Home media players
(Redirected from DVD Player)
- Not to be confused with smart media players, TVs or media boxes, and DVR, etc., portable media players, android consoles and set-top box. See media players category.
A home media player is a device for playback (and some of them features recording, copying, delivery) of various types of entertainment and information in the home. Most popular use case scenario for these kinds of devices is playing home video content; the term originates from the VHS and Betamax era, when the predominant medium was videotapes, but has carried over to optical disc formats such as VCD, DVD and Blu-ray. In a different usage, "home video" refers to amateur video recordings, also known as home movie.
Such device examples other than VHS, VCD or DVD players are VCRs, LaserDisc players and multiplex or converged devices like VCR/DVD combo, TV/VCR combo, VCR/Blu-ray combo and home media supported speaker set systems, etc.
List of home media players
[edit | edit source]- See this dedicated page for comprehensive list about digital optical disc home media players.
- See this dedicated page for home media player chipsets.
- See this dedicated page for comprehensive list about LaserVision/LaserDisc/CDV/MUSE home media players and others from here.
Interactive media
[edit | edit source]
Interactive media is a method of communication in which the output from the media comes from the input of the users. The media still has the same purpose but the user's input adds interaction and brings interesting features to the system for better enjoyment.
- LaserDisc, as the first commercial optical disc format, was a precursor to interactive media. Its key advantage was random access to any part of the disc, which was a significant improvement over the linear nature of videotape. This capability enabled advanced features like freeze-frame, variable slow motion, and reverse playback on CAV (Constant Angular Velocity) discs. This technology was heavily utilized in interactive LaserDisc games, particularly in arcades, and also for special edition movie releases. Many LaserDisc titles featured multiple audio tracks for director's commentaries or foreign languages, and some special editions contained bonus content like still-frame archives of production photos, storyboards, and scripts, which you could navigate through using the player's remote. A prominent example of this technology's potential was the BBC Domesday Project in 1986. This was a pioneering effort that used a special LV-ROM (LaserVision Read Only Memory) format. The project, which was a digital survey of the UK compiled with contributions from over a million people, stored not just video, but also a massive database of text, maps, and photographs. The LaserDisc player was connected to a compatible computer system, creating a truly interactive multimedia experience that was a precursor to modern digital encyclopedias and geographical databases. Tape/cassette formats like D-VHS and W-VHS were primarily developed for high-quality video and recording, not for interactive features. D-VHS, for example, was a digital format that could record and play back high-definition content. While it supported features like chapter stops, its linear tape nature and lack of widespread studio support for bonus content meant it never developed a robust ecosystem of interactive media like optical disc formats. The same is true for Betamax and Betacam, which were professional and consumer video recording formats with no inherent features for interactive entertainment or bonus content beyond what could be recorded on the tape itself. See Ripping games#Analog section for more information.
- In the 1990s, during the Macintosh, Windows 3.x and 9x era, several "MovieCD" (which was essentially movies on CD-ROM and CD-ROM XA).[2] Designed exclusively for playback on personal computers, these releases remained a niche market at the time due to the limited accessibility and the technical constraints of the period. The video quality was often low-resolution and heavily compressed. Some of them, such as It's a "Wonderful Life Multi-Media Edition by Kinesoft" and titles from the Voyager Company ("A Hard Day's Night", "This Is Spinal Tap", "A Night To Remember"), offered additional content and interactive features that were unique for their time. Later, during the Mac OS X, Windows 9x and Windows NT 5.x era, a similar technology for DVD-ROM was released, named InterActual. Beyond these, the era saw a proliferation of other interactive discs. These included:
- "Bonus Discs" bundled with films or software.
- "Kiosk Discs" used for in-store promotions.
- Software or early distribution service discs.
- Demo or promotional discs distributed through magazines.
- Many of these discs contained a mix of content, such as short films, video clips, original video animations (OVAs), or interactive experiences, and were released across various formats, including CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, and later BD-ROM. Some discs were exclusive to specific platforms, reflecting the fragmented nature and proprietary aspects of some of the discs which is exclusive to specific systems.
- DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, Photo CD, CD-i Digital Video, UMD Video, HD-DVD, BD-Video and UHD-BD discs typically includes an interactive menu allowing the user to change settings or play additional content. Also VCD2.0 (or onwards) discs (and VCD 1.1 if played on CD-i hardware) has menu support with playback control (PBC) though these kind of discs are rare. See media player software section for more information. DVD-Video and DVD-Audio discs often featured a wider range of content than modern counterparts (BD-Video, BD-Audio and UHD-BD discs), see
here and here; this includes games playable on home media players (similarly to DVDi discs) or game consoles. For example, the 'Robots DVD' extras included an exclusive game for the original Xbox console.[3] While original major-studio releases frequently packed heavy bonus content into their DVD fullscreen format or multi-disc sets, subsequent budget releases by local independent distributors often utilized bare-bones DVD widescreen letterbox formats that stripped out all interactive features and extra content to reduce manufacturing and licensing costs. - Compilation discs for playing on compatible home media players such as; NES bootleg game disc called Super Game VCD 300 which is only compatible with "SunPlus" chipset hardware. DVD Karaoke Game DVT-G100 is a DVD player can play Master System games. Premier PR-80000G is a VCD player can play Sega Mega Drive games. Padis Game VCD is a VCD player and Sega Mega Drive clone distributed in Russia. There are even portable DVD players with the ability to play built-in NES ROMs such as DVD Mobile Game DVT-T6000. Unfortunately there are no emulators for these kinds of devices due to lack of interest, media player software solutions for home media content and software emulators for those home console systems. However there are emulators for systems such as Nuon technology. On top of that there are "megadriv_sunplus_hybrid and spg2xx_zone" drivers for MAME emulator.
- Interactive film/movie is a video game. In the video game industry, the term refers to a movie game, a video game that presents its gameplay in a cinematic, scripted manner, often through the use of full-motion video of either animated or live-action footage. Examples;
- DVDi and DVDPG games for DVD players such as; "Harry Potter DVD Game: Wizarding World", "Scene It? series" and "DreamWorks Movie Trivia DVD Game". See mobygames: list of DVD player games list. You can use compatible media player software or emulator for DVDi discs.
- HD-DVD interactive HD games such as Dragon's Lair.
- BDPG and Blu-ray interactive HD games such as Sudokia, Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp or Don Bluth Space Ace.
- CED-based interactive games for CED players such as; NFL Football.
- VHS-based interactive movies for VHS players such as; "Captain Power" which is worked by detecting light patterns from the television screen or VCR Games.
- Lots of FMV game/interactive movie released for various multimedia capable home consoles, arcade systems, personal computers or handheld devices too, such as;
- VHS-based interactive games for Tiger Electronics BattleVision, Video Challenger, Family/Video Driver, Action Max and View-Master Interactive Vision[1] (see Category:ADR for more)
- LaserDisc-based FMV games for LaserDisc capable arcade, consoles and computers
- CD-based FMV games for Playdia, 3DO, Sega CD/Mega-CD, Saturn[2] and personal computers that support CD-ROM.
- DVD-based FMV games for personal computers that support DVD-ROM.
- CD-i based FMV games for Philips CD-i
- PVD-based FMV games for VideoNow XP
- UMD-PG for PSP
Emulators
[edit | edit source]As cited above, there is no emulator for any of the home media player or its chipsets due to lack of interest and media player software solutions. But there are some emulators that support emulation of media playback capability on home consoles, handhelds, or hybrid systems that designed as "Interactive Multimedia" CD players, see each of hardware features and peripherals/accessories section on their dedicated pages for more information.
