preservation – HDDVD-Revived Global

CVD Preservation, Ripping and Identification

Why CVD needs a two-layer archive

China Video Disc (CVD) shares the fragile sector model of VCD and SVCD. Form 2 sectors carry no Layer-2 ECC-only EDC and the CD’s CIRC. VCDImager warns that (S)VCD MPEG tracks “are more easily affected by scratches.” A preservation copy that only saves files from a mounted volume is therefore not an archive: it loses raw sector layout, error context and often wraps the MPEG in RIFF-CDXA that later tools misread as a plain program stream.

A good CVD archive has two layers. First, a raw, bit-exact disc image. Second, extracted playable MPEG program streams plus a structural description of the disc (INFO/ENTRIES/TRACKS, PBC, volume labels). The image answers “what was on the pressed or burned CD?”; the extracted streams answer “what can we play and remux tomorrow?” Copying files from a mounted disc satisfies neither question by itself.

Raw imaging

Tool	Command / method	Notes
cdrdao	`cdrdao read-cd --read-raw --datafile disc.bin --device /dev/sr0 disc.toc` then `toc2cue disc.toc disc.cue`	2,352-byte raw sectors
CDRWin / IsoBuster / ImgBurn (Windows)	Read to BIN/CUE in raw mode	Record read errors
Any workflow	Keep a log of read errors and retries	Form 2 errors are not ECC-corrected

Raw mode matters because Form 2 payloads are not reconstructed by the same ECC path DVD and Mode 1 data enjoy. Retries and a written error log are part of the archival object, not optional debugging. Prefer imaging before heavy playback testing that might leave a marginal disc worse than you found it. On drives that struggle with Mode 2 Form 2, note the drive model in the read log: future re-reads may need a different mechanism even when the BIN already exists.

Structural extraction

vcdxrip “disassembles a given VCD or SVCD disc into a XML description and the contained MPEG program streams.” Run it against the image (vcdxrip --bin-file=disc.bin --cue-file=disc.cue) or against the drive. The resulting XML plus MPEG files can be edited and rebuilt with vcdxbuild. An Ubuntu Forums tip notes vcdxrip --nofiles extracts just the AVSEQ tracks as .mpg when you only need the elementary playback objects.

Do not trust a plain file copy. On Windows, copying /MPEG2/AVSEQnn.MPG or /MPEGAV/*.DAT yields RIFF-CDXA-wrapped data. VCDImager’s documentation is blunt: people tend to think of these as MPEG files, but they are not. Strip the wrapper with cdxa2mpeg, or better, use vcdxrip so structure and streams stay paired. IsoBuster users can open the MPEG2 folder and choose “Extract but filter only M2F2 Mpg frames.” VCDGear also extracts MPEG from CDXA files. Those tools are recovery aids; the raw BIN/CUE remains the preservation master.

When both a pressed commercial disc and a hobbyist CD-R are in the same collection, keep extraction recipes identical so that later comparison of INFO.SVD, TRACKS.SVD and program-stream widths is not confused by tool differences. Rebuild tests with vcdxbuild are useful for verifying that the XML description is complete, but a successful rebuild does not replace the original raw image.

Identifying CVD vs SVCD vs XSVCD

Check	CVD	SVCD (Philips/IEC)	XSVCD
INFO.SVD system ID	“SUPERVCD”	“SUPERVCD”	“SUPERVCD”
Video width (ffprobe)	352	480	480 (or other)
Bitrate	≤ ~2.6 Mbps	≤ ~2.6 Mbps	Often higher
Subtitle stream	CVD-style private_stream_1 (VLC: “CVD subtitles”)	OGT 0x70-series	Either
TRACKS.SVD	vcd-info may print “CVD interpretation (probably)”	IEC layout	Usually IEC
Sequence folder	/MPEG2 or /MPEGAV	/MPEG2	Either
Disc type	Pressed (commercial, 1998-1999) or CD-R	Pressed or CD-R	Usually CD-R

Only the resolution is decisive for the CVD-versus-Philips-SVCD distinction in practice. Folder names and TRACKS.SVD layout are suggestive, not conclusive: a 352-wide “XSVCD” made in the West in 2003 is structurally a CVD. Commercial Chinese discs from mid-1998 labelled CVD, or Super VCD discs from late 1998 carrying 352-wide video, are the true period objects. System ID “SUPERVCD” appears on all three columns and therefore cannot settle the question alone.

Operational checklist: dump structure with vcd-info against the CUE or BIN; probe each extracted track with ffprobe -show_streams -show_format; open the same streams in VLC and note whether it reports CVD subtitles; photograph packaging and matrix/IFPI/SID codes before the disc is filed away. When vcd-info hints at a “CVD interpretation,” treat that as supporting evidence beside the 352-wide measurement, not as a substitute for it.

