No read errors, but DVD/ripped video skips/stutters

[vaylie]

I'm at a loss for how to troubleshoot this. I am backing up DVDs of old videos (personally filmed recitals/performances, no DRM issues) into digital format, and this particular DVD has no read errors when I decrypt it with DVDDecrypter. All the VOBs copy over without any issues. But when I open it in VLC, it skips/stutters a lot, and any attempt to convert it obviously results in videos with stutters/skipping as well.

I've cleaned the DVD surface (though I'm not sure if that's the problem, if there are no read errors?), I've tried different software: Handbrake, MakeMKV, DVDDecrypter, and they all result in the same issue.

Any idea what could be wrong? I've watched this DVD before (more than 5 years ago so it's been awhile) and it definitely worked properly at one point. But I have no idea what went wrong and how I can fix the problem now.

I am open to trying video editing software that's capable of repairing the issue as well.

[cholla]

Try ImgBurn.
Use Build Mode.
You shouldn't need any decrypter.

If that doesn't work try DVDShrink.
It can be kind of picky & if there is somwething wrong with the DVD it will usually give a warning message.

Also try another player like MPC-HC .

[ProWo]

If no DRM is involved, you can also try clever FFmpeg-GUI for ripping.
Point to VTS_aa_1.VOB (where aa ist the desired title set, g.e. VTS_01_1.VOB), answer Yes to the question, and the full Movie will be ripped to VOB.

[vaylie]

Thanks all for the suggestion! Tried all 3 but I'm still getting the same skipping on the disc. :-\ I don't know if my next option should be to look into video repair software (if they exist) or if I'm just out of luck. I've been storing these DVDs in a sleeve/case and thought they'd be safe, but maybe they degraded too much over the years.

[poisondeathray]

Did you rule out the drive /reader ? Does the DVD play ok in a normal standalone DVD player / TV ?

[vaylie]

I no longer have a DVD player, but I tried it in my PC's DVD drive, and I also recently bought an external DVD drive. I'm getting the same issues with both.

[october262]

I no longer have a DVD player, but I tried it in my PC's DVD drive, and I also recently bought an external DVD drive. I'm getting the same issues with both.

how fast are you burning your discs ?? try slowing down the burn speed to 4x
and see if you still get the skips/stutters.

[johns0]

Best to try in a home dvd player connected to a tv as poisondeathray suggested,playing the dvd in your computer could be causing the issues due to hardware/software issues.

[cholla]

It is a possibility that this DVD disk has degraded.

How do other DVDs play on your computers drives ?
If they play OK then your drives should not be the problem.

I have one other software to suggest.
It will do a bit by bit extraction.
You will need to mount the .ISO it creates in a virtual drive.
Then you can burn it to DVD.

Or if it is 4.35GB or smaller ImgBurn will burn the .ISO to a DVD.

IsoPuzzle-17Beta :
On this site
https://www.videohelp.com/software/IsoPuzzle/old-versions

I'm uploading my portable if you want it.
It already has the Read Me translated to English & the WNASPI32.DLL.
The download from videohelp.com doe not have these.
The download from videohelp.com does have the Read Me in German.
The program needs the WNASPI32.DLL to work.

[vaylie]

Other DVDs play fine on my DVD (internal and external) drives. ISOPuzzle and reducing read speeds, nothing has worked. It's always skipping/stuttering. I'll give it a try in a DVD player next time I visit my parents as a last resort.

Thanks everyone for your help!

[johns0]

When you first burned the disc did you watch the whole thing or just a bit?

[vaylie]

I watched the whole thing through once and haven't touched it since. I'm only now beginning the process of digitizing all my recordings as backups and ran into this strange issue just now. I definitely have a few discs that can't even be copied anymore, but I was a little more hopeful about this one because it didn't throw any read errors or warnings at all when I copied it over.

[davexnet]

Cut out a section from one of the VOB'S that shows the problem and post it here.
Open the VOB in Avidemux, mark out the clip using A and B,
and save to mpeg-ps muxer, output format (lower left)

[october262]

I watched the whole thing through once and haven't touched it since. I'm only now beginning the process of digitizing all my recordings as backups and ran into this strange issue just now. I definitely have a few discs that can't even be copied anymore, but I was a little more hopeful about this one because it didn't throw any read errors or warnings at all when I copied it over.

try copying the disc to a USB flash drive and then try playing the file and see if it still skips.

[cholla]

Since the ISOPuzzle .ISO played with skips/stutters I now believe the problem is a deteriorated DVD disk.
More so if you loaded the .iso in a virtual drive.
Which should eliminate the DVD entirely.

ISOPuzzle is supposed to do a bit by bit rip.
I have had it fail to finish a DVD because it wouldn't copy all the bits.
If it finished & the disk is having problems it should be a deteriorated disk.

The dyes used do break down over time.
What brand is this DVD ?

You can rip the DVD format folders from the virtual drive & try the Flash drive as suggested but I believe the results will be the same.

[jagabo]

VOB files aren't necessarily playable by themselves (they can, for example, have other data in them that a player can't handle properly). You may need to include the IFO files and use DVD player software that parses them. Try using a player like VLC and it's Open Disc or Open Folder options.

[cholla]

There are a couple of more steps you could take.
No guarantee this will help but it might.
Use the ISOPuzzle rip to an .iso.
Mount that .iso in a virtual drive.
There are at least 2 that are freeware:

elaborate bytes virtual clonedrive
https://www.elby.ch/en/products/vcd.html

DVDFab Virtual Drive
https://www.dvdfab.cn/virtual-drive.htm

From one of the virtual drives open the DVD files in Vob2mpg-v3.
https://www.videohelp.com/software/VOB2MPG

See if the .mpg or .mpgs it creates play on your media player like VLC .

Then if you want it back in DVD Format load the Title_1.mpg & other titles if it creates more in AVStoDVD.
This will be an encode & takes a while.
AVStoDVD should use HCEnc to do the encode.
IF larger than DVD5 makes sure to set AVStoDVD to DVD9.
Unless you want a compressed DVD to burn to single layer.
If already DVD5 size then it doesn't matter.
https://www.videohelp.com/software/AVStoDVD