Burning custom Video CDs, Super Video CDs, and DVD Audio discs using Ashampoo Burning Studio (Windows 10), and Burn (macOS)

I remember when Nero had the ability to burn Video CD’s and Super Video CD’s to play on any player that supports these formats, but unfortunately, to burn a Super Video CD, you would need to buy an MPEG-2 Encoder. That’s the only downside back then! I’m not sure if Nero still does Video CD and Super Video CD support, but I remember on the Mac side that Roxio Toast (as well as its Windows counterpart Easy CD Creator) in its early days before being acquired by Corel had support for Video CD and Super Video CD, but that quickly fell out of favour in recent years.

But good news! I actually found two programs for macOS and Windows that can help you make your own Video CDs and Super Video CDs to play on your good old Sega Saturn! If you are on a Mac, you can use Burn. And if you are on Windows, you can use Ashampoo Burning Studio! The only downside of Ashampoo Burning Studio on Windows is that you will need to find a converter that can convert any video file that you have to MPEG-1 or MPEG-2. And I do need to note that the video converter has to be compatible with Windows 10, because a lot of the old software that can do that are now incompatible with the new OS and are long gone!

As a bonus, you can use Burn to create your own DVD-Audio discs from Hi-Res Audio files at 96-192 kHz 24-bit! They are incompatible with DVD-Video players, but the only way that I could play these custom discs is by using the Creative MediaSource DVD-Audio Player that came bundled with my Sound Blaster Audigy 2 on my HP Pavilion a6010n, but for most people, you will need to use the open-source VLC Media Player, as it offers DVD-Audio support out of the box.

Anyways, back to the other subject: How do you play Video CDs and Super Video CDs created using Ashampoo Burning Studio and/or Burn? Well, for me, I use a Toshiba DVR630 (equivalent model in the United States is the DVR620) DVD/VCR Combo to play back my burned Video CDs and Super Video CDs without any problems. Sometimes, some Super Video CDs can have synchronization issues on some players and the kind of TV that you are using, and what kind of cable connection and quality that you have. You’ll find out for yourself when you put it in your player if it supports Video CDs or Super Video CDs (and if the player supports MPEG-1)! You can also use VLC Media Player or MacVCD (if you are using an older macOS) to play Video CDs on a personal computer. That way, you don’t need to go hunting for a dedicated DVD-Video player for the home cinema that supports MPEG-1 anymore, even though physical DVD sales are declining!

But anyways, if you have a modern macOS Catalina/Big Sur computer or a Windows 10 computer, Ashampoo Burning Studio and Burn are two of the latest and greatest burning programs that still have the ability to burn Video CDs and Super Video CDs as well as DVD-Audio discs for legacy use. Don’t forget to check back for more blog posts here at Katie Cadet’s Computer and Video Game Collection, and take care!