Video file playback problem

[Luxman]

Hi.

I copied/pasted a video file from my Temp Internet Files location so that I could keep a copy of it, but I'm having no luck getting any player to run the file.

The details: The file is from a webpage that plays the video file in an embedded WMP. I assumed this shouldn't be any problem, as if it plays in the embedded WMP, it should play just fine in the full version. Nope. I also tried running the file in VLC, but again, it won't open.

For the record, the file in the TIF location is complete and not corrupt.

The file has a DAT extension. I've changed it to WMV and still it's a no go.

Obviously I have no other ideas on how to get this file to run outside of the original webpage location.

Can anyone help? Thanks for reading.

Edited February 4, 2010 by Luxman

[cluberti]

This one could have gone a few places, but I moved it to networks and the Internet simply because none of the locations I can put this makes sense, and we're talking about a file over the internet. It's a stretch, but so would the XP forum or the Software Hangout. Hopefully this will get some action here.

[tain]

What player was parsing the file in your browser?

[Luxman]

So far I have been unsuccessful in my attempts. I've tried to capture the stream with VLC, but the results were unacceptable.

If anyone is willing to try, the link to the web page is here.

The file itself will stream (with the direct link to the video file) in both the stand-alone WMP11, and also VLC.

The video codec is WMV9 and the audio codec is WMA9.

In TIF, the cached file name is cdn_comics19700520et2[1].DAT (8772 KB)

The problem again is that this file is only readable while it resides in the TIF location! Once you copy/paste the file to another directory, the copied file cannot be read - both WMP11 & VLC regard the file as corrupt.

Hopefully one of you out there can help me figure out a workaround of some sort. Thanks again for reading.

[Sp0iLedBrAt]

I'm guessing the .DAT file is some kind of container, so maybe you could try a way to extract the file from the .DAT file.

THIS TOOL is a long shot, since it works for .DAT files that contain data, not A/V material, but try it still. Also, considering renaming, why not try with .avi? WMV and WMA encoding in .avi containers is not unknown.

Report back

[Luxman]

Ok. I tried the dat extractor, it's a no go.

Renaming the file didn't do anything. I've used .ASF & .WMV (which is what it is).

I'm guessing the .DAT file is some kind of container...

If so, the file would be encrypted, no? Doesn't a container need its parent program to decode? I'm just making a presumption on that, since the video will stream in both WMP & VLC.

In any case, your help is appreciated. Thanks.

[Tripredacus]

A lot of websites use wrappers to play videos, especially ones that want to keep the content secret. If the "video" is actually just the wrapper, you're going to have to do a lot more work to get the real file. Typically I've run into this where the file saved to the machine is actually used to connect to a secure server, and use either a cookie or temporary hash to authenticate and stream the content. I don't think I've ever seen a case where a DAT file is used, but I am guessing you actually don't have the video file on your computer at all.

[Luxman]

...I am guessing you actually don't have the video file on your computer at all.

Actually, the file is on the hdd. Check my post #4.

That same file is created when the video is streamed in both VLC & WMP.

(In any case, I have posted the link to the web page if anyone would like to take on this mystery)

[Tripredacus]

While I would be able to get you the source link to the real video, its going to involve hacking the site/files the player uses. As I suspected, I opened the WMV that is on that page and it does connect to where the real media is located and uses a variable to get it. This really isn't the place for this kind of thing. Your best bet would be to email the website and ask for access to the real file.

However, it seems this topic has already been brought up here before.

[Luxman]

Thank you Tripredacus.

[CoffeeFiend]

There is no hacking necessary or anything like that.

The page passes a playlist to the player which contains:

[Reference]
Ref1=http://ms.radio-canada.ca/archives_new/2006/en/wmv/cdn_comics19700520et2.wmv?MSWMExt=.asf
Ref2=http://24.200.239.61:80/archives_new/2006/en/wmv/cdn_comics19700520et2.wmv?MSWMExt=.asf

and this redirects to a MMS stream from Windows Media Services located here:

mms://ms.radio-canada.ca/archives_new/2006/en/wmv/cdn_comics19700520et2.wmv?MSWMExt=.asf

That's all there is to it. As for how to record MMS streams, I'm sure there's dozens of app that can do this. I know even VLC can do it. It's not a great player but it's fairly solid for streaming stuff.

[Luxman]

...As for how to record MMS streams, I'm sure there's dozens of app that can do this. I know even VLC can do it.

Again, please refer to post #4. Thanks for replying.