Systems with multimedia capabilities
[edit | edit source]- Main article: Category:Consoles by media
| Video formats | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| System | VHS | Laser Videodisc | CED Videodisc | Video CDs | CD-i Digital Video | DVD-Video | PVD media | Game Boy Advance Video | UMD Video and UMD Music | HD-DVD | BD-Video | UHD-BD | |||
| Amiga CD32 | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ~[4][5][6] | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | |||
| Control-Vision | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | |||
| Nuon | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | |||
| Pioneer LaserActive | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓* | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | |||
| Pioneer Palcom PX-7 (+LD-700) | ✗ | ✓ Home media players
|
✗ | ?* | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | |||
| BBC Master AIV (+Philips VP415) | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ? | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | |||
| RDI Halcyon | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | |||
| Philips CD-i | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ~* | ~* | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | |||
| 3DO | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ~* | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | |||
| VideoNow XP | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | |||
| Sega Saturn | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ~* | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | |||
| Sega Dreamcast | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ~* | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | |||
| IBM and ACPI PCs | [7] | [8] | ISO 9660 supported discs are supported via Optical disc drive hardware and #Media player software. The CD-i specification specifies a file system similar to (but not compatible with) ISO 9660 to be used on CD-i tracks, so there is no media player software out there supports CD-i Digital Video. | ||||||||||||
| Panasonic Q | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | |||
| Game Boy Advance | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | |||
| Nintendo DS | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓* | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | |||
| PlayStation Portable | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | |||
| Xbox | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ~* | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | |||
| Xbox 360 | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ~* | ✗ | ✗ | |||
| Xbox One (X/S) | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ~* | |||
| Xbox Series X | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| PlayStation | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ~* | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | |||
| PlayStation 2 | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | |||
| PSX (DVR) | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | |||
| PlayStation 3 | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | |||
| PlayStation 4 (Pro) | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | |||
| PlayStation 5 (Pro) | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| Misc/Audio/Photo formats | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| System | LD-G | Audio CDs/CDDA | Photo CD | CD+G/CD+EG | CD-i Ready | CD-i Bridge | SACD | DVD-Audio | BD-Audio |
| Amiga CD32 | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ~[3] | ? | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Control-Vision | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Atari Jaguar | ✗ | ~* | ✗ | ✗ | ~[3] | ? | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Commodore CDTV | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ +MIDI |
~[3] | ? | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Pioneer LaserActive | ✓ | ✓* | ✗ | ~* | ? | ? | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Pioneer Palcom PX-7 (+LD-700) | ✓ | ?* | ✗ | ? | ?[3] | ? | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| BBC Master AIV (+Philips VP415) | ? | ? | ✗ | ? | ?[3] | ? | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| RDI Halcyon | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| TurboDuo TurboGrafx-CD SuperGrafx-CD |
✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ~[3] | ? | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| PCFX | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ~[3] | ? | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Philips CD-i | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| 3DO | ✗ | ~* | ✗ | ✗ | ~[3] | ? | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Sega CD/Mega-CD | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ~[3] | ? | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Sega Saturn | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ~[3] | ? | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Sega Dreamcast | ✗ | ~[4] | ~[4] | ✗ | ~[3] | ? | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| IBM and ACPI PCs | [9] | ISO 9660 supported discs are supported via Optical disc drive hardware and #Media player software. | |||||||
| Panasonic Q | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ~[3] | ? | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Game Boy Advance | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Nintendo DS | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| PlayStation Portable | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Xbox | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ~[3] | ? | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Xbox 360 | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ~[3] | ? | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Xbox One (X/S) | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ~[3] | ? | ✗ | ✗ | ? |
| Xbox Series X | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ~[3] | ? | ✗ | ✗ | ? |
| PlayStation | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ~[3] | ? | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| PlayStation 2 | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ~[3] | ? | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| PSX (DVR) | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ~[3] | ? | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| PlayStation 3 | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ~[3] | ? | ✓* | ✗ | ? |
| PlayStation 4 (Pro) | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ~[3] | ? | ✗* | ?* | ? |
| PlayStation 5 (Pro) | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ~[3] | ? | ✗ | ? | ? |
Emulators that support multimedia capabilities of the system
[edit | edit source]Keep in mind that for discs and formats like those mentioned below, using physical discs by utilizing disc drive passthrough capability of the emulator is not necessary, proper ripping process and using correct file formats is sufficient. For information on emulator's optical drive emulation capabilities, see the Disc Drive emulation section.
