Post by Elvira on Apr 7, 2008 6:26:40 GMT -5
This method should work with 
(Some users may have to use the MJPEG codec instead of DV, see notes at bottom of page, and iMovie users may want to consult this tutorial.)
This is not the only way to rip clips, and it may not be the best way (depending on your needs) but it will give you good quality in most instances, and most importantly, it's easy. The software you will use will cost you at most $20 (free for some Windows users, if they use a workaround). It'll also be faster than using some commercial DVD converters/rippers, which cost more and allow for less customization.
Converting DVD footage for editing in MPEG Streamclip: May also work for converting downloaded XviD/DivX/3ivX AVI, H.264 MOV & MP4 files to DV MOV or DV AVI. See notes at bottom of tutorial.
First, if you don't know how to rip clips from your DVD or need additional info, consult this page. You will need to buy Quicktime's MPEG-2 Playback Component in order to get MPEG Streamclip to recognize your DVD digital files (.VOB files) or else follow the instructions on the MPEG Streamclip main page to install a free alternative to Quicktime (if you don't want to install Quicktime or don't want to pay $20 for the plug-in from Apple.) I recommend getting the $20 plug-in (and keeping Quicktime installed) if possible, for the easiest and most trouble-free experience. Caution: Some users—especially Vista and Windows 7 users—report that iTunes doesn't work with the Quicktime alternative, so consider buying the $20 plug-in.[/i]
Follow the instructions on this page for opening your DVD's VOB files in MPEG Streamclip.
For more information on your DVD (what its frame rate is, and its aspect ratio) go to "File >> Show Stream Info" after you have opened the DVD's ripped VOB files in MPEG Streamclip.
This information will become very handy later on, so take special note of it.
Select the portion of your DVD that you want to make into a clip, by pressing the "I" and "O" keys at your in and out points (where you want the clip to start and end). Then go to "File >> Export to AVI" (or "Export to Quicktime" if you are working in iMovie or Final Cut).
If your DVD is from North America, choose the compression option for "NTSC" (Apple DV/DVCPRO). If your DVD is from the UK, Australia or is PAL, select "DV - PAL." Caution: Using another codec (DVCPRO, DVCPRO50) *might* look messed-up in your video editor. (Example screenshot of Sony Vegas with a PAL DVCPRO clip.) These tutorials have only been tested with DV PAL or DV/DVCPRO NTSC.
Keep the frame dimensions at default.
Click on the "Options" button at the top:
Select "16:9" for aspect ratio (unless you are absolutely, POSITIVE that your DVD is 4:3 or "fullscreen"—check "File >> Show Stream Info" in MPEG Streamclip [as illustrated earlier in this tutorial] to confirm the aspect ratio). Select "progressive." Click "OK." (For more information on aspect ratio, or if you don't know what aspect ratio is, read this page.)
Keep the "frame size" at whatever MPEG Streamclip chooses for you automatically. It should be set at a frame size that says "DV" after it (DV PAL or DV NTSC).
Now, I admit I'm a little unclear on what the right settings are to use if you see interlacing in the video, but so far I've done okay by keeping all settings at "progressive" so it probably should work okay. (If you get those shimmery lines—kind of like comby lines—in the video, especially when there's more motion in the video, that's interlacing.)
For audio, select "uncompressed." Deselect all check boxes (circled in red in illustration below) but check the "deinterlace" box if you need to get rid of interlacing lines in your video. (Again, not 100% sure this is the best way to go, but it's been working fine for me for a while . . . )
Click "Make AVI" (or MOV for Macs) to convert your clip to an AVI/MOV file with the DV codec. You'll see a progress bar as MPEG Streamclip converts the clip over. The preview will show that the video picture is a teensy bit squished (or elongated). This is normal.
Now this clip is ready to be imported into your video editor.
ASPECT RATIO CAUTION FOR SONY VEGAS!!!!
Vegas recognized the clip, I placed it in the timeline; all was golden. But when I exported it out of Vegas, this is what my finished video looked like:
Squiiiiiiiiiiiiiiissssshed!!! You can see black bars on the left or right. NOT SUPPOSED TO BE THERE! 
