Converting VOBs from a DVD to a single AVI

[aln688]

What is the best way of taking the five VOBs from my DVD and combining them to a single AVI? ...and also let me specify the CODEC to use for the AVI? Ideally I'd like to use VirtualDub[MOD]. Would Avisynth work for that? I'm guessing. Thanks.

[Baldrick]

avidemux, open first vob and it should append all. Or xvid4psp, choose to open dvd.

[aln688]

Could a frame server such as Avisynth do this? As I did for an MKV file? I wrote a script using DirectShowSource("xxx.mkv"). I'll try the Avidemux tool, thanks again, much appreciated.

[Baldrick]

I think you need to use avisynth with dgindex to get it to work fine with dvd vob, see http://www.animemusicvideos.org/guides/avtechbeta/videogetb2.html

[aln688]

I tried Avidemux, but it splits my output into 4GB chunks, is there any way to stop it doing that? I just want one single file.

[Ai Haibara]

Is the drive you're saving to formatted as FAT16/32? 4GB is a hard file limit in FAT, I believe.

[aln688]

Good point, but no, it's going to a 640GB NTFS formatted drive. In Avidemux I see an option to split the video into 4090MB chunks, every time I set it to 0 it goes back to 4090; I try 0 just in-case that is a way of turning off video splitting. See below.

[netmask56]

Would using AutoGK or similar be too simple or not give as good result? It sometimes seems to me that in doing conversions that will result in a loss of quality we over complicate the process . Occam's razor is an old dictum but still true...

[aln688]

Hmm, good tool if I want my output encoded to Xvid or DivX, if I wanted Lagarith for example I couldn't use it. Thanks.

[Chris K]

If you want to use vdub and Avisynth, you could rename the five vobs to;

name.00.vob, name.01.vob, name.02.vob, name.03.vob, name.04.vob

Then use - SegmentedDirectShowSource("name.00.vob") - in your Avisynth script.

[jagabo]

Open all your VOB files in DgIndex. Build and index (File -> Save Project). Use an AviSynth script to open the index file (Mpeg2Source("name.d2v"). Open the AVS script in any editor you want, VirtualDub for instance.

Or using just DirectShowSource() in AviSynth:

v1=DirectShowSource("VTS_01_1.VOB")
v2=DirectShowSource("VTS_01_2.VOB")
v3=DirectShowSource("VTS_01_3.VOB")
return(v1+v2+v3)

[Gavino]

Then use - SegmentedDirectShowSource("name.00.vob") - in your Avisynth script.

You would need to use SegmentedDirectShowSource("name.vob")

[Chris K]

Then use - SegmentedDirectShowSource("name.00.vob") - in your Avisynth script.

You would need to use SegmentedDirectShowSource("name.vob")

Yes, your right! My mistake.

[aln688]

I'll give both methods a try and report back, thanks for your help.

[aln688]

Open all your VOB files in DgIndex. Build and index (File -> Save Project). Use an AviSynth script to open the index file (Mpeg2Source("name.d2v"). Open the AVS script in any editor you want, VirtualDub for instance.

Or using just DirectShowSource() in AviSynth:

v1=DirectShowSource("VTS_01_1.VOB")
v2=DirectShowSource("VTS_01_2.VOB")
v3=DirectShowSource("VTS_01_3.VOB")
return(v1+v2+v3)

I tried Mpeg2Source, and FFMpeg2Source, I received an error when opening the .AVS file in VirtualDub:

Avisynth open failure: Script error: there is no function named "Mpeg2Source"

I'm trying the other method which is slightly more successful (slightly = there is still a problem). I created a .AVS file with the following content:

v1=DirectShowSource("VTS_01_1.VOB")
v2=DirectShowSource("VTS_01_2.VOB")
v3=DirectShowSource("VTS_01_3.VOB")
v4=DirectShowSource("VTS_01_4.VOB")
v5=DirectShowSource("VTS_01_5.VOB")
return(v1+v2+v3+v4+v5)

Saved it, opened it in VirtualDub successfully, instructed it not to output the audio and do a direct stream copy of the video. The projected AVI would be 102GB! Why so big? Surely it should be exactly the size of the MPEG2 video stream in the five VOB files?