| System | Emulator(s) | Audio CDs | CD+G | CD+G+MIDI | CD+EG | Photo CDs | Video CDs | CD-i Ready | CD-i Digital Video | UMD Video | DVD-Video | DVDi | HD-DVD | BD-Video | Game Boy Advance Video | Laser Videodisc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commodore CDTV | P-UAE WinUAE FS-UAE |
✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ? | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Amiga CD32 | ✓ | ✓ | ? | ? | ✗ | ✓[10][11][12] | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | |
| PCFX | Mednafen | ✓ | ✓ | ? | ✓[N3 1] | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Sega Mega CD | Genesis Plus GX | ✓ | ✓ | ? | ✓[N3 1] | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Sega Saturn | Mednafen | ✓ | ✓ | ? | ? | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| NOVA | ✓ | ✓ | ? | ✓[13] | ✓ | ~ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | |
| Sega Dreamcast | Flycast | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Atari Jaguar CD | BigPEmu | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| PlayStation | DuckStation | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| TurboDuo TurboGrafx-CD SuperGrafx-CD |
ares Mednafen |
✓ | ✓ | ? | ? | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Philips CD-i | MAME | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ✗ | ~[N3 2] | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| CD-i Emulator | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ~[N3 3] | ? | ~[N3 3] | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | |
| Game Boy Advance | mGBA | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
| PlayStation Portable | PPSSPP | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| JPCSP | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ~[N3 4] | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | |
| PlayStation 2 | PCSX2 | ~[N3 5] | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ~[N3 6] | ~[N3 6] | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Xbox | Xemu | ~[N3 7] | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ~[N3 7] | ~[N3 7] | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Xbox 360 | Xenon | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Xenia Canary | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | |
| PlayStation 3 | RPCS3 | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| IBM and ACPI PCs | 86Box PCem DOSBox forks |
✓[N3 8] | ? | ? | ? | ✓[N3 8] | ✓[N3 8] | ~* | ✗ | ✗ | ✓[N3 8] | ? | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Arcade LaserDisc | MAME | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ~[N3 9] |
| Pioneer LaserActive | ares | ? | ? | ? | ? | ✗ | ? | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ~[N3 10] |
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 CD+EG (Extended Graphics) dump, Sega Saturn, PC-FX and emulators: https://forums.sonicretro.org/index.php?threads/cd-eg-extended-graphics-dump-sega-saturn-pc-fx.42860/
- ↑ DVC required ones are incompatible
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Proof-of-concept support, work-in-progress
- ↑ UMD Video support is partial and work-in-progress
- ↑ Audio CDs only supported when disc images virtually mounted.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Requires MagicGate emulation supported custom builds.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 AudioCD, DVD-Video, DVDi support is partial and work-in-progress.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Support for CDFS/ISO 9660 discs and/or disc images if optical disc drive emulation is supported. Recently, DVD capability also added to 86Box.[1]
- ↑ MAME supports captures using the Domesday Duplicator project, but it's library is quite limited compared to others. Other emulators such as Daphne, HYPSEUS-SINGE are using playback capture method for arcade games that uses pre-recorded video (either live-action or animation) played from a LaserDisc.
- ↑ Limited to Sega PAC (PAC-S10/PAC-S1) and NEC PAC (PAC-N10/PAC-N1) disc images. LDROM² disc images also supported.
Unofficial
[edit | edit source]Unofficial peripherals that released for multimedia playback etc. placeholder text
Media player software
[edit | edit source]
Media player software is basically a type of application software for playing multimedia computer files like audio and video files or home media content from ripping process, optical drive, optical disc image, raw disc image or network. Some of these software programs are even compatible with interactive media content, such as menu support and FMV/interactive movie games. Keep in mind that for discs and formats like those mentioned below, physical discs are not necessary for menu support or interactive media, proper ripping process and using correct file formats are sufficient in most cases.
- Unlike most optical-disc standards, VHS, Laser Videodisc, CDV, CED, VSD and MUSE LD are not digital or fully digital, and instead requires the use of analog video signals. Currently, there are no media player software or emulators to be able to playback Domesday Duplicator Method (Raw Capture) for multimedia captures[14], see Ripping games#Analog section.
- LD-G as the storage medium for karaoke (music and additional content such as graphics), almost all manufacturers have transitioned to CD+G discs later. Currently, there are no media player software or emulators to be able to playback Domesday Duplicator Method (Raw Capture) LD-G files, see Ripping games#Analog section.
- VCD/White book standard disc which typically supported menus only with VCD version 2.0 onwards VCD players with a Return button[5]. White Book standard Video-CD discs that released by Philips used the Video-CD 1.1 version format[15]; although this version of the spec does not define menu screens[5], menus were added in a CD-i-specific manner similarly to CD-i Bridge situation, so it is only accessible when the disc is played on a CD-i player.[5]. VCD playback supported by most of the popular media player software applications when you are using the physical disc or VCD packaged inside a CD-image, VLC media player can play your image directly without you having to mount it or extract it.[6]. Another option is directly launching .DAT file with media player software. Unfortunately, due to lack of support for playback control (PBC)[7]; popular media player software applications do not support VCD menus and navigation. For a complete VCD experience which includes menu selections/navigation, hot spots and playback control (PBC)[8][5][9][10], using xine media player was usually recommended back in the day[11][12] but it's obsolete nowadays. Thanks to the recent developments, we have emulators that supports these interactive discs and disc images now.
