finally!!!....i can burn VOB files with toast

[pixel zombie]

this may not be new to a lot of people but no one has ever suggested it to me.....i have tried for a long time to burn vob files and it was never succesful, even when i followed the suggestion from Roxio themselves....the simple trick is to rename the files as .MPG instead of .VOB and drag and drop them onto the toast video tab, select the dvd option and away you go...now i can get all those music videos off my hard drive...

[DeadLily]

If you do this, does it keep all of the subtitles and alternate audio tracks? My experiences with dragging multiple VOBs to the video tab result in all the extras being stripped off.

[pixel zombie]

havn't tried it with any such vob files, but i did notice it held the chapter settings...

[dcsos]

if the original "VOB" that you rename "MPG" has Ac3 content,
Does TOAST convert this properly too? Sound and Pic?
I think you should let us know which version of TOAST your using, because I can drop MPG files on Toast 5 till I am blue in the face and nothing happens

Also, aren't you using TRANSCODING features of TOAST 6 (?)
that RE-ENCODE the segments with far poorer quality than
Final Cut, Premiere or even IMovie can provide
(although these editors must be fed Quicktime reference files)

[pixel zombie]

i'm using toast 6.0.5,version 5 can only burn dvd data disks.......i'm not sure what type of audio the files had, but Toast did not RE-ENCODE them...

[chikanakan]

Transcoding and re-encoding are separate things. Toast will multiplex most VOB and burn them to a new disc. It will not change the audio for video when doing this. This is not transcoding or re-encoding, simply multiplexing the files.

If the Video or Audio is not correct, then it will re-encode as needed. Most VOB do not need this. For example a VCD MPEG can be burned to DVD, but the Audio must be up sampled to 48Khz. Toast will pass the video through and then just re-encode the audio to 48Khz.

If the Video is not complaint, then Toast will re-encode.

Transcoding is what Popcorn does. Transcoding is taking an MPEG or VOB file and lowering the bitrate, but does not change the actual video.

I suggest updating to Toast 6.0.9, as it has a new encoder and handles MPEG files better with out re-encoding.

As for FCP, Premiere and iMovie, not of them can do what Toast does.

[Case]

<nitpick class=semantics>
transcoding (1): The process of converting a media file or object from one format to another.
transcoding (2): The reformatting of content, without changing the source, to another type of content - most often of a different format than the original (but does not have to be)

I see re-quantizing (what Popcorn et al does) as a form of transcoding, not of re-encoding. But re-encoding is a form of transcoding by definition.
</nitpick>

[chikanakan]

Nitpicking is good. So do you you consider going from DV to MPEG-2 encoding or transcoding and why?

[sjk]

Since we're nitpicking...

Anyone else think it's misleading that Toast displays "multiplexing ..." when it processes a single, target-compatible file when it's not actually combining separate audio/video files?

[sjk]

I'd guess transcoding since, using Case's definition(1), DV and MPEG-2 are different formats. And with definition(2), re-quantizing would be transcoding when it's not converting the format.

I favor technical nitpicking. Sometimes it's hard discerning whether someone is just being semantically sloppy or doesn't understand what they're intending to communicate.

[Case]

DV to MPEG-2: encoding or transcoding and why?

IMO, both are correct here, however I do think transcoding nicely emphasizes the transformation from the DV format to the MPEG-2 format.

Anyone else think it's misleading that Toast displays "multiplexing ..." when it processes a single, target-compatible file when it's not actually combining separate audio/video files?

So it is re-multiplexing (and padding). Not terribly misleading. It's a lot better that the "encoding" when multiplexing in earlier 6.0.x versions.

[thoughton]

You all have too much time on your hands :P

To the original poster, good for you although I don't know why you have vobs sitting around on your HD. Why vobs?

[pixel zombie]

some people have HD feeds and they've taken the time to capture music videos and concert clips, and of course the quality can't be beat either...