White Book (CD Standard)

The White Book, which was released in 1993 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 "VCDs" or "SVCDs." In some ways, VCD can be thought of as the successor to the Laserdisc and the predecessor to DVD.

Note: that Video CD should not be confused with CD Video which was an earlier and entirely different format.

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 Hz
    • Number of Channels: 2 (stereo)
  • Video Format
    • Format: MPEG-1 (VCD), MPEG-2 (SVCD)
    • Resolution: 352×240 pixel for NTSC video, 352×288 pixel for PAL video (VCD); 480×480 pixel for NTSC video, 480×576 for PAL video (SVCD)
    • 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.

Rainbow Books
  • Red Book
    • CD-DA
  • Yellow Book
    • CD-ROM
    • CD-ROM XA
  • Orange Book
    • CD-R
    • CD-RW
  • White Book
    • Video CD
  • Blue Book
    • Enhanced CD
    • CD+G
    • CD-Plus
  • Beige Book
    • Photo CD
  • Green Book
    • CD-i standard
  • Purple Book
    • DDCD
  • Scarlet Book
    • Super Audio CD
  • Black Book
    • Non-Standard Disc Format

Famous quotes containing the words white and/or book:

    “Teenage girls are extremists who see the world in black-and- white terms, missing shades of gray. Life is either marvelous or not worth living. School is either pure torment or is going fantastically. Other people are either great or horrible, and they themselves are wonderful or pathetic failures. One day a girl will refer to herself as “the goddess of social life” and the next day she’ll regret that she’s the “ultimate in nerdosity.””
    —Mary Pipher (20th century)

    “When our kids are young, many of us rush out to buy a cute little baby book to record the meaningful events of our young child’s life...But I’ve often thought there should be a second book, one with room to record the moral milestones of our child’s lives. There might be space to record dates she first shared or showed compassion or befriended a new student or thought of sending Grandma a get-well card or told the truth despite its cost.”
    —Fred G. Gosman (20th century)