How do you burn a *.dat file?

[Nathan]

How do you burn a *.dat file?

Into a vcd, with nero?

[rsuave5]

you must first convert it with vcd gear to mpeg then burn dload this to the left in tools,im 99 % sure thats what i used but it may have been vcdeasy try the vcd gear and look for the template dat to mpeg and drag over

[vcdfreak]

Nero can accept a .dat file directly. No need to convert to MPEG-1 VCD format. In fact, they are almost identical except in the header info.

[Petco]

Agree, treat a dat file like an MPEG1. You can even view a dat file using Windows media player just right click and pick Windows Media player to play the dat file.

[quriousman]

I've just noticed the DAT conversion from NERO.
Let say I have a DAT taken file from a VCD and then I drag this file into MPEGAV directory when I create VCD, then Nero pop a conversion window / checking DAT file ... and what happen is that the new converted DAT file size is smaller than the original DAT file.
Does Nero re-code the original DAT file ?

Could I just copy the DAT file into MPEGAV directory without additional conversion ?

[vitualis]

VCDs are not CD-ROMs.

You can't just go adding "DAT" files into the VCD filesystem and expect it to work.

If you must use the DAT file (reconversion back to MPEG is advisable) with Nero, then you have to import it as you would for a normal MPEG and have Nero (correctly) deal with the actual authoring.

I imagine what Nero does (since it tends to do it correctly in this situation) is that it simply looks at the source file and remuxes it (on-the-fly perhaps) as necessarily. This is why it can load "DAT" files as MPEG files for VCD authoring without making a faulty disc.

Regards.

[vcdfreak]

If Nero re-encodes, it will take ages. Not sure why the file size changes. I always just drag the .dat file over and the quality is always the same as the original, including the file size.

[quriousman]

Maybe this is a silly question, how about copying all directories and files in a VCD to a harddisk and then copy them into a CD ? Could it work ?
Or we have to burn those dir/files in certain track order in CD with Nero so the player could play the VCD ? (no problem using computer cause I could just play the DAT file) ....

Well, maybe it's the same process as COPY-CD option on Nero, but I feel more secure if I know exactly that each directory & files could be read successfully by copying first to the harddisk .... before transfer them in to the blank CD ...

And I want to make sure that there is no conversion of the DAT file done by Nero like when I use Video-CD option ...

Thanks a lot for any comments ....

[vitualis]

Maybe this is a silly question, how about copying all directories and files in a VCD to a harddisk and then copy them into a CD ? Could it work ?

No it doesn't work.

Or we have to burn those dir/files in certain track order in CD with Nero so the player could play the VCD ? (no problem using computer cause I could just play the DAT file) ....

Something like that. The physical structure of a VCD is very important as well.

Well, maybe it's the same process as COPY-CD option on Nero, but I feel more secure if I know exactly that each directory & files could be read successfully by copying first to the harddisk .... before transfer them in to the blank CD ...

Copy CD doesn't do a filesystem read. That's not copying a CD. Copy CD does basically a sector read of the disc, and then burns that image onto a new CD. Essentially, you are making an exact copy.

Copying the filesystem may work for CD-ROMs but it definitely WILL NOT for a VCD.

Regards.

[vitualis]

And I want to make sure that there is no conversion of the DAT file done by Nero like when I use Video-CD option ...

There is no re-encoding so there will not be a generational loss of quality. There will probably be a degree of remuxing (perhaps). This won't affect quality. You can think of remuxing as simply rearranging the existing data into the particular arrangement needed for VCD.

An analogy, making sure that a paragraph ends every page of the book. It doesn't affect the content, just rearranges it a bit.

Regards.

[quriousman]

Thanks a lot for your reply and explanation.
I feel safe now to copy my DAT file using NERO create-VCD option.

One thing left, I've just burnt music-video DAT file into VCD with 8x speed.
It seems that the sound quality is slightly degraded.
Low quality CD ? Or I should burn at 4x ?

THanks again ..

[vitualis]

3 possibilities:
(1) Broken CD burner / media (unlikely)
(2) Semi-dodgy CD-R compatibility on your player (try different media or lower burn speed) -- likely
(3) Psychological -- i.e., they are the same! Try a blinded A-B test (likely if you think that there is only a "minor" difference)

Regards.