[aln688]

Alright I fixed the first error, I put DGDecode.dll in "C:\Program Files (x86)\AviSynth 2.5\plugins" directory and I no longer get the Avisynth script error. Even using MPEG2Source in an .AVS file, I'll end up with a 76GB file. I do not understand, can someone please clarify?

[levick]

Have you instructed VirtualDub your preferred compression type? Those figures suggest a full raw or non compressed encode.

[aln688]

As I believe, when you select Direct Stream Copy, compression is not relevant:



It is based on this, I don't understand why the huge gigabyte file output.

[manono]

Do what levick said. In your very first post you said you wanted to create an AVI. So choose the XviD or DivX or Lagarith codec, set them up, and compress. You don't use Direct Stream Copy on an AviSynth script. You will get back a huge uncompressed file (as you discovered). Use Fast Recompress instead.

[AlanHK]

As I believe, when you select Direct Stream Copy, compression is not relevant:

It is based on this, I don't understand why the huge gigabyte file output.

Indeed, you get the same compression as input.
But your input is frame served from Avisynth, i.e., uncompressed video.
(VDub thinks it is reading an uncompressed AVI file, as that's what Avisynth makes everything look like.)

Also, Avisynth audio will be uncompressed, equivalent to wave.
You might want to demux the audio separately from the original files and mux it back with your new video, if you're not trimming it at all.

[aln688]

Do what levick said. In your very first post you said you wanted to create an AVI. So choose the XviD or DivX or Lagarith codec, set them up, and compress. You don't use Direct Stream Copy on an AviSynth script. You will get back a huge uncompressed file (as you discovered). Use Fast Recompress instead.

But I want to extract the MPEG2 stream to an AVI without recompressing or touching it. I wasn't aware Direct Stream Copy isn't to be used with Avisynth.

As I believe, when you select Direct Stream Copy, compression is not relevant:

It is based on this, I don't understand why the huge gigabyte file output.

Indeed, you get the same compression as input.
But your input is frame served from Avisynth, i.e., uncompressed video.
(VDub thinks it is reading an uncompressed AVI file, as that's what Avisynth makes everything look like.)

Also, Avisynth audio will be uncompressed, equivalent to wave.
You might want to demux the audio separately from the original files and mux it back with your new video, if you're not trimming it at all.

So when a stream is fed through Avisynth, the original source compression/CODEC type is not fed through, instead the source frames are decompressed and the raw frames fed to whichever application opens the .AVS?

I want to separate out the video and audio streams to separate files, the video stream going to an .AVI. I thought if I used Avisynth and VirtualDub I could do this, but it looks as if Avisynth is decompressing on the fly. I need a different tool for this.

Thanks for the clarification.

[manono]

But I want to extract the MPEG2 stream to an AVI without recompressing or touching it.

Why? What's the point? If you want a single big untouched file, use Vob2MPEG and make a big MPEG file. There's simply no point in repackaging MPEG video into an AVI container. And you can't use VDub for the job anyway. For any kind of an ordinary AVI (XviD, DivX, Lagarith, whatever) compression will take place.

[jagabo]

It's rather unusual, but if you really want MPEG 2 video in an AVI file you can use AviDemux. It can open a series of VOB/MPG files and mux the MPEG 2 data into a single AVI file.

[AlanHK]

But I want to extract the MPEG2 stream to an AVI without recompressing or touching it. I wasn't aware Direct Stream Copy isn't to be used with Avisynth.

Then you just want to demux and combine MPEG. Use VOB2MPEG, PGCdemux, etc.

[ricardouk]

if all vobs are from your dvd rip it (1:1) with dvdfab hd decrypter and then use avi.net or autogk, the latest avi.net version will let you specify video and audio setting, you can try staxrip aswell

[Anonymous8443434]

Removed.