Free online TREC to DAT converter

What the TREC format is

.trec is TechSmith's recording format, created by Camtasia Recorder and older Camtasia versions. It stores a screen recording and may include webcam video, microphone audio, system audio, cursor data, and recording metadata. You encounter it after recording a presentation, software demonstration, training session, or support video with Camtasia.

TREC is a proprietary capture container rather than a broadly supported delivery format. Camtasia is normally required to open it and render its contents to a standard video file.

What the DAT format is

For video, .dat most commonly means the MPEG-1 program-stream file used on Video CDs, typically found at \MPEGAV\AVSEQ01.DAT. It is designed for VCD-compatible players and authoring tools, not modern web playback. VCD video normally uses MPEG-1 video at 1150 kbit/s, 352×240 pixels for NTSC or 352×288 for PAL, with MPEG audio at 44.1 kHz.

DAT is not a single universal video specification. Some programs use the extension for an ordinary MPEG stream, so confirm whether the destination requires a VCD-compliant file or merely an MPEG-1 video file with a .dat name.

How to convert TREC to DAT

Using the built-in online converter

1. Open 101convert.com and select the video conversion tool.
2. Upload the .trec file, choose DAT as the output format, and start the conversion.
3. Download the resulting file and test it in the intended player. This option requires no installed software, but it cannot preserve Camtasia-only editing data, cursor effects, or project structure.

Using Camtasia and FFmpeg

1. Open the recording in Camtasia and use File → Export → Local File or the equivalent export command for your version.
2. Export to recording.mp4. Select the required frame rate and include the audio tracks you need. Exporting renders annotations, cursor effects, transitions, and edits into the video.
3. For a VCD-compatible MPEG-1 file, install FFmpeg and run the appropriate standard command:

ffmpeg -i recording.mp4 -target pal-vcd output.mpg

Use -target ntsc-vcd instead for an NTSC VCD. If the receiving program accepts an MPEG-1 file under a DAT extension, rename output.mpg to output.dat only after conversion. Renaming changes the name, not the format.

If the destination is an actual Video CD, use a VCD authoring tool such as VCDImager rather than simply renaming the file:

vcdimager -t vcd2 -c disc.cue -b disc.bin output.mpg

Burn the generated image with a disc-authoring program. The disc authoring process creates the VCD structure and places the video under \MPEGAV\ with a DAT filename.

Quality and compatibility limitations

The workflow is normally TREC → MP4 → MPEG-1 DAT, so the second export introduces additional lossy compression. Keep the Camtasia project or original TREC file, and export from the highest-quality source available.

VCD DAT files have substantially lower resolution and bitrate than current video formats. Small text, screen-interface details, and cursor movement from a TREC recording may become difficult to read after conversion. A modern player may open the MPEG-1 stream directly, but a physical VCD player requires the correct PAL or NTSC standard and disc structure.