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  1. Member
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    If I want just one scene from a DVD converted to video, what is the best way to preserve the video quality?

    My current method is to rip the DVD using DVDFab HD Decrypter, then convert to constant framerate using DGIndex. At that point there are two ways I know of: open it and convert it to video in either VDub or Any Video Converter. I'm getting higher quality results in AVC, but the problem I'm having is that I can't copy the scene I want because the length of the video showing up in AVC is shorter than what it should be. VDub understands the video should be 1 hour 35 minutes long, but AVC thinks it's only 58 minutes long. Because the scene I want starts after 58 minutes into the movie, AVC won't let me grab it.

    If AVC is a viable method, how do I tell it to recognize the proper length? If not, I'm open to any alternative software suggestions. VDub works, it's just that the video quality ends up being noticeably blurry by comparison.
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  2. Member hech54's Avatar
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    The best way to keep original quality is to NOT re-encode like you have been doing. Keep it as original MPEG2.
    Rip it as you have been doing with DVDFabDecrypter....another good idea is to remove all unwanted languages and subtitles....keeping just one language during the ripping process.
    Choose from a variety of free MPEG2 cutter/editors and save your clip without re-encoding. For free MPEG2 cutting I use AviDemux and cut on key frames.
    COPY
    COPY
    MPEG PS
    ....as the AviDemux settings......done.
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  3. Originally Posted by lomaidala View Post
    If I want just one scene from a DVD converted to video, what is the best way to preserve the video quality?
    Try MakeMKV. Then open the MKV it creates with MKVMergeUI. It has various options for splitting MKVs under the Global tab. If I want to cut a section out from an MKV I generally just specify the point where the wanted section starts, specify "2" as the max number of files, and with any luck that'll split the MKV in half with the second half begining at the section you want.
    Then I open the second half with MKVMergeGUI and split it again, this time specifying the split point at the end of the section I want to keep.
    Or.... You can open vob files using MKVMergeGUI and remux them as MKVs while splitting the same way.

    Originally Posted by lomaidala View Post
    My current method is to rip the DVD using DVDFab HD Decrypter, then convert to constant framerate using DGIndex.
    I'm not sure I understand what you're doing there.

    Originally Posted by lomaidala View Post
    At that point there are two ways I know of: open it and convert it to video in either VDub or Any Video Converter. I'm getting higher quality results in AVC, but the problem I'm having is that I can't copy the scene I want because the length of the video showing up in AVC is shorter than what it should be. VDub understands the video should be 1 hour 35 minutes long, but AVC thinks it's only 58 minutes long. Because the scene I want starts after 58 minutes into the movie, AVC won't let me grab it.
    If you want to re-encode.... try Vidcoder. You can specify start and end points for encoding.

    More versatile but with more of a learning curve:
    If you open a vob file (or the first in a set) using MeGUI's File/Open menu and pretty much follow the prompts, MeGUI will index the video and extract the audio with DGIndex, then help you create a script for encoding using the Script Creator and a preview. All the usual stuff.... cropping, de-interlacing, resizing etc is done there. Once the encode is set up and the script saved, you can open it with the AVS Cutter under the Tools menu, which lets you specify (multiple) start and end points for encoding using a preview. When you're done it'll save the "cuts" to the script for you, along with a "cuts file" to use for the audio. The "cuts file" can be loaded into the audio section so it's re-encoded to match the video, or the Audio Cutter under the Tools menu can use it to split and rejoin the audio without re-encoding.
    You can encode the video and audio individually and use one of the muxers under the Tools menu to combine them into an MKV or MP4 or M2TS or AVI (depending on the video encoder used).
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    Originally Posted by hech54 View Post
    The best way to keep original quality is to NOT re-encode like you have been doing. Keep it as original MPEG2.
    That sounds just like what I want, thanks.

