Best lossless way to take video from DVD, edit it, and then burn again?

[amiableakuma]

Every now and then, I need to take video from a commercial DVD - then do things like add my own subtitles or change some aspect of the footage - so that way I can burn the changed video back on to a DVD-R that I would use for the primary viewing experience.

However, I am not certain how I can go about this to ensure that I'm losing as little quality from the original DVD footage, in the process, - as possible.

Currently I rip the DVD to vob files on the hard drive - then I extract the desired video using AutoGK to create an AVI - then I use programs like Virtualdub or subtitling software to make the necessary changes to that AVI file - then I re-convert that to MPEG with TMPGEnc at a very slow speed for high quality - then I burn the resulting MPEG to DVD after adding it to my own menu in a DVD authoring program like Sonic MyDVD.

Is there an easy, faster, or better way to do the above though? The most important thing to me is that I don't lose any of the original video quality along the way.

[FulciLives]

Well it is possible to edit the original MPEG-2 video and audio stream without converting to AVI but only if you will be doing editing. If you need to add "hard encoded" subtitles then of course you must re-encode.

The "best" method depends on exactly what changes will be made. A very nearly lossless method can be used if you are just editing. Another method can be used if you need to add subtitles and just do "simple" cut type editing. Another method would be better for really extensive editing with or without subtitles etc.

In other words you may not have to decode the MPEG-2 from the DVD to an AVI file to do what you need to do. However even if you do need or want to convert to AVI I would suggest using either uncompressed AVI or use HuffyUV AVI instead of using autoGK which is likely making a DivX or XviD AVI which is not as good a quality as uncompressed or HuffyUV AVI.

Can you be more specific in what you need to do? Simple or advanced editing? Subtitles all the time or some of the time etc.? Anything else you need to do?

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[Baldrick]

you can make switchable subs and you don't have to have reconvert to avi, like
vob2mpg and add it in dvd-lab pro or ulead dvd workshop and make switchable subtitles.

if you like to reconvert to avi don't convert to xvid/xvid, use instead for example dv-avi.

[rhegedus]

if you like to reconvert to avi don't convert to xvid/xvid, use instead for example dv-avi.

Yep.

Use the Panasonic DV codec with VirtualDub and the Reverse Field dominance filter and you won't go far wrong