Offhand, I would say the Gary James method in Vegas, or rip individual titles in Handbrake.
I'm assuming there is no encryption on these?

Dragging the .IFO file to the timeline seems to be the flat-out simplest method. The only downside i've found is that the .VOB data imported this way may bog down a slower PC a little bit as compared to other formats. If your computer is newer than 6 years old then this probably isn't an issue.

Of course, copy the entire DVD structure to a hard drive first! Don't attempt to use the DVDs themselves as the timeline source.

Thanks,
no encryption. I'll try the IFO method and see what happens. I've had various issues over the years with joining the split VOB files which is my main worry along with how many there are.

Bob.

The IFO method is the way to go, but if for some reason that doesn't work, I have a method that works 100% of the time, and is what I do when all else fails. I'll post it if you need it.

Thanks John,
Just got started on this and already I see a problem :(
The clients has dumped multiple tapes onto the one DVD and all his references are to the names of the programs on the DVD, there's no reference to which DVD the tape / program is on, sigh.

It'd be great if there was a way to simply point a piece of software at a DVD folder and it'd extract each title to a video file that takes it's name from the DVD menu.

Bob.

Thinking around this, "SceneAlizer"?

1) Transcode to AVI

. . then . .

2) SA for scene detection

Old, I know. Maybe lots of Legacy issues, but just wanted to "put it out there"?

Grazie

How about VLC Player for ripping from Menus? If that's what it does?

G

Transcode what to AVI, that is the problem.

The content on the disk is already split in programs, the issue is knowing what they're called. With a bit of luck the DVD menu would tell me / code what they're called but maybe not, then it'd take OCR to read the slate. Even then for it to really make any sense I have to rely on whoever recorder this stuff from tape sticking to a set naming convention. That worked with the master tapes because the broadcaster had a system in place, the tapes were even barcoded so a robot could find them.

Bob.

i'd simply rip the dvd's (ifo method) > compile 'master' with burnt-in tc > return 'master' to client and ask for straightforward paper cut ;-)

then again, my clients are well trained, and if they don't like my approach i simply point out that i'm happy to do it their way, but it's going to cost them a lot more.

amazing how quickly people see the error of their ways ;-)

Like the time i gave the client a timecode burn and asked her to specify ranges of the parts she wanted to use. I got the list back, made the edit, sent a new copy. She responded "Yes! Those are exactly the parts i want to get rid of. Let me know when i can see the stuff i want please."

That's one of the nice things about Handbrake. You can specify just the titles and / or chapters you want from the scan list when you queue up the job. This approach would give you separate rendered files, which you could rejoin another way as needed.

I'm surprised no one mentioned:

File | Import | DVD Camcorder Disc

That's the proper way to import a DVD into Vegas Pro. It will convert the VOB files to MPG files on your timeline with no loss in quality.

~jr

The problem with File >Import>Camcorder Disk is it doesn't always work correctly. I've had it yield sound and vision tracks of significantly different lengths. Also I don't recall how it works with DVDs with multiple titles on them?


The Gary James IFO method works but it doesn't let me explore the root menu, one just has to hope you've opened the correct IFO file.

Bob.

Import Camcorder Disc never works quite right for me either. There are always gaps with some audio missing between the VOB files, and the sync gets progressively worse after each join.

This is a foolproof way to put DVD content into Vegas without any gaps, hiccups, or sync issues.

1. Use DVD Decrypter to copy the disc. This has nothing to do with decrypting the DVD, since this isn't a commercial DVD. Instead, you use this tool to combine VOBs into a single file and eliminate the gaps. Use the File mode (F) and change the preferences for File Mode so that file splitting is set to "none."

2. Take all the resulting VOB files (there will be one for each titleset) and put them all into any one of Womble's products. Then, immediately export the result into a single MPEG-2 file.There should be no re-encoding (i.e., it is a "smart copy") if you set the template to "Auto."

The second step may seem redundant, but it is actually the key to removing all the residual weirdness that sometimes, but not always, happens when you deal with VOB files on the Vegas timeline. As you know, VOB files contain a lot more than just video and audio, and I think it is this extra stuff that sometimes confuses Vegas.

So, doing the smart Export from Womble will remove all those nasty sync issues, and everything will play just as smoothly as an MPEG-2 file you created from Vegas itself. Dragging the titleset IFO file to the timeline, or using the Import DVD feature (I think these do the same thing) still sometimes creates video that isn't quite right, as you already pointed out.

BTW, you can use any of the Womble editing products: you don't need to get their top-of-the-line version for this simple job.



Since everything will be in one big MPEG-2 file, once you put this file into Vegas, you should be able to quickly scrub the timeline to find the content you need.

Just curious. Why would anyone want to go through all the extra fuss and hassle of running third party programs to import a DVD into Vegas, without first trying the "Drag the IFO file into the timeline method" to see if it works? You not only get the Audio and Video, but also any Chapter marks that are present. It only takes a few seconds, and for most people this works most of the time.

Gary,

I totally agree, but I thought Bob said he was having sync problems. I too have had those problems, but only on some discs, when dragging IFO or using the import DVD function in Vegas. The workflow I described always works.

However, I always do exactly what you suggest: try the easy way first.

Not sync problems, but no way to know which chapters are which on the timeline. His client gave him a list of chapter names to work from.

Of course, Vegas will show marks on the timeline at the chapter points. One could open the DVD in any player software after the import, look at the chapter list, and then count down the marks.

Ok, so you're saying the client only wants a subset of the original DVD chapters on the end video? The Media Markers that Vegas places in the timeline when the IFO is imported can easily be promoted to actual Vegas Markers using one of the commercial Vegas Extensions, or any of the available scripts floating around on the Internet.

Bob, you go by the lengths of the titles / chapters to find them on the disc..
Other than that, loading the Handbrake queue is about as difficult as sending a job to a printer.

[I]"Bob, you go by the lengths of the titles / chapters to find them on the disc.."[/I]

Many are the same length, 30 mins :(

Much of this stuff is from a local TV series that ran for several years. It's a panel discussion kind of thing so I'd have to watch a fair amount of it verify it's the right one as they may only get to the part that the episode is named after well into the show.

Bob.

Best solution:

Put all source into one folder, optionally use subfolders for different sources e.g. "DVD", "YouTube"....

Catalogue all the files into WhereIsIt.
Open Vegas,, use File Open to add all *.IFO files to T/L then add title name into description field in WhereIsIt. Repeat for each DVD.
Add descriptions into WhereIsIt catalogue for all other video source.

Only reason I used WhereIsIt is it was already on the edit PC, Excel etc. would have done although WhereIsIt is pretty convenient for this.


Bob.