It is highly possible that you may encounter winmail.dat file all the time as an email attachment but have no idea of how to play a DAT file for the video. As most people will consider this kind of format can only be used for storing text or binary data, it makes sense that a DAT video player is necessary when you come across the DAT video file. What is a good DAT player that makes you play DAT without failure as always? Here we have everything you need to know about the DAT video files.

Part 1: Brief introduction of DAT

In general, a DAT file is a generic data file that contains data in text or binary format. They are typically found as winmail.dat files in email attachments, created by Microsoft Exchange Servers. The DAT can be created by a couple of other programs as .dat files as well. However, the format may be opened or referenced by a specific application. While some DAT files can be opened directly, most contain program data that is referenced the program when it is running. Therefore, most DAT files are not meant to be opened manually. And as for the DAT video files, they are usually meaning the VCD videos files. While this type of video files accommodates the media data from the Video CD optical discs, it is widely stored as the MPEG format involving MPEG-1 or MPEG-2. In fact, the DAT video files can be played by a few best MPEG players.

From time to time, you may find the online DAT opener can be a great help, just upload the file or enter the URL and the site will do the rest of it. There is even no hidden cost, no refrigeration, and no email requested to use this free tool. If there is nothing in your winmail.dat file had been opened, most probably the information was related to the email's format, fonts, and colors. If the winmail.dat is smaller than 20kb, it is unlikely there are files attached, that is to say, they can be neglected in this case. Thus, a good DAT player is the universal solution for all those DAT files.

There is another method can solve the problem of how to play DAT file videos. You can convert DAT into other popular formats as you like so that you can play DAT files via many players and devices. Either way, we still need a professional DAT player for how to play a DAT file.

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Part 2: What Makes a Good DAT Player

A good standalone DAT player should at least include the following features for how to play DAT video files in a promised way:

1. Multiple formats support including DAT video files. When you look for a DAT player, usually the good DAT player should not only support DAT perfectly but also other popular media formats such as MPEG, WMV, ASF, FLV, and so on. Beyond the good DAT players, some of the best DAT players can also support all the media files like Blu-ray, DVD, various video and audio formats and network protocol clients. They even have the ability to deal with all the raw formats.

2. Perfect DAT playback in different resolutions. If you are having some DAT video files with a resolution up to 1080P or even higher as the 4K display, it is certain that users do not hope the DAT playback will be stuck due to the incompatibility of the DAT definition. Or the case would be the image quality being squeezed and looked not as you expect. Here is the point that you need a good DAT player which is able to offer from 720P to 1080P videos in HD MP4, HD MKV, HD MOV, and DAT. If possible, the top DAT players are capable of coping with 4K videos as well, of course with the supreme picture display. Besides the visual requirements, you may also consider benefits from the audio effects that make your home like a cinema in order to enjoy more.

3. Get full control of the settings from every aspect. Imagine that you can adjust almost anything you want to make the DAT playback totally in your style or even better. Yes, you are allowed to modify a bunch of parameters of the good DAT players containing subtitles, video and audio settings. On top of that, some better DAT players enable users to take advantages of more features like the virtual remote controller, aspect ratio adjustment, file associations, etc. Moreover, the likelihood to design and customize the theme and skin will make it more comfortable.

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Part 3: Best DAT Players for Windows Users

No 1. Leawo Blu-ray Player

The first one to stand out is the Leawo Blu-ray Player for sure. It has all the features mentioned above and surprisingly, it's free! As a matter of fact, DAT videos can be decoded in a better image using a Blu-ray player, especially for 4K. This free Blu-ray player is compatible with DAT format files flawlessly, and all other 180+ media formats are available. At the same time, the perfect quality-lossless process of DAT videos can guarantee the extraordinary movie-like watching experience. 3D effects technology is provided for extreme viewing level. Furthermore, this software has all the playback options for users to get free access to various features including themes, skins, and languages. More than that, if you share your user experience on SNS you will get another selected Leawo product again, for free!

No 2. MediaPlayerLite

Another good and free DAT player also can play other video formats. A great feature just like Leawo Blu-ray Player mentioned above is – it does not require the codec packs to play and open DAT files on Windows XP, Vista, 7&10. Not only a DAT player as it should be, music playlists (MPL and M3U) can also be created, making it easy to open albums. However, you are not allowed to change its skin or adjust advanced settings for videos and audios.

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No 3. DivX Player

The DivX Player is what you need when you are looking for a simple function of how to play a DAT file on the Windows system. Together with the DAT format videos, this program offers a couple of prevalent media formats like VOB, MOV, AVI, MP4, etc. One feature amazes people like me is the capacity of adding subtitles of any languages as you need. Nonetheless, the quality can be not as good as original videos. Hence, if you pursue visual requirements, the first one is the best option.

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Part 4: Best DAT Players for Mac Users

No 1. Leawo Blu-ray Player for Mac

This version of Leawo Blu-ray Player performs smoothly on Mac system when playing DAT files. It has all the same functions and features as the Windows one, all resolution in all media formats are covered including 1080P videos in HD and 4K videos. The impressive quality of DAT movies playback can bring everyone to the theater environment in no time. While the program offers 3D displays, the advanced technology will let you control any settings of video, audio, subtitles, themes, and skins. The multilingual interface represents its friendly feature as an easy-to-use tool, the last reason you want to know is that it is free.

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No 2. 5KPlayer

You can consider this 5KPlayer as another good choice for how to play a DAT file for video on Mac computers. With the full compatibility of DAT video files, this player tool can also make users enjoy the 360-degree videos in 4K 1080p videos. The delivery of image quality is also decent and can be displayed in an original way. Another awesome feature of this one is the function of casting stream videos via AirPlay as only fewer DAT players are equipped with such technology. Additionally, terrific audiovisual quality is also shown the advantages.

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No 3. VLC Media Player

The world-famous media player must have rung some bells if you like to watch videos in multiple formats on Mac. Since it is an open source player, it contains the built-in DAT support codec so that people are happy to take this as the answer to how do I play a DAT file. Apart from DAT video files, this versatile player program can stream videos from Youtube. As one of the best DAT players on the list, it is also free and without ads. But, this classical VLC player is not able to get changed of its interface and skins.

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Part 5: Conclusion

Nowadays, the DAT video files from VCD are quite common in our home activities, even though the disc type has been replaced by other formats. If you have some Video CD optical discs in your home, there will be some DAT video files being used for playback videos. Or maybe you obtain some DAT video files from other ways, you need to make sure how to play a DAT file for video on your computer. Take Leawo Blu-ray Player, for example, the download process is quite easy and fast. Follow the green download buttons above to download and install the program. It ensures users to apply all the settings when necessary! The last tip would recommend choosing a better-designed one, like Leawo Blu-ray Player to play DAT file because it definitely will offer you the best user experience.

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