DVD-RAM to AVI.

[aliciac]

Hi everybody!

I'm new to these forums and am looking for some help with converting video please. I've got several shows recorded on my satellite PVR and would like to keep them permanently, so I've recorded them onto a DVD-RAM disc using a DVD Recorder (Panasonic DMR-ES10). I should also mention that my laptop does not have a video capture card. The reason I am using a DVD-RAM disc and not any other is that this particular DVD Recorder will only record a 16:9 aspect picture onto a DVD-RAM disc, all other discs are recorded as a 4:3 picture.

The recordings to the DVD-RAM disc are fine, but I'm having problems converting the shows to an .AVI format (or any other PC friendly format such as .MKV). On my laptop the DVD-RAM disc plays fine, just like any other DVD, and I can see using Windows Explorer that on the disc is a file called 'VR_MOVIE.VRO', which must be the file that contains the entire video and audio because it is the only large file there. My problem is how do I convert this .VRO file into say an .AVI file which I could then edit to say remove adverts from inbetween the shows? Had the disc been say a DVD-R disc, then the file structure would have been different to a DVD-RAM disc, and I know how to convert DVD-R/+R discs.

I've tried opening the .VRO file with Avidemux. It does open, however the picture splits into two and there appears green lines at the bottom of the picture. I think therefore this is a problem with Avidemux not being able to open the file correctly, as the .VRO file itself plays fine with a DVD player such as Power DVD.

So I tried a program called HandBrake which I have used in the past. This worked a charm and was able to convert the entire video into a .MKV file format (I think HandBrake does not create .AVI files). However HandBrake does not seem to have the ability to edit the video so that only the parts I want (i.e. shows split, and without the adverts), are converted to a .MKV file. I know I can set HandBrake to start and end at particular seconds or frames, but this is only once. Say there are four one-hour shows on the DVD-RAM disc, how do I split this single .VRO file into 4 separate AVI or MKV files, and remove the adverts from between the shows?

I have tried allowing HandBrake to convert the whole 4 hours into one large .MKV file, and then using Avidemux to split it, but Avidemux comes up with a lots of errors on opening the newly created .MKV file. Even if I set HandBrake to encode using a constant bitrate, Avidemux still had problems opening the .MKV file, although the .MKV file itself plays fine with anything like Windows Media Player. I have also tried VirtualDubMod, but that crashes on opening the .MKV file.

Please help! There must be a solution to this, preferably using freeware!

Thanks very much for reading, and especially to those that reply.

Alicia. x

[aedipuss]

you should be able to rename the .vro file on your hard drive to .mpg. then use avidemux on it.

[sambat]

I can load .vro files into VirtualDub (if it has the mpeg2 plugin installed) edit and save to avi ok.

Per aedipuss, loading .vro into AviDemux without renaming works ok for me.

[v491138]

I think the issue here is one of size. The programs likely work as describe by all involved, but the size of the files successfully used are quite a bit smaller than the one that doesn't work.
That is to say, could I be right on this and size does matter?
Thanks and good luck.

[aliciac]

Thanks for the replies guys. I looked into VirtualDub more. I uninstalled my current version, and downloaded a new version from https://www.videohelp.com/tools/Virtualdub, installing the 'Virtualdub plugin pack' too. I've had much more success with this, and been able to split episodes and cut out adverts. However the output AVI file displays in 4:3 aspect, not 16:9. So I added a filter to resize the picture, and I think this did the trick, and I think this is the best way to go about it (someone correct me please if I'm wrong).

All I need now is a little advice on compressing the video. Ideally I'm looking for a 10mb per minute file. Audio takes up 2mb per minute of this, and I've found that compressing the audio with VirtualDub causes sync issues, so am leaving the audio as 'Direct Stream Copy'. For example, what codecs do people use when they upload American TV shows to the Internet, something like a 175mb file for a 20 minute show, that seems a reasonable size file for a good quality picture. I have tried playing about with it a bit and found that encoding with two passes gives a better picture. I don't mind how long it takes to encode, but I'd like a decent picture quality for a reasonable file size.

