# batch process .dat files to .mpg using VCDGear



## sailendra (Aug 11, 2004)

Hi,
 I am trying to convert couple of .dat files to .mpg using VCDGear. I need to convert them so that i can burn them as a VCD using Nero. But the batch processing feature of vcd gear confuses me. Can anybody tell how to batch convert .dat files to .mpg using vcd gear? No other software please. only VCDGear.

TIA
Sailendra


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## theraven (Aug 11, 2004)

.dat = .mpg
only renamed
create vcd and just drag the .dat 
itll work without encoding. ..
unless u had some pirated vcd or something and the .dat is streaming video
then and only then do u need to convert it to vcd mpeg
try it out .. i hope it works for u
and sorry i dunno abt VCDGear


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## blade_runner (Aug 11, 2004)

Just so we are clear on this .dat is not equal to .mpg. .dat file contain extra information and info abt the file structure. A .mpg file cud be either vcd 2.0 complaint or just a non compatible mpg file. Renaming a .dat to .mpg doesnt always work. rather convert it using a video tool like vcdgear or Vcdeasy.  



> A DAT file contains extra information inside such as error correction information and extra sector information, but it also contains the MPEG stream. The MPEG file, of course, does not contain all the extra data that a DAT contains and is smaller.



As for sailendra query ! sorry mate cudn't figure it out !


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## cooljeba (Aug 12, 2004)

theraven said:
			
		

> .dat = .mpg
> only renamed
> create vcd and just drag the .dat
> itll work without encoding. ..
> ...



.dat=! .mpg !!! 

I think u need not convert them back to .mpg i think you can burn those ,dat images directly as a VCD. I hope nero accepts it as a video file to be included in the Video CD compilation.  .
BTW have u tried VirtualDub???? It rocks !!! I used personally for video conversions.
..:: peace ::..
Jeba


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## icecoolz (Aug 12, 2004)

sailendra said:
			
		

> Hi,
> I am trying to convert couple of .dat files to .mpg using VCDGear. I need to convert them so that i can burn them as a VCD using Nero. But the batch processing feature of vcd gear confuses me. Can anybody tell how to batch convert .dat files to .mpg using vcd gear? No other software please. only VCDGear.
> 
> TIA
> Sailendra



Use virtualDUB ....convert the files to .avi. Then use TMpegEnc....this will convert the avi to MPEG....and then u can use VCDGear...

here is a guide 

*www.dvdrhelp.com/tmpgenc.htm#ac3


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## blade_runner (Aug 12, 2004)

icecoolz said:
			
		

> sailendra said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



LOL ! Whenever did he ask anythng abt converting avi to mpeg ?


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## sailendra (Aug 12, 2004)

@theraven
  Thanks for the help, but i doubt that works - i already tried that and ended up with a vcd that doesnt work in a vcd player lol!
@cooljeba, icecoolz
  I guess virtual dub is a long way to get things done. Better off using vcdgear to convert each file individually then to run it through virtual dub.  dont u think?  
@blade_runner
  thanks for the info

Now, that still doesnt answer my question. Anybody else who can offer some help?


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## theraven (Aug 13, 2004)

ok lets see it this way
when u code an mpg u have to code it to vcd compliant mpg right ?
i bet we can agree on that
then when we drag and drop in nero ... after burning it becomes .dat right ?
guess we can agree on that too
now that extra info is in some separate folders
this .dat is stored in the mpegav folder ....
the other info is in the other folders ...
so when u rip a .dat from an official vcd ... and u rename it to .mpg it will definitely work on ur comp atleast ... cuz in the end u had encoded a vcd compliant mpg ... which was then a .dat
guess thats right too ..
now like i said ... very few vcd's ... have somehow been made to work ... without a standard compliant file .. so when u rip them .. and then try to burn in the same file ... it wont work ... infact if u try to play the cd ... the screen is only blank !
but then again at this point .. when u drag the .mpg ( or u can directly drop the .dat) into nero ... it'll check .. and say if the file is vcd compliant or no ...
if it isnt it'll ask .. if u turn off standard compliance then again u get a blank screen when u play the vcd
if its all good ... then it wont show a msg and ur cd will work fine
now i guess since ur cd isnt workin .. this might be the case
but if it hasnt showed the warnin msg ... then im not sure what the problem is
@blade_runner dude i aint arguin with ya ... u might be right ... infact u probably are.. theoretically ATLEAST .. but practically for me atleast till now this has worked .... very well infact 
so i just gave advice based on that !! cuz till now its worked 100% !!
@sailendra .. again im sorry dude .. cant help u with vcdgear .. and i know u wanna use only that software ... but if u change ur mind try tmpgenc .... u wont be disappointed ...
well anyways ... hope u find a solution !


