How to Edit VOB files from Hitachi DVDCAM DZ-MV230a

[sgalli]

I have the Hitachi DVDCAM that records on DVD-RAM and DVD-R 8cm disks. I have recorded video on the DVD-R and finalized it with the camera. This makes a DVD standard DVD-R disk that can be played in some DVD players and on DVD-ROM drives on the PC. I have copied the VOB file to my PC...no problem since their is no encoding. I can play the VOB using WinDVD, etc. QUESTION - how do I edit the darn thing. It is already MPEG-2 DVD quality video. I don't want to do a whole lot of converting, but would like to use Ulead software to edit it. Please advise. Thanks!

[hyperal]

I am also having a problem. My Hitachi DVD camcorder is the older model the DZ-MV100E and it only records on 8cm DVD-RAM media. I have copied the files across to my windows based PC and can play them direct from the hard disk using my software DVD player.

in the DVD_RTAV directory I have the following files
VR_MANAGER.IFO
VR_MOVIE.VRO
VR_MANAGER.BUP
default.pls

How do I convert these to SVCD?

Is there any software that will edit these files on the PC?

[hrstruggle]

Hoping that SOMEONE will reply to this, I am also having the same problem. I have the 230 model Hitachi DVD camera.

I was able to successfully take the contents and make into a VCD but I didn't edit the video at all.

Now, I want to edit a different, longer video which I've copied to my hard drive and then burn the results to a VCD. The main file is a .VRO which I've learned can be re-named to a .VOB and manipulated with some programs.

I was able to edit the video to contain just the scene I want. Now, I have to edit the sound to match it. I have no idea how that works. I'm thinking I may have more luck editing a video with sound but I'm not sure. I hope this makes sense.

Any other advice?

[leebo]

Sgalli, try changing the extension to mpg.
DVD workshop can do simple cuts with this method, dont know if there is other software that can also.

As for VRO files, they are NOT the same as VOB's.

Do a search in this forum for "VRO". You will not be too happy with what you find.

DVDjr and a software from Harrius (sp) is available to convert VRO into VOB files, but both are expensive.

[hrstruggle]

UPDATE:

I was able to open the .VOB file with DVDx using the "Open MPEG" option, convert it to an .mpeg file and then burn that with Nero to a SVCD. That worked OK.

I wanted to edit the MPEG, however, and didn't have the full version of TMPGEnc, so that got me stuck.

I still was able to change the .VRO and rename it to .VOB and everything worked.

HRSTRUGGLE

[dvdcam]

I have a bullet proof method of getting your Hitachi DVD ram vro to video cd or dvd! *note just changing the vro file to mpg does not work, what happens is you only see the 1st segment of your recordings. I went through insane amounts of hell figuring all of this out. The below method to my knowledge is the only way to do it without going insane!

Only Two Programs Needed:
DVD2AVI
TMPGENC

Basic steps are here, let me know if you need more detail:

-Copy your .vro file to your hard drive
-open dvd2avi
-load the vro file directly into dvd2avi
-do a save project (that will create 2 small files)
-close dvd2avi, you're done with it now
-now open tmpgenc
-load the video portion of your dvd2avi project (the d2v file)
-load your audio portion of your dvd2avi project (the other one)
-you're set! just output the file to svcd or whatever you like!
-need to edit the file? use tmpgenc mpeg tools and segment the clips you want, then merge them back together as 1 mpeg, it works great and no need for re-encoding!

Other notes:

Now I tried svcd for my dvd cam with terrible success. I suggest you do not output your file as svcd unless your dvd player can play higher bit rates. Instead output your file as a CVD (there are guides for this on vcdhelp, it's basically a slightly modified svcd, just different resolution). Once I made my first cvd (2pass vbr, high quality motion search) I was blown away! The video was much more clear, movement was totally smooth, and hardly any blocks or noise. It was very close to what i would see if I plugged my dvd cam straight into the TV set. So, go with the steps above and you should be very happy. Let me know if there is anything else I can help with. The dvdcam format is new and there is very little support,, we gotta stick together!!!

P.S. anyone find a flash that works for the cameras digital mode?

[hrstruggle]

Thanks to DVDCAM for their method of getting this stuff onto a CD.

I've been doing pretty well since my last posting. I've been able to make SVCDs from the video I take with my Hitachi Cam.

I rename the .VRO file to a .VOB and use DVDx to convert the file to an .MPEG. I use TMPGEnc to break up the file into smaller videos since when you copy it over from the camera onto the computer, it copies as one big file, not individual video segments.

I may experiment instead making VCDs, after reading DVDCAMs comment, to see if the resolution is better.

Another thing I want to do with the camera is to be able to display the date and/or time on the screen as I shoot the video. The camera has a date display but this is not recorded on the actual video - anyone know how to get it to display in the video or is this not possible?

