diff --git a/lerobot/common/datasets/abstract.py b/lerobot/common/datasets/abstract.py
index d3015f3..a81de49 100644
--- a/lerobot/common/datasets/abstract.py
+++ b/lerobot/common/datasets/abstract.py
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ class AbstractDataset(TensorDictReplayBuffer):
         self.dataset_id = dataset_id
         self.version = version
         self.shuffle = shuffle
-        self.root = root
+        self.root = root if root is None else Path(root)
 
         if self.root is not None and self.version is not None:
             logging.warning(
diff --git a/tests/test_examples.py b/tests/test_examples.py
index b1d3a48..6c21eb4 100644
--- a/tests/test_examples.py
+++ b/tests/test_examples.py
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 import pytest
 from pathlib import Path
 
-@pytest.mark.skip(reason="For some reason 1_visualize_dataset.py downloads the dataset")
 @pytest.mark.parametrize(
     "path",
     [
@@ -16,4 +15,5 @@ def test_example(path):
         file_contents = file.read()
     exec(file_contents)
 
-    assert Path("outputs/visualize_dataset/example/episode_0.mp4").exists()
+    if path == "examples/1_visualize_dataset.py":
+        assert Path("outputs/visualize_dataset/example/episode_0.mp4").exists()