DVD to files

[fayze]

so, i have an anime dvd i want to rip to files on my computer. thing is, i cant get it to seperate by episodes nicely. im not too new at this, so i originally thought to do IFO rip then AutoGK and that would be it. but like i said, it wasnt seperated by eps. so im now thinking rip to file mode (DVD Decrypter, by the way) and then go from there. so now i have all the files, but each episode is in 3 parts. so then i figured i could go to combine them with something, although everything i tried wanted to compress it for me, and i want to leave compression up to AutoGK once i get them combined, cause it does a thorough job. so i want to use VobEdit, but the only guide i could find (Doom8) was an incredibly long process, with renaming and such. so, i guess what i need to know would be, is there a good vob combine program that will just combine? or is there just a better way altogether?

p.s. yes i tried to research, but the answers were all way too complicated for what im trying to do.

[NightFire]

You could try VOB2MPG. It will take all your VOB files and make them into 1 MPEG2 file for editing/cutting.

[fayze]

ok thanks. as a sidenote, i found out that i didnt have .net framework installed (got lost in my multiple computer restores) and got VobMerge to do exactly what i wanted. i never understood why .net framework wasnt installed already in xp. how annoying. so, im about to run a file through AutoGK and if it works, i guess my problem is solved. thanks though.

[manono]

Hi-

i cant get it to seperate by episodes nicely.

Are you using DVDDcrypter in IFO Mode? If the episodes are in different PGCs, then you choose them one-by-one and decrypt to different folders. If they're all in the same PGC, then you decrypt by chapters, with a certain number of chapters for each episode (4 or 5 usually). So you check the chapters for each episode and then decrypt. You seem to have found a workaround, but not a very elegant one. Might have trouble with the subs the second way, though.

[fayze]

yeah the subs are gone. oops. and yes, they are in the same pgc, so i couldnt do chapters, which is why i chose file mode. so i can select which chapeters to decrypt, and that will keep the subs? that sounds a lot better. but now i have a problem: when i run AutoGK, it completely trashes the video quality. it puts grain around most lines and the color is faded. so ive tried AutoMkv now, but it puts horrible scan lines in anything that moves. so is there a filter/setting to fix that, or should i just use a better vob to avi/ogm/mkv converter? i just know that i have some really good anime rips that i downloaded and their quality is way better than what im getting out of my rips.

p.s. should i move this out of the newbie section to a better forum to get more attention/help? (or if some nice admin could do it for me that would be great!)

[manono]

and yes, they are in the same pgc, so i couldnt do chapters

But you can. Set DVD Decrypter for IFO Mode and select the chapters (check the boxes for them) that make up each episode. Uncheck the rest. That part is easy.

As for the subs, usually the first episode has the subs and the rest don't. The reason is that each encoded episode resets the start time to zero, whereas the subs continue after the first episode. So, the subs for the second episode might begin at the 25 minute mark, the 3rd at the 50 minute mark, and so on. The subs are there, but they begin after the episode finishes. Understand? Open the IDX in Notepad and you'll see what I mean.

The workaround is to reset the delay for each episode. You can do this in the IDX, and then use that IDX/SUB combo for each episode by hitting CTRL-F8 after opening the vob for each episode in AutoGK (hit the dropdown box for IDX). Make sure and test out the subs for each episode against the funky AVIs you have.

I don't know anything about MKV. Sounds like you needed to IVTC and didn't. I can't give good advice about the AutoGK results without a log to go over. It sounds to me like a bitrate issue; too high of a resolution for too small of a file size. My guess is that you set both a width and a size, and got crummy compress test results. Just a guess though.

p.s. should i move this out of the newbie section to a better forum to get more attention/help?

Hehe, are you saying you're not a rookie at this? There is a subtitles forum, though.

[fayze]

hmm, yeah lotta mistypes in that last post. i meant to say they werent in separate pgcs, so i couldnt just rip by pgc, and had to go by chapter, but didnt know about that feature.

and yeah i know about the sub delay, but had no idea how to fix it, and therefore just gave up on keeping them. i would say ill try fixing them in with AutoGK, but the video comes out bad anyways so im not going to use it.

the AutoMkv thing was on all auto, so i have no clue what happened to the video. ill try to change some settings, but doubt it will fix to what i want. if im going from 800 mb down to ~210 what resolution would you suggest then? i thought auto was auto and it would figure it out for me. guess not.

and im not really a rookie at the ripping part, but the editing deal is what confuses me, with so many options. i usually rip movies to hdd, and thats just one pgc and i dont bother with subs, so i have no trouble. these episodes with subs are killing me. probly could have downloaded them by now

[manono]

Hi-

if im going from 800 mb down to ~210 what resolution would you suggest then?

