Wouldn't 480x480 looked squished?

[Freiheit]

I am the first to admit I am a newbie to VCD/SVCD but I've done the initial research into what makes them different and I've got a question -- since SVCD format uses 480x480 pixels (NTSC) won't that make the videos play back squished into a square when played on a PC? I would think that a 4:3 or 16:9 movie or TV show encoded at 480x480 would not look at all good, but apparently it is a popular format. What's the secret?

[setarip]

"since SVCD format uses 480x480 pixels (NTSC) won't that make the videos play back squished into a square when played on a PC?"

SVCD format is intended for standalone DVD players playing back via television, not PC

"I would think that a 4:3 or 16:9 movie or TV show encoded at 480x480 would not look at all good, but apparently it is a popular format."

Standalone DVD players playback this format perfectly nicely on televisions (But the "modified" "CVD" (Chinese Video Disk) version of SVCD - 352x480 at 2,520Kbps looks even better ;>})

[Freiheit]

Thanks

Well thanks for clearing that up. I bought my DVD player apparently just before they started to handle VCD/SVCD - the manual very explicitly states to not use recorded CDs in the player or it may cause damage. Sorry for my PC-centric view of VCD/SVCD.

[setarip]

"Sorry for my PC-centric view of VCD/SVCD."

You can always make "plain vanilla" MPEG-1s and MPEG-2s for viewing on your PC (If you don't wish to get into the DivX-compressed .AVI "world") - and not be limited regarding resolution...