Verifying Original VOB Compression of a Ripped DVD Movie

[dped91]

To add to the above, an .mkv can be the the same quality as a .vob (which is another container, specifically for use in video DVDs), if the file is remuxed (rewrapped) into the .mkv container. Imagine you have a store bought cake. You take it out of the box (.vob) and place it into a home container (.mkv). The cake is still exactly the same.

Referring to your analogies, this Ebay crook sold my friend what we thought was the actual Fox Classics DVD. https://www.ebay.com/itm/266338749818?chn=ps&mkevt=1&mkcid=28 Instead, it was a rip burned to a Maxell DVD-R. The quality's not at all bad, though I can't recall if it equals the A/V quality of my public library's Fox classics copy-though that too has the purplish color of a burn rather than a pressing.

That crook who sold me this rip did create chapters, which I don't think the Fox Classic disc has. But how can I tell if the VOB files I see in Windows Explorer are the originals from the ripped Fox disc or were not further compressed and/or transcoded by the crook to some lossy container, because the crook might not have used a dual layered DVD to insure enough storage capacity, and/or because he wanted the burn to go faster?

Here's a screenshot of that disc's contents. Three of the VOB files total over 3 GB, but I guess the only way that I can be sure that the crook didn't compress them down to that size is to borrow that Fox disc, screen shot its contents too and compare.

BUT this time I won't return it before making an ISO file of it!

Btw, when I played this rip there were about four times when it suddenly pixelated and then played normally, though one event had badly pixelated Diane Varsi's face. Is this all due to the Maxell disc surface quality and/or what other possible causes?

[DB83]

That directory (why did you not simply send a screenshot as a jpeg as an attachment to your post ?) tells us nothing about the compression (although one can do some basic maths.

But why get your calculator out when you can use medianfo - text mode - on a vob which will tell you the bitrate.


And even then, without another version to compare, you can not tell if it has reduced compression.


It's a dvd. A dvd has only one form of compression. It's called mpeg-2.

[dped91]

That directory (why did you not simply send a screenshot as a jpeg as an attachment to your post ?) tells us nothing about the compression (although one can do some basic maths.

But why get your calculator out when you can use medianfo - text mode - on a vob which will tell you the bitrate.


And even then, without another version to compare, you can not tell if it has reduced compression.


It's a dvd. A dvd has only one form of compression. It's called mpeg-2.

Yes, I now remember having that mediainfo app on my old pc.
And I know the DVD movie format uses mpeg-2 compression-at least that's the compression used to commercially produce a DVD. But what's to stop this crook from having used somewhat further compressing the VOB files if a single layered DVD couldn't store this 110 minute movie?

I will have to borrow the library copy to compare the file sizes.

[DB83]

I'm sorry if I sounded flipant. But the mediainfo report could provide the info without the need to get that library copy.

3 gb for a 110 min movie (I thought I saw from the fleabay listing it was 95) will mean a bitrate if the dvd was full-D1 ie 720*480 making the dvd almost unwatchable. So I suspect you have a half-D1 or 352*480 which allows for a much lower bitrate. Still would not look great on a large tv screen.


I doubt if the seller would spend the time and effort in a re-encode to reduce to a single-layer disk whilst killing quality and thus inviting return.

[davexnet]

Perhaps the OP could provide a sample? 30 seconds or so ?
The version on Tubi TV, is extremely soft, as if it had suffered aggressive denoising.

[dped91]

Perhaps the OP could provide a sample? 30 seconds or so ? The version on Tubi TV, is extremely soft, as if it had suffered aggressive denoising.

I could try if I knew how.

[dped91]

I'm sorry if I sounded flipant. But the mediainfo report could provide the info without the need to get that library copy.

3 gb for a 110 min movie (I thought I saw from the fleabay listing it was 95) will mean a bitrate if the dvd was full-D1 ie 720*480 making the dvd almost unwatchable. So I suspect you have a half-D1 or 352*480 which allows for a much lower bitrate. Still would not look great on a large tv screen.


I doubt if the seller would spend the time and effort in a re-encode to reduce to a single-layer disk whilst killing quality and thus inviting return.

All the more reason for making an ISO of the library copy, which being a DVD-R probably doesn't even have copy protection. My AnyDVD HD trial should work.

[davexnet]

Perhaps the OP could provide a sample? 30 seconds or so ? The version on Tubi TV, is extremely soft, as if it had suffered aggressive denoising.

I could try if I knew how.

Open one of the VOB files in Avidemux. Drag the cursor and find a good scene, use the A and B buttons to mark it. (start and end)
Set "output format" (lower left) to Mpeg PS muxer. Save the clip.

