How do I import the video files direct from a DVD disc into my computer for editing without conversion? eg I have a DVD disc complete with .VOB .BUP and .IFO files. I want to edit (cut out) a lot of the unwanted footage on it - then reburn the edited file to a blank disc that will be much smaller and shorter ie 40 mins rather than 2 hours. (There is a lot of rubbish on the footage!) Footage has video AND audio. Thanks DrDav
Conversion to what? I'm not sure what you mean...Anyhow, you can edit the video with DVD Shrink. Open the disc with Shrink, let it analyze and then select Re-author. Drag a title (title 1, for example)into the compilation window on the left, then select the start/end feature. Isolate the portion you want to keep by removing the unneeded video from the beginning and/or the end, using the sliders and buttons and watching the preview screen. Once you have the portion you want, select OK. The trimmed title will appear in the compilation window, much smaller: Title 1 If you want another clip from the same title just drag it over again and repeat the process with the start/end feature and select OK. Now you should have this: Title 1 Title 1(2) repeat this as many times as needed: Title 1 Title 1(2) Title 1(3) Title 1(4) etc Each of these is a clip from Title 1. Clips from different title numbers would of course show the original title number and then the clip number. You can drag these clips around to change the playback order. Once there they can be backed up to a folder, ready for burning or you can set Shrink to autoburn the compilation using Nero, if you have it. This is a easy method of making and assembling clips using the start/end feature of DVD Shrink. If you haven't used Shrink before, follow the guides here: http://www.dvdshrink.info/guides.php The guides do not cover how to do this specifically however they do explain the operation of the program and how the Start/End feature works. Let me know if this will work for you or if you have any problems. Cheers, Frank _ _X_X_X_X_X_[small]motorcycle racer computer newbie Sony VAIO Suzuki GSXR1000 [/small]
Thanks Frank. I simply have a DVD disc of a recent conference I attended complete with .VOB .BUP and .IFO files. I thought that the only way I could edit this footage and chop out unwanted parts of the conference was to say use a DVD ripper that converts everything to an MPEG2 file and then import that into Pinnacle Studio 8 or Windows Movie Maker for splicing. Then I would have to burn it to a blank DVD. Is DVD Shrink effectively doing the same thing? Is it converting the VOB files into MPEG2 ready for editing? Is there any advantage in using a DVD Ripper that converts the VOB files to AVI's and then edit? What format when ripping keeps the best quality? MPEG1, 2 or AVI's? Thanks for your help - as you can se I am very new to all this David
1.Yes DVD Shrink is effectively doing the same thing, very limited though. 2. It is not converting to MPEG2, basically it is acting as a .vob editor. A DVD-Video consists of one or more titles, made up of .vob, .bup and .ifo files. Using the start/end feature, a selected title can be trimmed. The user does not really see what DVD Shrink does to maintain DVD-Video compliance. Any modification to titles within the video would require a modification or recreation of the .ifo and .bup files. Shrink takes care of this for you. You could say that whenever a DVD is re-authored in Shrink, generic .ifo files are added, along with corresponding .bup files. The .ifo files provide the instruction set to the DVD player, telling it how to play the .vob files, which contain the actual audio/video information. 3. Most of the editors I use allow the import of MPEG files, so converting them to .avi is not really required. Some allow the import of .vob files. NeroVision Express for example. The big advantage to using these types of editing programs is that these will allow you to apply transitions, subtitles, video effects, additional audio, menus, etc, allowing you to be much more creative with your project. 4. The format that will give the best quality is MPEG2. I consider MPEG 1 and MPEG 2 to be compression formats that are applied to .avi files. Let me explain what a project edited with Shrink will look like when completed. First, when the DVD is put in the player it will begin to play. No menu will be available. Each section or clip will play in the order it was assembled. There will be no transition when one clip ends and another begins. The most noticeable part of this is usually the audio. If this is suitable then use the Shrink method. It is the simplest way to assemble a compilation. If you want a presentation with more features then use a real editing/authoring program. I would not really recommend Windows movie maker because it will not output DVD-Video compliant files. A conversion would have to take place. I do prefer the WMM transitions ans video effects so I sometimes do this. I don't own Studio 8 so I did a quick Google for it to see what it can do. It looks like a typical home video editor that may do just what you want. I could not find the allowed input formats so I will just assume that it cannot use your video files directly. I suppose if you are going to just use this video as a reference for your own use, then the Shrink method would be adequate. If you are are going to be showing this as part of a presentation then I would advise using Studio 8 to create a nicer looking video. Of course this would require conversion of the .vobs so you can input the video into Studio 8, or the use of another program that can work with .vobs directly. If you decide to use Studio 8, let me know what the input formats are. Hopefully all that is needed is a DVD to MPEG conversion. I always try and help folks out without spending their money for them, so I'm reluctant to recommend solutions that require folks to buy programs. Shrink is free so I recommended that method first. Doing a conversion from DVD to MPEG will require a converter of some sort. I use a simple one called "DVD-to-MPEG" from: http://www.dvd-to-mpeg.com/index.html It is $24.95. Well I've rambled long enough, sorry for the long reply. Cheers, Frank