- SVCD and CVD playback using .mpg or .bin files is supported with VLC and most of the other media player software or if you have a SVCD packaged inside a CD-image, in some cases VLC media player can play this directly without you having to mount it or extract it[6]but handling still frames (often used in menus) and switching between different video formats is often problematic or not supported for these media players.[16]
- Photo CD/Beige Book standard disc playback is possible with VLC or MPC-HC if you are using physical disc or compatible virtual disc image mount software with media player software->open disc option, or you can use compatible emulator software for Photo CDs. Another option is using something like XnView for .PCD files.
- Audio CD/Red book standard disc playback is possible; if you have a CD-DA/Audio CD/Red book standard disc packaged inside a CD-image, in some cases VLC media player can play this directly without you having to mount it or extract it.[6] Otherwise you need to insert the physical disc to play it[13]. You can use emulator that supports Audio CD playback, another option for Audio CD's using something like "Audacity" software to import the .BIN files (File - Import - Raw Data... - Signed 16-bits PCM, 2 channel stereo, 44100 Hz) and, then, export as .WAV.[14] You can also use RedBookPlayer in order to play audio from Aaru Format Images.[17] Audio CD shouldn't be confused with other audio track containing discs.
- SACD/Scarlet Book standard disc, similar to DVD-Audio two-side discs, "hybrid SACD" ones contains a Compact Disc Digital Audio (CDDA) layer which can also be played on a standard CD player. SACD playback on modern computers is not an easy task, as there is no media player software available to play these discs or disc images on a modern PC. Easiest solution is using foobar2000 with a plug-in extension called sacddecoder which is capable of playing back Super Audio CD ISO images, DSDIFF, DSF and DSD WavPack files, also supports Direct DSD playback for compatible devices. MPC-BE also could play DSD and DSF files. Alternatively you can use Audacity [18][19].
- CD+G/CD+EG/Red book standard disc discs are often used for karaoke machines similarly to LD-G, which use this functionality to present on-screen lyrics for the song contained on the disc. VLC has no support for CD+G .zip files currently but you can use cdg+mp3 combination of files with VLC or emulator that supports CD+G.
- CD-i Digital Video discs most often incorporate menus, typically showcasing more advanced interactive capabilities (see CD-i Digital Video menu demonstration). Unfortunately playback is not possible with any of the media player software. On modern systems; you cannot launch the CD-image directly due to Green Book standard; which is making it incompatible with the Video-CD format and ISO-9660 file system and causing unreadable discs. You have to wait for an CD-i emulator that fully implements "DVC" or use compatible hardware.
- CD-i Ready discs are Green book standard and it is for mixing audio and data content on a CD, and it was developed by Philips in 1991, based on the CD-i format and some of them doesn't require "DVC". It will let you play it's audio tracks in any Audio-CD compatible player/hardware or emulator.
- CD-i Bridge discs; White Book contains the specs, where the data is stored in CD-ROM format, but the CD-i player's program code could be stored in Green Book (in simple words).[20] This type of format will play on CD-i players but it does require "DVC". Fortunately, though, you can play this disc on Video-CD compatible player/hardware or emulator but without menu support. Also, it supports Windows 95 & 98 PCs but you need to install CD-i Filesystem Driver.
- DVD-Video playback and menus supported by various media player software like VLC and MPC-HC, however other ones like mpv and libretro-mpv do not support DVD menus[15], so there is no support for EmuVR either. A large number of commercial DVDs are encrypted which uses a range of encryption and copy protection techniques like RC, RCE, APS, CSS, UOPs and ARccOS. VLC uses various libraries/DLLs for those situations[16], which helps playing encrypted DVD discs and disc images. Other options are either using emulator that supports this or using real hardware. You can decrypt and properly rip your discs using DVD decrypter software as well.
- DVD-Audio playback is challenging on modern PCs due to the lack of compatible media player software, this is likely due to licensing restrictions. There is a bit of confusion about the labeling these discs; DVD audio refers to the standard audio tracks found on regular DVD-Video (mono, Dolby Digital, DTS). In contrast, a DVD-Audio disc has their logo on it and is a high-resolution format accessible only with a dedicated DVD-Audio compatible player. While many DVD-Audio discs came with additional content and tracks including Dolby Digital and DTS audio, DVD-V authoring, menus, subtitles, images, and video of the same music playable on regular DVD-Video players, they don't match the fidelity of the primary DVD-Audio track. And, of course, there are usually both stereo and surround versions of this stuff on the same disc. So in summary, if you put one of these discs in a DVD-Audio player, it will play the DVD-Audio track. If you put it into a regular DVD-Video player, it will play the Dolby or DTS track. Note that there are also DTS CDs, which are basically DVDs with only a DTS surround track on it. And there are even DADs, which are high-res stereo audio-only DVDs playable on regular DVD-Video players.[21][22] The way the content is organized;
- DVD-Video content in VIDEO_TS directory - as mentioned above it contains backwards compatability tracks for DVD-Video only players. The contents of the .VOB Files will be: DD track or a Linear PCM track (Mandatory by spec, identical to DVD-Video requirements). Optionally a DTS track.