Archival packaging and documentation

Keep the raw BIN/CUE (or TOC) and its read log.
Keep vcd-info output as a text file.
Keep ffprobe -show_streams -show_format -of json output for each track.
Photograph the disc (both sides), inlay, case and any matrix / IFPI / SID codes.
Hash the BIN and every extracted MPEG (SHA-256).
Make lossless access copies: ffmpeg -i avseq01.mpg -c copy -map 0 out.mkv keeps video, audio and subtitle streams together. Transcode only for convenience copies.
Record provenance: where bought, price, whether bundled with a player, and which brand of player actually plays it.
For 1998-1999 commercial discs, also record whether the disc plays on players from different brands-evidence relevant to the contemporary “interference code” compatibility disputes.

Lossless Matroska access copies are for day-to-day playback and subtitle checks in VLC; they do not replace the raw image. If a private subtitle stream exists, -map 0 is what keeps it. Dropping to a video+audio-only remux for “simplicity” is a preservation error when CVD-style or OGT packets were present on the original. Hashing both the BIN and the extracted MPEGs lets you detect silent re-rips later without reopening every tool log.

Identification pitfalls

Hobbyist CD-Rs labelled SVCD, XVCD or XSVCD may be 352-wide CVD-structured discs, 480-wide IEC SVCDs, or over-rate XSVCDs. Commercial packaging that says 超级VCD may still carry 352-wide video from the Chaoji transition period. Conversely, a Western “SVCD” burn at 480-wide with OGT subtitles is not a period Chinese CVD even if a Chaoji player plays it. Bitrate above the ~2.6 Mbps community ceiling suggests XSVCD or a non-compliant hobby encode regardless of folder names.

PC Explorer copies that “play in VLC” can still be CDXA-wrapped; always confirm with a proper rip or cdxa2mpeg before declaring an archival MPEG. Players that ignore CVD-style subtitles can make a disc look subtitle-free when VLC would report otherwise. Standalone “plays / does not play” notes should name the player brand and model: 1998 interference-era discs may fail on rivals’ Chaoji machines while succeeding on the issuing brand. Guangming Daily and Wenzhai Bao coverage of late-1998 compatibility contests and “interference codes” is why cross-brand play notes belong in the archive package, not only in forum anecdotes.

Putting the workflow together

A minimal responsible pipeline for a newly acquired CVD or Super VCD candidate is: photograph and note provenance; raw-image with error log; vcdxrip (or IsoBuster M2F2 extract) to clean MPEGs plus XML; vcd-info and ffprobe sidecars; SHA-256 hashes; lossless MKV access copy; VLC subtitle check; optional hardware play notes across brands for commercial 1998-1999 discs. Only after that stack exists should the physical disc be treated as replaceable for routine viewing.

Preservation of CVD is therefore less glamorous than format archaeology and more like careful CD-XA work: protect the Form 2 sectors, refuse mounted-file illusions, measure 352 versus 480, and keep private subtitle streams attached to the program stream. Identification follows measurement; nostalgia labels on the jewel case do not. When later catalogue posts ask whether a survivor is “true period CVD,” the answer should be readable from this package-width, subtitle flavour, press-versus-burn medium, and any selective playback failures-without inventing titles the disc face never carried.

The same discipline applies when a disc arrives as a BIN/CUE from someone else. Re-run vcd-info and ffprobe yourself; verify hashes if the donor provides them; and do not assume their “CVD” label survived a width check. Community encodes from the early 2000s often used SatStorm’s 2,520 kbps half-D1 recipe under an SVCD authoring path-structurally CVD-like, commercially unrelated to 1998 Chinese pressings. Archival notes should say which case you have, in plain language, so the next reader does not merge hobbyist CD-Rs with period Chaoji stock.

Further reading on historic video formats

If you want to learn more about historic video formats, get The History of Physical Video Formats from the Frontier by Stephen Driver on Amazon:

EVD Preservation, Identification and Authoring

Authoring today is not a hobbyist path

Enhanced Versatile Disc (EVD) discs were not something end users burned at home with Nero-class tools. EE Times in 2006 described Jindian Global as “the only EVD disc maker.” PjTime’s overview of E-World’s professional software names the toolchain that sat behind that monopoly: DVD-to-EVD conversion, AC-3-to-EAC conversion, the OGT subtitle authoring system and the EVD digital video disc authoring system. None of those tools, and none of the SJ/T 11299 standard texts, are publicly available. Video and audio were protected by proprietary encryption.

A step-by-step hobbyist guide to making a playable EVD disc therefore cannot be written from current evidence. Anyone promising a modern “author your own EVD” recipe is either rebranding ordinary DVD authoring or inventing steps the public record does not support. The rest of this post covers what can still be done with existing discs and players: identification, imaging, documentation and hardware care.

