Transfering DVR DVD's to PC for editing.

[VWRacer]

Now this may sound like a stupid post, but bear with me, please.

Having spent a bucketload of time trying to resolve capture issues, I'm taking a different tack on the problem. I've borrowed a friends Sony DVR to make some test discs. My questions is: Is there a proper format to transfer the contents of the DVD, to the PC, for editing preparation?

Thanks,
Racer

[jggimi]

What are you asking?

Is this a question on how to rip? I wouldn't think so, you already know how to do that?

Is this a question on how to import video into your editor? That will depend on your editor and related tools. Some can accept .vob sets directly, others require demuxing, others still don't accept MPEG-2 in any form.

In any case, your question doesn't appear to have anything in particular to do with analog capture, and is probably in the wrong forum.

Could you please clarify? Thanks.

[neuron2]

Just copy the VOBs from the DVD to your hard disk. Then use DGMPGDec to serve them via Avisynth to your editing application.

[VWRacer]

Thanks to you both. I wasn't sure where to post this, so I just took a shot.

jggimi: You answered half my questions. Depending on which drive I'm using, most of the files are listed as MPEG2. I have a choice between Premiere Pro 1.5, or Pinnacle 10. I wanted to be sure to import this in the most favorable format.

neuron: You just answered the other half of my questions.

I did notice the DVR DVD has VIDEO_RM, and VIDEO_TS folders. My best quess about the VIDEO_RM, is they are related to the format, and finalizing of the disc.

Thanks for the help, and apologies for posting in the wrong forum.

Racer

[jggimi]

Moving this to the NLE forum, where Premiere and Pinnacle users are more likely to be found.

[VWRacer]

Now that I'm in the NLE Forum, does anyone see anything wrong about the information posted by the 2 Team Members? I haven't decided which editing program I will eventually use. Any preferences? Hmmm.......perhaps I should rephrase that. I have both Premiere Pro, and Pinnacle 10. For a newbie to editing, is one more easily grasped, than the other?

Thanks,
Racer

[Amit]

Hi,

I am also looking for the same information for a friend of mine who has just bought the Sony DCR-DVD405 camcoder. He will be using Adobe Premiere Elements 2.0. To do the MPEG editing directly he has also bought the Mainconcept MPEG Elements plugin for native MPEG editing support in Premiere Elements.

My question is, what's the best way to convert the VOB file from the DVD disc into an MPEG file which has both Video and Audio in it? I don't want to get into the route of using AVISynth since it slows down the editing a lot and with Mainconcept plugin giving native MPEG editing, things should run must faster as long as I know how to extract a good MPEG file out of the VOB file.

Thanks in advance for your help.
-Amit

[VWRacer]

Considering this post transfer has been here almost 2 weeks, without any replies, I question the logic of putting it in this forum. Either nobody knows, or they don't want to share.

Racer

[jggimi]

Logic was as follows:

1. Your questions had nothing to do with analog capture, and did not belong in that forum, per http://forum.doom9.org/announcement.php?f=10.
2. You were apparently not asking ripping questions; your prior posting history showed that you were able to rip successfully, and your clarification matched my initial assessment: this thread did not belong in the Decrypting forum.
3. You asked for opinions about the use of two different Non Linear Editors.

A "redirect" link was left in the Capture forum to this moved thread for any interested parties who selected the Capture forum.

If you have a suggestion for a more appropriate forum, please make it known.

[neuron2]

Originally Posted by VWRacer

Considering this post transfer has been here almost 2 weeks, without any replies, I question the logic of putting it in this forum. Either nobody knows, or they don't want to share.

Your first question was does anybody see anything wrong with the answers already given. No-one answered so apparently no-one thinks they are wrong.

Your second asked which of two NLEs was easier for a newbie to grasp. It's probably only a few people, if any at all, that have actually used both of them. It's not surprising that such a question receives no reply. Why don't you try them both and see for yourself?

I might point out that this is a high-level board; you're expected to try things for yourself; we don't like to do a lot of hand holding and spoon feeding.

@Amit

>My question is, what's the best way to convert the VOB file
>from the DVD disc into an MPEG file

We don't answer questions like that because they violate forum rule 12.

One option is to extract your elementary streams using DGIndex and then remux to MPEG using Imago Muxer.

[BigDid]

Originally Posted by neuron2

...I might point out that this is a high-level board; you're expected to try things for yourself; we don't like to do a lot of hand holding and spoon feeding...

Hi,

No one specially targeted but it just happens I also think/react more and more like that.

Oh and beside approving the above statement another purpose would be to be able to retrieve this post and this thread if needed, (easier to retrieve one of my post than one of the mod's who, usually, are more prolix/prolific/verbose than me ).

Did

[VWRacer]

Well sonofagun, someone does look at this forum. I was beginning to think I was orphaned! No offense was intended.

I have tried both progams, along with Premiere Elements, Sony Vegas, and a couple of others. Apparently, they don't seem to like .vobs, or .mpeg2. I tried to find what format was best for saving these files to the HDD to facilitate the editing. Digital editing is a new ball of wax for me, as I have done years of editing on tape. Takes a while to grasp the differences. The next program I'm taking a run at is Womble Video Wizard. This program will support .mpeg2 for importing to edit.

