Make sure you buy a player that supports VCD. All worthwhile players show what they support; just make sure it supports VCD and all the others you want to use it for.
Now, if it says it will play VCD, that means only VCDs that meet the standards. For example, no player will play a video CD made with Windows Movie Maker.
As long as your software creates a standard VCD and the player supports it, you should be able to watch it on your TV.
Incidentally, photo CDs are again different. If I were to buy a new DVD player, I'd make sure it also played DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, VCD and photo CDs. That will just about cover any visual media that you may make yourself or receive from others.
I have scanned slides to my computer, created slide shows, then burned the slideshows to CD-Rs. I would like to view these slideshows on my TV by playing the CDs on the DVD player. My current DVD player will not accept formats other than the usual video DVDs and music CDs. Is there a type of DVD player that can play the CDs I created on my computer (Win XP Pro, Sonic RecordNow)? What would I look for in the specs for the player? How could I tell if the DVD player can handle my CDs?
(Physical and necessary separation of the TV and computer prevents a direct connection between the two.)

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