    Originally Posted by hech54 View Post
    For free MPEG2 cutting I use AviDemux and cut on key frames.
    COPY
    COPY
    MPEG PS
    ....as the AviDemux settings......done.
    Thanks, this works great except for two things:
    1. There's something choppy with the frame rate at specific points in the video I create. It either skips, freezes, or slows down, I'm not sure which.
    2. It still won't let me take the scene I want. For some reason the video that opens up in AviDemux ends before the credits begin.
    Also, the process is working whether or not I cut on key frames. Why does that matter? To select a key frame, the up and down arrows are used, right?

    Originally Posted by hello_hello View Post
    Try MakeMKV.
    But doesn't this go against what hech54 said about not re-encoding?

    Originally Posted by hello_hello View Post
    Originally Posted by lomaidala View Post
    My current method is to rip the DVD using DVDFab HD Decrypter, then convert to constant framerate using DGIndex.
    I'm not sure I understand what you're doing there.
    I'm not sure if this applies to this situation, it's just what I'm used to. My understanding is that DVDs use a variable framerate, and that in order for external subtitles to work right, that framerate needs to be made constant.

    Thanks for the other recomendations, I'll consider those if I can't get what I want without re-encoding.
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  5. Originally Posted by lomaidala View Post
    But doesn't this go against what hech54 said about not re-encoding?
    No, MakeMKV just repackages the audio and video in an MKV container. Nothing is reencoded.
    My understanding is that DVDs use a variable framerate,
    All NTSC DVDs output a constant interlaced 29.97fps. The 'real' underlying framerate for movies is a constant progressive 23.976fps. While some documentaries might use variable framerates sometimes (a mix of film and video and sometimes some converted PAL sources, like WW2 docus), and while anime might have a bunch of different framerates (usually intended to be viewed at 23.976fps), for the most part your understanding is incorrect.
    ... that in order for external subtitles to work right, that framerate needs to be made constant.
    Maybe in some VFR MKV subs might have a problem. But as I mentioned, most DVDs are constant framerate to begin with.

    Me, I'd open the VOB(s) in MPEG2Cut2, cut what I wanted, and take the MPG it saves out.
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    Originally Posted by manono View Post
    Me, I'd open the VOB(s) in MPEG2Cut2, cut what I wanted, and take the MPG it saves out.
    This is perfect! Thank you.

    And thanks for the framerate clarification as well. Is MPEG2Cut2 also good for saving a DVD scene with certain short segments within it edited out? Or would you recommend something else? I realize this is starting to branch away from the main topic, but if you feel like giving some extra advice, I'm all ears.
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  7. Originally Posted by lomaidala View Post
    Is MPEG2Cut2 also good for saving a DVD scene with certain short segments within it edited out?
    Sure, if you understand that it'll be saved as an MPG and not a DVD. It can make multiple cuts of the same scene or part of the DVD.

    If you're talking about removing stuff from a DVD and keeping the result as a DVD, then VobBlanker is the way to go, without having to reauthor the whole thing all over again. Here's a guide:

    http://download.videohelp.com/jsoto/guides/VobBlanker/prevcut/index.php
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  8. Member olyteddy's Avatar
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    If the DVD isn't too heavily protected DVD Shrink in re-author mode can cut a segment out too.
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    Originally Posted by olyteddy View Post
    If the DVD isn't too heavily protected DVD Shrink in re-author mode can cut a segment out too.
    For basic clip extraction, I've even had this work on a plurality of the commercial DVDs where I tried it. An inability to do this has been infrequent, in my experience.
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  10. Member hech54's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by lomaidala View Post
    1. There's something choppy with the frame rate at specific points in the video I create. It either skips, freezes, or slows down, I'm not sure which.
    2. It still won't let me take the scene I want. For some reason the video that opens up in AviDemux ends before the credits begin.
    Not sure about the skipping, freezing the the resulting file you output....but if the part you want does not show up in AviDemux, then the part you want is in the next VOB. If you don't see it in the preview.....it's not there.

    Are you removing unwanted languages and stuff during the first "ripping" process?
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    Thanks, everyone!

