White Book

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The White Book, which was released in 1987 by Sony, Philips, Matsushita, and JVC refers to a standard of compact disc that stores not only sound but also still pictures and motion video. These discs, most commonly found in Asia, are usually called "Video CDs" or "VCDs." In some ways, VCD can be thought of as the predecessor to SVCD and DVD. There was a brief flirtation with Video CDs in the US and Europe, but they were abandoned once CD writers appeared as they were easy to copy (something the publishers did not want). Then DVD format with its copy protection rendered it obsolete in any event.

Here is some information on the format of the VCD itself, as well as the audio and video stored on these discs:

• File system: ISO 9660-compliant
• Format: Mode 2, Form 2/XA
• Maximum Length: Usually 74 minutes
• Audio Format
  • Format: MPEG-1 layer 2
  • Bit rate: 224 kilobits per second
  • Sample rate: 44,100 kHz (kilohertz)
  • Number of Channels: 2 (stereo)
• Video Format
  • Format: MPEG-1
  • Resolution: 352×240 pixel for NTSC video, 352×288 pixel for PAL video
  • Frame rate: 29.97 Hz (NTSC), 25 Hz (PAL)
  • Bit rate: About 1.13 Mbit/s

The White Book also defines other hybrid formats, such as CD-Ready (or "CD-I Ready"), which was a CD-Audio disc that included a CD-i application. The format extended the pre-gap space of the CD-Audio and put special CD-i data there.