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  1. Member
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    Jun 2004
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    Okay, so I've got these PAL vob files from a friend of mine that he wants to be able to deliver in NTSC.
    The VOB files are ripped from a DVD (homemade, don't worry). I need to convert them to NTSC to then re-burn to DVD. I was just wondering what the best method to do this would be?

    My guess is to convert the VOB files to NTSC DV but something tells me that would yield HUGE files.

    I really have no clue what the best/easiest method would be and any advice would be greatly appreciated.

    (right now I plan to just take the converted files and burn them using something like toast, however in the future I may eventually re-edit them and author some nice DVD menus and such)

    Thanks in advance!
    :: ehmjay.
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  2. Member
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    If you don't need subtitles, one method that's worked for me is to use MPEG Streamclip to save as QuickTime (MJPEG-B, best quality, no scaling). Then drop the resulting file (which will be l-a-r-g-e) into Toast or ffmpegX and specify NTSC. Toast's quality isn't quite as good as ffmpegX nor is it as fast but it will do it all (including the burn) in one shot).

    I'm assuming you have the MPEG2 QuickTime component installed.
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  3. Member
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    Edit: I just re-read Rumplestiltskin's post and it says it all.
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  4. Member
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    yes I do have the MPEG2 QT Component installed.

    What would be the settings I choose in ffmpegX if I did go that route?

    (ps...thanks for the very speedy reply)
    :: ehmjay.
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  5. Member
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    "DVD ffmpeg" for the first tab's preset. Video tab: Be careful that the bitrate isn't too high to fit on a DVD-R. Use the "Size" button to check this. Also verify that "NTSC (29.97)" is selected for the framerate. Audio tab: Whatever bitrate you need; I find 224 to be sufficient. Options tab: The "Author as VIDEO_TS" checkbox/popup will yield the necessary folder. "Decode with QT" should be checked.

    Try the above and report your results.
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  6. Member
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    Okay so things went PRETTY good, the only problem was the resulting video was all interlacy (the lines were showing up). I went back and checked and it was in both the quicktime file i authored and the subsequent DVD VTS folder

    is there an option i should be checking or unchecking to ensure this doesn't happen?

    thanks a bunch!!
    :: ehmjay.
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  7. Member
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    It sounds like you need to De-interlace the video. Do this in MPEG Streamclip in the "save as QT" dialog; there's a checkbox.

    You might try this with a very short clip (set 30 seconds using "in" and "out" points, save just that portion, then let ffmpegX do its thing and make your VIDEO_TS folder which you may play using DVD Player on your Mac).

    Again, please advise your progress.
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  8. Member
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    You could try this droplet. Drop your VOB onto it, select NTSC, choose the correct aspect ration, choose whether to deinterlace or not, and choose to Copy the audio stream. This will output a dvd ready mpeg2 file.
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  9. Member
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    Originally Posted by ArtemisG3
    You could try this droplet. Drop your VOB onto it, select NTSC, choose the correct aspect ration, choose whether to deinterlace or not, and choose to Copy the audio stream. This will output a dvd ready mpeg2 file.
    Artemis,

    Would you mind providing a bit more information regarding this AppleScript? It sounds useful but I'm a bit hesitant to run anything without knowing the source or seeing the code.

    Thanks very much.
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  10. Member
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    It is simply a wrapper around ffmpeg, and you can open it in Script Editor to look at it. It is a work in progress, and something I use for myself.

    Code:
    property video : ""
    property aspect : ""
    property audio : ""
    property fr_rate : ""
    property de_in : ""
    
    on open these_files
    	
    	repeat with this_file in these_files
    		tell application "Finder"
    			set ffmpeg_binary to ((path to me) as string)
    			set ffmpeg_binary to (ffmpeg_binary & "Contents:Resources:ffmpeg")
    			set ffmpeg_binary to (quoted form of (POSIX path of ffmpeg_binary))
    			set theuser to (do shell script "echo $USER")
    			set ginfo to (get info for this_file)
    			set disp_name to text 1 thru -((length of name extension of ginfo) + 2) of name of ginfo
    			set disp_name2 to name of ginfo
    			set POSIX_file to POSIX path of this_file
    			display dialog "Select target video format" buttons {"PAL", "NTSC"} default button 2
    			if button returned of the result is "NTSC" then
    				set the video to "ntsc"
    				set the fr_rate to "\"30000/1001\""
    
    			else
    				set the video to "pal"
    				set the fr_rate to "25"
    			end if
    			display dialog "Aspect ratio?" buttons {"4:3", "16:9"} default button 2
    			if button returned of the result is "4:3" then
    				set the aspect to "4:3"
    			else
    				set the aspect to "16:9"
    			end if
    			display dialog "Deinterlace video?" buttons {"No", "Yes"} default button 2
    			if button returned of the result is "Yes" then
    				set the de_in to " -deinterlace"
    			else
    				set the de_in to ""
    			end if
    			display dialog "Copy  existing audio track or force to AC3 stereo?" buttons {"AC3 stereo", "Copy"} default button 2
    			if button returned of the result is "AC3 stereo" then
    				set the audio to "ac3 -ac 2 -ar 48000 -ab 448"
    			else
    				set the audio to "copy"
    			end if
    			
    		end tell
    		with timeout of 30000 seconds
    			
    			do shell script ("mkdir -p /Users/" & theuser & "/.ffmpeg_temp; echo '#!/bin/sh > \"/Users/" & theuser & "/.ffmpeg_temp/" & disp_name & ".command\"'; echo '\"" & ffmpeg_binary & "\" -y -i \"" & POSIX_file & "\" -target " & video & "-dvd -r " & fr_rate & " -aspect " & aspect & "" & de_in & " -acodec " & audio & " \"" & POSIX_file & ".mpg\"' >> \"/Users/" & theuser & "/.ffmpeg_temp/" & disp_name & ".command\"; echo '' >> \"/Users/" & theuser & "/.ffmpeg_temp/" & disp_name & ".command\"; chmod +x \"/Users/" & theuser & "/.ffmpeg_temp/" & disp_name & ".command\"")
    			set theFile to ("/Users/" & theuser & "/.ffmpeg_temp/" & disp_name & ".command" as POSIX file)
    			tell application "Finder"
    				open theFile
    				activate
    			end tell
    			
    			
    		end timeout
    	end repeat
    	delay 3
    	do shell script "rm -f /Users/" & theuser & "/.ffmpeg_temp/" & disp_name & ".command"
    end open
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  11. Member
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    Artemis,

    Thanks. It makes me want to play with scripting again. Very nice utility.
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  12. Member
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    Followed the previous instructions (didn't test the script...this time around) and it worked perfectly!

    Thanks for everyone's help!
    :: ehmjay.
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  13. Member
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    Jun 2006
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    United States
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    I have modified my droplet to include a simple authoring and imaging. After the image is complete, you may open it and watch in DVD Player or burn to disk with Disk Utility.

    Video Convertor 2
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  14. Member
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    Jun 2003
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    United States
    Search Comp PM
    Thanks for the update, Artemis.
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  15. Member
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    Jun 2004
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    Canada
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    Hey Guys! Me again!

    Essentially the same question however before I go to DVD I want to go into FInal Cut Pro to do some editing - got some concert footage that is in PAL, want to convert to NTSC and then bring into Final Cut to add new audio from a much cleaner source. should I use the same procedure or is there a better codec to use for Final Cut?
    :: ehmjay.
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