best avi codec

[Robert Bobson]

I'm trying to convert from a vob file to an avi file for input into a NLE (premiere pro) using the free SUPER converter from erightsoft.com.

can anyone tell me what avi codec I should use - and what a good, default bitrate should be? the software I'm using doesn't have any help files that address this.

Thanks

[Steven Gotz]

You should export to DV AVI Type2. If that is not available, list your choices and we can assist.

[Emre Safak]

Steven is right; you should use a lossless (or near lossless) codec, and DV fits the bill. However, you may find that Premiere Pro can edit your VOB files if you merely rename the extension to MPG.

[Robert Bobson]

The video codec choices in SUPER converter are DivX, DV Digital Video (which only allows resolution of 720 x576 and 5:4 asect ratio(!?), H263, H263+, H264/AVC, HuffYUV, M-JPG, MPG I, MPG II, MPG 4, sorenson video, WMV7, WMV8, XviD

Audio codec choices are WAV–pcm16, WAV-pcmU8

I analyzed the avi video on my computer that I captured from my mini DV camera and it uses the DVSD = Sony Digital Video Codec, but that's not an option. Unless maybe I download the codec onto my computer?? I'll try that.

But in a perfect world - if I could choose the best codedc, which would it be?

I tried to rename the VOBs "MPG" and import into PPRO2 and the result was terrible. Adobe doesn't recommend editing MPGs - convert to AVI first.

a question about codecs - can you play a file with a codec similar to the codec it was compressed with, or does it have to match exactly?

Thanks again.

[Steven Gotz]

The DV digital ideo at 720X576 is the version people should use outside of the USA. You should have DV digital video at 720X480 for inside the USA - I can't see why you would have one and not the other.

By the way, 720X576 is a 4:3 aspect ratio after accounting for the 1.067 pixel aspect ratio. Or it could be 16:9 with a different PAR. That's normal.

The NTSC version is 720X480 with a 0.9 PAR.

I am downloading the app now to see what it can really do.

[Steven Gotz]

I checked it out. They are pretty strange in that they have PAL but not NTSC. I suggest you find a different program to do your conversion.

[Robert Bobson]

Thanks for your input.

Now the million dollar question - does anyone know of a free program like this that will convert a VOB directly into an editable AVI file??

I've been looking online and found some very complicated proceedures - using Gordian Knot, etc - but SUPER was the only one I found that did it directly.

[Dave Stern]

sorry I don't have the $1M answer to your question but let me ask a different one, which is how much editing are you going to do on it? The reason I ask is that in your VOB file which I assume you ripped from a DVD is an MPEG file, which isn't ideal for editing (as you may know).

Are you just looking to take a short clip from it and include it in a project or are you doing heave duty editing? If it's just a short clip, does PP edit mpeg? I have never tried this but some claim to rename the VOB file as .mpg and some apps can read it (I'd be surprised but ...). Also Nero may be able to read a VOB file and they started to add some small editing features to it - you could download a trial of nero, edit, then output to a format you could use in PP (perhaps).

If you just need a clip, you could convert the vob file to an mpeg file and use a free or paid tool mpeg cutter to give you what you need.

A different approach would be just to burn the VOB file back to a disk (do you still have all the other content from that DVD) and then do an analog capture to an AVI file and edit at will.

Anyway, food for thought - not the direct answer you are asking (b/c I don't have that one), but some ideas.

[Robert Bobson]

The project is a concert and interviews that were burned onto a dvd. The original footage no longer exists.

my job is to clean up all the problems - audio levels, awkward pauses, color differences, outright mistakes.

I've found the program STOIK which is a free converter that seems to be working ok.

actually, I'd be willing to pay for a program that would convert directly from VOB to AVI with top quality.

thanks for all your help!

[Ed Smith]

Hi Robert,

As already touched on I think the best way is to recapture the footage. If you can get hold of an anologue capture card/ Analogue to DV convertor peferably with component and a DVD player that has component then you will get the best quality.

There are plenty of apps on the internet that will convert dvd files to AVI. try www.videohelp.com search under there tool section.

I have an app called Trex that came bundled with my Pinnacle DV500 capture card I brought many moons ago, I can simply rename any vob files to .mpg and it will convert them to DV AVIs to edit.

hope this helps,

[Robert Bobson]

thanks - I'll check out TREX.

I know I can transfer the video manually, but there's about 6 hours of footage, so I'd rather just be able to convert it.

should be same quality either way, yes?

[Dave Stern]

you should get pretty decent results if you capture it. for 6 hours of material if you don't have more tapes, you may be spending that long just on fooling w/ the tools to convert it.

also, for just 1 tape (or 3), I can capture it for you if you like (am in NJ) just let me know. just an option if you don't feel like fooling w/ it.

do you have all the original DVD files, or just the VOB files but not the IFO files? if you have all the DVD files, I could rip those into mpegs for you (the sw I use is no longer available, but if you have the rights to the content it's not a big deal).

just other options...post back if you have any luck w/ trex

[Robert Bobson]

Thanks for your offers, Dave.

But I've just found another method that looks promising - and relatively quick.

It involves ripping the DVD to hard drive with DVDecrypter, creating an avs file with DGIndex, and then opening and saving as an AVI with VIRTUAL DUB.

Does anyone know, since I'm not working with encrypted files, can I just drag the video_ts file from dvd drive to my desktop to save instead of using dvdcrypter?

I think I can - just want to make sure there's no quality difference.

[Dave Stern]

it's not really an 'encryption' thing..I don't know DGIndex, but reading it's quick start online, it looks like it is frameserving the VOB file to VD as an AVI file. In that case, the VOB file would be the same on your hard drive as it would be on the disk (except for the speed of the drive if that makes any difference, which it may). E.g. no quality difference, it's the same file.

The use of dvddecrypter in this case would help you if you had a lot of VOB files that you wanted to be one file, as it will combine them as it rips, but when I've done that, the purpose has been to create one mpeg file, not a VOB file (which as you say, you can just copy from the disk to your hard drive, e.g. there's nothing really to be 'ripped').

What mode are you using dvddecrypter in, and what type of files is it giving you on your hard drive?

[Robert Bobson]

I used DVDecrypter in File mode - which yielded the VOB files. seems to work.

I was actually wondering whether an analog transfer thru a dvd device would be same or better quality then a file conversion?