Fix vob size

[Barbara]

Hi. I'm using vlc to take automated caps from a few videos.
When I choose the image output module the dvd starts playing capturing a sequence of images according to the settings I've applied.
The problem is that there's no video, sound only and while it's great for .avi, .mov .mpg etc..when I have to take automated caps from DVDs I can't see the menu and therefore I cannot start the movie or choose a particular part to play (extras, for example).
I thought the best solution was to rip the movie only, getting rid of menus and everything else and taking caps directly from the .vob file.
I used DVD decrypter and ripped my DVD but the resolution of my .vob file is always 720x576. The size of the caps in vlc is the same size of the video input and to my knowledge it can't be changed so this is what my cap looks like...completely stretched.
I tried to change the width of my .vob to 1024 with DVD patcher but this is the result.
Does anyone know if there's a program which lets me decide the size of my ripped .vob (because DVD decrypter doesn't) or a vob size editor or any ideas how to solve the problem? Thanks.

[steveryan]

I'm confused as to what you are trying to do, what is the end product supposed to be?

[Barbara]

A .vob with a resolution of 1024x576.
When I rip my DVD the size of my vob is 720x576 and I would like to change it to 1024x576.

[steveryan]

You'll have to re-encode using TMPGEnc, Procoder etc... Do you mind if I ask why you want to do this?

[guns1inger]

Why do you want to change the width ?

Widescreen PAL DVD is 720 x 576. It is not square pixel, so it will playback wider than that. If you re-encode it you no longer have a compliant DVD VOB.

What do you actually hope to gain ?

[Barbara]

I need to take several caps from a few DVDs and to make things easier I'm using VLC which does that automatically.
The problem is that while VLC is capping you can't see the video, the movie starts playing with sound only. If you're taking screencaps of a single video file everything is fine, the video start playing and you have all your caps saved in the folder you chose.
Things get more complicated with DVDs..on each of my DVDs I have three episodes of a tv show, that means if a want to play a particular episode (and therefore taking caps of it) I have to select it first in the menu.
But as I've said above, with those settings applied, there's no video so I can't select any episode and what vlc does is taking caps of the menu endlessly...if anyone wants to try I can share those settings.

So, the first idea that came to my mind was to rip each episode separately. That way I could get rid of the menu, cap the .vob files directly and delete them after.
Everytime I rip the DVD though, the standard file size of each .vob is 720x576. In vlc the size of the caps is the same size of the video input. That means if my input video is 720x576 all my caps will be 720x576 (stretched), so to make them look perfectly I need the input video, my .vob, to be 1024x576.
Hope this will make things more clear.
I'd rather avoid re-encoding because it usally takes a lot of time and at this point I might as well take caps manually from the DVD. :P

[manono]

Why can't you take your pics of the resized 1024x576 vobs, like you get when you use PowerDVD to take pics?

Or, if you can't figure out how to do that, you could always take the 720x576 pics and resize them in a picture editor.

There's no such thing as a 1024x576 vob. They're all 720x480/576. Unless they're smaller.

[guns1inger]

If you have photoshop available to you, I would just cap them at standard resolution, then create a quick resizing action to get them up to the size you need. Much faster, and probably better quality.

Otherwise you have to convert them to something other than a VOB file. If this isn't a problem, then there are plenty of programs that can give you avi files in the correct resolution.

[Barbara]

Why can't you take your pics of the resized 1024x576 vobs, like you get when you use PowerDVD to take pics?

If I do it manually...
Like guns1inger said the video playbacks wider than 720x576.
If I open it in vlc the displayed size is 1024x576 that means if I take my caps manually they're 1024x576, but if I choose to take them automatically then their size is based on the video input size, I don't know why.

Converting is really time consuming, I have more than 60 eps, it will take weeks. Or am I wrong?
As for Photoshop I could, but there will inevitably be quality loss. At this point I think I'll stick with taking caps manually from the DVDs, it's just faster than re-encoding or converting.

Thanks a lot. You've all been really helpful!

[guns1inger]

The quality loss won't be as much as taking 1024 x 576 grabs from VLS. VLC is taking a 720 x 576 image and doubling the width for playback. You can do the same in photoshop with better resize filters and the ability to touch afterwards if necessary. I'm not sure you fully understand the fundamentals of what you are working with, however if you are happy with doing it manually, go for it.

[Barbara]

I'm open to all kinds of suggestions, I know just a little about video editing so if you think Photoshop is the best solution then I'll listen to you. Besides that would save me a lot of work.
I know PS is great but I thought VLC might be doing better job...never been happier to be wrong. Thanks.