help with editing movies

[Mrs.viv07]

i just uploaded ALL of our disney tapes and was able to edit them and it came out great!
i was so happy that i thought "hey maybe i can edit our wedding video" which didn't come out so great despite a small fortune
anyway i put the dvd in my computer and all i can do i view it, am i missing something or is there just no way for me to do that since it already is a "dvd movie" as opposed to something i video taped myself?

i figured this would be the best place to ask.
thanks in advance

 

[RitchG]

I guess the short answer is "that depends...".

I presume you got the DVD from a wedding videographer; if so, they probably used their setup to edit all the video captured at your wedding and then created a DVD "image", which they then burned to the disc.

If the image was burned normally, not using any protection (like that on commerical studio DVDs), then you may be able to grab the video off of the disc.

There are some things you may be able to do, but it depends on what you are using (Windows, MacOS, Linux, Premiere, VideoStudio, iMovie). The details vary but if you can copy one of the "VOB" files off the DVD onto your hard drive and rename it to an MPEG file your video editor may be able to read it in. (Apologies if that either makes no sense or is too simplistic.)

Let me know if you need more.
---Ritch

 

[Mrs.viv07]

i guess by your response i am way over my head! all i can tell you when i iopen the DVD files it tells me they are in IFO, but then the other 3 files are in MPEG files but i can't getmy editor to open them.
what else can i do?

I guess the short answer is "that depends...".

I presume you got the DVD from a wedding videographer; if so, they probably used their setup to edit all the video captured at your wedding and then created a DVD "image", which they then burned to the disc.

If the image was burned normally, not using any protection (like that on commerical studio DVDs), then you may be able to grab the video off of the disc.

There are some things you may be able to do, but it depends on what you are using (Windows, MacOS, Linux, Premiere, VideoStudio, iMovie). The details vary but if you can copy one of the "VOB" files off the DVD onto your hard drive and rename it to an MPEG file your video editor may be able to read it in. (Apologies if that either makes no sense or is too simplistic.)

Let me know if you need more.
---Ritch

 

[RitchG]

OK, here's something to try. I'll assume you are on Windows.

Which video program are you using? This should work, anyway.

First, insert the DVD disc. Close anything that automatically opens and trys to read/play/mess with the disc.
Go into Explorer and find the DVD disc drive (like D: or E: or something).
Look inside the drive for a VIDEO_TS folder. Inside this folder you should see a bunch of files that look something like this:
VIDEO_TS.BUP
VIDEO_TS.IFO
VIDEO_TS.VOB
VTS_01_0.BUP
VTS_01_0.IFO
VTS_01_0.VOB
VTS_01_1.VOB
VTS_02_0.BUP
VTS_02_0.IFO
VTS_02_0.VOB
VTS_02_1.VOB

The largest files should be some of the ones ending in VOB. Find one of the largest and copy it to My Documents.
Rename the file to NEWFILENAME.MPG (the "NEWFILENAME" part doesn't really matter but the "MPG" does).
Start your video program.
Do whatever you need to do to get a video file into the program (File->Open or Insert->Clip or whatever) and open the file you renamed.

If your video editor can handle MPEG files (I use Premiere and it does OK) it should be able to open the file and you can edit it from there.

You need to understand that MPEG is considered a "destination" video format; it is not designed to be edited. SO the quality of what you end up with (probably) won't match the original DVD.

HTH. Good Luck.
---Ritch

 

[Groucho]

What I usually do is use DVD Decrypter to rip an editable .vob file out of the DVD. Do a Google search and you should find it as a free download. Put in your DVD, launch the program, and go into "IFO mode". If you have more than one DVD drive, select it from the drop-down.

On the right half of the window, you'll see what looks like a lot of Greek. It will usually try to highlight the "main movie" automatically, if not, start expanding the VTS_0x groups until you see a PGC that's the correct length for what you want to pull out.

Right-click the PGC and go into File Splitting and choose what you want - probably either "none" or "by chapter". Since you want to edit it yourself, probably "none" will be your choice. Hit the button in the lower left and it'll create a single .vob file (and a couple other "support" files) in the folder listed there.

That VOB can then be edited by most any DVD authoring software and you can author a new DVD from it.

 

[Mrs.viv07]

i just PM'ed you with a question

What I usually do is use DVD Decrypter to rip an editable .vob file out of the DVD. Do a Google search and you should find it as a free download. Put in your DVD, launch the program, and go into "IFO mode". If you have more than one DVD drive, select it from the drop-down.

On the right half of the window, you'll see what looks like a lot of Greek. It will usually try to highlight the "main movie" automatically, if not, start expanding the VTS_0x groups until you see a PGC that's the correct length for what you want to pull out.

