DVD Rips with Final Cut Pro (3.0 Acedemic Edition)

[ehmjay]

Hello everyone,

at school im trying to make a video that requires me to use footage ripped from a DVD. the problem is im not sure how to convert the standard .VOB rip files. i know there is a program that will do it for the mac, however that will require me to install stuff, which requires the admin password which i dont have, and cant get. is there any other programs that i can just run without installing on the mac that can convert it, or is there a way to convert it here on my windows computer and then burn that file and use it in final cut pro. i want to lose as little quality as possible, as i like everyhting to look nice a pretty. lol

any help would be greatly appreciated.

[MacDSL]

Hmmmm. You want to run a program without installing it? The quick answer would be no, there's no conversion program I know of that can run without being installed. Anyone else know if one?

[ehmjay]

is it possible to convert on my pc (i can install stuff here) and then burn?

[terryj]

IF you were doing that, i would say just do it ALL on the PC.
Sounds like you are on an Administrated Lab macintosh,
and having just spent a few days fixing a problem
for a client of mine ( Metro Tech Vocational Centers)
that a student had been given the admin password
to install stuff on School Property and wreak havoc,
I would say this:

Clear it with your Teacher and the IT department FIRST.
If they say no, then No means NO.
Schools especially DON'T like costly repairs, esp. ones
that can be easily prevented.
In your case, it looks like someone in IT is on the job.

Now, that being said:
Do you not have the ability to digitize footage
in from an analog or digital source? if so,
and the school has this setup, use that and transfer
footage to a zip or CD to your lab mac.

You could ask in the PC forum for programs,
convert your .vobs, but since you are on a lab mac,
you would need to transfer the ( rather huge)
.m2v and .aiff ( or mpeg-2) file to the mac,
and that would could only be done via FW drive,
which again, you would have to have admin
privlages to copy to the desktop of the mac.

[TugBoat]

Hello everyone,
...is there any other programs that i can just run without installing on the mac that can convert it...

It's a trick question ....right?
There are plenty of programs that will run by just dragging and dropping the app into your users folder. No passwords required. If you have FCP installed, you probably have the QuickTime MPEG-2 Playback component installed. Which means you can use Yade X to rip the M2V stream from the DVD, import it into FCP or iMovie, which will automatically convert it to DV. For the AC3 audio stream, use mAC3dec to convert it to AIFF. Nothing is installed in the System, therefore, no passwords are needed 8)

[FCPguy]

just give up on installing on a school's computer. I used to work as the lab monitor/ equipment room for film video at my college. Not only will they tell you NO, if you are caught using an admin password, you will get kicked out of school!!! This is a true warning... I've seen it first hand! Just use a friend's mac, or use your pc. It's not worth it for one project. If worse comes to worse, figure out a way to import the vid by vhs and capture in FCP or whatever. Good luck, but don't get yourself in trouble. Schools have to pay for every piece of software used, and if are caught by a regulator, BIG TROUBLE. My boss almost lost his job due to a jerk. Good luck, but don't be THAT GUY. Peace

[ehmjay]

getting the password wouldn't be a problem. im currently at highschool, and we just have the one mac and im the only one who uses it really, and also on student counsil as the school video editor, so it wouldn't be a problem getting it...other than the fact that no one remembers what it is. what i was thinking is just taking the one chapter from this dvd, ripping it on my pc, converting to mpeg-2 and burning that to a disc and taking it to school. the only thing im wondering is, i know when importing regular Mpegs into FCP you get no audio line, just the video. if i put the MPEG-2 into FCP will the audio line be there, and will the MPEG-2 file fit on one cd... (its only about a 5-6 minute chapter)

thanks again guys...you're a HUGE help.

also, just before anyone tells me to rip at school, this is not possible as the DVD drive is still locked (need to set the region and once agian...we dont know the password) so i have to rip everthing at home.

thanks again.