Frank, thanks from me also! Sorry for jumping in but your help is very clear and concise and I have been reading with interest as I am also trying to work out how to manage editing of home movies. I use studio 9 which inputs avi and mpegs, no vob file input as you thought. After reading your suggestions, I tryed editing with dvd shrink. I found this very simple to do however, prefer to use studio 9 for menus and effects. Like you say, a nicer job. Which editing program do you usually use? And when you say windows movie maker doesn't output dvd-video, what does it output? And if I was to try using it can you use a program like dvd to mpeg to convert it? Doesn't the more you convert formats mean loss of quality? Hard to know which way to handle things. I downloaded a trial of a program called dvd to avi and tryed it out but was not really happy with outcome, which could be due to my inexperience not the program. I also have a good one from Pinnacle called T-Rex which is very simple to use and works well. Would it be better to convert to avi or mpeg? Thanks again for helping get my head around it all! Trish
Hi Trish, I'm to cheap to buy a really great editing program so I just capture and edit with either NeroVision express, Ulead Video studio 7 or Windows movie maker. I use these programs to capture, edit and apply transitions and effects. Generally not to create the actual DVD though. Both the Ulead and Nero programs can make DVDs WMM can only make a CD. WMM outputs .wmv files in a variety of formats as well as .avi. I look for certain features in editing programs, for example, Windows movie maker has transitions others don't have, yet this program is a bit glitchy and has locked up my computer on more than one occasion. Once I get done editing, I like to author everything in DVD-Lab. Because I'm not using my editing programs to author the DVD, I generally set the output to .avi. Once I have the .avi I use TMPGEnc Source Creator to convert and demultiplex the audio and video streams as this is what works easiest with DVD-lab. DVD-lab has outstanding menu creation features and gives you great control over how the DVD plays. For example if I want multiple movies and slideshows with menus on one DVD then this is done quite easily. If you want to take a look at it, there is a free, fully functioning trial: http://www.mediachance.com/download.htm It is a bit overwhelming but the help section at the website explains things pretty well, I downloaded and printed the thing. About 150 pages! You asked if it would it be better to convert to AVI or mpeg. For converting a DVD, I would convert to mpeg if the program I am planning to use supports it. Normally my DVDs have a bunch of stuff on them. The main feature is usually a birthday party or vacation footage, then a slideshow with background music and captions. I usually add a couple of music videos made from clips taken from various movies and combined with CD tracks. Sometimes I add video clips to the slideshows, maybe some animated .gifs. I end up converting files back and forth trying to get everything demuxed and into DVD-lab, I generally don't want to convert an mpeg to an .avi though. A blank DVD has so much room, you might as well try and fill it as much as possible! Cheers, Frank
Hi again Frank, Excellent feedback. I was hoping for your advice on the following. Method 1: Use DVD shrink to select portions of the original DVD .VOB files, assemble them - then burn to blank DVD. Method 2. Convert the original DVD to MPEG (using a different program eg DVD to MPEG ) - then open the MPEG up in say Studio 8 or 9, then select portions you want to keep - then burn to a blank DVD. Which method gives the best final quality? Is the difference significant? Thanks David
Hi again DrDav, If your video is just for personal reference, use Shrink to make a compilation of the relevant portions. If you want to use this video for staff presentations, etc, add transitions between each clip. Maybe an introduction and some background music. The key here is to be creative whenever possible. Try for a emotional response, even if it is subliminal. I really feel that most training and educational videos just lack that personal touch that audiences respond to. Sometimes just a well thought out background audio and subtle transitions will make all the difference. Today, I just spent over 10 hours creating a DVD for my friends grand-daughter's first birthday party. I had two hours of camcorder footage and over 100 digital stills to work with. I had him select a CD for background music. It really is a thing of beauty! The time you spend on your creation will pay off with the first viewing by your audience. Now your conference video may not be as emotionally charged as a first birthday, however your job is to make it so! At least as much as the footage you have will allow. DVDs are basically MPEG 2 to begin with, so converting a DVD folder back does not cause any loss other than the original nav info. You will re-establish that during the authoring process. IMHO, you should take that conference video and reauthor it into something that is enjoyable to watch. Cheers, Frank
Pretty cool frank, I'm assembling a dvd for my brothers and sister. I had been using nerovision express for creating menus, plus it converts the files. I got DVD-Lab, OUCH, that sucker costs 99.00(bet that went against the grain for your propensity not to push apps that cost). However I had originally thought I'd use the trial, I think it's 30 days? I was so impressed with the prog I went ahead and got it. If you want to make menus that's the way to go! You inadvertantly gave me some good ideas helping these other guys, Thanx! Any other cool suggestions as far as menus?