Identifying a genuine EVD disc

Check	Genuine EVD	DVD labelled EVD
Publisher mark	Jindian Global (今典环球), Zhongkai (中凯), China Film (中影), China Record (中唱), 山力, 飞仕, 盈艺	Any
Logo	EVD logo on disc and case	Often “EVD” only in listing text
Period	2004-2008	Any
Standard DVD player	Should refuse or show no playable title	Plays normally
PC file listing	Non-VIDEO_TS structure (expected; undocumented)	VIDEO_TS with IFO/VOB
版号 / ISRC	Present on legitimate releases	–

The modern retail keyword “EVD” on Chinese DVD players is not evidence of a genuine 2004-2008 EVD deck with LSI Logic decode silicon. The same caution applies to discs. A listing that only types “EVD” into the title field while the photographs show ordinary DVD artwork is a DVD until proven otherwise. Ask for publisher marks, an EVD logo on the disc face and case, and a short playback note on a known ordinary DVD player. A genuine title should fail or show nothing playable on that ordinary deck; a mislabelled DVD will play.

On a PC, expect a non-VIDEO_TS layout. The exact directory and file names remain undocumented, so the first public file tree from a commercial disc would itself be a research contribution. Presence of VIDEO_TS with IFO/VOB files is strong evidence that the object is ordinary DVD Video, regardless of how many times the seller wrote EVD in the advertisement.

Imaging an EVD disc on Linux

EVD is physically a DVD with a UDF file system, so ordinary DVD tools can image it. The commands below are standard DVD-imaging procedures. They have not been tested on an EVD disc by any source found for this series; treat them as a reasoned starting procedure, not as a verified EVD cookbook.

# 1. Identify the drive and disc
lsblk
sudo dvd+rw-mediainfo /dev/sr0

# 2. Make a sector image with error logging
sudo ddrescue -b 2048 -r 3 /dev/sr0 evd_title.iso evd_title.map

# 3. Hash the image
sha256sum evd_title.iso > evd_title.iso.sha256

# 4. List the UDF directory tree without mounting
7z l evd_title.iso > evd_title_filelist.txt
# or mount read-only:
sudo mkdir -p /mnt/evd && sudo mount -o ro,loop -t udf evd_title.iso /mnt/evd
find /mnt/evd -printf '%pt%sn' > evd_title_tree.txt

# 5. Probe any large media files found
for f in $(find /mnt/evd -type f -size +10M); do
  ffprobe -hide_banner "$f" 2> "$(basename "$f").probe.txt"
done

If the disc uses CSS-style drive authentication, ddrescue will report read errors on protected sectors. Record those errors rather than retrying indefinitely. Publishing the output of the file-tree and probe steps would be the first public documentation of the EVD file system. That publication value is why imaging belongs ahead of aggressive playback experiments that might leave a marginal disc worse than you found it.

Imaging on Windows

ImgBurn: Mode, Read, select the drive, choose a destination .iso, then Read. Keep the log. IsoBuster can inspect the UDF structure, export a file list (right-click, Extract / File list), and record sector ranges of large files. 7-Zip can open the .iso to list files. MediaInfo or ffprobe should be run on any large files to see whether they parse as MPEG-2 program or transport streams. Even a “does not parse” result is archival evidence when paired with the file tree and hash.

Documentation package for each disc

Raw ISO image with read log and SHA-256 hash.
File tree listing with sizes.
ffprobe / MediaInfo output for all large files.
Photographs of disc (both sides, including inner-ring matrix/SID codes), case, inlay and any EVD logo.
Publisher, 版号, ISRC, price and purchase source.
Playback test results on a genuine EVD player and on an ordinary DVD player.

The dual playback note is the cheapest authenticity filter. Ordinary DVD behaviour plus VIDEO_TS layout means you imaged a DVD. Refusal on a standard deck plus a non-VIDEO_TS tree plus a period publisher mark is the evidence pattern the identification table predicts for genuine EVD. Hashes and probe sidecars let later researchers compare finds without shipping discs.

Preserving players

Keep the original remote, manual, warranty or repair card and box. Those objects document model and date when the chassis sticker is incomplete. Record the LSI Logic chip marking and any firmware version shown in the setup menu. Store laser pickups away from heat; DVD-era pickups lose output with age. Test component HD output at 1080i and 720p with a display that still accepts analogue component video, and write down which timings worked.

Again, modern shop listings that print “EVD” on a portable DVD player are not substitutes for a documented 2004-2008 model with LSI Logic decode. Preservation notes should name the chip marking you saw, not the marketing keyword on a 2020s carton.

What would unlock EVD

The texts of SJ/T 11299.1-4 (disc, file system, A/V data, ExAC audio).
A copy of E-World’s EVD authoring system or the 影海风雷 PC player.
A published file tree and sample streams from a commercial disc.
The LSI Logic decoder part number and firmware from a genuine player.

Those four unlocks map directly onto the gaps that stop authoring guides and soft playback. Standards texts would define containers and audio; authoring or PC-player binaries would show how encryption and menus were applied; a published file tree would end speculation about directory layout; LSI Logic part numbers would tie living-room hardware to silicon documentation. Until they appear, EVD preservation work is imaging, photographing, hashing and refusing to invent playable DIY burns.

Further reading on historic video formats

If you want to learn more about historic video formats, get The History of Physical Video Formats from the Frontier by Stephen Driver on Amazon: