Well, I did it. Watched all of RoboCop 2 on VCD—on a CRT—outdoors, in my backyard.
Why? Not because it’s the “best” way to watch RoboCop 2. That would be a projector in a dark room. But I still own a Sony Trinitron and a Toshiba DVD player that’s backwards-compatible with VCDs. So when I found a copy in a thrift shop, I jumped at the chance to cosplay as a Tokyo salaryman in 1998.
VCD has always fascinated me. I remember seeing it demoed on a Philips CD-i—back when that was supposed to be the future. But I was a teenager, and there was no way I could convince my parents to spend $600 on something that looked like a toaster and played Burn:Cycle.
Probably for the best. The CD-i flopped in North America, and VCD barely made a dent. But in Asia? Massive success. So successful, you can still import brand-new titles. In 2025. For real.
Now let me be clear: on modern TVs, VCD looks awful. Low-res MPEG-1 video smeared across a 1080p screen is pain. But on a CRT? It works. You get sharper colour separation, no tape degradation, no tracking issues, and discs are far more heat- and humidity-resistant than tape ever was. I totally get why this format won out in hot climates.
That said, it has real flaws. Most movies come on two discs. You can see pixels—even on a CRT. And occasionally, compression artifacts float across the screen like ghosting shadows. VHS was blurrier, yes—but it was also more forgiving.
Still, let’s be honest: rewinding tapes was always a chore. VCD boots instantly. No hiss. No jammed reels. No chewed-up tape. Just press play.
So how was RoboCop 2 on VCD? Surprisingly great. The movie itself feels built for this exact experience: digital source, analog display. Grainy, loud, kind of ugly—but in a good way. Total time capsule energy.
Should you collect VCDs in 2025? Only if you’re like me and romanticize obsolete tech. If you hate pixels, compression artifacts, and pre-DVD formats, then no—run away. But if the idea of watching cyberpunk trash on a 4:3 CRT in your backyard sounds fun? Then yeah. Absolutely.
When I was on vacation in Peru, after hiking around for the day I turned on the CRT in my room and they were showing Robocop… dubbed in spanish.
You have not experienced Robocop until you’ve seen it in it’s original Spanish.
Woah, that’s gotta be the first time I see an original VCD. Up until this point I thought that was something developed by the piracy scene to release ripped DVDs to on alternative formats. I don’t think they were ever officially introduced in Europe.
They’re quite common in SEA. Lots of shops selling real and bootleg ones. They’re cheaper than DVDs, so they’re still pretty popular.
Yeah I’ve seen bootlegged ones in Hong Kong, but really was under the impression that’s a custom format only for ripped stuff. Wild.
This is very cool. When I was a bigger Star Wars fan back in the day, I had the official releases of The Phantom Menace and the original Star Wars trilogy in the VCD format. The picture quality is questionable but it was fun to copy the files onto my PC and play around with video editing.
I remember editing The Phantom Menace Darth Maul lightsabre battle so it was one singular video. Problem was, when watched like that, it doesn’t make sense because there are moments of the fight missing when it cuts away to the space battles.
I bought a second-hand Phillips CD-i around '97 (once the format flopped, they were pretty cheap) with FMV (Full Motion Video) chip, and bought a few VCDs in Chinatown.
Can’t remember all of them (some HK action flicks) but I definitely had The Replacement Killers, one of the few Western films they sold, because it starred Chow Yun-Fat.
(Also had the Demolition Man game for the CD-i. And got a bunch of other obsolete/flopped consoles: Panasonic 3DO, Atari Jaguar, Sega Game Gear etc.)
But I don’t have any of that any more, all gone in various moves over the years.
I do still have a few films in .rmvb, the “VCD of filesharing formats” ;) as it was very popular for sharing East Asian films.
Anyways, I don’t think you’re unwell but then who am I to talk? :D
.rmvb - what that “The Rat” file format?
I’d buy that for a dollar.
I just picked up a PS2 to pair up with a trinitron that I’m going rescue from my dad’s basement. It was the main TV in the house unitl 2013 and served very well.
I miss vcd’s and going to these massive shops in hong kong. Though tbh I dont remember seeing these things avail in Japan around the same time period around 2000-2004. Then again I was like 6 years old.
Points a massive gun at your face … dead or alive, your watching this movie with me
You’re
Points a massive gun at you’re face … dead or alive, your watching this movie with me
There you go. Proud of you.
…robocop 2 is one of the few films i regret seeing in theatres…
You are unwell because it is a poor way to watch a proper Robocop movie, to which I personally think that Robocop 2 barely counts (nothing afterwards other than maybe “Our Robocop Remake” counts at all).
Robocop’s adversary in Robocop 2 is actually called Robocop 2. How can you not like that? Yeah compared to the original it sucks, but everything sucks when compared to the original Robocop.
I do like that particular fact lol, but the first movie is one of my favorite movies so everything else just doesn’t hold up to it. I think what did it the most was that all the attempts at satire in it just fell flat, like they were trying to mimic the first movie without “getting it”.
I don’t even know what a VCD is, but I love Robocop and Robocop 2 in particular. After reading your description of the experience, I am inspired. Thank you. NUKE
I don’t know how much you know about video formats but VCDs use MPEG1, a standardized version of the MPEG format. Depending on the TV mode, your looking at a video resolution of 352x240 for NTSC, PAL is a little larger at x288.
Films were usually released in the pan and scan format to fill the entire TV picture. Wide-screen releases would be so small, you’d probably not be able to see what was going on.
Back in the day, pirate films were released in the VCD format as it was easy to make and almost all DVD players could run them. Apparently there was a website called VCDQuality that not only told you about new releases but included screenshots so you could check out the quality of the copy.
Then the format was upgraded when DVDs were invented as they use the MPEG2 format.
VCDQ days making me feel all nostalgic.
God that’s so cool
Apex AD-5131 was my favorite - 3 disc changer, DVD, vcd, and svcd support. Played everything, you didnt have to swap discs, and if the vcds were done right, you may not even notice when the changer hit.
I dont necessarily miss the tech, but I do miss the ease of experience compared to so much of the nonsense today with streaming (which is why I only watch or listen from my own media servers).
You should post this to !homevideo@feddit.uk, they’d love this!
