Watch downloaded VCD movies from Kazaa on TV?

The last newsletter sparked some interesting discussion from readers.

George P. from Lakeland, Florida asks:

" I have created my own downloaded CD Discs that contain movies I got from Kazaa. They play absolutely perfectly on my monitor, but I'd like to be able to play them on my 27 inch TV. How can I play the same VCD on my TV instead of on my monitor? "

My Response:

There's a few things I need to address before answering George's question.

First of all, George made reference to something called a VCD, which is an acronym for "Video CD." Video CDs have been around for quite some time and are very popular in Asia. Video CDs are created with industry-standard 650 MB / 700 MB recordable discs, and usually span 2 (or more) CDs per movie (due to media size restrictions). VCDs are also compatible / playable in most name-brand DVD players which may also explain why VCDs are still popular today.

George also made reference to downloading movies from Kazaa.

At this point, it is also worth mentioning that not every movie downloaded from Kazaa is a VCD (Video CD).

In fact, many of the movies found on Kazaa are created using different file formats (DivX, MPG, MPG-2, ASF, and so on) and are *not* directly compatible with a VCD player*. If memory serves correct, a VCD is only compatible with MPG-1 move file format. To compile a VCD using MPG-1, you also need special CD Mastering software, such as Nero Burning ROM.

Side note: I should also point out that SVCDs (Super Video CDs) are not compatible with VCDs. However, most name-brand DVD Players will view both formats.

Right. So, let's get to George's question.

RE: How can I play the same VCD on my TV instead of on my monitor?

As I mentioned above, if George owned a DVD player (attached to his TV) which was compatible with the VCD format, he could surely play his VCD movies that way -- *if* they were in VCD format.

If George didn't own a DVD player and wanted to watch the movies through his computer, he would need a video card with TV OUT capability. Once the card has been hooked up properly to the TV set, George could watch any movie format (VCD, DivX, MPG, MPG-2, ASF) on his TV *from* his computer.

In case you missed it, I provided a very brief guide as to how one might achieve a TV OUT hook-up in the previous newsletter:

How to use a PC DVD player and watch movies on TV

Additional (technical) information

DVDHelp.com is an excellent web site which contains free FAQs (frequently asked questions), plus newbie and how-to guides on compiling VCDs, SVCDs, DVD-Rs, and much more:

http://www.dvdrhelp.com/