So can anyone recommend any codecs, or what settings I should use?

Thanks again guys!

Alicia. x

[sambat]

I think you can use DVD Patcher to change the AR on the .vro file or mpeg4 modifier on the avi.

[aedipuss]

divx or h264 is usually used mainly in an mkv container.

[jman98]

All I need now is a little advice on compressing the video. Ideally I'm looking for a 10mb per minute file. Audio takes up 2mb per minute of this, and I've found that compressing the audio with VirtualDub causes sync issues, so am leaving the audio as 'Direct Stream Copy'. For example, what codecs do people use when they upload American TV shows to the Internet, something like a 175mb file for a 20 minute show, that seems a reasonable size file for a good quality picture.

If you compress the audio with MP3, please use constant bit rate. Sync issues are almost always caused by using variable bit rate. If I had a time machine, on my list of things I would change is that I would prevent VBR MP3 from ever being invented. Too much trouble for what little space it actually saves.

175 mb for a 20 min. is really pushing it. I admit that I've seen it done but on Usenet everybody who cares makes 20 or so minutes of video at about 350 mb or bigger.

[oldfart13]

Both TMPGenc Express 4.0 and TMPGenc Mastering Works (TMPGEnc Express 5.0) can read the contents of a RAM disc recorded with a Panasonic DVD recorder and import each seperate title to your hard drive for further processing. Panasonic (Matsushita) used to have a free standalone tool for doing just that but it is incorprated into the TMPGEnc software now. You can then use the software to compress to avi, MKV, etc.

[oldfart13]

175 MB for 1/2 hour show in AVI is about right. Looks okay on a 27" CRT. Can't vouch for larger size sets or flat screen LCD/LED/Plasma as I don't have one. These sizes were created as a 2 hour movie fit onto a CD back in the old days. 1 hour show then, 350 MB and 1/2 hour show 175 MB. Anime you can get away with the lower file size as there is little movement. Probably not a good idea with sports or anything that has a lot of movement. Also depends on what you intend to play the videos back on. Handhelds are very forgiving. New trend seems to be MP4 at 175 MB to play on Xbox, PS3 and tablets. Very smooth motion and better pic than avi. You might have to do some experimentation to get it right for your purposes...

[handyguy]

'I should also mention that my laptop does not have a video capture card'

Easycap on Amazon is under $9, comes with a USB capture thingy & software.

My Panasonic came with software to convert VRO's. It's called movie album I think.

[usually_quiet]

I am a Panasonic DMR-ES10 owner as well, and have experience with problematic DVD-RAM discs produced by my DVD recorder.

Panasonic at one time bundled DVD Movie Album SE with DVD recorders, but it was never included with the DMR-ES10 or any later Panasonic DVD recorders. Panasonic and Hitachi also bundled it with camcorders that used DVD-RAM discs. However, although Panasonic apparently continues to support it, neither Panasonic or Hitachi sells this software separately, or has it available for download. I have tried to find a legitimate source for it several times for various people, but nobody sells this software or legally provides for download either. Unless you happen to have a copy as a result of purchasing a camera or a another DVD recorder that came with it, this is not a viable solution.

If you want something newer and readily available for purchase that reads and imports any playable VRO file, even those with fragmentation stored on DVD-RAM discs, Cyberlink Power Director can do it. Some Nero products, TMPGEnc products, MPEG Streamclip and others read unfragmented VRO files just fine, but Cyberlink's products are the only ones I have tried that can correctly read any VRO file that my DVD recorder will play without any problems and convert it to an .mpg. Once that is done, it should be possible to edit the file with any good MPEG-2 editor and convert it to another format afterwards.

If you want a USB capture device that works well for most people, avoid the cheap $9 EasyCaps sold on various shopping websites. These devices appear to be fairly problematic knockoffs of a discontinued product made by a legitimate company a few years ago. They work for some lucky folks, but others get nothing but grief from them. You will get no support from the maker or seller. Spend $25 to $40 and get a better SD USB capture device that comes with at least a little bit of support.

