Easiest way to save chapters as individual files?

[sdsumike619]

What's the easiest way to rip chapters off a DVD and save them as individual files. I don't want any encoding to other formats to take place. Just copy the chapters off the disc to the hard drive as mpg files. I know DVD Decrypter will do it but it's not developed anymore as far as I know.

[videobruger]

MakeMKV -> Files -> Open DVD files manually

[sdsumike619]

This program doesn't seem to be working well. It's getting stuck at title #12. I guess I'll stick with DVD Decrypter.. Although old, it still seems to do the job correctly.

[manono]

Using DVD Decrypter in IFO Mode you can check the cell(s)/chapter(s) you want. I believe you can also set it up to decrypt all the chapters sequentially without doing them all one-by-one.

If you already knew about DVD Decrypter for this, then why ask again? Maybe you didn't know about it being able to decrypt all the chapters at one go? Of course, it won't give you MPGs but I don't believe anything else will.

I know DVD Decrypter will do it but it's not developed anymore as far as I know.

Yes, that's true, but it'll still work with the vast majority of DVDs ever released.

[sdsumike619]

I use it in File mode and it seems to be working fine. Only reason I asked about another program was because I know that DVD Decrypter hasn't been developed for some time. But it still works so might as well just stick with it until it doesn't anymore.

[manono]

I use it in File mode and it seems to be working fine.

I find that odd since it's IFO Mode that allows you to check the chapter boxes to get just the chapter(s) you want. I just checked and in the IFO Mode settings you can also choose to have it split by chapters and thus get the whole film, already split by chapter.

Of course, DVD Decrypter won't work on DVDs with advanced copy protection, but for older DVDs and for DVDs of less well known films, it still works fine. For those it can't handle you can use DVDFab or whatever, and then split by cell afterwards using PGCDemux.

[sdsumike619]

Thanks, I will look into IFO mode too

[DB83]

Agree with manono in that dvd decrypter in ifo-mode is the most intuitive way to go about this - file mode just gives you the actual files on the disk and not the chapters within the titles.

The pro version (if it can still be obtained) of vob2mpg can also extract individual chapters.

A more round-about method you might also consider if the above suggestions do not suffice is the convert/save options within vlc. Although you can save as a .ts with mpeg2 it may well re-encode so that will defeat your main purpose. But I thought I might just mention it.

[sdsumike619]

Well let me give a little more detail on the end goal so I can clarify what I need to do. I need to be able to get the video data off the DVD. Each chapter, i.e., each menu selection into a separate file that I can them import into my NLE and do color and sound correction, and then re-encode each chapter to an H.264 Essentially what we're doing is converting DVD products to downloadable products for a website. Unfortunately, I don't have the original NLE so the DVD is my only source to work from. But that's ok, these aren't hollywood epics either.

So to recap, I need individual files that I can just drag onto my NLE timeline for editing. I'm looking at the IFO mode, and there's a lot of options, not really sure what to do here?

[DB83]

Sorry. But when I read words such as 'converting DVD products to downloadable products for a website' I get somewhat nervous.

My assistance ends here.

[sdsumike619]

Nervous? Why?

[manono]

So to recap, I need individual files that I can just drag onto my NLE timeline for editing. I'm looking at the IFO mode, and there's a lot of options, not really sure what to do here?

You set it up in IFO Mode and check the chapter you want. Or, if you want all the chapters the film has, you go Tools->Settings->IFO Mode->File Splitting->By Chapter.

[awgie]

Nervous? Why?

Why? Because you're discussing something that could very well be a violation of copyright laws. Whether they are "Hollywood epics" or not, if they are copyrighted material, then your providing them - even if it's in pieces - for download from a website is illegal.

And since no one here but you actually knows what said DVDs are, it is simply unwise to assist you in your endeavors. Not to mention being against the forum rules.

[sdsumike619]

Oh sorry, no, I didn't mean to make it sound like that. This is all content owned by us. Existing catalog of instructional DVDs that are to be converted to downloadable videos. Not doing anything illegal. The issue is that I produced these DVDs, some of them anyways quite a while back, and I don't have the original NLE project files to encode from. So I have to use the actual DVDs. Won't be the best quality but it'll do. For other projects, I do have the NLE project file, so I can encode them straight from there.

[awgie]

That being the case, the screenshots manono provided are pretty straight-forward and should give you what you need.