Right-click the PGC and go into File Splitting and choose what you want - probably either "none" or "by chapter". Since you want to edit it yourself, probably "none" will be your choice. Hit the button in the lower left and it'll create a single .vob file (and a couple other "support" files) in the folder listed there.

That VOB can then be edited by most any DVD authoring software and you can author a new DVD from it.

 

[RitchG]

If you have encrypted DVD files, then yes, you have to use something like DVD Decrypter or DVDfab (www.doom9.com is a good source; but don't tell anyone I sent you). These programs will give you an unlocked VOB file (etc.) on the hard drive. But if the DVD is not encrypted, which many "private" DVDs are, you can "simply" <g> copy the VOBs as above.

As Groucho says, almost any DVD program will suck in the VOB and let you put it on any DVD you want to make; I was thinking you wanted to edit the file (slice, dice, julienne). Sorry if I made it more complicated than necessary.
---Ritch

 

[Mrs.viv07]

wow no i am really confused! i guess i should say i am not that literate when it comes to PC terms, i mean i can figure out with a guide, i was able to install my own card so i could take my WDW video from my digital camcorder and upload it to my computer so i could edit it into our home movie then burn to dvd. it may be really easy to do for some but i was able to figure out with the help of some dis members!

what i want to do with our wedding video is edit it the same way i edited our disney video, the only problem is i don't know how to access the DVD info that our videographer gave us as a final version ( i have the unedited dvd as well)
i want to be able to say add music to the video like i did with our vacation one. maybe i didn't word it right the first time around or i am just not getting what you guys are saying!
i apologize, i tried doing the whole decrypter thing and got so confused i stopped and gave up
i need a "how to for dummies" on this stuff

 

[RitchG]

No problem. We can get you through it, I'm sure.

Can you answer a few questions:
1.) What is the name of the program you use to edit your videos?
2.) You say you have the unedited DVD; could you see what files are on it and list them here?
3.) I noticed you are in NY; where? I have uncle/aunt/cousin in Caledonia/Scottsville and another cousin in Clinton.
Thanx.
---Ritch

 

[Mrs.viv07]

No problem. We can get you through it, I'm sure.

Can you answer a few questions:
1.) What is the name of the program you use to edit your videos?
2.) You say you have the unedited DVD; could you see what files are on it and list them here?
3.) I noticed you are in NY; where? I have uncle/aunt/cousin in Caledonia/Scottsville and another cousin in Clinton.
Thanx.
---Ritch

1) i used windows movie maker to edit my WDW video and was quite happy with it since it was so easy to use!
2) when i go thru explorer the first folder is VIDEO_TS
when i open that these come up:
VIDEO_TS BUP file
VIDEO_TS IFO file
VIDEO_TS MPEG file
VTS_01_0 bup file
VTS_01_0 IFO file
VTS_01_1 MPEG file
VTS_01_2 MPEG file
VTS_01_3 MPEG file
VTS_01_4 MPEG file
VTS_01_5 MPEG file

that is all i can see

3) i am in rockland count, to be honest i just moved here about a year ago, i gre up in bergen county NJ so i am still getting familiar with this area, i work in Harriman NY. What county are those towns you mention in?

 

[RitchG]

OK, the files of interest are the MPEG files with the VTS_01_1, VTS_01_2, etc. names. These are (usually) the main movie(s) on the DVD. Since they have the MPEG extension they're probably not protected, so you can try and get one to work with WMM. That's probably going to be the hard part, since WMM doesn't really like MPEG files. Papa John has some good tips on his site; rather than repeat everything from there here, look at www.papajohn.org/. On the menu on the left, find Import Movie Source Files and under that Video and then Discs.... The basic idea is to "rip" the file off of the DVD, convert it into something WMM can use, then import it in.
HTH.
---Ritch

 

[Groucho]

That's funny, I have an uncle in Caledonia, too. Plus parents/sister + family in Scottsville (I grew up there and live about 5 minutes away now.)

I doubt Windows Movie Maker can edit the mpeg2 VOB files that are on your DVD. You need a DVD authoring program.

The reason I had mentioned DVD Decrypter rather than just copying the VOB files directly is that if they're bigger than one gig, the originals are broken up into pieces - the vts_01_1, vts_01_2, etc. DVD Decrypter will give you one, big, solid VOB if you want, which may be easier for your DVD authoring program to swallow and allow you to edit.

 

[Mrs.viv07]

wow you know what it finally clicked! OMG i used ImTOO dvd ripper and i did a google search for files supported by movie maker and somehow i tried some things and all i know is it worked!!! i have to do chapter by chapter manually because for some reason it won't do the whole dvd at once but i don't care it worked i can edit my wedding video.

i feel very silly now since it was probably in front of me the whole time just in computer language

thanks so much for your help!!!
i couldn't have done it without your advice!!!!