Is there an easy way to convert .dat vcd files to avi or mpeg? My WMP has no trouble with vcd disks (once pointed in the right direction), but the same version of WMP (7.00) on my mate's machine won't entertain the vcd. Preferably, I'd like to convert to .avi using divx4 - possible? Any help gratefully received!

-- JAy Roller (jayroller@hotmail.com), January 07, 2002

Answers

I've never done it, but it should be possible. www.vcdhelp.com, which seems to be down again at the moment, has a lot of guides on doing things like this. The DVD2AVI program might work - assuming it can handle MPEG-1 video. You might need to get VCDgear first to extract the MPEG-1 video out of the *.dat file before you get started. I should warn you that the quality will likely be very poor. MPEG-1 video uses low resolutions and is a lossy codec (that means it throws away part of the video information). DivX is also a lossy codec. Converting from one lossy codec to another usually results in very poor quality output. Frankly, it would be easier to just fix your friends PCs so it plays VCD. I think that sites that sell VCDs like www.allvcds.com, www.getvcds.com, www.vcdgallery.com list software players you can get. It's unusual for PCs to not be able to play MPEG-1 video as in your friend's case, but I have heard of it. A reinstall of WMP might help.

-- Jason (Jason.Shumate@equant.com), January 07, 2002.

The .Dat is an mpeg1 file. Just rename it.

-- Roger Stone (rog_stone@hotmail.com), January 07, 2002.