Free online DV to DAT converter

What the DV format is

DV is a digital video format used by MiniDV, DVCAM, and DVCPRO camcorders and by capture software. Files commonly use .dv, .avi, or .mov extensions and contain intraframe-compressed video, often at 25 Mb/s with 720×576 PAL or 720×480 NTSC video. Camera-transfer and editing programs such as WinDV, Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, and FFmpeg can create or import DV files.

What the DAT format is

In video workflows, .dat usually means the MPEG-1 program-stream file used on Video CD discs. A VCD DAT file normally contains MPEG-1 video at about 1,150 kb/s and MPEG-1 Layer II audio at 224 kb/s, with 352×288 pixels at 25 fps for PAL or 352×240 pixels at 29.97 fps for NTSC. The extension alone does not guarantee VCD compliance; some programs use .dat for other MPEG video streams.

How to convert DV to DAT

FFmpeg is the most reliable desktop tool because it can read DV from raw .dv, AVI, and MOV files and apply the MPEG-1 and VCD constraints directly. Install FFmpeg, open a terminal in the folder containing the source, and use the command matching the video standard.

For a PAL VCD-compatible DAT file:

ffmpeg -i input.dv -f vcd -c:v mpeg1video -b:v 1150k -s 352x288 -r 25 -c:a mp2 -b:a 224k -ar 44100 -ac 2 output.dat

For an NTSC VCD-compatible DAT file:

ffmpeg -i input.dv -f vcd -c:v mpeg1video -b:v 1150k -s 352x240 -r 30000/1001 -c:a mp2 -b:a 224k -ar 44100 -ac 2 output.dat

The -f vcd option selects FFmpeg's VCD program-stream format, while the other options set the required video size, frame rate, MPEG-1 video, Layer II audio, 44.1 kHz sampling rate, and stereo audio. Replace input.dv with the actual filename; the output file can be named .mpg instead if the target software identifies the format by its stream rather than its extension.

For software that only requires an MPEG program stream with a DAT extension, use less restrictive settings:

ffmpeg -i input.dv -c:v mpeg1video -q:v 2 -c:a mp2 -b:a 224k -ar 44100 -ac 2 output.dat

You can also convert the file for free on the 101convert.com website without installing software; select the DV file, choose DAT as the output, and download the result after processing.

Quality, compatibility, and limitations

DV is normally 720 pixels wide and uses considerably more bitrate than VCD MPEG-1, so conversion to DAT reduces resolution and introduces lossy compression. Keep the original DV file for editing or preservation.

Choose PAL or NTSC from the source recording and playback device; mixing standards can cause incorrect frame rates, image dimensions, or playback failure. Some standalone VCD players require a disc image or properly authored VCD filesystem rather than a DAT file copied to ordinary storage. Test the resulting file with VLC or the intended hardware before deleting the source.