How to convert vob to avi without loosing video quality ?

[RON36]

Need help.
I have a DVD with family old movies. the movies appears in the DVD as 4 files (.VOB), each of 1 GB. I want to convert the VOB files to AVI (or any suitable form) without loosing quality due to the conversion and then cut each converted file to many smaller files and to edit each small file using video editor.
I converted the 1 GB VOB file to AVI file but it came out as 280 MB file, so I lost quality.
Please help - how to do this without loosing video quality.
Thank you.
RON 36

[jagabo]

You could remux the video and audio streams into an AVI container with AviDemux. That would not lose any quality because all it does is re-wrap the compressed data in an AVI container. Your editor probably won't be able to handle that though.

[hech54]

Need help.
I have a DVD with family old movies. the movies appears in the DVD as 4 files (.VOB), each of 1 GB. I want to convert the VOB files to AVI (or any suitable form) without loosing quality due to the conversion and then cut each converted file to many smaller files and to edit each small file using video editor.

If you convert the VOB files separately then you will 3 breaks in your video where you probably do not want them. Unless the AVI "flavor" you are looking to get is uncompressed AVI....editing after converting is just plain stupid. Do your edits from your MPEG2 DVD material first.....then choose which flavor of AVI you want (Divx, Xvid, uncompressed, etc etc etc).
Do some serious research before you start.

[DB83]

It is quite wrong to perceive file size as quality. that 280 meg avi could well have the same 'quality' as the original. What has changed is the method of compression.

Combining the above posts:

1. Rip your dvd to your HDD and use Vob2Mpeg to convert it to one large mpeg file.
2. Import the large mpeg into avidemux and mark the individual clips you want and create the small avi files from there.

Experiment with compression codecs to see what what looks acceptable to you. What you do not say is the running length of that 280 meg file you created. If you were to compile a Xvid avi of 15 minutes, you can get a quite respectable quality between 10-15 meg per minute (225 meg for 15 minutes). Of course I am assuming that the dvd is only playing for 60 minutes. If it plays for longer then you have to adjust your settings. If your dvd runs for over two hours then you have already lost more quality than you can save in the conversion.

[jagabo]

The real question is: What is your desired end product? That will determine what you programs you use and how you handle your video.