Did You Know That You Can Play Image Files and DVD Files Directly From Your Hard Drive?

Files that are meant to be played from a CD-ROM or a DVD can actually be played directly from your hard drive. You don't need to burn the files to a CD-ROM or a DVD first, you just need to know how the files can be played - it's all very simple and I'll explain here.

Let's start with BIN and CUE files.

What are BIN and CUE files?

These are very popular image file and are meant to be burned onto a CD-ROM. The CUE file is used to store information about the actual data, such as tracks. If you wish, you can view this file using a text editor such as Notepad. The BIN files contains the actual data. When we talk about video the data will be in the form of VCD or SVCD. This format is very good for high quality picture, but uses a lot of MBs.

So how do I play them?

Well, you can either play the BIn file or the CUE file. Using VLC Player you can simply open the CUe file and the video will playback. If you prefer Media Player Classic you will have to select "All files (*.*)" in the browse menu and then select the BIN file. Both methods will work equally well - it's a question of which player you prefer.

Now let's have a look at DVD files (VOP, BUB and IFO).

What are VOP, BUB and IFO files?

The VOP files are the files that contain the actual video - VOP stands for Video OBject. The IFO files contain InFOrmation about the video (VOP files), which enables the viewer to navigate the DVD menu, fast forward, skip chapters and so on. The BUP are basically just BackUP files of the VOP files. that way, if the DVD becomes damaged in some way you might still be able to play it.

So how do I play them?

You can play back VOP files in the same way that you playback BIN files. With Media Player Classic you can simply open a VOP file and MPC will play it for you. However, to open a VOP file, you actually open the IFO file that contains the information about the video. If you want to playback the intire DVD, you should locate the IFO file that is named VIDEO_TS.IFO - this file will playback the whole DVD including the menu. Other IFo files can also be used, but onle VIDEO_TS.IFO will play the whole disc.

It's really very simple!

http://www.mediacodecs.eu has complete guides to playing BIN and CUE files The author of this article is an expert on codecs and video playback The site also offers downloads of codecs, players and tools - all free!