You can save money producing video on VCD, instead of DVD or VHS tape.

To do a cost comparison, we made a video of a family 50th Wedding Anniversary Picnic in the Summer of 2004. We then compared the cost of producing and shipping copies to relatives within the country (Canada). This is what we found.*

DVD Cost

We burned the video on to DVD using iDVD (comes with your Mac). We labelled them and shipped them. The costs were the following:

Cost of producing & shipping 1 copy on DVD Production costs 3.21 1 DVD 2.99 1 CD/DVD label (ink cost unknown) .22 Shipping costs 1.88 1 padded shipping envelope .48 Postage 1.40 Total $4.09 Cdn ($3.35 US)

VHS Cost

We then made copies on VHS tape. We labelled them and shipped them. The costs were the following

Cost of producing & shipping 1 copy on VHS tape Production costs 1.90 1 tape 1.90 label included .00 Shipping costs 6.08 1 padded shipping envelope .48 Postage 5.60 Total $7.98 Cdn ($6.53 US)

VCD Cost

We burned copies on to VCD using iVCD, our VCD Burning Software. We labelled them and shipped them. The costs were the following:

Cost of producing & shipping 1 copy on VCD Production costs 1.11 1 CD-R .89 1 CD/DVD label (ink cost unknown) .22 Shipping costs 1.88 1 padded shipping envelope .48 Postage 1.40 Total $2.99 Cdn ($2.44 US)

Conclusion

• By switching from DVD to VCD, we saved $0.91 US on each unit
  
  We saved 27%!
  
  At a cost of $29.95 for iVCD - VCD Burning Software,
  iVCD paid for itself after only 31 VCDs
  
  
• By switching from VHS tape to VCD, we saved $4.09 US on each unit
  
  We saved 63%!
  
  At a cost of $29.95 for iVCD - VCD Burning Software,
  iVCD paid for itself after only 8 VCDs