Depends on how well the episodes compress. For that size, I usually made my anime 512x384 (if fullscreen). But AutoGK runs a compression test to determine the proper resolution for the size you select. If you hamstring it by forcing, say, a 640 x *** resolution, there's only so much it can do to fix it.

these episodes with subs are killing me. probly could have downloaded them by now

Hehe, that's not a bad idea, actually. Downloading the subs, I mean. Not the episodes themselves. Just think how much you're learning, though, to make the work easier in the future.

[fayze]

oh yeah. "learning" is what im doing. i guess i will. then once i get the method down it should be fine from then on. its just that somehow i like to choose the hardest task and not be able to find any sure fire experts.

AutoGK was on auto-select size, but the color got faded. so.... i dunno.

but yeah, i did try to search for the subs but couldnt find any. but like you say, i would like to learn how to do it right just for future reference.

and, i made a post in the DVD to whatever format forum.
https://forum.videohelp.com/viewtopic.php?p=1651603#1651603
do you think that would be the right one, or should i move it somewhere else? just trying to get more people to see my question, i never thought anyone would even look in the newbie forum.

[manono]

To tell you the truth, I hardly look in the forums. I see what's on the front page, and then I check my previously answered threads to see if there's something new I should answer.

AutoGK was on auto-select size, but the color got faded. so.... i dunno.

Really? Auto size, or auto resolution? You might try something for me if you will. Set it up for Target Quality for the default 75%. It's 2 boxes below "Predefined Size". It only runs one pass that way, and there's no telling what the size will be. Leave everything else at default. With one pass on a 25 minute episode, it won't taqke long. Then tell me how the quality is. Also, if you have a log for the one(s) that look lousy, I wouldn't mind having a look.

[fayze]

man. mistype again. it was on auto res, sorry. i tried setting size to 170 and 230 mbs and both were equally bad. i attached the log file for the first episode, and ill try the 75% thing. i would have before but thought the size would be too big.

ep1_agk.log

[manono]

Hi-

This thing compresses quite well. You would have had nearly the same quality results at 175 MB. Everything is in order with the log. About the only troubling thing is that a small part of it is true 30fps, either interlaced or progressive, perhaps an opening song or the end credits. This may mean some slight jerkiness during those parts. Otherwise it should look pretty good at 720x416. I think it's time to focus on the playback rather than the encoding process. First, can you make a small section of the encode available for download so I or someone else can have a look to see if it's as you say, bad quality? At this point I don't believe it to be. If you don't know how to cut out a section, I explain at the bottom.

Outside of saying the colors look washed out (and they shouldn't be), you haven't really said exactly how it looks bad. So, what's wrong with it? What are you using for playback? If only WMP, can you try a different (and better) player such as Media Player Classic? Have you checked the overlay controls of the video card. If your monitor isn't calibrated, that can make the AVI look like crap, where the source DVD might look fine. But you can adjust such things as the saturation, brightness and contrast of the overlay, and it then should look better.

About encoding the entire thing at once and then splitting; it's pretty easy. You'll definitely get all the subs when doing that. You kept the AC3 audio, I think, so VDub is OK for the splitting. When you have VBR MP3 audio (as AutoGK makes often) then VDubMod is much better for the job. It comes with AutoGK. Open the completed AVI in VDubMod and hit no if it asks you a question about VBR audio. Set Video for Direct Stream Copy. Scroll to the beginning of where you want to split (holding the Shift key down at the same time will allow for smoother scrolls). Hit the little black left-pointing black arrow along the bottom. Scroll to the end spot. Hit the little right-pointing half arrow along the bottom. You'll see the part you want to keep turn dark blue. Go File->Save As, give it a new name, and wait. Because of the presence of B-Frames, what you see in the VDubMod screen isn't always the place where you'll be cutting. Better is to play the AVI in a player and note the times for the beginning and the end. Then get as close to those times as you can by using the Keyframes button along the bottom (the ones with the gold key picture). They'll also show you the exact place where you're alloowed to cut. You can only cut on keyframes. These are every 10 seconds, or at scene changes. Trying to get the beginning and end of episodes can be tricky, especially if there are fade-ins and outs involved. So you sometimes can't cut where you want. You'll get the hang of cutting quickly.

If uploading, try:

http://rapidshare.de/

and post the link here. We don't need much. 5-10 MB will be more than enough.

[fayze]

ill try the split later. guns1inger told me to just use DVDShrink and reauthor the dvd and cut out the chapters i want, and that keeps the subtitles. and i like this way, so im using it.

about the video, its not that bad, cause im a perfectionist. so the color isnt that bad, just slightly larger than the vob files. im just trying to get this done the best way possible and im not a moron, i use vlc, i never use WMP if i can help it. i tried MPC and it looks the same. ill try to get some clips and up them. but not on rapidshare. its sucks balls. stupid download limits and such. mediafire is the way to go.