Can a VCD .DAT file be played with a media player on a PC?

[Xanataph]

Can the .DAT file in the Mpegav folder on a VCD simply be loaded into a media player, say Windows Media player and played sucessfully?

[hamman]

Yes. it can. It's just to right click on it, then "open with" and choose media player.


Excuse My English

[Xanataph]

Hmm thats what I thought, so the problem I'm having must be in the burning somehow...the converted mpg plays fine, but once its burned to a VCD it's all screwed up and the audio is even worse.
I've tried it using both Nero directly on the Divx and also going with TMPG and VCD Easy, both seem to give the same results. In fact the TMPG and VCDEasy way may be a little worse..

[nerdboy69]

If you intend using the original VCD footage for something else, then you need to xtract some of the "extra-bits" (technical term there) first to be safe.

Use something like ISOBUSTER (free - see Tools link on this site) to extract from the VCD before you start playing with it.

[Xanataph]

Not really trying to get stuff back off a VCD as such..just trying to get the VCD working...its the burning process where it all turns to custard...
It appears to burn perfectly...but when it plays it's unwatchable...would converting from NTSC to PAL have such a big effect?

[davemcg37]

what kind of vcd is it you're making exactly? if its a backed up copy of a dvd then use dvddecrypter,dvd2avi,tmpgenc and finally use nero to burn. the finished vcd or dat file should play fine in mediaplayer using hamman's instructions