Hi bigorange, I just spend hours on menus in DVD Lab! This last I used the "render motion" and used some nice footage of some boats and skiers on a lake for one of the menu backgrounds. The tough part was getting the menu buttons to look right. I ended up rendering the menu with my text buttons and then once I established that as a menu, I added some frames around the "background" text and linked to them, I set the frames as "invisible normal". It worked out pretty well. I added some music and set a "force activate" button as well. Fun stuff. One thing I have started to do is to tone down the colors a bit on the buttons. They don't look bad on the monitor but on the TV they are too intense and bleed a bit. I always check the NTSC safe colors when compiling and that seems to help as well. Adding a bit of transparency seems to help, especially on the greens and yellows. Right now I'm using the pro beta version of DVD-Lab. I'm getting kind of addicted to it. It just keeps getting better and better. I think this is the 4th beta version I've tried. No problems at all as long as I'm not too careless of the assets I try to use. I'm getting a production procedure established finally, after a lot of screwing around. Basically I spend a lot of time preparing assets. I will take digital photos, sort them, apply corrections (red eye, etc.) and place them in a folder. I then do all my camcorder editing and usually just convert it to DVD with Nero Vision Express. I will usually take the stills folder and convert that into a DVD slideshow with music, also using NVE. Once these asset folders are all ready, thats when I open DVD Lab and the fun begins. DVD Lab does not have any problems at all demuxing the DVD formatted assets. There are probably better ways than using NVE for the prep work, but I find it works really well for transitions and getting slideshows to run the same length as the music. It provides a reasonable preview that DVD Lab can't. I know what my presentation segment will look like before I put it in DVD Lab. So far the most I've been able to assemble is about 2 GB on a DVD. They seem small when you are burning movies but trying to fill one up with your own stuff is a challenge! I guess I have to learn to be a better "videographer" so my footage won't need cut so much. I'm finding it hard to get stuff that won't put folks to sleep after 10 minutes. I guess I could strap the camera on the front of my bike, but I'm afraid I'd kill myself or end up in jail! Cheers, Frank
Thanx frank, I really appreciate all the input. You've made me realize how far I have to go in it (I actually thought I was getting the hang of it LOL). You've given me food for thought. I can see where 2G's would be quite a lot, tho, like you say, that's nothing by commercial DVD standards. On a bright note, I won't have to worry about compression. LOL I don't have to have them done til December 24, so that gives me some time. Unlike others who see creating menus as labor, I enjoy it and see it as a labor of love. BTW, speaking of holidays, HAPPY 4TH of JULY!!! (careful on that bike!) _X_X_X_X_X_[small] [bold]GO VOLS![/bold]........Dell Media4600, XP home,Pentium 4 @2.80GHz/800Mz, 512MB, 280 HD w/8MB, 17" flat panel, AIO-A920, 8x DVD-ROM, integrated 5.1 audio, HP dc4000, Plextor PX-708UF[/small]
Thanks again Frank! The fog is starting to clear!! I will look at getting the Nero Vision Express and DVD Lab then I should be able to simply follow in your footsteps........ Looking forward to checking it all out, thanks everyone. Trish
