Coverting .VOB DVD rip to Mp4 or similar iMovie friendly format

[Tabletop]

Hi Everyone,

Hope someone can help. I have and DVD that was created from some 1990's camcorder footage of a live gig. This was ripped into my Mac computer and plays perfectly in the DVD player app. The files are stored on my Mac as .VOB files along with the other associated DVD files.

The original event was filmed badly with bad sound (also out of sync), and my intention is to create a more watchable version.

So far I have sucessfully :

1) Converted the .VOB files to .MOV using 'Smart Converter'
2) Imported them to iMovie.
3) Syncronised the sound & picture
4) Exported the audio to Logic, cleaned up, re-imported to iMovie
4) Exported a final large, but unsatisfactory .mp4 file from iMovie

The main problem with this file is :

The conversion of .VOB to .MOV using 'Smart Converter' is not very good. I think there is a problem with 'interlacing' perhaps? If I pause the .MOV video there are lines on the screen. On the original DVD video this is not present. Also I don't think there is quite as much detail.

What I'm lookng for :

A more precise way to convert the .VOB file to a format I can use in iMovie like mP4/.MOV. But without the 'lines' artifacts, and with maximum detail.

I now hove the app HandBrake which seems to have lots of settings. Any advice welcome - thankyou

[davexnet]

Try Handbrake instead of Smart Converter. By default it does a "decomb" should help
with situations like this

[Tabletop]

Thankyou for this. I'm trying handbrake, I can now get rid of the interlacing effect. However, the overall resolution the converted mp4 is noticably lower than the original. I realise it's compressing the file, but I think something is not set quite right somewhere. Any ideas?

[davexnet]

Thankyou for this. I'm trying handbrake, I can now get rid of the interlacing effect. However, the overall resolution the converted mp4 is noticably lower than the original. I realise it's compressing the file, but I think something is not set quite right somewhere. Any ideas?

It's hard to know what went wrong but in general the default Handbrake settings does reduce the fluidity of video;
motion does not look quite as smooth.
If there's something you're having difficulty describing, upload a sample to this thread, preferable, a section of the source VOB
and the result you got.