I need to take a DVD containing several episodes of a sitcom and convert it into individual MPGs of each episode. Here is the roundabout, huge pain way I have been using:
DVD Decrypter (DVD to .vob), then Flask (.vob to .avi), and tmpgenc (.avi to .mpg), then manually cutting and reassembling each episode.
I know there must be a better way, but here are my restrictions:
-I cannot buy programs; it's gotta be free.
-I would rather not install a lot of other programs (.NET framework, Quicktime alternative, etc) but will if required.
-I am using computers with Windows 2000.
So, is there one program that will go from DVD to mpg and then help me cut and reassemble the episodes? Or a couple good ones that will do all this in fewer than 4 steps? Thank you!
p.s. I'm sorry if this is the wrong topic area to post this, I just realized it might be but can't figure out how to change it.
When I wanted the Simpsons disk split by episode, I used 'DVD Shrink'.
Load the ripped files, click 'Re-author'.
Note the times beside the main movie titles - this tells me it's the correct files.
Drag a title from right to left- play it if you want - and click 'Backup'.
Save to a new folder on the hard drive.
Use the likes of 'VOB2MPG' to convert to an mpeg file.
Delete the title on the left panel and repeat for the next title.
Thanks for the reply with the very helpful diagram! However, I must still be doing something wrong. I used DVD decrypter to transfer all the files into a folder on my hard drive, then I used DVDshrink to reauthor and backup as you described, then VOB2MPG to make it an mpg. The final file had sound, but it was very quiet and really slow and intelligible, and also the image was moving slowly. I went back into DVDshrink to make sure it played ok in there, and it did. I guess it could be something about the conversion to mpg with VOB2MPG.
Is there a place where the audio_ts file comes into this process that I don't know about? Again, thanks for your help.
The AUDIO_TS folder is always empty.
Try playing back the .mpg (or the VTS_01_1.VOB in the new VIDEO_TS folder that was the source for the .mpg) with a media player like 'VLC'.
It requires no external codecs.
Great, it worked! At least now I know the file is what I need. This process is much more straightforward than what I was using, thanks.
The only remaining problem is that I really need it to work in Windows Media Player - but it may already - I haven't given it a fair test yet because my home computer WMP has known issues. Hopefully once I get the file to the lab it will work there. I am a student in a psychology lab, and we do experiments using Visual Basic 6.0 with human subjects. We need to play successive 30-second segments of show episodes, so the best way we've found is to have VB control WMP. Also we have a whole lot of shows for subjects to choose from, so having them be mpgs instead of avis saves space.
Edit: I've just learned VLC has ActiveX controls and may see whether I can learn to use them, that could be an improvement over using Windows Media Player if VLC is more flexible.
But, I'm still having a problem. I need to use Avidemux (or something, this is my starting point) to remove the credits from the end of each episode, but Avidemux cannot play the file properly; sound is choppy and totally off, video is sometimes smooth sometimes not. I reopened it in VLC, and VLC said:
VLC can't recognize the input's format:
The format of 'E:\THE_OFFICE\VIDEO_TS\VTS_01.mpg.idx' cannot be detected. Have a look the log for details.
I cannot find the log, and VLC's wiki & FAQ don't say how to find the log either. Do you have any ideas about this problem?
Thank you again, especially since I am clueless...
To remove footage at the beginning and end of an episode, use DVD Shrink.
In Re-athor mode you can right click on the selected file and use the slider to select that which you wish to keep, then save as usual.
I know VLC has a logging feature that can be turned on (Settings, Preferences, Advanced) - but I don't know how to use it.
I've determined the file created using your method of DVDShrink and VOB2MPG does indeed work in Windows Media Player on my lab computer, I'm very happy about that. I see what you're saying about needing a codec; perhaps that my lab computer is Windows 2000 whereas home is XP plays a role. Regardless, I'm glad it works at lab. And your DVDshrink tip for altering the frames included in the output saves a lot of time. Think I have the process down for now.