[sdsumike619]

Here's a follow up question related to this process. These are regular NTSC 4:3 720x480 frame size DVDs.

When I bring the VOB files into my NLE to encode them to H.264 files, should I keep the frame size the same?

[manono]

Here's a follow up question related to this process. These are regular NTSC 4:3 720x480 frame size DVDs.

When I bring the VOB files into my NLE to encode them to H.264 files, should I keep the frame size the same?

You have two choices. You can resize them to a 1.33:1 ratio - one such as 640x480 - or you can set a SAR in the video so what was originally 720x480 with everyone looking slightly squashed and fat, will then play back at the correct aspect ratio. I don't use NLEs for this sort of thing so I have no idea what yours can or cannot do.

Since you're planning on uploading these and making them available for others to download (?), I would definitely resize them. If there are black bars on the sides I'd also crop them away.

[DB83]

Thank you for clarifying the copyright issue. I am rather 'old school'. Something is either black or white with no grey in between. So I prefer to err on the side of caution than make assumptions.

To contribute to your last question, it is safer to resize to 640*480 since your pixels will now be square rather than rely on the container to do the resizing for you. Your customers could be quite unhappy if the product ,which they probably are paying for, does not look right. Plus you do not know how they will view them so you have to cater for the majority.

If the original is 16:9 then you resize to 854*480.

DVD takes care of the aspect ratio since the pixel are not square.

[sdsumike619]

Yeah I don't want to make the video any smaller than it has to be.. these are not widescreen, they're regular old 4:3

[awgie]

Here's a follow up question related to this process. These are regular NTSC 4:3 720x480 frame size DVDs.

When I bring the VOB files into my NLE to encode them to H.264 files, should I keep the frame size the same?

Not sure what NLE you're using, so I don't know what it looks like in the editor. It might look squashed, but the NLE should take the DAR into account and show you the picture the way it's supposed to look.

DVDs use non-square pixels, so all DVD files are 720x480, and the DVD player uses the PAR & DAR to show you the image on your TV the way the author intended. When you encode them for the website, I would encode them with square pixels, so your frame size should change, probably to 640x480 as manono and DB83 said.

[sdsumike619]

I'm using Vegas 13, when it was still by Sony, haven't taken the plunge into v14

What's correct then, because I read somewhere 656 x 480 too. I'll just encode both and see which looks better...

[DB83]

I'ts not rocket science. First do simple maths. 480/3*4 = 640. So your 4:3 aspect ratio is preserved. 656 will mean a slightly stretched image.

Back to your NTSC dvd as the pixel aspect ratio is 8/9. Take 720/9*8 = 640. Two different ways but the result is the same.

[sdsumike619]

Ok, thank you much!

[sdsumike619]

I just tried 640x480 and the person on the video looks wider than they do on the DVD's vob file, so that can't be right.

[_Al_]

This could go forever, usually it is sorted out right away after posting a sample. You can load DVD into DGindex and cut a sample.

I tested Vegas like that a while ago, it loads DVD correctly if I remember, but I loaded it with DVD import function, not load as a file. Vegas has that function, because there used be DVD camdorders in the past, so it could load even authorized DVD. Vegas automatically created mpg file out of DVD structure and that was loaded onto timeline.
(not remembering if it did inverse telecine or whatever necessary to correctly figure out interlace or telecine)

Beside that, there is lots of filters that could make Vegas force to interpret footage as regular DVD. Look at pan/crop effect (it has some presets there) and properties/media for clip (fixing aspect ratio), sometimes you can fix things there or there.

[sdsumike619]

I figured it out. I had to uncheck "keep aspect ratio"

[_Al_]

sample of video, original video, mpeg2cut2 or DGIndex

[DB83]

The contra-argument is that the person on the vob looks thinner than does on the 640*480.

And if Vegas is not adjusting the 720*480 back to 640*480 ie allowing for the non-square pixels there is bound to be a discrepancy.

Play that vob in a pc player than is known to adjust to the correct aspect ratio etc such as vlc and then compare.

[sdsumike619]

I can't figure out how to use DGIndex.. Will try the other one..
The other one doesn't work at all and it screwed with my screen while it was open.

How do you get a sample of the original video from DGIndex? I don't see an option to save the selected section as video

[sdsumike619]

Ok, I got it, here's a sample from the vob extracted from the DVD itself