Video Formats

Format	Description
	Video lessons on VHS are recorded in extended play (EP) with approximately 6 hours of video on each tape. VHS sets usually consist of 2 to 5 VHS tapes. When compared to DVD, VHS has lower quality video. Some telecourse videos are only available on VHS.
	DVDs can be viewed using a stand-alone DVD player connected to your TV. These DVDs can also be viewed on computers or laptops that have a compatible DVD drive and software to playback DVDs. Please check your DVD player for compatibility with DVD-R and DVD+R DL, as some telecourse DVDs have been recorded in those formats. Some DVDs do not contain interactive elements. Video quality is very good to excellent. DVD sets usually consist of 2 to 7 discs.
	DVD-ROMS contain data only accessible by a computer and can only be viewed using a computer with a compatible DVD-ROM drive and the necessary software to access the data on the discs. DVD-ROMs will not play back on a stand-alone DVD player connected to your TV. All DVD-ROM sets consist of one disc. View the necessary system requirements for DVD-ROM.
	CD-ROMs contain data only accessible by a computer and can only be viewed using a computer with a compatible CD-ROM drive and the necessary software to access the data on the discs. CD-ROM sets usually contain 3 to 13 discs. View the necessary system requirements for CD-ROM.
	Streaming videos are accessed through ACT's website and viewed online. Once purchased, students can access and view the video throughout the entire semester. Students must be connected to the Internet to view streaming video. When the semester is finished, access to the streaming video is no longer available. Streaming video can only be viewed using Windows Media Player. AOL and Apple/Mac do not fully support Windows Media Player embedded in an HTML page and therefore cannot access streaming video through ACT's website.
	Video downloads are videos that are downloaded from ACT's website directly to a student's computer. Once downloaded, the video can be viewed on the student's computer without requiring an Internet connection and put onto a portable video device. Videos can be downloaded in either the .WMV format for Windows Media Player or the .mp4 format for Quicktime (iPod). Some video series are only available in the .WMV format and cannot be viewed on a video iPod. Students can download their purchased videos throughout the semester but once the semester is finished, they no longer can download the videos. Each video takes about 6 to 8 minutes to download using a broadband Internet connection.

*Note: Not all formats are available for every telecourse.
View a complete list of all ACT Media telecourse videos and their available formats.