[dvdcam]

"I may experiment instead making VCDs, after reading DVDCAMs comment, to see if the resolution is better."

Hi, That's CVD you should try for better resolution, not VCD. You might have just mis-spelled.

As far as the date thing goes, I haven't tried that yet, but I'm sure it can.

[lacywest]

Womble mpeg-vcr will edit vro files.


TMPGEnc DVD Author v1.5.15.49 ... will accept vro files ... I've done it to transfer Sci-Fi BattleStar Galactica to DVD from a Panasonic DVD-RAM disk ... I first transfered to my harddrive.


InterVideo WinDVD Creator 2 ... will also accept vro files and convert it to Mpg-2.

I did a five minute segment directly from a DVD-RAM disk in my Toshiba SD-M1712 and InterVideo WinDVD Creator 2 converted it directly from my Toshiba SD-M1712 drive to a mpg-2 video with AC-3 audio.

[Specialist]

You can edit the file using either...

1. Ulead VideoStudio 7.01

http://www.ulead.com/vs/runme.htm

2. Ulead MediaStudio Pro 7.01

http://www.ulead.com/msp/runme.htm

Both of the above programs will allow you to use the ULEAD DVD-VR CAPTURE PLUG-IN to capture MPEG-2 from .VOB (DVD-R) or .VRO (DVD-RAM) DVD disc files.

Follow the steps of my tutorial to extract the MPEG-2...

http://www.jonesgroup.net/vdrm30stepone.htm

...except you should browse to your Video_TS folder instead of the DVD_RTAV folder that I mention in conjunction with DVD-RAM discs.

Jerry Jones
http://www.jonesgroup.net

I have the Hitachi DVDCAM that records on DVD-RAM and DVD-R 8cm disks. I have recorded video on the DVD-R and finalized it with the camera. This makes a DVD standard DVD-R disk that can be played in some DVD players and on DVD-ROM drives on the PC. I have copied the VOB file to my PC...no problem since their is no encoding. I can play the VOB using WinDVD, etc. QUESTION - how do I edit the darn thing. It is already MPEG-2 DVD quality video. I don't want to do a whole lot of converting, but would like to use Ulead software to edit it. Please advise. Thanks!

[Specialist]

Extraction of MPEG-2 from .VRO files is done in exactly the same way as it is done for .VOB files, using ULEAD's DVD-VR CAPTURE PLUG-IN:

http://www.jonesgroup.net/vdrm30stepone.htm

However, the only difference:

1. .VRO files are stored in DVD_RTAV folders

2. .VOB files are stored in Video_TS folders

Jerry Jones
http://www.jonesgroup.net

As for VRO files, they are NOT the same as VOB's.

[Specialist]

Please follow the steps of my tutorial that explains how to use Ulead MediaStudio Pro's DVD-VR CAPTURE PLUG-IN to extract raw MPEG-2 from .VRO files recorded in DVD_RTAV folders on DVD-RAM discs:

http://www.jonesgroup.net/vdrm30stepone.htm

Hope this helps,

Jerry Jones
http://www.jonesgroup.net

I am also having a problem. My Hitachi DVD camcorder is the older model the DZ-MV100E and it only records on 8cm DVD-RAM media.

[hrstruggle]

Since my last bout of video editing frustration, I've gotten a DVD burner (Pioneer A05).

I also obtained a copy of Ulead Video Studio which (as Jerry explained) allows me to capture directly from my camera. The great part is that it turns each scene into it's own .MPG file which I can then use to make a DVD with the same program.

It's actually pretty simple - now my problem is finding a reliable source of inexpensive DVD-Rs that will play on most DVD players . . .

[aciprez]

I hope this helps some other Hitachi DVDCAM owners. After two years of looking for a reasonable quality, quick, and inexpensive way to convert, edit, and author home movies from my Hitachi DZ-MV230A DVDCAM, I recently succeeded. I had to purchase two programs: DVD Junior ($99), and TMPGEnc 2.5 ($49). I also downloaded three utility programs from the internet: ChopperXP, VOBMerge, and BeSweet. I tried many different programs, utilities, trial software, etc. either without success, or with extremely long encoding times until I hit on this procedure.

Overview:
1. Use DVD Junior to convert vro to vob.
2. Use ChopperXP to split the vob file into multiple vob file segments you wish to keep.
3. Use VOBMerge to join the various "keeper" segments together.
4. Use TMPGEnc to demultiplex the merged vob file into a m2v video file, and a mp2 audio file.
5. Use BeSweet to convert the mp2 audio file to a wav or ac3 format.
6. Author the DVD (I'm using DVD Junior since I needed it anyway, for the vro to vob conversion).

