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CDXA Reader is a free DirectShow source filter from the open-source Guliverkli2 project that reads the Mode 2 Form 2 sectors used by Video CDs, SVCDs and XCDs, so the DAT tracks on those discs will open in an ordinary Windows player.
CDXA Reader is a small DirectShow filter that lets Windows players read the video tracks on a Video CD, SVCD or XCD.
The usual reason people need it is a folder called MPEGAV holding files named AVSEQ01.DAT that either will not open or, once copied to the hard drive, play as noise.
The disc is almost certainly fine - it is simply written in a format Windows only half understands.
Why the DAT Files Behave Strangely
A Video CD does not store its video the way a data disc stores files. It uses Mode 2 Form 2 sectors, which drop the error-correction bytes a normal disc carries in order to fit more video on.
Windows still has to show you something, so it presents each track as a .DAT file. That file is a polite fiction. Copy it to your drive and Windows brings the sector padding along with the video, which is why the copy is subtly wrong and plays as garbage even though the original disc is readable.
A player also has to know how to strip that padding before it can find the MPEG stream underneath. DirectShow has no built-in filter for the job, so a player built on it will sit there working at the disc and eventually give up.
What CDXA Reader Does
It registers itself as a DirectShow source filter and reads the disc at sector level, discarding the padding and handing the clean MPEG program stream to the rest of the playback chain.
There is nothing to configure. It has no interface and no settings, and once registered it either appears in the filter graph or it does not.
It Reads the Disc, It Does Not Decode the Video
This is the part that catches people out. CDXA Reader only gets the stream off the disc, and something else still has to turn MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 into a picture.
LAV Filters is the maintained decoder set to pair it with, and it covers everything a Video CD or SVCD contains. If you would rather install one package and stop thinking about it, K-Lite Codec Pack includes the decoders and a player together.
Older guides pair this filter with FFDShow, which does work but stopped being developed back in 2012 - keep it if it is already installed and running well, otherwise start with LAV Filters.
DirectShow FilterPack is the lighter middle option, and there are more bundles under codec packs.
What an XCD Actually Is
VCD and SVCD are published standards. XCD is not - it is a trick from the CD-R era that wrote MPEG data into Mode 2 Form 2 sectors purely to squeeze more video onto a blank disc.
Because it borrows the same sector layout, the same filter reads it. If someone handed you a home-burned disc years ago that no set-top player would touch but a PC sometimes would, this is probably what it was.
CDXA Reader or CDDA Reader
The two names differ by one letter and the products are easy to confuse, so the short version: this one is for video discs, the other is for music discs.
- Video CD, SVCD or XCD, with a MPEGAV folder and .DAT files - CDXA Reader, this page.
- An ordinary audio CD showing tiny .cda files - CDDA Reader is the one you want instead.
They come from the same filter family and install independently, so having both registered causes no conflict if you deal with both kinds of disc.
If Installing It Changes Nothing
A DirectShow filter has to match the architecture of the player rather than the architecture of Windows, and a 64-bit player will silently ignore a 32-bit filter however cleanly it registered.
Our guide to registering a .ax filter covers how to check which you have and which copy of the tool to use. If the player throws an error rather than staying silent, Class Not Registered is the likely next stop.
The Codec Troubleshooter will work through it with you if you would rather not do this by hand.
To see what is already on the machine, the Codec Checker lists registered filters and Codec Tweak Tool clears out dead entries from old installs.
DirectShow Filter Manager is the one to reach for if you want to see every filter in a list and disable them individually.
You Might Not Need This
This is a narrow tool for an old disc format, and there are two shorter routes worth checking first.
- Does the machine have an optical drive at all? Many no longer do, and optical drives are disappearing covers what that leaves you.
- Would a different player just open the disc? Media Player Classic Home Cinema and MPC-BE carry their own CDXA support and need no separate filter.
If you would rather change player than add a filter, the media players section is the place to start.
Where This Filter Comes From
It originates in Guliverkli2, the open-source project behind the Media Player Classic filter set, and has been repackaged as a standalone installer ever since.
Its version numbers follow the MPC-BE releases rather than any development of its own, which is why it shares numbering with MPC Video Decoder and MPC Audio Decoder. Treat it as finished rather than actively maintained software.
The rest of the family sits in the rest of the video codecs section.
Quick questions
What is the .DAT file on a Video CD?
It is how Windows displays a video track that is not really stored as a file. The MPEG video sits in Mode 2 Form 2 sectors, and the .DAT is the filesystem's approximation of it.
Why does copying the DAT file to my hard drive break it?
Because Windows copies the sector padding along with the video instead of stripping it out. You need a tool that reads the disc properly rather than a plain file copy.
Is CDXA Reader free?
Yes, it is freeware with no paid version, and it comes from an open-source filter project.
Will it play the video on its own?
No, it only gets the stream off the disc. You also need an MPEG decoder, and LAV Filters is the maintained one to use.
Do I need CDXA Reader or CDDA Reader?
CDXA for video discs, CDDA for music discs. If the disc shows tiny .cda files rather than a MPEGAV folder, CDDA Reader is the one you want.
I installed it and nothing changed. Why?
Usually because the filter and the player are different architectures, since a 64-bit player cannot load a 32-bit filter. Check which build of your player you run before assuming the file is faulty.
Download CDXA Reader 1.9.1.40 and see whether your disc opens, or tell us how you got on - there are no reviews on this page yet and yours would be the first.
