How To Convert .DAT to MPEG

[Guest]

I have saved several funny .dat movie clips from MSN "Found" and want to send
them to my brother but can't find a way of converting them to MPEG, WMV or
some other type of file that is compatable with Windows Media Player. I have
tried using VCDGear to convert the files to MPEG but got an error saying it
could not find the MPEG Stream. I was later told that error message means
that the .dat file is not a regular Video CD (VCD) type of file.
Does anyone know how to convert these files? I wonder why Microsoft chose
to use the .dat format instead of something compatable with Media Player.
Thanks. Mike950

 

[da_test]

I have saved several funny .dat movie clips from MSN "Found" and want to send
them to my brother but can't find a way of converting them to MPEG, WMV or
some other type of file that is compatable with Windows Media Player. I have
tried using VCDGear to convert the files to MPEG but got an error saying it
could not find the MPEG Stream. I was later told that error message means
that the .dat file is not a regular Video CD (VCD) type of file.
Does anyone know how to convert these files? I wonder why Microsoft chose
to use the .dat format instead of something compatable with Media Player.
Thanks. Mike950

just rename the files to *.mpg and see if they play in media player.
Dave

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the suggestion but renaming to .mpg doesn't help. Any other ideas?
Mike950

 

[da_test]

Thanks for the suggestion but renaming to .mpg doesn't help. Any other ideas?
Mike950

open the old media player (version 6.4) by typing mplayer2.exe
from the RUN box.
Open windows explorer and navigate to the DAT file.
Drag and drop it onto the media player. Does it play?

If it fails, I would contact MSN and ask them about their
file format.
Dave

 

[NoNoBadDog!]

..dat and .mpg are the same format.

renaming should have no effect on the "playability" of the file.

I have a video editor that will not accept .dat files, so I change the
extension to .mpg and it works fine.

Bobby

 

[Cari \(MS-MVP\)]

..dat video files are often encrypted so renaming them to anything doesn't
help.

 

[Guest]

Thanks Cari, I think your answer is probably correct. The .dat video clips
posted by MSN for their "Found" page are probably encrypted so they can't be
copied and forwarded. I can understand why. They want you to go to the
actual site for the advertising. I guess that's ok. They have to pay to
produce the series. Thanks for the help. Mike950

PS: I'm very sorry to hear about Alex Nichol. He has helped me out a
number of times on various topics for many years. His willingness to help
others will be remembered by many.

 

[Guest]

I can not import Avseq01.dat file of video into movie maker and therefore I
can not edit it. How can I convert it to such format that is acceptable to
movie maker.

Raja

 

[Cari \(MS-MVP\)]

If you cannot import it, it is probably encrypted.

 

[Rehan]

I can not import Avseq01.dat file of video into movie maker and therefore
I
can not edit it. How can I convert it to such format that is acceptable to
movie maker.

You need to convert the DAT to a suitable AVI format. Since it is for
editing the size of resultant AVI doesnt matter. Use Stoik Converter or
TMPGenc to open the dat file and save to an (preferably uncompressed) AVI
file.

 

[Rehan]

Use Stoik Converter or TMPGenc

Sorry I missed out the easiest option for this type of conversion:
VirtualDubMod http://virtualdubmod.sourceforge.net