    Originally Posted by manono View Post
    Originally Posted by lomaidala View Post
    Is MPEG2Cut2 also good for saving a DVD scene with certain short segments within it edited out?
    Sure, if you understand that it'll be saved as an MPG and not a DVD. It can make multiple cuts of the same scene or part of the DVD.
    Yes, I'm definitely okay with that. I gave it a try. While it does work, the result I get is that there is a brief fast-forward-then-freeze effect just before the seam where the cutting in the video is. Is there a way to make the cutting appear seamless? Here is my process:
    • I find the frame where I want the scene to begin, and press the [ button.
    • I find the first frame of the clip I want removed from the scene, and press the ] button.
    • I find the frame where I want the scene to continue after the removed clip, and press the [ button.
    • I find the frame where I want the scene to end, and press the ] button.
    • File > Save All Clips

    I've also tried choosing the frames I want to cut on using the < and > buttons, which if I'm not mistaken, select key frames. To rephrase my question from my previous post, can I get just one scene from a DVD, but with a short clip within that scene seamlessly edited out? I realize this starts to branch into the "Editing" category.

    Originally Posted by hech54 View Post
    Not sure about the skipping, freezing the the resulting file you output....but if the part you want does not show up in AviDemux, then the part you want is in the next VOB. If you don't see it in the preview.....it's not there.
    I've decided to go with Mpg2Cut2, but just in case my answers might help you in some way...

    I'm 100% positive that I loaded all the VOBs. The credits are definitely there, but are not appearing in AviDemux. The credits begin about halfway through the fifth and final VOB in Media Player Classic, and everything up through the first half of that VOB without the credits is what's showing up in AviDemux.

    Originally Posted by hech54 View Post
    Are you removing unwanted languages and stuff during the first "ripping" process?
    Yes.
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  12. Member hech54's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by lomaidala View Post

    I've decided to go with Mpg2Cut2, but just in case my answers might help you in some way...

    I'm 100% positive that I loaded all the VOBs. The credits are definitely there, but are not appearing in AviDemux. The credits begin about halfway through the fifth and final VOB in Media Player Classic, and everything up through the first half of that VOB without the credits is what's showing up in AviDemux.

    Mpg2Cut2 is a great program. I bought MPEGVCR before free alternatives like Mpg2Cut2 were available and use it quite often.
    The only point I was making was what you just said....if you don't see the VOB that contains the credits in AviDemux, then that VOB did not load or load correctly for some reason.
    Your next project may end up vice versa. Multiple tools in the toolbox.
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  13. Originally Posted by lomaidala View Post
    • I find the frame where I want the scene to begin, and press the [ button.
    • I find the first frame of the clip I want removed from the scene, and press the ] button.
    • I find the frame where I want the scene to continue after the removed clip, and press the [ button.
    • I find the frame where I want the scene to end, and press the ] button.
    • File > Save All Clips
    I haven't used it for the exact thing you're doing (cutting a scene and also cutting a part out of that same scene), but I think I'd try cutting and saving the complete scene first, followed by removing the 'scene-within-the-scene'.
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    Originally Posted by manono View Post
    I haven't used it for the exact thing you're doing (cutting a scene and also cutting a part out of that same scene), but I think I'd try cutting and saving the complete scene first, followed by removing the 'scene-within-the-scene'.
    I just tried this and still have the same problem: a brief fast-forward-then-freeze effect just before the seam where the cutting in the video is. Maybe I should be using software designed for video editing as opposed to scene extraction? Or maybe I'm not using Mpg2Cut2 properly?
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  15. So, I finally tried what you're doing and got the same result - speeded up video at the cut. Sorry for wasting your time.

    Next, I think I'd try the Womble MPEG2VCR hech54 recommended. It has a free trial. VideoRedo can also do it and has a free trial. I couldn't find a free solution that cuts program streams (video and audio together). Maybe someone else knows of a program that can make simple cuts like you want.
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