DVD to MPG - Great free program find!

MikeLV wrote on 2/28/2016, 3:48 PM
I have some DVDs that I need to convert to MP4 (x264) files. Unfortunately, the original veg project files are long since gone so my only source is the finished DVD. I have to convert them to MP4 so they can be sold as downloadable files instead of tangible DVDs.

What would be the best way to convert them with the least amount of quality loss due to re-encoding? Thank you.

Comments

Chienworks wrote on 2/28/2016, 4:14 PM
I use handbrake for this a lot. If your goal is merely to make watchable MP4 files, handbrake does this in a jiffy with superb quality, of course with the quality being related to the bitrate used.

If you want to get the video back onto Vegas' timeline for editing, simply copy the DVD to a hard drive folder and drag the .IFO file onto the timeline. No conversion happens at all.
rstrong wrote on 2/28/2016, 10:40 PM
Any reason why the .IFO file won't preview the video in VP13, but it does in VP12 ?
The .VBO file plays with no problem.

robert

R. Strong

Custom remote refrigerated water cooled system for CPU & GPU. Intel i7- 6950X, 10 Core (4.3 Turbo) 64gb DDR4, Win7 64 Bit, SP1. Nvidia RTX 2080, Studio driver 431.36, Cameras: Sony HVR-Z5U, HVR-V1U, HVR-A1U, HDR-HC3. Canon 5K MK2, SX50HS. GoPro Hero2. Nikon CoolPix P510. YouTube: rstrongvideo

Steve Grisetti wrote on 2/29/2016, 7:57 AM
Aren't the IFO files your disc menus?
PeterDuke wrote on 2/29/2016, 5:11 PM
I think IFO stands for "information". Vegas does not place the IFO file on the timeline, it places the information on the timeline.

When you drag the IFO file to the timeline it concatenates correctly the VOB files which have been cut into 1 GB chunks. If you just import the VOB files directly you will get glitches in both the the video and audio at the joins. There are other ways of importing and concatenating the VOB files that work as well.

Another feature of dragging the IFO file is that it places orange lines (not chapter markers) at the chapter points in the DVD. This may or may not be useful.
Laurence wrote on 3/1/2016, 1:06 AM
If you were to use Vegas feeding into the Handbrake render script, you could have the far better quality of Handbrake renders with some editing flexibility. That's how I would do it.
PeterDuke wrote on 3/1/2016, 6:06 AM
I don't think you need Vegas at all. All you need to do is to concatenate the VOB files, thereby turning them into a single MPEG 2 file, and then feed that into Handbrake.

I like the simplicity of
COPY /B VTS_01_1.VOB+VTS_01_2.VOB+VTS_01_03.VOB output.MPG.

All VOB files except the last in the set will be about 1 GB. Don't include VTS_01_0.VOB.

VOBMerge is a program that is supposed to do the same thing, but I haven't tried it.

There are many other utilities that will do much the same thing as well.
musicvid10 wrote on 3/1/2016, 6:41 AM
If the DVD s are unencrypted and all that's needed is conversion, open the disc or folder directly in Handbrake, and push Start.

Does a wonderful job, just as it was designed, and your chapter points will be preserved.

Chienworks wrote on 3/1/2016, 10:02 AM
"open the disc or folder directly in Handbrake, and push Start"
Yep, do that all the time. Can't be simpler or faster.

The copy /b method is what i use for MTS files from my camcorder. While it works for VOB files too, it's simpler and faster to merely open the .IFO file in Vegas instead. While copy /b merging produces a real physical file without using Vegas, it will be MPEG2 with whatever audio codec was on the DVD, probably AC3. If the goal is to have a file anyone can watch then this may not be ideal. Windows Media Player won't play it successfully unless you also have DVD Architect or something like the paid version of WinDVD also installed to get the AC3 playback codec.

So i guess the best choice really depends on what the next thing you're going to do with the video is.
musicvid10 wrote on 3/1/2016, 12:27 PM
I would use a proper muxer like VideoRedo to join mpg or AVC, esp. Transport streams.
Dangling GOPs, which will likely play fine, can cause hiccups with full stream decoders in Vegas or Handbrake.
PeterDuke wrote on 3/1/2016, 9:01 PM
There should be no dramas with GOPs in joining VOB files because I will bet a king's ransom that they started out as a single file, and were just arbitrarily cut into 1 GB chunks. By concatenating, we are just restoring the original file.
MikeLV wrote on 3/2/2016, 8:16 AM
I got a private email reply from a johnmeyer, not sure why he sent it via email instead of posting here, but I thought it would be useful for others (hope you don't mind johnmeyer, and thank you for the reply)


"I just did a dozen of these. I use MeGUI. It has a "one-click" encode. I just insert the DVD (unencrypted) and open the VIDEO_TS folder in the one click encoder. I have some presets I created, but you can use the ones that come with MeGUI. You specify an output file and then tell it to encode.

That is all there is to it, and the quality is MUCH better than anything I ever got from Vegas, either with the MainConcept or Sony encoders.

As bonus, it inserts the DVD chapter stops into the MP4 file.

My presets give me an MP4 that can be played on any modern portable device, as well as on my computer."
MikeLV wrote on 3/7/2016, 11:25 AM
"As bonus, it inserts the DVD chapter stops into the MP4 file."