Post it here

[DB83]

BTW Just because that library copy is on a DVD-R then as long it is a studio original do not assume that it will not be copy-protected.

https://www.protect-software.com/en/solutions/video-dvd-copy-protection-overview/copy-...ds-dvdr-dvd-r/


Claims to be used by several studios.

[dped91]

BTW Just because that library copy is on a DVD-R then as long it is a studio original do not assume that it will not be copy-protected.

https://www.protect-software.com/en/solutions/video-dvd-copy-protection-overview/copy-...ds-dvdr-dvd-r/


Claims to be used by several studios.

Indeed, when I borrowed that DVD weeks ago I assumed that DVD-R had no protection. So, I right clicked on it in Windows Explorer and copied the few files to a folder on my storage driver. But when I tried to play the Video_TS file in VLC player no luck. And when I right clicked on that file it was only ~ 168KB, way less than the rip that crook sold me.

[davexnet]

Please post a clip if you can, I'm interested in seeing how it looks. Thanks

[dped91]

Perhaps the OP could provide a sample? 30 seconds or so ? The version on Tubi TV, is extremely soft, as if it had suffered aggressive denoising.

I could try if I knew how.

Open one of the VOB files in Avidemux. Drag the cursor and find a good scene, use the A and B buttons to mark it. (start and end) Set "output format" (lower left) to Mpeg PS muxer. Save the clip.

Post it here

Cool! I've been searching for a "simple" scene cutting tool ever since I failed to make practically any sense out of this https://www.videomaker.com/how-to/editing/editing-technique/muxing-why-is-it-essential...eo-processing/

As it happens, I have a few favorite DVD movies but they have some unpleasant scenes which I would like to simply snip out. Will this app let me do that easily and without degrading the A/V quality one bit before I then save the changes to an ISO or MKV file (s)?

[october262]

Perhaps the OP could provide a sample? 30 seconds or so ? The version on Tubi TV, is extremely soft, as if it had suffered aggressive denoising.

I could try if I knew how.

Open one of the VOB files in Avidemux. Drag the cursor and find a good scene, use the A and B buttons to mark it. (start and end) Set "output format" (lower left) to Mpeg PS muxer. Save the clip.

Post it here

Cool! I've been searching for a "simple" scene cutting tool ever since I failed to make practically any sense out of this https://www.videomaker.com/how-to/editing/editing-technique/muxing-why-is-it-essential...eo-processing/

As it happens, I have a few favorite DVD movies but they have some unpleasant scenes which I would like to simply snip out. Will this app let me do that easily and without degrading the A/V quality one bit before I then save the changes to an ISO or MKV file (s)?

From Hell To Texas is available on archive.org - https://archive.org/details/mary59_gmx_819V

[dped91]

Please post a clip if you can, I'm interested in seeing how it looks. Thanks

Got it.

[dped91]

[QUOTE=october262;2702266]

Perhaps the OP could provide a sample? 30 seconds or so ? The version on Tubi TV, is extremely soft, as if it had suffered aggressive denoising.

I could try if I knew how.

Open one of the VOB files in Avidemux. Drag the cursor and find a good scene, use the A and B buttons to mark it. (start and end) Set "output format" (lower left) to Mpeg PS muxer. Save the clip.

Post it here

From Hell To Texas is available on archive.org - https://archive.org/details/mary59_gmx_819V

Is that better audio and video quality than my upload?

[october262]

[QUOTE=dped91;2702270]

Perhaps the OP could provide a sample? 30 seconds or so ? The version on Tubi TV, is extremely soft, as if it had suffered aggressive denoising.

I could try if I knew how.

Open one of the VOB files in Avidemux. Drag the cursor and find a good scene, use the A and B buttons to mark it. (start and end) Set "output format" (lower left) to Mpeg PS muxer. Save the clip.

Post it here

From Hell To Texas is available on archive.org - https://archive.org/details/mary59_gmx_819V

Is that better audio and video quality than my upload?

the one on tubi, looks like it has compression artifacts & looks a bit fuzzy. the one on archive.org looks ok.

[dped91]

But how does the one on archive.org compare to my upload, post # 14?

[davexnet]

But how does the one on archive.org compare to my upload, post # 14?

Just looking at it online, yours is better. However, yours does have some problems.

Is that a straight cut from your DVD (no re-encode) ?

There are some duplicate frames (frame repeats)
Looks like it could have been converted from 25 fps > 29.97 through these repeats

I found a 932MB 25 fps 720p source on the internet; I've been playing with it to convert it 23.976 via slowdown (to it's correct speed)

My PC is kind of slow, so I haven't encoded it all, but I did a few tests...
It looks a bit different from yours, I think poterntially it could look better - depends on how much time I want play
with my Avisynth script on my slow PC. Here's a sample

[dped91]

But how does the one on archive.org compare to my upload, post # 14?

