Bit more info...
I mistakenly labeled the version of CCCP I'm using. It's the 12/7 beta release with ffdshow of Sep 30.
I've discovered a couple of things...
MediaPlayer Classic and Zoom Player that come with CCCP, when working with the VOBs, use the ffdShow MPEG4 decoder instead of the MPV decoder, thus perserving all of the niceties of the DVD interface (menus, chapters, etc.).
Also, if I change the extension of the VOB to MPEG, and make the appropriate mapping in the DirectShow filter list for file type "mpeg", MediaCenter now picks up the ffdshow MPEG4 decoder quite nicely, however, all of the DVD niceties are gone as it sees the file as just a big MPEG video.
Is it that MC is seeing the VOB file and then asking DS for an MPEG2 decoder and DS returns the MPV as the first MPEG2 decoder available? How does one figure out the priorities of the installed/registered filters and codecs?
I apologize if this has been covered, I couldn't seem to find precise answers while searching this AM.
Also, in one of threads I was reading this AM re: CCCP (I can't remember or find which one), someone mentioned that after uninstalling CCCP, they had an unusable media machine or some such. Well, if on the install of CCCP you checked to install WMV9 codecs, then the uninstall removed all of them (something to do with how MS has them installed, according to the CCCP Wiki). This could be why your machine is "hosed".