Thanks, again,
Racer

[neuron2]

I already told you one good solution:

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.ph...217#post857217

Have you tried it?

>I tried to find what format was best

We don't talk about "best", per forum rule 12.

To be frank, your question is still not clear. The thread title talks about how to transfer the files to your PC. Now you are talking about editing. Yet you haven't told us exactly what you are trying to do. Do you just want to cut out some commercials or something more involved? What format do you want your final product to be? Your requirements need to be clearly stated so that you can receive a useful answer.

[VWRacer]

I will try to make this more tangible.

I have found the first two progams of my choice wont import the mpeg's I have to work with. I asked about the best format to see if I should save them as .avi, mpeg, or some other format to coincide with what the programs wanted to work from. No sense in creating more work than necessary. I had no intention of violating rule 12.

Primarily, I wanted to learn how to edit out commercials. I first needed to know how to get the files into the program. Finding out the program wouldn't take the files I had was the first problem.

As for the final product, I wanted a standard (if there is such an animal) DVD format. I want to be able to cleanly edit several DVDs I have, and combine the elements into a final DVD. Once I can do that, then, and only then, will I concentrate on color correction, and then menus.

This isn't really a question, so much as trying to clarify some of the previous postings I have made.

Racer

[jggimi]

If you're just making cuts, a linear editor designed for mpeg2 should do the trick. NLEs are for fades, dissolves, cross fades, multiple soundtracks, titles, and other fancy stuff.

Cuttermaran is one example of a free LE that can cut commercials. Youi will still need to re-author and burn once you are done editing.

There are some consumer-grade commercial NLEs that accept DVD input -- notably, Ulead's products, such as VideoStudio. There are others, but Ulead offers 30-day trials for their products, and that is why I suggest you take a look, if LEs like Cuttermaran don't have what it takes. Consumer-grade editors like Ulead's often include authoring and burning capability "built-in."

[VWRacer]

Blessings upon you jggimi! I will check out Cuttermaran forthwith. If that won't do, it's off the the wonderful world of Ulead.

Thanks,
Racer

[Amit]

@neuron2,

My appoligies for violating rule 12. It was not intentional. I will try your suggestion and will get back if I have any further questions.

Is there any guide avaiable that explains how to extract the elementry streams using DGIndex? Most of the automated tools I have used (DVD2SVCD, DIF4U etc.) does this for me by using DGIndex or other tools. I never learned how it can be done manually.

In my case, this friend of mine has taken video of her 1 year old daughter using one of the SONY DVD Cameras (DCR-DVD405) and now he wants to edit that video by adding some fades, titles and creating DVD menus etc. He already has the Mainconcept MPEG Elements Plug-In for Premier Elements. So as long as I can help him quickly convert the VOB into an MPEG stream we can take it from there.

While searching on google lot of people suggested that simply rename the VOB file to MPEG but that shouldn't be correct. Am I right? Since VOB file contains lot of other information as well as optional padding that is missing from the MPEG stream.

A process that can extract true (without any padding and extra stuff) MPEG Audio & Video out of the VOB file quickly as well as without any further compression is what I am looking for over here.

-Amit

[smok3]

Amit, this is how i would do it:

1. get the files from DVD to your HD
2. use virtualdubmod to convert them to a. DV video (you can use free cedocida vfw encoder) and b. huffyuv
2b. Audio note: Here you will have to extract ac3 to a file, convert to pcm and reimport back to virtualdubmod streamlist (note the # of channels, for 6 channel you will have to resync those in your editor later.)
3. make two dirs, one 'working' with dv files and another 'huff' for huffyuv material
3b. make a note on whats the field order, BFF, TTF, maybe they are even progressive.
4. fireup your editor of choice (Premiere pro i recommend), open a new 'DV' project, import the files from 'working' dir, edit away, add titles, whatever.
5. save project in premiere
6. exit premiere, rename 'working' to 'dv' and rename 'huff' to 'working'
7. start premiere, open that project, export to whatever you wish (that should now use uncompressed files as sources).

p.s. now this is called offline editing if somebody asks you and it is still a usefull thing nowadays, especially when you are editing stuff on some 'supermarket' pc...., and it will be usefull in the near future when we switch to HD material even more.

p.s.2. and if you have some editing background, you wont like anything less than premiere, trust me on that one.

[neuron2]

Originally Posted by Amit

Is there any guide avaiable that explains how to extract the elementry streams using DGIndex?

Follow the Quick Start guide that comes with DGMPGDec. When you go to save your project, select 'Save Project and Demux Video' instead of 'Save Project'. This will give you the elementary streams.

So as long as I can help him quickly convert the VOB into an MPEG stream we can take it from there.

Take the elementary streams and mux them into an MPEG using Imago Muxer.

[trolltuning]

Originally Posted by Amit

Hi,

{snip}

I don't want to get into the route of using AVISynth since it slows down the editing a lot and with Mainconcept plugin giving native MPEG editing, things should run must faster as long as I know how to extract a good MPEG file out of the VOB file.

Thanks in advance for your help.
-Amit

Are other people in agreement that AviSynth slows editing a lot? Because of processing time or because Amit thinks it takes him longer to obtain the frames for trim()?