Many times clients will come to me and say “Hey, I have this video. It just needs the sound changed and that’s it. Well, I would like to change one or two things. I only have it on this DVD, but that shouldn’t be a problem, right?”
No, it isn’t a problem. But it is still something that I feel a little hesitant to do. I don’t think anyone understands how compressed the project is when they give it to me. The real problem though is wondering if I am ripping, extracting, or un-compressing the best way possible.
While there are my solutions to the problem, I would love to hear what other people have found to be effective. Here are a few different options I use. They are not in any particular order.
Option 1:
Programs needed: MacTheRipper & Toast (pretty much any version)
Approximate cost: MTR is free. Toast is roughly $80 I believe.
Rip the DVD, either by title or chapter, in mac the ripper. It makes the file into another file, readable by Toast. Import the video into Toast and hit export. Choose the options you want.
Option 2:
Programs needed: MPEG Streamclip
Approximate cost: Free. You may need to pay $20 to Apple to download an MPEG2 codec/reader though.
Open MPEG Streamclip. Copy the video ts folder off of the DVD on to a hard drive. Open the recently copied file using mpeg streamclip. Convert to how you want it.
The nice thing about this program is that it repairs any timecode or other breaks in the media. It is also very easy to set up the file you are exporting to be what you want. I prefer using this method.
Option 3:
Programs needed: Handbrake, Quicktime Pro.
Approximate cost: $30 if you do not have FCP Studio.
Convert your file on handbrake to be some sort of H264 item that will leave the piece at full resolution. Open the file in QT Pro and convert it to what you want it to be.
Maybe I am making this harder than it really is, but this is how I do it. I know there are not a lot of specifics here, but we can hit tutorials later.
If I should change something, let me know.
I am capturing decedas of home video on a 4TB external hard drive. I hope to edit some of the video in the future, but also want to just play the unedited video on a TV through a computer. I have been capturing in AVI but started to fill up the HD. So I started capturing in MPEG-2, which is much smaller. However, after reading your excellent article, it appears MPEG-2 will require an uncompression step. My first question, once compressed and then uncompressed for editing, will the video resolution/quality be significantly reduced in a DVD final product. Should I just buy another external HD and capture everything in AVI format? My second question, I am seriously considering changing to a Mac video editing system because I haven’t been completely satisfied with my PC system. What are the pros and cons to converting AVI or MPEG-2 to .mov? Thank you in advance for any information you can provide!
I needed to create you one tiny remark to be able to say thank you over again for your personal stunning advice you’ve shown here. It was shockingly open-handed with you to offer openly what a number of people could possibly have made available for an electronic book to end up making some money for themselves, most notably seeing that you could have tried it if you decided. The basics also served to be the good way to know that the rest have the same keenness really like my personal own to grasp much more with respect to this problem. I know there are numerous more fun instances ahead for people who view your website.