[bobbinbrisco]

since VCDs take up about 2 650MB CDs, i would like to download a program that can compress movies on VCDs into 1 file so i can burn it onto 1 CD.

does any one know of a good free program that can do this?

thanks

[thymios]

Well your best bet is DiVX.This codec rocks, it has the same quality as VCD's(near to DVDs) and you can fit one 2 hour movie into one CD having excellent quality.
If you need info on how to do it and what programs to use then follow these links:
http://www.divx-digest.com (for general info, guides and programs)
http://www.divxtoday.com
http://www.doom9.org
http://home.wanadoo.nl/ruud.szwajcer/Divx/ (a begginiers guide to create your own DiVX)

The only minus on DivX is the time it needs to compress(encode) a movie from a DVD.It takes around 13 hours on my P-III@500 but faster systems might finish it in 5-9 hours.
If you want to recompress your VCD's then it will take much shorter to encode.
Good luck.

[Busby]

VCDs are in MPEG format, therefore they are uncompressed. DivX files can NOT be played by DVD players and DivX files are in AVI format therefore you can not make a VCD using DivX files without converting them to MPEG. Either deal with 2 CDs or buy/rent a DVD, only way I see it. And also don't take this as a flame just informative.

[bobbinbrisco]

Thanks for your help. Although i have went to the websites that were suggested, i have two of my own that were very useful and straight to the point. these were:

vcdhelp.com
and
www.digital-digest.com/nickyguides/vcd-2-divx.htm

[thymios]

Busby, first of all for your information DivX IS MPEG-4.the extention .avi is used for other copyright reasons and nothing else. you can actually check any DiVX related website in order to see what i am talking about.
Second and most important, MPEG means that the video is compressed.don;t you think that dealing with uncompressed video yields to giant files?uncompressed video means around 10-15MB for 10 seconds of movie!
VCD handle DVD movies or ordinary video pretty well.the uqlity is superb and definatelly it has less playback problems than the alpha version of the DiVX.You need two CDs though to make a proper looking movie while with DiVX you need less than one(you can have a 1:30 long movie in a 500-550 MB file with amazing quality.Anyway as you said i am not flaming but giving some basic info about video compression.
Lastly, I didn't know that you can play VCDs in DVD players and this is quite interesting.This is a big advantage of VCD if this is the case.