Playing VCD on Computer or convert to DVD

[corumz]

I just created an iso file on my computer from a previously burned vcd. I used imageburn. Now usually play these on my DVD player connected to TV, but now I want to play them on my computer. I tried Zoomplayer and WMPlayer11, but they would not play. In the mpeg folder is the dat file. Do I have change the extension to mpg to play it on my computer?

Would it be better to convert them all to DVD. I had a DVD I made an iso file of and had no problem playing it in either of the above players. I need to do this because I am going to Panama for 2 months and to save weight have to put my audio cd's, video vcd's and dvd's on a external hard drive. I have been doing that as iso files using imageburn.

Thanks,
Bob

[p_l]

Mount your VCD ISO in a virtual drive (eg. Nero ImageDrive, Daemon Tools or Alcohol 120%), then open the .DAT files with your media player.

[Baldrick]

vlc might be able to play the VCD iso directly.

[tomlee59]

Baldrick's suggestion is the best one. VLC will certainly play the .dat file directly (without requiring a renaming of the extension), so if for some reason the iso gives you trouble, you always have that option.

Just fyi, VLC often gives stuttering playback on VCDs, and frequently has trouble skipping ahead or fast-forwarding. You can avoid these annoyances by converting the .dat to ordinary .mpg. VCDgear is perfect for this task (and it's free). This is a fast operation, so it won't chew up much of your time.