What does he mean by this?
john_dennis wrote on 3/7/2016, 12:12 PM
One of the primary benefits of delivering content on optical media, CD, DVD, Blu-ray has been navigation, [I]direct access[/I] to particular sections of the content. This was true when CD first arrived and tracks in a file allowed one to seek to a particular section of a concert even if the concert was only one long contiguous file.

By leaving the chapter stops in the file, [I]given software that can recognize them[/I], one can navigate to a particular section of the content without having to fast forward and hunt for it.

[Editorial]
Excuse my sloppiness with the nomenclature, chapters, regions, indexes, tracks etc. It all runs together after a few decades. And these days, it seems the new guys want to call everyting something different anyway. Frequently, they have the market capitalization to have it their way. Otherwise, why would Microsoft Word have a Ribbon?
[/Editorial]
MikeLV wrote on 3/7/2016, 1:49 PM
But if the goal is to sell these H.264 files on a website, then wouldn't it be better to make each chapter from the DVD its own MP4 file? Then the customer could just double click whichever chapter he wants to view. Easier to do that than to give one big file with chapter markers that may or may not work depending on what they play back with.......
john_dennis wrote on 3/7/2016, 5:41 PM
"[I]...if the goal is to sell these H.264 files on a website, then wouldn't it be better to make each chapter from the DVD its own MP4 file?[/I]"

If the content can be discretely segmented for delivery, then yes.
PeterDuke wrote on 3/8/2016, 3:31 AM
Segmenting a video will almost certainly cause a momentary pause as the next segment loads to play.
MikeLV wrote on 3/8/2016, 8:24 AM
What I mean is to create a zip file for the customer that contains instructions, and just MP4 file of what would have been each chapter on the DVD. Instead of DVD chapters, they become individual files in a folder. This seems to be the easiest most universal way to deliver downloadable converted DVD data.
PeterDuke wrote on 3/9/2016, 7:11 AM
Yes, and my point is that separate files would be fine if you only wanted to watch the individual chapters in isolation. If instead you wanted to watch the whole video in one go, you would get a hiccup at each chapter start.
musicvid10 wrote on 3/9/2016, 8:15 AM
If you want to try selling files online, use iTunes or Amazon.
That said, the interest in indie productions is pretty minimal, and the trend is just to give them away until there is name / brand recognition via a strong social media presence.

Offering SD material for purchase is even less likely to attract any interest.
Or if it's good enough to get noticed on its own, YouTube monetization is your best bet.


MikeLV wrote on 3/9/2016, 4:11 PM
musicvid10, that was a rather presumptuous post when you don't know what kind of videos or content. The DVDs are still in high demand, but shipping internationally, along with VAT and other fees for import is getting rather expensive for customers so that's why we want to offer the download option. Also for countries whose postal services are unreliable.

My only issue was determining the best way to convert when I no longer have the original project files available and it seems handbrake is the way to go, whether I put the DVD on the timeline first for editing, or just converting directly from DVD to MP4. Thank you for your suggestions
PeterDuke wrote on 3/9/2016, 5:42 PM
I suggested in a previous post to concatenate the VOB files using the COPY /B command.

I have now found a GUI program that does the same thing more conveniently: IgorWare File Joiner.

http://www.igorware.com/file-joiner

It should work for any files you want to concatenate, not just video files. I have tested it to concatenate split AVCHD files from a Panasonic camera. It should not be used to concatenate files with a header that have not been previously split, such as AVI or WAV files. Non-split stream files without headers and with identical formats may be OK, however.
MikeLV wrote on 3/10/2016, 11:21 AM
As far as concatenating AVCHD, when I capture from the memory card, I just use the device explorer in Vegas and that works well.
PeterDuke wrote on 3/10/2016, 8:27 PM
That works if you only wish to use the files once, and in Vegas.

I like to keep the original video files and not worry about the need to concatenate if I were to use them again.

I am cursed with a tidy mind and worry about the future, even though I know that I am unlikely to use the original video files again.
MikeLV wrote on 3/14/2016, 6:21 PM
Going back to this question. If I'm going directly from the DVD source to Handbrake, the source footage is NTSC DVD at 720x480. Would the best resize option be 640x480?

If so, what should Anamorphic and Modulus be set to?
Should I use Deinterlace or Decomb?
Any other settings I should be aware of when going from DVD to Handbrake MP4?

Also, PeterDuke, dragging the IFO file didn't work for me. I mean, it did import, but not everything. For example, VIDEO_TS.IFO dragged to the timeline will show the menus. VTS_01_0.IFO shows the first play video which is about 2 mins, and that's all I have as far as IFO files. Maybe this DVD isn't compatible with using this method? I think it was done with Ulead DVD Workshop.

Thanks!

EDIT: I just founds this, going to see if it works, sounds like what I need: http://www.dvdvobtompg.com/

EDIT #2: Tried the program, it couldn't be any more simple, you just select all the VOB files on the disc, select an output folder and off you go! When I play the resultant MPG file in VLC player, it works fine, HOWEVER, when I add it to the timeline in Vegas, the audio and video are out of sync. Anyone know why this might be?

EDIT #3: I see what the sync issue is. The DVD menu VOB was included at the front, so I just had to drag the audio track and snap it to the end of the video track and the sync is perfect. Highly recommend this free program http://www.dvdvobtompg.com/