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## blade_runner (Aug 13, 2004)

Ok raven lets clear all your doubts one by one. 


			
				theraven said:
			
		

> ok lets see it this way
> when u code an mpg u have to code it to vcd compliant mpg right ?



When u encode a mpeg file it may or may not be vcd complaint. The framerate may differ, the bitrate, the audio bitrate, sampling, resolution etc may differ..hence making it a non-vcd complaint mpeg. 




			
				theraven said:
			
		

> i bet we can agree on that
> then when we drag and drop in nero ... after burning it becomes .dat right ?
> guess we can agree on that too
> now that extra info is in some separate folders
> ...



No when the .mpg file is converted to .dat all the info is embeded into the .dat itself. This extra info makes the dat file a little bigger than the .mpg. Thus effectively a .dat file contains extra info + mpg stream. If u dont believe me then go get a original vcd (any) and then rather than renaming the dat file convert it into mpg using vcdgear or vcdeasy. You will definitely notice the difference in the size.




			
				theraven said:
			
		

> now like i said ... very few vcd's ... have somehow been made to work ... without a standard compliant file .. so when u rip them .. and then try to burn in the same file ... it wont work ... infact if u try to play the cd ... the screen is only blank !
> but then again at this point .. when u drag the .mpg ( or u can directly drop the .dat) into nero ... it'll check .. and say if the file is vcd compliant or no ...
> if it isnt it'll ask .. if u turn off standard compliance then again u get a blank screen when u play the vcd
> if its all good ... then it wont show a msg and ur cd will work fine
> ...



thats the whole point.......you explained it urslrf. Not all mpegs are vcd complaint. So when u drag a non complaint mpg file into nero it will definitely ask u whether or not to re-encode it. 





			
				theraven said:
			
		

> @blade_runner dude i aint arguin with ya ... u might be right ... infact u probably are.. theoretically ATLEAST .. but practically for me atleast till now this has worked .... very well infact
> so i just gave advice based on that !! cuz till now its worked 100% !!
> @sailendra .. again im sorry dude .. cant help u with vcdgear .. and i know u wanna use only that software ... but if u change ur mind try tmpgenc .... u wont be disappointed ...
> well anyways ... hope u find a solution !



Hey mate ....its a forum, every one has the right to express themselves. And knowing u i wud never take offence of ur words. Neways u dont take any offence of anythng that i just said. All this was to clear some doubts, thats all.


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## theraven (Aug 15, 2004)

its all good boss
1) i know all mpgs arent vcd compliant .. i said that specifically for vcd creation
that was the first point
2) as for the extra info in .dats ... well like is aid i didnt know abt that so i was just sayin how it worked for me
maybe when u rip the dat and then u load it in nero again .. it just takes it ... cuz with the extra info also its a std. compliant cd so that should work
3) yeah that was the point ... but since dats are vcd compliant it shouldnt give that error ... but it is ... thats y i said some vcds when ripped ... well those dats arent std compliant .. ik dunno how. . in that case u re-encode it 
well thats it i guess ... i got ur point abt .dat having extra info ...
i was wondering myself if its mpg then why rename it to .dat ?
guess i just found out
:d
cheers .. hope this helps sailendra even a bit


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