[sambat]

The old Dracore VOBtools can extract the various segments from the VRO file.

http://www.digital-digest.com/software/download.php?sid=258&ssid=0&did=1

[usually_quiet]

For what it is worth, I tried ISOBuster, Dracore VOBtools, VRO2VOB, MPEG Streamclip, VideoReDo, and TDA on my problem DVD-RAM disc before I tried Cyberlink Power Director (it was bundled with my DVD burner). Cyberlink Power Director was the only one that worked with this particular disc.

Although the rest had all worked fine in the past on other DVD RAM discs, they failed with this particular disc because the file was fragmented.

[oldfart13]

I am a Panasonic DMR-ES10 owner as well, and have experience with problematic DVD-RAM discs produced by my DVD recorder.

Panasonic at one time bundled DVD Movie Album SE with DVD recorders, but it was never included with the DMR-ES10 or any later Panasonic DVD recorders. Panasonic and Hitachi also bundled it with camcorders that used DVD-RAM discs. However, although Panasonic apparently continues to support it, neither Panasonic or Hitachi sells this software separately, or has it available for download. I have tried to find a legitimate source for it several times for various people, but nobody sells this software or legally provides for download either. Unless you happen to have a copy as a result of purchasing a camera or a another DVD recorder that came with it, this is not a viable solution.

If you want something newer and readily available for purchase that reads and imports any playable VRO file, even those with fragmentation stored on DVD-RAM discs, Cyberlink Power Director can do it. Some Nero products, TMPGEnc products, MPEG Streamclip and others read unfragmented VRO files just fine, but Cyberlink's products are the only ones I have tried that can correctly read any VRO file that my DVD recorder will play without any problems and convert it to an .mpg. Once that is done, it should be possible to edit the file with any good MPEG-2 editor and convert it to another format afterwards.

If you want a USB capture device that works well for most people, avoid the cheap $9 EasyCaps sold on various shopping websites. These devices appear to be fairly problematic knockoffs of a discontinued product made by a legitimate company a few years ago. They work for some lucky folks, but others get nothing but grief from them. You will get no support from the maker or seller. Spend $25 to $40 and get a better SD USB capture device that comes with at least a little bit of support.

Actually, the TMPGEnc encoder 4.0 and 5.0 products can read VROs from Panny DVD recorders DVD-RAM discs just fine. It's incorporated into the encoder software for sure. Just add source, DVD-RAM and it will see each individual program and transfer it to disc for you for further processing. Haven't used TDA in a long time but I think that can do it as well. The Movie Album software seems to have stopped development at 4.5 and that only worked on Vista. Earlier versions worked on XP but there is no Win7 version. Use the encoder software for that OS...

[usually_quiet]

Actually, the TMPGEnc encoder 4.0 and 5.0 products can read VROs from Panny DVD recorders DVD-RAM discs just fine. It's incorporated into the encoder software for sure. Just add source, DVD-RAM and it will see each individual program and transfer it to disc for you for further processing. Haven't used TDA in a long time but I think that can do it as well. The Movie Album software seems to have stopped development at 4.5 and that only worked on Vista. Earlier versions worked on XP but there is no Win7 version. Use the encoder software for that OS...

I know what worked for me and what didn't. My experience is documented here: https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/302242-Problems-copying-VRO-files-from-DVD-RAM-SOLVED! I tried TAW. Unless for some reason they read DVD-RAM using a different method than TAW used, the encoders won't work better when the VRO file on a DVD-RAM disc is fragmented due to a bad sector.

Unlike other DVD media, not only does DVD-RAM permit file fragmentation, but it can compensate for bad sectors by skipping them, much like an HDD. (Trying ISOBuster to recover the file revealed there were bad sectors.) The disc that had problems played fine with my DVD recorder, and Cyberlink PowerDVD, so I knew the recording itself was not corrupted. TMPGEnc's software would try to import the file, but failed when it reached the bad sectors. Only Cyberlink PowerProducer could import the entire file correctly.

[aliciac]

Thanks to everyone for the detailed replies. I finally cracked it, using two pass Xvid.

Alicia. x