Just looking at it online, yours is better. However, yours does have some problems.

Is that a straight cut from your DVD (no re-encode) ?

There are some duplicate frames (frame repeats)
Looks like it could have been converted from 25 fps > 29.97 through these repeats.

Don't exactly know what you mean by "re-encode". All I did was copy one vob file to my storage HDD, then use that app to sample some footage and save like you said to do.

But when you say there's some frame repeats, they are visible while playing, yes?

But why/how did the crook increase the fps rate?

I wonder how your 720p copy compares my public library's copy. That one has the black/gold Fox Classics disc label, so i guess it can't be a copy.

[davexnet]

But how does the one on archive.org compare to my upload, post # 14?

Just looking at it online, yours is better. However, yours does have some problems.

Is that a straight cut from your DVD (no re-encode) ?

There are some duplicate frames (frame repeats)
Looks like it could have been converted from 25 fps > 29.97 through these repeats.

Don't exactly know what you mean by "re-encode". All I did was copy one vob file to my storage HDD, then use that app to sample some footage and save like you said to do.

But when you say there's some frame repeats, they are visible while playing, yes?

But why/how did the crook increase the fps rate?

I wonder how your 720p copy compares my public library's copy. That one has the black/gold Fox Classics disc label, so i guess it can't be a copy.

The frame rate change is done to make a NTSC compliant version intead of PAL.

They're visible as micro stutters, you may see it on a slow panning shot.
Did you use Avidemux to cut the clip (See post #8 above) ?

[dped91]

You're saying that the crook's original Fox DVD was in PAL, not NTSC? Seems unlikely, since the DVD's artwork looks exactly like my library's Region 1, which would be NTSC. And that crook's apparently based in TX. Here's the one I purchased from that bum. https://www.ebay.com/itm/266338749818?chn=ps&mkevt=1&mkcid=28 And here he goes again selling you something that to all the world looks like the Fox Classics DVD that I thought I was buying, when it's probably another rip, and for the same price that he screwed me with.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/266347414062

I'll have to look for that stuttering in slow moving scenes, though might it matter if my screen's only 19"?

Yes, Avidemux is the only app I have to do such editing.

[davexnet]

You should have saved it as an mpg by using the info I gave above

[Cornucopia]

Re: the library copies...

The libraries MUST follow legal, standard distribution channels to get their copies, so ALL of their materials are official, copy-protected, pressed discs. Not burned, not NOT copy protected, not gray market (and this includes ebay). Any librarian can tell you this (and I know quite a few, as friends, relatives, and colleagues).

Scott

[dped91]

You should have saved it as an mpg by using the info I gave above

But I was sure that I did what you said: "Set "output format" (lower left) to Mpeg PS muxer and click Save".

[davexnet]

You should have saved it as an mpg by using the info I gave above

But I was sure that I did what you said: "Set "output format" (lower left) to Mpeg PS muxer and click Save".

That's odd - the file you uploaded was definitely an MKV.
I'm not sure if they'll be any difference, but there may. If you want to see what you really have best to be sure

[Alwyn]

You should have saved it as an mpg by using the info I gave above

It doesn't matter. Just MKV>MPEG it yourself.

[dped91]

You should have saved it as an mpg by using the info I gave above

It doesn't matter. Just MKV>MPEG it yourself.

You don't lose quality by transcoding?

[Alwyn]

You don't lose quality by transcoding?

Using video "Copy" and audio "Copy" in AVIDemux, no. You are simply changing container/"Output format", not the codec. The only thing you did wrong was not change the output format to MPEG PS.

If you have a look at the files (VOB, MKV, MPEG) with Mediainfo, you'll see the file codec is actually MPEG 2 for all.

That's why the "change" process is almost instantaneous. No re-encoding/transcoding is going on.

The slight differences in file size, I believe, are due to different header information.

To remove all doubt, you could re-do that VOB to MPG. Just choose MPEG PS as the output format.

[DB83]

The issue I have with that sample is that the maths simply do not add up.

Your dvd folder shows approx 3 gb of video and audio data. Even a 95* min film would be closer to 4 gb and a 110* min film would possibly exceed a single-layer disk if indeed your sample is a direct copy with the quoted size/bitrate.


*Just cheked IMDB and according to that we have 1hr 40min (100 min) so still bigger than what your folder shows.

[davexnet]

I took another look after doing the conversion to mpg and looking at it one frame at at time.
it's not the typical 3:2 pulldown usually used to convert film rate (23.976 fps) to 29.97 for the DVD.

The underlying source for this seems to have been 25 fps. As such, it may not play as smooth,
you'll have to try it and see