DVD to DV?

[FreddieMercury]

I've been trying to get a good conversion from DVD to DV format for years. Has anyone ever figured out how to do this? Usually I get a list of a bunch of free programs, but no one seems to know any of the settings to use, hence the interlacing, etc. is always completely wrong. Also tried a bunch of commercial software that didn't work.

I've dug around this site for a guide but can't find one, if I'm missing it feel free to just point me there. (The sticky above didn't seem to answer this question exactly.) Or if someone knows of commercial software that really does this (not just claims to) I'd be willing to pay a very large sum of money at this point.

Thanks for any help!

[mzakuan87]

WHy not try this method;

copy the whole VOB file from ur dvd to PC, then try to use the Cyberlink Power Director to transfer your files of the VOB format into the timeline, and then print it on tape, if the problem occurs such as PAL/NTSC thing, try to save it 1st in your pc as PAL DV AVI, then select print to tape then choose the saved AVI file ; please note that the transfer of VOB file will take quite massive of your RAM since each file of VOB is about 1GB and splitted to different parts, you need to configure which parts come 1st;


p/s: other than this method, you can even use a camcorder with AV In function to record it; it's much more easier and saves alot of time ~ :P

[FreddieMercury]

Hah! I was just going to suggest using my DV camcorder's "pass through" function which I use for VHS tapes, but hopefully I can finally do it totally digitally with the software you mentioned

[rhegedus]

Rip the main movie from the DVD as one large VOB.

Install the Panasonic DV codec

Drag your vob into VirtualDubMod

Compression > Panasonic DV codec

Save as avi


*** you may need to add the reverse field dominance filter ***

[FreddieMercury]

Yeah I've spent many sleepless nights with VirtualDubMod Never got it to work right though. Outputting to the Panasonic DV codec gives me a "The Source Image Format Is Not Acceptable (Error -2)", though it outputs to other formats. What stinks is I know I have at least one other DV codec installed somewhere but the Panasonic is the only DV one that shows up.

[rhegedus]

It usually gives that error if the input file is non-compliant.

Try the resize filters for 720x480.

[guns1inger]

Virtualdub requires vfw DV codes, of which there are only two common ones - Panasonic and Cedocida - and only one can be active at any given time. The DV codec has strict requirements on resolution, as has been pointed out. It only accepts 720 x 480 @ 29.970 fps (NTSC) or 720 x 576 @ 25 fps (PAL).

DVD, on the other hand, can be 23.976 fps, and can also be 704 x 480/576, 352 x 480/576 and several other resolutions.

You also have the top field versus bottom field (DVD can be either, and is often top, DV is always bottom field first). Resizing interlaced footage must be done with care.

The big question would be : why ?

[FreddieMercury]

Well the reason I'm transferring to DV is so I can edit, and most editing programs seem to handle DV the best.

And...yeah, the DVD source WAS at 704x480, so I'll test out a different disc, thanks!

[manono]

Lots of different kinds editing can be done on the DVD VOBs or on MPGs made losslessly from those VOBs. Just what specifically are you trying to do? If your end format is going to be DVD again, you'd like to avoid the 2 lossy conversions if possible.

[rhegedus]

And...yeah, the DVD source WAS at 704x480, so I'll test out a different disc, thanks!

Just apply the re-size filter in VirtualDub before saving as DV.

[FreddieMercury]

Lots of different kinds editing can be done on the DVD VOBs or on MPGs made losslessly from those VOBs. Just what specifically are you trying to do? If your end format is going to be DVD again, you'd like to avoid the 2 lossy conversions if possible.

I'm taking a lot of old music videos and resyncing CD-quality audio to them (slightly changing the video speed so it syncs), and also sometimes doing some minor editing. When doing this I really need to be able to know that I'm seeing the A/V sync in real-time, and Premiere usually does a good job of this with DV (since it doesn't have to render DV). The problem that comes up when using DVD-type MPEG is that there aren't any I-Frames and then many editing programs choke while doing all the extra processing. Is there an actual MPEG editor that could handle this now though? (I tried a couple years ago but couldn't find one.) Adjusting the video speed of course sort of negates lossless video editing since the video will inevitably lose some quality by that, but probably not so much as by converting to DV first.

So I need to resync audio while fine-tuning the video speed, and also be able to view the result reasonably well in real-time, without having to render over and over first...would DV still be best?

[rhegedus]

When you're done re-syncing, you could just re-mux the new audio with the original video - no video loss.

[manono]

As rhegedus suggests, you can adjust the audio speed rather than the video speed.

Adjusting the video speed of course sort of negates lossless video editing since the video will inevitably lose some quality by that, but probably not so much as by converting to DV first.

Video speed or framerate adjustments can easily be done with the use of DGPulldown without affecting the video quality. If, for example, you have a 23.976fps video pulled down to 29.97fps, you can run the M2V (after demuxing) through DGPulldown set for 25->29.97fps to speed it up, or 23->29.97fps to slow it down. Or any framerates->29.97fps you wish. If the video is native 29.97fps, though (shot on video) then you can only slow it down (use a lower framerate), and DGPulldown works only with progressive sources, and a lot of music videos aren't progressive in nature.

Also, there are quite a few VOB editors that can make frame-specific cuts, reencoding only between the I-Frames involved. VideoReDO and some of the the Womble products (MPEG Video Wizard, MPEG Video Wizard DVD, MPEG-VCR) come to mind.

The problem that comes up when using DVD-type MPEG is that there aren't any I-Frames and then many editing programs choke while doing all the extra processing.

They all have I-Frames, but usually spaced around half a second apart.