So, I go back to Vegas and right-click on the clip:
I unchecked the "maintain aspect ratio" option. I'll have to do this on all DV AVI clips I use in Vegas. (An easy way to do that is to highlight all clips in your timeline at once, right-click, go to "Switches" and turn off "maintain aspect ratio.")
Now, here's what my finished video looks like (with "maintain aspect ratio" unchecked.")
PERFECTION!
CAUTION: This "uncheck aspect ratio" workaround WILL NOT WORK if you are using clips in more than one aspect ratio (like 4:3 and 16:9). This tutorial has a lot more information about fine-tuning aspect ratio in Sony Vegas.[/b][/url] Be sure to check it out!
HARD DRIVE SPACE USAGE: DV files take up about 1 GB of space for every 5 minutes of footage. A regular feature-length film will be approximately 20 GB or more.
This is the way it is when working with any decent editable file format. This is why many vidders have external drives, or an additional drive. If you want to save disk space, scroll through the movie or episode, pick out the scenes you intend to use, and just convert those. If you are truly desperate for disk space, try a smaller (but still editable) codec like MJPEG or JPEG 2000. (Tutorial here.)
You don't have to edit in DV:
DV is a good codec for editing—Final Cut Pro and Express users often edit with it, as do many Windows editors. But there are other options too, some which many vidders prefer (like HuffYUV for Windows). Before ripping a whole DVD to DV MOV or AVI, do a few sample clips, see how your editor deals with them, and then proceed from there. If your editor won't open or behave with DV (Windows Movie Maker might not), then try the MJPEG (Apple Motion JPEG A) compression in MPEG Streamclip (tutorial here), and see how that works. (Some Sony Vegas users might not be able to use this codec—do tests first. Or better yet, stick with DV AVI—it has much better quality than MJPEG.)
AMV.org's guide has strong opinions (as usual) about which codecs to use (and not use) for editing in Windows. The learning curve for AMV's "Guides" are somewhat steep, but the quality is oh, so worth it. If you aren't ready for AMV.org just yet, don't despair—the MPEG Streamclip method (as described here) will still give you very nice results, and it's not too difficult!
Windows users often edit in DV, MJPEG, or other codecs like Lagarith or HuffYUV (AMV.org really likes these). Mac users often stick with DV or DV MOV, but can also edit in Apple Intermediate Codec, or the new PRORES 422 codec.
For more detailed information on the various codecs often used for editing, read this short tutorial. It'll explain some practical differences between DV, Lagarith, HuffYUV (and others) and help you choose the best codec for your needs.
Is MPEG-2 okay to use?
Editing MPEG2 has problems with frame accuracy, so you'll get more of those annoying "flash frames" (where you thought you cut your clip right before the next scene started, only to find that a flicker of that scene is still there
). This article and document from Adobe give more specific reasons why MPEG-2 editing isn't so great.
Mac users—do not bother. Sometimes iMovie or Final Cut will open MPEG-2, but there will be no audio, and the picture will be degraded. Stick with DV MOV, DV, or some other Final-Cut-friendly format.
What about XviD/DivX/3ivX AVI? Or WMV?
XviD / DivX / 3ivX / WMV are not recommended editing formats. They're really meant to be a delivery codec (meaning, you convert your finished video to it, so you can upload the video to YouTube, or share it online). This article gives some excellent reasons why you should stay away from DivX/XviD for editing. If you want to take your chances and edit with DivX/XviD anyway, good luck—perhaps you'll not experience any problems. Just don't ask for tech support here if you have difficulties!
By all that is holy, DO NOT—DO NOT—convert your DVD rip to DivX/XviD/3ivX/WMV or some other compressed file. AMV.org cautions against it (top of page). It's absolute insanity to convert lovely raw DVD footage to a highly compressed, lossy, problematic format like XviD/DivX. If I were low on disk space, I'd trim to just the scenes I needed to use, and possibly use a lower quality (but still suitable for editing) codec like MJPEG or JPEG 2000. Tutorial for saving disk space by using MJPEG or JPEG 2000.
You cannot expect to skimp on disk space when editing video.
It's not uncommon for video editors and vidders to buy additional hard drive to store media. (An external Firewire drive is often used by Final Cut professionals.) I sometimes hear vidders say that they think DivX/XviD is "better" because the file size is smaller. This is exactly the opposite of the truth. Compressed video formats are the last type of files you want to use for editing.