- DVD-Audio content in AUDIO_TS directory - Hi-res only playable on a DVD-Audio player. Can be multiple mixes.
- Some labels released double-sided DVDs with DVD-Audio high-res content on one side and DVD-Video content with audio tracks on the other.
- Easiest solution on modern system is using foobar2000 with a plug-in extension called DVDADecoder which is capable of playing back those Hi-res tracks on DVD-Audio discs, ISO images, or even extracted '.AOB files'. Another alternative way to play is ripping the disc and converting to LPCM or FLAC. While having said that, you can rip DVD-Audio using VLC's convert option or using foobar2000.
- DVD-Audio playback is challenging on modern PCs due to the lack of compatible media player software, this is likely due to licensing restrictions. There is a bit of confusion about the labeling these discs; DVD audio refers to the standard audio tracks found on regular DVD-Video (mono, Dolby Digital, DTS). In contrast, a DVD-Audio disc has their logo on it and is a high-resolution format accessible only with a dedicated DVD-Audio compatible player. While many DVD-Audio discs came with additional content and tracks including Dolby Digital and DTS audio, DVD-V authoring, menus, subtitles, images, and video of the same music playable on regular DVD-Video players, they don't match the fidelity of the primary DVD-Audio track. And, of course, there are usually both stereo and surround versions of this stuff on the same disc. So in summary, if you put one of these discs in a DVD-Audio player, it will play the DVD-Audio track. If you put it into a regular DVD-Video player, it will play the Dolby or DTS track. Note that there are also DTS CDs, which are basically DVDs with only a DTS surround track on it. And there are even DADs, which are high-res stereo audio-only DVDs playable on regular DVD-Video players.[21][22] The way the content is organized;
- UMD Video playback and menu support is not possible with any of the media player software. But if you do this ripping and transcoding processes correctly you can play it on your media player software (without menu support of course). In the meantime your only choice for menu support either using emulator that supports this or real hardware.
- HD-DVD playback using decrypted .evo[17][18] is supported with VLC or MPC-HC. If you're disc has encrypted with AACS; first you'll need a drive that is capable of reading the discs, and then either you need ancient version PowerDVD ($) (e.g.. 7 Ultra) [19] OR other HD-DVD supported media player software. As noted below for BD-Video; using this guide for VLC or this steps for MPC-HC may help,[20]but either way do not expect HD-DVD menu support at all[21] unless there is a Xbox 360 emulator that fully implements "HD DVD Player" or using compatible hardware. Also see this guide for decrypting.
- BD-Video playback support is not widely adopted among media player software and even then, not all of them support Blu-ray menus, such as MPC-HC[22]. Your only choice for menu support are either using Leawo, recent version of VLC recent version of VLC, KODI or using PowerDVD ($). If you're disc or disc image has encrypted with BD+ or AACS/AACS2 DRM protection, you'll see something like this prompt "This Blu-ray disc needs a library for AACS decoding, and your system does not have it". Some of them even requires JRE for BD-J or BD Live. Use these guides: (VLC, MPC-HC, KODI) for those situations. Also see this guide for decrypting. It can be safely said that VLC will probably never get BD-Live features which require BDA licensing.[23]
- BD-Audio playback support is unknown, placeholder text. There are various BD-Audio discs out there. BD-Audio shouldn't be confused with other audio track containing discs.
