My favourite tool for VCD creation is VCDEasy, a freeware product. You can find a link to it from www.vcdhelp.com I believe. It will push as much out of the VCD2.0 and SVCD specs as possible, including support for 704x480 still images (includes a drag&drop convertor that even supports Photoshop files), chapters, and control of interactivity options. In the end, it'll create a .cue and .bin file that Nero or another compatible program can burn straight to CD. The downside is that, to the best of my knowledge, you can't save your settings and easily recall them later! But it does more than any other product elsewise, and is constantly being improved.

I use it in conjunction with a freeware virtual CD emulator called Daemon-Tools, so that I can test the image via WinDVD before actually burning the disc. With the image mounted as a virtual CD-Rom (my L: drive, as it were), I can play it as a real VCD in WinDVD - and if the menus and chapters all line up, I simply use CloneCD to copy the virtual CD to a real CD!

When working with chapter points in VCDEasy, you can drag your .mpeg file onto Vegas' timeline and use it to deduce the timecodes for your chapter points. I do it this way when making music video compilations, so that a chapter point is set at the transition between videos. The VCD spec really calls for this method, as opposed to making separate physical .mpeg tracks per chapter - and once you get used to doing it this way you can produce very professional results on a disc that wasn't designed for more than 74 minutes of audio!

I should add that VCD menus are not interactive like DVDs' are. They're stillframe images, combined with interactivity settings that map the number pad on your remote to specific tracks and/or chapters. Certainly a little more basic, but still the reason I haven't invested in a DVD-R yet.

-Doug

Sounds like I need to check out that freeware app. I've been wanting to create some VCD menues. However, I don't think the Nero I own (version 5.5) can open cue/bin files. How did you do that?
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Hi Dennis - glad I can offer some advice considering how much I've personally benefitted from this forum! I have Nero 5.5.7.8 and it opens .cue files when you choose File, Burn Image (or something like that). Again, I've had better feelings about using a Virtual CD-Rom along with CloneCD since it includes subindexes in the burn - and anything that gets me closer to a truly industry-standard VCD, the better. The web site for VCDEasy is http://www.vcdeasy.org/.

Take care,

-Doug

Well, there you go, I was using 5.5.4.2. I updated to 5.5.8.2 and it's cue/bin support is there. Thanks.
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