SVCD codec

[jparnold]

Hello,
Many years ago I created some home movies and rendered them using SVGA (Super VGA) which was about the best that could be done back then (2000?) as DVD either wasn't available or was new. I was using a very early version of VideoStudio which I think came with some hardware (a cable?) and was version 6 (not X6) I think.
I still have the CD's (yes SVCD was burnt to CD) but nothing will play them and X6 will not read them.
Is there a codec available which I can use to read these disks and convert them to DVD (or something which can be read by PC and or DVD player)?
Failing that is there anyway I can get a copy of VideoStudio version 6 which might be able to load them?
The disk structure of my SVCD CDs is
EXT
SCANDATA.DAT
MPEG2
AVSEQ01 (my PC goes into 'meltdown when I attempt to access these files and they are listed as video files)
AVSEQ02

Thanks
John

[jparnold]

The directory should be as follows (sorry PC hung up attempting to access the files on disk due to no codec)
EXT (folder)
...SCANDATA.DAT
MPEG2 (folder)
...AVSEQ01.MPG
...AVSEQ02.MPG
SEGMENT (folder)
...ITEM0001.MPG
SVCD (folder)
...ENTRIES.SVD
...INFO.SVD
...LOT.SDV
...SEARCH.DAT
...TRACKS.SVD

Thanks
John

[Ken Berry]

Have you tried using Windows File Manager to simply copy AVSEQ01.MPG and AVSEQ02.MPG, and then playing them on WMP or VLC, or copying them to another mpeg-2 format with a third party video converter?

[jparnold]

Thanks Ken

I will try that tomorrow. I have encountered another problem I must first overcome and that is that my DVD drive appears to be having problems reading those files. I started to copy them to a hard drive and gave up after waiting what seemed to be forever and having to force an exit to get control of my PC - why do optical drives hog all system resources when attempting to read files? Very annoying?

[asik1]

It could be the media not the drive.
You burned them ~18 years ago? how you stored them? what make are they?

[lata]

Hi

I also had issues reading CD SVCD discs, it was a while ago now but some discs opened ok whilst others just did not read
Like you I was intending to update the old footage, I gave up in the end, and yep very annoying.

[jparnold]

Thanks,

Yes the media. It would be at least 15 years since I burnt those CDs but they have been stored in a plastic box inside a drawer well away from light. I can't remember the brand name and on the clear 'hub' are some numbers but when I hold one against a strong light (they a printable disks disks) I can see a 'watermark' with DATASTREAM PROFESSIONAL which if I remember correctly were supposed to have a 'lifetime warranty' but that is a very loose term (lifetime) as many people think it mean's their own life but it could also be the life of lots of other things which don't last long

[lata]

Hi John
When you say printable discs yet you can see a watermark, printable discs do not normally show any text on the surface of the disc.
Would they be a printable label stuck to the surface of the disc.
Yesterday I dug out the old discs, some have labels others are printable, so far it is the label types that are giving the problem, but not all, some I can copy the files to my HD, others just lock up the system.

For those problem discs I have not found a solution?

[jparnold]

Hi Trevor,

I just checked the disk and it is a printable type not one with a label stuck over (which I used to do before I could buy printable disks). When I shine a very bright light at either face of the disk I can see what looks like a 'watermark' obviously something printed on the back of the disk before the printable coating goes on.
I tried copying from another disk and after about 20 minutes that dread message "cannot read from..." or similar.
So much for lifetime warranties! I found a label insert which shows -
Datastream Professional CD-R Compact Disc Recordable 700MB/80 min Silver/Gold (I always used either 'gold' or 'silver/gold' disks as they were supposed to be better than the 'silver' ones)
Up to 24X guaranteed (although I never did burning above 8X).

Maybe I will try the DVD drive in my old 'thumper' (PC).
Regards
John

[asik1]

Guys, try these apps
https://cdreader.en.uptodown.com/windows I used it way back with some success.
Or this https://www.jufsoft.com/badcopy/

[jparnold]

Thanks asik1.

[lata]

Hi asik
And a thank you from me, unfortunately have not been able to recover the files, the Bad Copy shows as Unrecoverable file, running the process the program goes unresponsive for a while.
Cd Reader just seems to run forever with no results
I ran a good disc through that to see what should happen, that worked ok, to be expected, but no good with the corrupt disc, its as though the .MPG just does not exist.

[asik1]

I don't use CD's for ages, for my importn't stuff I use memorex DVD+R but burn at a different book.
I found them most reliable even after more than 10-15 years.
I also have few old drives in hand if I might run into trouble.
On each burn I do VERIFY and on important stuff I double check with ViceVersa before deleting files
It saved my head few times....

[jparnold]

I too have not used Cd's for years. When created my videos back in 2000/2001 DVDs were not available and I didn't have a player anyway. I always used the more expensive Cds and those marked GOLD or GOLD/SILVER (the reflective layer) as they were supposed to be the best.
I ALWAYS do a verify to be safe (well so I thought).
In 2003 I started to use DVDs as they became available and I have never had (read) problems with those.

I wonder if memory sticks are 'safer' than DVDs for long term storage? I tend not to use DVDs anymore except to store backups of software and small data files (those less than 4.5Gb of course).
I am thinking that light is the enemy of Cds and VDVs?

[asik1]

Its a matter of size. I use DVD's and old HDD for archiving.
I prefer to use many small buckets than to use large well so hopefully if corrosion will make a hole not the whole water lost.