Converting your downloaded XviD/DivX/3ivX AVI, WMV, MP4, etc. footage to DV AVI or DV MOV:
This may have been recommended to you, because editing in straight XviD AVI (or whatever compressed file format you downloaded) can cause problems in your video editor.
To convert the downloaded footage, follow the instructions outlined above (obviously ignoring the part about locating the .vob files on your drive). You will have to know the aspect ratio of your footage in order to configure the aspect ratio in MPEG Streamclip. Hint: If the frame size is more "rectangular" rather than "boxy," then it's probably 16:9 or widescreen. But if it's some super-widescreen aspect ratio like 2.35:1, then forget it, you'll never get it looking right unless you know how to tweak aspect ratio manually in your video editor.
Mac users will be able to open and convert WMV files in MPEG Streamclip as long as they've purchased WMV Player Pro ($29 US), but I don't think Windows users can convert WMV directly in MPEG Streamclip. (Not sure about other encoding software either.
)
Downloadable samples edited using DV files:
To see some video samples which were made using the ripping/encoding methods described in this tutorial (as well as the exporting tutorial), visit this page.
(Some users may have to use the MJPEG codec instead of DV, see notes at bottom of page, and iMovie users may want to consult this tutorial.)This is not the only way to rip clips, and it may not be the best way (depending on your needs) but it will give you good quality in most instances, and most importantly, it's easy. The software you will use will cost you at most $20 (free for some Windows users, if they use a workaround). It'll also be faster than using some commercial DVD converters/rippers, which cost more and allow for less customization.
Converting DVD footage for editing in MPEG Streamclip: May also work for converting downloaded XviD/DivX/3ivX AVI, H.264 MOV & MP4 files to DV MOV or DV AVI. See notes at bottom of tutorial.
First, if you don't know how to rip clips from your DVD or need additional info, consult this page. You will need to buy Quicktime's MPEG-2 Playback Component in order to get MPEG Streamclip to recognize your DVD digital files (.VOB files) or else follow the instructions on the MPEG Streamclip main page to install a free alternative to Quicktime (if you don't want to install Quicktime or don't want to pay $20 for the plug-in from Apple.) I recommend getting the $20 plug-in (and keeping Quicktime installed) if possible, for the easiest and most trouble-free experience. Caution: Some users—especially Vista and Windows 7 users—report that iTunes doesn't work with the Quicktime alternative, so consider buying the $20 plug-in.[/i]
Follow the instructions on this page for opening your DVD's VOB files in MPEG Streamclip.
For more information on your DVD (what its frame rate is, and its aspect ratio) go to "File >> Show Stream Info" after you have opened the DVD's ripped VOB files in MPEG Streamclip.
This information will become very handy later on, so take special note of it.
Select the portion of your DVD that you want to make into a clip, by pressing the "I" and "O" keys at your in and out points (where you want the clip to start and end). Then go to "File >> Export to AVI" (or "Export to Quicktime" if you are working in iMovie or Final Cut).
If your DVD is from North America, choose the compression option for "NTSC" (Apple DV/DVCPRO). If your DVD is from the UK, Australia or is PAL, select "DV - PAL." Caution: Using another codec (DVCPRO, DVCPRO50) *might* look messed-up in your video editor. (Example screenshot of Sony Vegas with a PAL DVCPRO clip.) These tutorials have only been tested with DV PAL or DV/DVCPRO NTSC.
Keep the frame dimensions at default.
Click on the "Options" button at the top:
Select "16:9" for aspect ratio (unless you are absolutely, POSITIVE that your DVD is 4:3 or "fullscreen"—check "File >> Show Stream Info" in MPEG Streamclip [as illustrated earlier in this tutorial] to confirm the aspect ratio). Select "progressive." Click "OK." (For more information on aspect ratio, or if you don't know what aspect ratio is, read this page.)
Keep the "frame size" at whatever MPEG Streamclip chooses for you automatically. It should be set at a frame size that says "DV" after it (DV PAL or DV NTSC).
Now, I admit I'm a little unclear on what the right settings are to use if you see interlacing in the video, but so far I've done okay by keeping all settings at "progressive" so it probably should work okay. (If you get those shimmery lines—kind of like comby lines—in the video, especially when there's more motion in the video, that's interlacing.)
