in accordance with the DVD-Video specifications...
- (AKA Mini-DVD), DVD video on a CD - Enhanced Versatile DiscEnhanced Versatile DiscThe Enhanced Versatile Disc is an optical medium-based digital audio/video format, developed to provide a means for playing HDTV content using existing optical media. It was announced on November 18, 2003, by the People's Republic of China's Xinhua News Agency as a response to the popular...
External links
- http://www.ip.philips.com/view_attachment/2450/sl00812.pdfTechnical Explanation of SVCD — PhilipsPhilipsKoninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. , more commonly known as Philips, is a multinational Dutch electronics company....
] - AfterDawn's SVCD guides
- VideoHelp description of SVCD