First of course, copy the vro file(s) from the DVDCAM to your disk drive. From there, my procedure is:

1. Use DVD Junior to convert vro to vob:
A. Select "Authoring", "Title"
B. Right click Title, and select "Title File Name"
C. Open vro file of interest
D. A warning box appears informing that the file will be converted to vob. Enter directory and filename for the converted file. For a vro file that was 1.308 GB, the process took less than 10 minutes to create a 1.313 GB vob file.
E. If you do not need to edit the video, you can proceed and author your DVD from here. However, assuming there is usually some scenes to be deleted, proceed to the next step.

2. Use ChopperXP to split the vob file into multiple vob files.
ChopperXP is a good, very easy to use, shareware utility that allows you to Mark In/Mark Out portions of a vob file, and save it under a new name. I used it to chop up the converted vob file into segments that I wanted to keep. Other than the editing time itself, the process only takes a few seconds to save the edited files.

3. Use VOBMerge to join the various segments together.
VOBMerge is another easy to use shareware utility. You simply select a number of vob files, and VOBMerge creates one vob file from them all. Merging a 404 MB, and an 834 MB file into a 1210 MB file, only required 2 minutes.

4. Use TMPGEnc to demultiplex the merged vob file into a m2v video file, and a mp2 audio file.
A. Under File/MPEG Tools select the tab for Simple De-Multiplex. You'll need to change the "Files of Type" to "All files(*.*)" in order to see your vob file. Select your merged vob file.
B. You should now see the Input as your vob file, video output as the same filename but with an m2v extension, and audio output file with an mp2 extension.
C. Select RUN. Demultiplexing the 1210 MB file required 3 minutes.

5. For compatibility with authoring in DVD Junior, I needed to convert the mp2 audio file to a different format. BeSweet is a shareware utility that does just that.
A. BeSweet does not go through an installation process. You just unzip the files. However, you need to have some of them in certain places to take advantage of the GUI. I downloaded the stable version 1.4, the beta version 1.5b23, and the GUI version 0.6b83.
B. First unzip the GUI files into a folder of your choosing. Then unzip the stable version 1.4 into a folder named "BeSweet" directly under the GUI folder. Next unzip the beta version 1.5b23 files into the same "BeSweet" folder (overwriting files of the same name). You are now setup to do audio file conversions.
C. Double click the GUI exe file "BeSweet GUI v0.6b83.exe".
D. Select Startup Mode of "Wizard"
E. Since we'll only be converting one file, uncheck the "Batch mode" box.
F. Select the folder icon to browse to, and select the mp2 filename. Click on the "NEXT" button.
G. Select "WAV" or "AC3" as the file type to convert the mp2 file to. Click "NEXT".
H. Select "Wave-Stereo" or "AC3-Stereo" (since the Hitachi DVDCAM records in stereo). Click "NEXT".
I. Select "None" for FRC Presets. Click "NEXT".
J. Select the big ">>>>>> GO <<<<<<" button.
K. Transcoding a 50,617 KB mp2 audio file to a 303,692 KB WAV file, only took about 10 seconds. To convert to ac3, you will have to download a file named "ac3enc.dll" into the BeSweet directory (where the BeSweet.exe file is located). This vastly reduces the size of the audio file. The audio quality generated by ac3enc.dll is reported as not so good, but for home movies I was fine with it.

6. I authored my DVD using DVD Junior, and the m2v, and wav/ac3 files. The audio in my DVD was in sync, and the video was soooooo much better than running it through my Dazzle capture card.

NoteVD Junior can directly use vob files when authoring, but when I tried using the merged vob file directly (Step 3), it would hang up.

[FrancescoPP]

Hi aciprez,

Thanks a lot for your contribution. I too have a HITACHI DVDCAM (DZ-MV 380 E) and I am finding big problems in editing the footage I am shooting (actually, I am stacking DVD-RAM after DVD-RAM waiting for finding a way to create a decent DVD out of it...).

So I have been extremely interested to your post. But before starting to spend even more money in SW and time, I would like to understand if you think that the quality you have obtained is not too much different from the original recording.

I have tried the "standard" suggestion (e.g. MovieAlbum) but the result has a really poor quality. It is frustrating to see that the recording quality is wonderful and the authored DVD is a crap.

Best regards,

Francesco


[quote="aciprez"]I hope this helps some other Hitachi DVDCAM owners. After two years of looking for a reasonable quality, quick, and inexpensive way to convert, edit, and author home movies from my Hitachi DZ-MV230A DVDCAM, I recently succeeded. I had to purchase two programs: DVD Junior ($99), and TMPGEnc 2.5 ($49). I also downloaded three utility programs from the internet: ChopperXP, VOBMerge, and BeSweet. I tried many different programs, utilities, trial software, etc. either without success, or with extremely long encoding times until I hit on this procedure.
]