- UHD-BD playback requires a UHD friendly drive, i.e. a non-AACS2.0 drive that supports reading UHD discs. Also needs to accept AACS1.0 Host Certs because no AACS2.0 PK or DK are currently known. Playback depends on a valid VUK, UK or MK being available in KEYDB.cfg. AACS2.1 discs are currently not supported. It may be possible to convert your non-friendly UHD drive to a friendly one by flashing a different firmware, read this topic VERY carefully.[24] Otherwise, you can use supported hardware if you don't want to mess with it. Keep in mind, intel completely removed SGX from Core CPUs so you can’t play Ultra HD Blu-ray any more (still present in Xeon).[25]
- Notes;
- VLC 4.0 nightly builds has issues with DVD activation response currently, use 3.0 nightly builds for workaround. However there is a cursor missing problem for navigation if you are using VLC, unfortunately there is no solution for this problem at the moment other than using MPC-HC or other DVD menu compatible media player software.
- If you are using MPC-HC for DVDs and using virtual image instead of inserting physical disc, make sure mount that virtual image to your file system before using it, otherwise menu navigate support will usually doesn't work properly. You can use this simple batch script for handling all of this automatically but make sure edit batch script for path and media player software location first. Keep in mind that you do NOT need to mount your virtual image; you can directly play with menu support if you are using VLC.
- If you're getting "VLC cannot play a non-UDF mastered DVD" error[26], instead of choosing the mounted ISO's drive or the DVD drive as root, choose the VIDEO_TS folder within as playback drive. The DVD should now play.
- If you're getting "Blu-ray error: AACS MMC failed." error when using VLC with your BDPG or BD-Video disc images, try mounting that disc image first (similarly to MPC-HC with DVD disc image situation), then go to VLC->Media->Open Disc->Disc Selection:Blu-ray->Select Play.
- If you see glitching and green artifacts during playback of some DVD image files, it might be caused by the copyright decryption process. VLC media player is generally more successful at handling DVD copy protection measures compared to other media players.
- Always take a look at default settings for media players before using it.
- VLC always skips intro section with default settings; for preventing this go to Tools -> Preferences -> Show settings: ALL and then Input codecs -> Access modules -> DVD with menus : Untick the option "Start directly in menu".
- Make sure edit your hotkeys for menu navigation before using it however most of the time you can use your mouse cursor to navigate so you don't need to do this. For MPC-HC; go to Options>Player>Keys>change each one of "DVD ... ..." command hotkey.
- It's recommended to turn off "Show media title on video start" from VLC>Preferences>Subtitles / OSD especially if you like to navigating on the DVD menus.
- Some Blu-ray discs may be region locked when menus are enabled in VLC. Select the correct region in VLC to circumvent this. Go to Tools > Preferences > Show Settings: All > Input / Codecs > Access Modules > Blu-ray and select the Region Code that matches the disc: A, B or C [27]
- As mentioned in above, in order to play Blu-rays with Java based menus the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) is required and recent JRE versions appear to crash VLC. The last known working version is 8u322b06. Make sure the %JAVA_HOME% environment variable is set and points to the installation directory, e.g. "JAVA_HOME=C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.8.0_221". The OpenJDK installer can set this automatically for you.
Analyzing video and audio files
[edit | edit source]Several tools are available for analyzing digital multimedia files, similarly to Analyzing graphics image files and formats or disc scanning tools used for copy protection analysis.
- MediaInfo: A versatile, cross-platform tool that provides detailed technical and metadata information about audio and video files. It reveals encoding settings, codecs, color spaces, bitrates, frame rates, and file formats. MediaInfo is widely integrated into media players and editing software, supporting both graphical and command-line interfaces for flexible use in professional and casual workflows.
- FFprobe: Part of the FFmpeg suite, FFprobe is a powerful command-line tool for inspecting multimedia files with high precision. It extracts detailed metadata, stream information (e.g., audio and video codecs, resolution, duration), and packet-level data. FFprobe is particularly valuable for developers and professionals handling complex multimedia workflows, offering robust scripting capabilities.
- VMAF (Video Multimethod Assessment Fusion): Developed by Netflix, VMAF is an open-source tool designed to evaluate perceptual video quality by combining multiple quality metrics (e.g., PSNR, SSIM, and VIF) into a single, perceptually accurate score. It is widely used in video streaming, compression, and production pipelines to assess quality degradation after encoding or transcoding. VMAF supports customizable models, allowing users to tailor assessments to specific use cases, such as 4K streaming or mobile optimization. Its integration with FFmpeg and availability as a Python library make it accessible for both automated workflows and research purposes. VMAF's strength lies in its ability to align with human visual perception, making it a preferred choice for quality assurance in professional video applications.
