Need help ripping VHS footage from DVDs, then re-authoring them on one DVD

[Condor Joe]

I have a couple of DVDs of old home movies from the 1990's, presumably recorded on a tape-based camcorder, that my father recently gave to me. He looks to have done a simple VHS>DVD transfer, I'm guessing with one of those DVD recorders. The footage is disorganized, so I'd like to extract it in as best of a quality as possible. I figure that it's already gone through compression when it was transferred to DVD so this is a priority.

How can I do this, and with what? Any help would be appreciated, thanks!

[redwudz]

You could use VOB2MPG to convert the DVDs to just large .mpeg files. Then use a .mpeg editor to organize and edit the video. If you don't need any effects like fades or transitions, or do any re-encoding, you will still have the same quality. Then re-author the video to DVD format and burn as new DVDs, if that's your final output.

There are lots of .mpeg video editors in our 'Tools' section. You could use a simple editor like AVIDemux or similar. Then re-author with GUI for dvdauthor and burn with ImgBurn. All freeware.

Other members may have better recommendations.

[hech54]

I'd like to extract it in as best of a quality as possible.

Best quality possible will be leaving it as it is....as MPEG2. VOB2MPEG will take the footage from the disc and give you one, large MPEG2 file. From there....there are many MPEG2 cutters that cut the footage without loss of quality or re-encoding. I use a program called MPEG-VCR by Womble but there are others now...and freebies as well.

[Condor Joe]

Okay, so I ripped the footage from the DVD to mpg. with VOB2MPEG and cut it up with MPEG-VCR, and everything appears to be A-OK. However, when using GUIfordvdauthor and attempting to add/import my PEG-2 video, the program tells me that it "hasn't found any navigation packets" in the file, and suggests that I use elementary streams or another multiplexer. I then tried Nero Vision, and that appeared to go well at first until the burning process failed at 99% (the same warning that GUIfordvdauthor gave me if I went ahead using the video files as is). What should I do now? I'd just like to add a simple title screen, 1 or 2 chapter stops per video (there's 8, which top at a little over 3GB) and that's it.

[manono]

If it wants elementary streams, then give it elementary streams. Demux it and try again.

[Condor Joe]

If it wants elementary streams, then give it elementary streams. Demux it and try again.

How do I demux?

[manono]

Lots of ways. One is to open the IFO in PGCDemux and demux the audio and video (and celltimes.txt? (the chapters)). Another is to open the VOBs in DGIndex and File->Save Project and Demux Video. That'll give you back the audio and the video in the form of an M2V. You won't need the D2V project file it also crates.

[Condor Joe]

Lots of ways. One is to open the IFO in PGCDemux and demux the audio and video (and celltimes.txt? (the chapters)). Another is to open the VOBs in DGIndex and File->Save Project and Demux Video. That'll give you back the audio and the video in the form of an M2V. You won't need the D2V project file it also crates.

Okay, thanks! But this presents another issue: how do I edit the demuxed audio and video files to only include the footage that I'd like on the final DVD?

[manono]

Better late than never, eh?

Well, you'd edit before demuxing. redwudz above gave some suggestions along those lines. I was only answering your question about how to demux. Some DVD authoring programs don't actually require you to demux. They'll do it internally when authoring. DVDAuthorGUI is one such free program that allows for VOB input (MPG as well, I think).