VCD vs DVD

Video Compact Disc or VCD has been the standard for storing and playing back video recordings on a CD. This standard aims to provide video that is comparable to VHS which was the prevalent technology of that time. The Digital Video Disc or DVD is the more recent technology that aims to supersede the VCD and has been pretty successful in this regard due to multiple features that have been added to the standard. Almost all of these features stems from the fact that DVDs have a much greater data capacity compared to standard CDs. A standard VCD can contain up to 800MB of data while DVDs can contain 4.7GB of data at the very least or roughly 6 times more.

The greater data capacity means that it is possible to store videos with much higher resolutions and better image quality than that of VCDs. Movie makers can then choose to not compress their videos so much that the quality deteriorates. It also means that instead of using two discs to store a single movie, like in VCDs, you only need one DVD with room to spare. This is very convenient for most users who, prior to DVDs, need to get up to change the VCD in the player in order to proceed to the second half of the movie.

The extra space on the disc is often used to provide extra content that offers a bit more value to the DVD than what is possible with VCDs. For starters, multiple audio tracks can be included in a single movie allowing more language options. Movie makers often add edited scenes and behind the scene footages to their discs so that buyers can take a peek at what happened during the movie making process.

Since DVDs were created later than VCDs, their players have the ability to play the older VCD discs. VCD players do not have the ability to play DVDs and their owners are restricted to using VCDs.

Summary:
1. VCD is a much older technology compared to DVD
2. DVD offers a greater data capacity compared to VCD
3. A standard length movie can be stored in 2 VCDs or one DVD
4. Better quality video can be stored in DVDs than in VCDs
5. DVDs can contain a lot of extra features that cannot be stored on a VCD
6. VCDs can be played in DVD players while DVDs cannot be played on VCD player

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