- ExifTool: A powerful, open-source command-line tool for reading, writing, and editing metadata in a variety of multimedia file formats, including audio, video, and image files. ExifTool extracts detailed metadata, such as creation dates, codec information, and embedded tags (e.g., artist, title, or camera settings for images). Its flexibility and extensive format support make it a go-to tool for forensic analysis, metadata management, and batch processing in multimedia workflows.
- trdrop: placeholder text (analyzing internal fps for raw captures)
- Built-in Media Player Tools: Popular media players like VLC Media Player and MPC-HC include built-in features for inspecting basic file properties, such as resolution, bitrate, and embedded metadata (e.g., title, artist, or album). While less comprehensive than specialized tools, these features offer a convenient way to perform quick checks without requiring external software.
- Spek: A free, open-source tool focused on analyzing the spectral characteristics of audio files. Spek generates visual spectrograms to help users evaluate frequency content, detect audio quality issues, and identify artifacts like compression or clipping. Its lightweight and user-friendly design makes it ideal for quick audio analysis. Although, you can use ffmpeg for this job (on top of histogram), if you're used to CLI tools.
- Audacity: A free, open-source audio editing and analysis tool widely used for recording, editing, and analyzing audio files. Audacity provides detailed waveform and spectrogram views, enabling users to inspect audio characteristics, such as frequency distribution, amplitude, and noise levels. Its analysis features, including tools for detecting clipping, analyzing frequency content, and measuring signal-to-noise ratios, make it valuable for both casual users and audio professionals. Audacity supports a wide range of audio formats and plugins for extended functionality.
See also
[edit | edit source]- Resolution
- Ripping and dumping
- Broadcast and cable communication systems
- Copy protection
- Early online services
- Set-top box emulators
- Nuon emulators
- InterActual
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ Reddit thread: I finally collected all six VHS-based video game systems
- ↑ SegaRetro - FMV
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 3.18 3.19 3.20 3.21 CD-i Ready will let you play it's audio tracks in any Audio-CD compatible player/hardware or emulator.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 All VA0 and VA1 Dreamcasts are CD-compatible, but only some earlier VA2 models are compatible, the rest of VA2 produced later had a revised BIOS which removed CD support in an effort to combat piracy.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 icdia: cdifaq6 page - VCD versions and CDi faq
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 VLC Wiki: Compact Disc (CD) Images
- ↑ VideoHelp Forum: VCD problems - playing using VLC; no menus
- ↑ VCD version 2.0 also adds the playback control (PBC), featuring a simple menu like DVD-Video
- ↑ encode2mpeg: Menu for VCD/SVCD/DVD
- ↑ PBC supported VCD2.0 sample disc images
- ↑ xine faq: VCD support
- ↑ VLC Wiki - xine media player software full SVCD support
- ↑ VLC wiki: Audio CDs
- ↑ superuser: How do I play .bin and .cue files in VLC media player software?
- ↑ mpv player: DVD menu support issue page
- ↑ Those DLLs are "libdvdcss, libdvdread and libdvdnav" which comes with VLC media player software nowadays, you can find those files in your 'VLC/plugins/access' directory. You can also get compiled version of libdvdcss separately if you want from here, then move the downloaded libdvdcss-2.dll file to VLC or any other media player software installation folder to work with libdvdcss.
- ↑ Ubuntu Community: Restricted HD-DVD
- ↑ Decrypted .evo samples
- ↑ VideoHelp forum: encrypted HD-DVD playback
- ↑ Doom9 forum: HD-DVD protection and libaacs with keydb.cfg
- ↑ Cyberlink forum: PowerDVD ultra doesnt compatible with HD-DVD menus
- ↑ MPC-HC: Blu-ray menu support
External links
[edit | edit source]- Wikipedia - Optical media types
- Wikipedia - DVD player
- Wikipedia - Multimedia compression and container formats
- code4lib - The Forgotten Disc: Synthesis and Recommendations for Viable VCD Preservation
- psx-spx.consoledev: Video CDs (VCD)
- Devinnytroyopenings - DVD and Blu-ray menu walkthrough videos
- Technology Connections: CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, Books of Red, Blue, Purple, Beige, Orange, Scarlet..., Closed captions on DVDs are getting left behind
- Wikipedia - ISO 9660
- LDDB
- DVD Database - A wiki for DVD releases from all regions as well as releases on VHS, VCD, Laserdisc, HD-DVD, BD, and UHD-HD.
- PSDevWiki: multimedia capabilities of various home consoles
- mednafen: CD-DA Player (for dev testing purposes) Documentation