[sdm]

rip it at home,
bring the vob to school,
use *mpeg streamclip* to convert your selection to dv (with audio)
edit in fcp.

-mpeg streamclip doesn't require a password to install. I don't think.
In fact you can run it right from the disk image. BTW this is a sweet little program!

its going to be a piece of cake!

-- sdm.

[sdm]

hmmm, I just read that mpeg streamclip doesn't support AC3, so how are you going to get your audio?

well another option is to use ffmpegX to convert the VOB to DV. Installing it takes a password and downloading binaries.

okay, I hope this helps.

[pixeljammedia]

Okay, assuming you don't have the money to buy Cinematize or MPEG2 Works' Export2DV or DVDxDV, I suggest installing Diva and Mac3Dec. They are both free and do not require admin passwords. You should also make sure to bring your mpeg in as elementary streams (.m2x and .ac3) in order to be able to convert without using a demuxer. Another possibility is Quicktime Pro with an AC3 codec placed in the ~/Library/Quicktime folder. You can use QTPro to convert mpeg2 to dv and ac3 to aiff.

[FCPguy]

Again- if you are at a school- this will be considered COPYRIGHT INFRINGMENT. If you don't take this warning- I hope you're under 18. What you're doing is grounds for a lot of trouble, even if it is "just for fun". Saying that, I'll loosen up and say good luck

[thoughton]

Again- if you are at a school- this will be considered COPYRIGHT INFRINGMENT. If you don't take this warning- I hope you're under 18. What you're doing is grounds for a lot of trouble, even if it is "just for fun". Saying that, I'll loosen up and say good luck

Sorry, but this is not copyright infringement. As long as the final compilation of clips is related to the class curriculum (i.e. it's not for entertainment), and is not for profit, then it is legal. If you live in the US I believe the relevant law is in the TEACH Act 2002.

[FCPguy]

I'm Sorry Thoughton- but I do disagree. I've seen the reprecussions of issues JUST LIKE THIS and teachers and students are not as protected as we liked to think. This is a direct violation- but no avail, I'm not here to argue, just help out so no contest ok- Peace and good luck

[thoughton]

I've seen the reprecussions of issues JUST LIKE THIS and teachers and students are not as protected as we liked to think.

May I ask what repurcussions those were? You've seen someone prosecuted for copyright infringement for this? Or you've seen a student get into trouble for this? While the former might support your argument that this is illegal, I'm afraid the latter doesn't

You might want to do some searches on 'fair use' 'copyright' 'education'. Here's a non-legalese link from to get you started (sorry it's from a college I've never heard of, but it was the one with the simplest explanation):
http://www.nccei.org/blackboard/copyright.html

The bit relevant to our discussion is contained in the 5th row of the table

Cheers!

[pixeljammedia]

Well any ripping is in direct violation of the DMCA. If the disk as I suspect is encrypted, using a ripper does not protect them the way taping the video to a VCR would. Strange laws we have here.

[FCPguy]

As this will be my last post on this subject No it was in the courts, and yes the person did get in trouble, if you consider trouble Probation for a year and court fines. If you disagree... I personally don't mind, I again was just stating something that was meant to help.
The student "ripped" clips of DVDs into a class project that just so happened to be monitored when the editing was going on... I was working that very day. The student was almost suspended, and DID recieve a court date and settled with probation. So just be warned, that was my entire message, and I don't understand why the challenge, but it is something to be avoided at school. Anyways- I'm going to return to my normal happy self now and say simply "Good luck"
And please remember- I never said it was or wasn't right.... I just said be careful. Peace

[FCPguy]

Oh and I almost fogot... Thanks for that link I will forward it on to those professors who were involved in the issue. Maybe that will help to protect others who get into this type of mess-

[ehmjay]

i know this is very old, but this was a film made by us. we burnt it in iDVD and i ended up figuring it out in the end. i have another post thats quite urgent though, so check it out!