Baffled by conversion problem

[vvw]

Okay, so I have tried out so many products suggested on here, and in general I have worked out that the following process of converting DVD-DivX works best for me:

1. Use DVDDecrypter to rip the files from the disk (Ripitforme if I have decryption issues)
2. Convert to avi using avi.net

In general, this is really straightforward and works really well.

However, I have come across a baffling problem with two DVDs which I would like to solve.

I have the files ripped to the computer, and if I play them in VLC player they work just fine. If I load them into avi.net though, once the indexing is done, the beginning of the movie is silent and then when the sound does cut in, it's at least five minutes out of sync. It plays the audio without leaving anything out, but starts it way too late. If I ignore this and convert anyway, the final output still has the same problem.

I've tried a few things to see if I can get a different result:

1. Tried re-authoring using DVD shrink, cut out all unnecessary parts, removed extra audio tracks (these new files play fine in VLC player) and then loaded in avi.net - problem still exists
2. Tried using AutoGK instead to convert to AVI - same result as with avi.net (and yes I tried opening the IFO instead of the VOB as input, same result for either way of doing it)
3. Tried using Riverpast Video Cleaner but it creates unusable output (personally I hate this product for most projects because it so consistently fails to do what it says it is going to do)
4. Converting using YASA Converter ...this one gets the sound synching right but the output is all jumpy (I'm going to retry with different settings and see how this one goes, but it would be good to know what's really going on here).

Does anyone have any idea why this particular glitch is occurring just with these two movies? I haven't been able to find anything which explains it. If you have seen this before, I beg you to let me know what your solution was, because this is driving me to distraction trying to figure it out.

thanks in advance for any help you can give. I've searched throughout the forums but none of the audio sync problems described seem to be quite the same as this.

[redwudz]

It may be a ripping issue. Try one of the problematic videos with DVDFab HD Decrypter and see if you get different results. DVD Decrypter is a good program, but will have problems with some newer DVD backups. RipIt4Me is also older now, and not being updated.

[vvw]

Okay I will try this - thanks

[vvw]

Okay, tried that - same result

I have to say though, I like that product and I think I'll probably use it more, so thanks for the recommendation anyway

One other little (hopefully useful) tidbit of information... I noticed that if I load up the number 2 VOB file instead of the first one, the audio sync is perfect. So it seems the problem exists in the first vob file.

Could it be some sort of weird tricky way of compiling the files to detect when we try to convert them?

[manono]

You're just loading VOBs, rather than PGC VOBs. Did you do a Main Movie decrypt using DVDFab HD Decrypter? If not, I'd suggest trying that rather than decrypting the entire DVD to the hard drive and then loading the VOBs into whatever program you're using.

Could it be some sort of weird tricky way of compiling the files to detect when we try to convert them

No.

I'd be curious as to the names of the movies giving you trouble.

[vvw]

The movie I'm currently working on backing up is Running With Scissors. lol I think I'm just stubborn about being able to get this done.

You were right to guess that I ripped the whole disk. I am currently doing a new rip of just the main movie. I'll let you know what happens with that one.

And just out of interest, what's a PGC VOB?

[vvw]

Well, that was interesting. I just did the rip of the movie only, and then opened in avi.net and it worked fine.

Can someone please explain why this is the case?

[Bjs]

After ripping, you may want to try using pgcdemux and perform

By vob id

Pgc selection > domain > titles > select by time lenght

Create a pgc vob only

Dose help with certain titles

Dark water
Sky captain and the world of tomorrow
And many more

Avinet isnt bad, just a nuisance as to the request of a specific version of net which make's it a pain

I prefer avidemux which has many advanced feature's, esspecially if trying to squeeze a title to fit a single cd.

[manono]

Can someone please explain why this is the case?

Running With Scissors employs an early form of the Sony ARccoS protection that inserts a bunch of bogus cells at the beginning of the movie. DVD players can skip over them to just play the movie without problems with the audio synch. If you decrypt the entire DVD, it comes along with those cells, and when loading the VOBs into whatever you're using, those early sectors, which take the form of a series of black frames (but without audio), are also loaded. It's those extra frames that throw off the audio synch. By decrypting only the movie (or by following Bjs's instructions if you already have the entire DVD already on the hard drive) , those extra cells aren't included and you (should) get the entire movie in synch.

And just out of interest, what's a PGC VOB?

If you open the DVD on the hard drive in PGCDemux as suggested by Bjs, you'll see several PGCs, including a bunch of short ones before the movie. By opening the complete set of VOBs in AVI.Net or AutoGK or whatever, those short PGCs are included and your audio synch goes to hell. For this and other reasons, it's never a good idea to load the complete VOBs into an encoding application. Most of the time it works OK, but when it doesn't it can cause no end of frustration. By getting and encoding only the PGC that includes the movie (after having decrypted with DVDFab HD Decrypter if it's a reasonably new DVD with the newer copy protections), you don't get the garbage cells. There's more about ARccOS here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARccOS

If I've said anything incorrect, I hope someone will set me straight. I don't pretend to be an expert on ARccOS and RipGuard, and don't work with all that many movies that have them.

[vvw]

After ripping, you may want to try using pgcdemux and perform

By vob id

Pgc selection > domain > titles > select by time lenght

Create a pgc vob only

I just wanted to say thanks for this tip - it allowed me to sort out the previous disk I had tried to back up - and thanks to all for your help, especially Manono - your explanations made a lot of sense and I really appreciated your advice.

thanks!

v