141 What's about Video-CD and CD-I? Introduction
Description
This article is from the MPEG FAQ, by Frank Gadegast phade@cs.tu-berlin.de with numerous contributions by others.
141 What's about Video-CD and CD-I? Introduction
FAQ ABOUT VIDEO CD and CD-i
Copyright (c) 1996 Steve Perlman, Visible Light
Revised: 15 Mar 96
Introduction
The Different Formats of Video CD and CD-i
Special Considerations To Play Green Book
An Important Choice: Windows 3.1 or 95
Playback Software For Video CD and CD-i
Using Software Decoders
Introduction
Every day, I'm contacted by an increasing number of PC owners
who want to playback their CD-i and Video CDs on their PCs. The
answer to the question "Can I play Video CDs and CD-i on my PC?"
is absolutely and positively a "maybe!"
Without question, you must have an MPEG decoder to playback a
Video CD or CD-i. Software-only decoders, like CompCore SoftPEG,
are inexpensive and work well with fast Pentium based PCs. The
hardware decoders, like Sigma Designs' REALMagic, are more costly
but will run well even on 486 PCs, since the processing is all
done on the board.
But, just having an MPEG decoder just isn't enough! So beware!
There are hardware, software, driver and configuration issues that
must be resolved to play Video CD or CD-i. The bright spot is that
it generally can be done!
This FAQ explains the factors involved in playback of Video CD and
CD-i. Hopefully, you're somewhat knowledgeable of your PC hardware
and configuration!
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