DVD to Vegas 4.0

mwc0914 wrote on 1/6/2005, 7:16 AM

I have a DVD of home movies (not encoded). I would like to import it into Vegas 4.0 so I can rearange the scenes, then create my own DVD with DVD Arch. I'm looking for a product to download that will convert the DVD files to MPEG or AVI so I can bring them into VEGAS. I tried DVDx. It worked great for the video portion, but it's audio portion is in ac3 & I believe Vegas can't handle that audio format. Vegas is locking up when I import the movie and it tries to build the peak files.

Does anyone know of a product that they have worked with that will convert a DVD into a format compatible with Vegas video & audio format?

Thanks!
Mike

Comments

StevieB66 wrote on 1/6/2005, 7:33 AM

Here is a link to the tools section of videohelp.com which should provide the tool(s) necessary to convert from VOB to AVI. This site has great information.
DVD to AVI

Hope this helps,
Steve

Jsnkc wrote on 1/6/2005, 8:16 AM

The easiest and quickest way is to do an analog capture from a DVD Player.

mwc0914 wrote on 1/6/2005, 11:05 AM

Thanks..I am looking for someone who has actually done it & suceeded. I really don't want to go through each product, trying until I find one that works.

I didn't even think about using the capture feature straight into Vegas. I assume the capture will convert the DVD files into formats Vegas can work with.

Laurence wrote on 1/6/2005, 12:01 PM

The easiest way to do what you are trying to do is to use MPEG Edit from womble.com instead of Vegas. I use Vegas for everything except re-editing DVDs. MPEG Edit really shines here though. Just rename the vob files to .mpg files, edit them, save them and re-author the DVDs using DVDA. Why? Several reasons. MPEG Edit will only rerender the transistions. Everything else is a straight file copy. This saves lots of time and means your edited DVDs will look the same as the originals (except for the transitions of course, which still look very good). Also, MPEG Edit will work with mpeg2 files with AC3 audio tracks with no extra steps whatsoever. There is a 30 day trial period, so you can probably even complete your project without even having to pay for the program. As I said before, I use Vegas for everything else, but here it is not the best tool.

Another thing that I use MPEG Edit for is assembling a single mpeg file from several vobs. Usually only the first VOB file has all the neccessary mpeg header information you need to work with it independantly. If you rename the VOB files to MPG files, load them into MPEG Edit and save it as one file, you have a complete single mpeg 2 file (with AC3 audio) that will play in its entirety from media players.

If you have your heart set on Vegas, or need Vegas's extra versatility, I have found the best extraction tools to be these: http://www.imtoo.com/

Their DVD ripper produces top quality copies in any codec format you have installed. I use the free Panasonic DV codec found here: http://www.free-codecs.com/download/Panasonic_DV_Codec.htm

The IMTOO DVD Audio extracter works really well too. I have found it to be a lot faster than the DVD2AVI approach that most people use.

rs170a wrote on 1/6/2005, 12:46 PM

DV magazine has a very interesting on-line article about this issue called Deconstructing DVDs: Re-Editing Your DVDs . You'll need to register if you haven't already done so but it's free.

Mike

mwc0914 wrote on 1/6/2005, 2:31 PM

Thanks..I will also try some of these ideas...I guess I should clarify that the current DVD has no sound on it, thus the reason for using Vegas, besides already having it on the PC, is so that I can add an audio track, plus reorganize the scenes, and perhaps add some transitions. Will MPEG edit allow me to do those things?