I have a geniune problem....I have got a movie VCD which is of 700 MB capacity..When I view the properties of my CD drive using Windows Explorer..it shows that the drive has 700 MB capacity and it is full(obviously)...But inside the CD in the MPEGAV folder there is a .dat file of 730 MB!!!!!.

How is this possible..I cant get a CD-R with a capacity of more than 700 MB...

Did the maker of the CD apply some trick on the CD so that it cannot be replicated..Please if anyone has a solution to my problem..reply at the earliest..

Thanks..

-- Jojy Devasia (jojyd@rediffmail.com), January 22, 2002

Answers

The sizes that you see reported for CD-Rs, such as 650 MB (74 minutes) and 700 MB (80 minutes) are actually sizes for data burned to CD in a specific ISO format. Using this format, some areas on the disc are reserved for error correction and redundancy and can not be used for other purposes. VCD and SVCD use another format to store information to CD-R, so areas of the disc that would be reserved for error correction are freed up to have data written to them. This is why your VCD has a *.dat file of 730 MB. I don't remember offhand what the true VCD size limits are, but you could probably write a 730 MB dat file to a 74 minute CD-R. This is not a trick and your VCD sounds perfectly normal.

-- Jason (Jason.Shumate@equant.com), January 22, 2002.

Hi there. Well I've got an issue on the famous 740 mb capacity (for VCD) in 74 minute CD-Rs. I tried Adaptec Video Creator and Nero Burning Rom, they both tell me that there is not enough space on my CD-R (74 minutes) for storing the files. I'm trying to make a simple VCD, just a bunch of video clips in mpg format, they're all in the VCD specs. I really don't know what's wrong, my cd recorder is an HP 8100, reads/writes 80 min media..but both softwares keep refusing to record the VCD. Any ideas?

-- Nico (hopkinsjones@ciudad.com.ar), January 26, 2002.

I have had the same problem with the 8100 (HP) - it is a problem with the firmware - I was able to find some hacked sony firmware that fixed the problem. Cant remember where I found it though

-- Jason Quinton (Mail@Titanian.co.uk), February 23, 2002.

Try this: Use VCD Gear (latest V3.07b15) (freeware) http://www.vcdgear.com/ to make a bin/cue VCD image then use FireBurner (latest V2.1.7) http://www.fireburner.com/ to burn the VCD.

VCD Gear can rip an MPEG from the DAT and make a bin/cue VCD image.

My latest burn was an MPEG file of 752MB... I don't know the capacity yet though.

yw, nio

-- nio (niobium8@cox.net), October 11, 2002.