Editing VOB files

[Roy Bemelmans]

Can Premiere Pro (or any other NLE for that matter) import and edit a VOB file or do you always have to demultiplex a VOB file first to be able to edit it? Can you perform simple edits and save without re-encoding?

[Ed Smith]

Hi Roy you can buy the mainconcept plug in that will allow you to edit the vob file directly in Premiere. However you do have other ways of getting it in if you can't afford the plug in.

[Christopher Lefchik]

Try renaming the whatever.vob file to whatever.mp2 or whatever.mpg, then try to import it into Premiere. It may work okay so long as the audio from the DVD wasn't in AC3 (Dolby Digital) format. Note that when working with MPEG video in Premiere you will have to render your timeline when you are finished.

[Roy Bemelmans]

Originally Posted by Christopher Lefchik

Note that when working with MPEG video in Premiere you will have to render your timeline when you are finished.

So you couldn't perform a few simple cuts on an MPEG file and save without recompressing?

Incidentally, is there a feature in Premiere which tells how much recompression is going on when rendering a project? As I understand it, an NLE will only re-encode parts of the original video that have been edited or that have effects applied to them, right?

[Christopher Lefchik]

Originally Posted by Roy Bemelmans

So you couldn't perform a few simple cuts on an MPEG file and save without recompressing?

Not in Premiere. If all you want to do is cut parts out of an MPEG file, then you'd be better off using a free program like Mpg2Cut2 or Cuttermaran. These programs have the ability to cut parts out of an MPEG file without recompressing it.

Originally Posted by Roy Bemelmans

Incidentally, is there a feature in Premiere which tells how much recompression is going on when rendering a project? As I understand it, an NLE will only re-encode parts of the original video that have been edited or that have effects applied to them, right?

Premiere will show a red line above the parts of the time line which require rendering. Today's NLE editors are usually smart enough to only render the parts of the time line that have been modified. However, that is assuming you are working with DV video. Should you throw in something else, like a still image or MPEG, you may need to render that part of the time line even if you don't modify it.

[Paul Gallagher]

Originally Posted by Ed Smith

Hi Roy you can buy the mainconcept plug in that will allow you to edit the vob file directly in Premiere. However you do have other ways of getting it in if you can't afford the plug in.

How else Ed,
I have imported the VOB files into Nero and it brings them in to their timeline, but what format do you have to export it out of nero so premiere will accept it so it can be edited?
Paul

[Ed Smith]

1) Get a DVD ripping program (there are many free) that will rip the file into an AVI preferably DV AVI. check out http://www.videohelp.com/tools.

2) If you have analogue input (analogue DV pass-thru on camera/ analogue capture card) then simply hook up an external (settop) DVD player to the analogue inputs, and then capture it that way.

It is illegal to copy copyrighted material

Hope it helps

[Paul Gallagher]

Originally Posted by Ed Smith

1) Get a DVD ripping program (there are many free) that will rip the file into an AVI preferably DV AVI. check out http://www.videohelp.com/tools.

2) If you have analogue input (analogue DV pass-thru on camera/ analogue capture card) then simply hook up an external (settop) DVD player to the analogue inputs, and then capture it that way.

It is illegal to copy copyrighted material

Hope it helps

Thanks for that ed,
I didn't think a dvd played on a dvd player was analogue but digital, I'll give it a go.

Paul

[Roy Bemelmans]

So to sum up:

Basic editing while staying in MPEG2:
- use the MainConcept plugin, Woble MPEG video wizard, Cuttermaran or MPEG2CUT for no or minimum recompression.
(BTW, which of these support AC3/DD?)

Incorporating MPEG2 footage from a DVD into a DV / HD timeline:
- rip straight to AVI (DV) and import this file into your timeline (probably the best option when applying a lot of effects)
- import the MPEG into your timeline, from which it will be recompressed upon rendering your project (no smart rendering)

Originally Posted by Christopher Lefchik

Premiere will show a red line above the parts of the time line which require rendering. Today's NLE editors are usually smart enough to only render the parts of the time line that have been modified. However, that is assuming you are working with DV video. Should you throw in something else, like a still image or MPEG, you may need to render that part of the time line even if you don't modify it.

I was also wondering, theoretically, will applying effects or transitions to video always degrade the quality of the changed frames? Even when working with uncompressed video?

[Roy Bemelmans]

Anyone for that last question?

[Christopher Lefchik]

Originally Posted by Roy Bemelmans

So to sum up:

Basic editing while staying in MPEG2:
- use the MainConcept plugin, Woble MPEG video wizard, Cuttermaran or MPEG2CUT for no or minimum recompression.
(BTW, which of these support AC3/DD?)

I don't know about the others, but Cutterman does support Dolby Digital (AC3) audio. However, the MPEG stream must be demuxed (the video and audio streams must be sperated into their own files) before you can start editing with Cutterman.

[Ed Smith]

Originally Posted by Paul Gallagher

Thanks for that ed,
I didn't think a dvd played on a dvd player was analogue but digital, I'll give it a go.

Paul

Hi Paul,

The DVD is digital but the output signals from the settop DVD player will usually be analogue (SCART, Composite (Phono/ RCA), s-video or Component). Some DVD players will have an HDMI or DVI connection, in which case the output will be digital.

Hope this helps

[Roy Bemelmans]

Thanks, Christopher. What about this:

Originally Posted by Roy Bemelmans

I was also wondering, theoretically, will applying effects or transitions to video always degrade the quality of the changed frames (albeit slightly)? Even when working with uncompressed video?

[Christopher Lefchik]

Originally Posted by Roy Bemelmans

Thanks, Christopher. What about this:
Originally Posted by Roy Bemelmans
I was also wondering, theoretically, will applying effects or transitions to video always degrade the quality of the changed frames (albeit slightly)? Even when working with uncompressed video?

I'm sorry, but I have no idea.