For audio, select "uncompressed." Deselect all check boxes (circled in red in illustration below) but check the "deinterlace" box if you need to get rid of interlacing lines in your video. (Again, not 100% sure this is the best way to go, but it's been working fine for me for a while . . . )
Click "Make AVI" (or MOV for Macs) to convert your clip to an AVI/MOV file with the DV codec. You'll see a progress bar as MPEG Streamclip converts the clip over. The preview will show that the video picture is a teensy bit squished (or elongated). This is normal.
Now this clip is ready to be imported into your video editor.
ASPECT RATIO CAUTION FOR SONY VEGAS!!!!
Vegas recognized the clip, I placed it in the timeline; all was golden. But when I exported it out of Vegas, this is what my finished video looked like:
Squiiiiiiiiiiiiiiissssshed!!! You can see black bars on the left or right. NOT SUPPOSED TO BE THERE! So, I go back to Vegas and right-click on the clip:
I unchecked the "maintain aspect ratio" option. I'll have to do this on all DV AVI clips I use in Vegas. (An easy way to do that is to highlight all clips in your timeline at once, right-click, go to "Switches" and turn off "maintain aspect ratio.")
Now, here's what my finished video looks like (with "maintain aspect ratio" unchecked.")
PERFECTION!
CAUTION: This "uncheck aspect ratio" workaround WILL NOT WORK if you are using clips in more than one aspect ratio (like 4:3 and 16:9). This tutorial has a lot more information about fine-tuning aspect ratio in Sony Vegas.[/b][/url] Be sure to check it out!HARD DRIVE SPACE USAGE: DV files take up about 1 GB of space for every 5 minutes of footage. A regular feature-length film will be approximately 20 GB or more.
This is the way it is when working with any decent editable file format. This is why many vidders have external drives, or an additional drive. If you want to save disk space, scroll through the movie or episode, pick out the scenes you intend to use, and just convert those. If you are truly desperate for disk space, try a smaller (but still editable) codec like MJPEG or JPEG 2000. (Tutorial here.)
You don't have to edit in DV:
DV is a good codec for editing—Final Cut Pro and Express users often edit with it, as do many Windows editors. But there are other options too, some which many vidders prefer (like HuffYUV for Windows). Before ripping a whole DVD to DV MOV or AVI, do a few sample clips, see how your editor deals with them, and then proceed from there. If your editor won't open or behave with DV (Windows Movie Maker might not), then try the MJPEG (Apple Motion JPEG A) compression in MPEG Streamclip (tutorial here), and see how that works. (Some Sony Vegas users might not be able to use this codec—do tests first. Or better yet, stick with DV AVI—it has much better quality than MJPEG.)
AMV.org's guide has strong opinions (as usual) about which codecs to use (and not use) for editing in Windows. The learning curve for AMV's "Guides" are somewhat steep, but the quality is oh, so worth it. If you aren't ready for AMV.org just yet, don't despair—the MPEG Streamclip method (as described here) will still give you very nice results, and it's not too difficult!
Windows users often edit in DV, MJPEG, or other codecs like Lagarith or HuffYUV (AMV.org really likes these). Mac users often stick with DV or DV MOV, but can also edit in Apple Intermediate Codec, or the new PRORES 422 codec.
For more detailed information on the various codecs often used for editing, read this short tutorial. It'll explain some practical differences between DV, Lagarith, HuffYUV (and others) and help you choose the best codec for your needs.
Is MPEG-2 okay to use?
Editing MPEG2 has problems with frame accuracy, so you'll get more of those annoying "flash frames" (where you thought you cut your clip right before the next scene started, only to find that a flicker of that scene is still there
). This article and document from Adobe give more specific reasons why MPEG-2 editing isn't so great.Mac users—do not bother. Sometimes iMovie or Final Cut will open MPEG-2, but there will be no audio, and the picture will be degraded. Stick with DV MOV, DV, or some other Final-Cut-friendly format.
What about XviD/DivX/3ivX AVI? Or WMV?
XviD / DivX / 3ivX / WMV are not recommended editing formats. They're really meant to be a delivery codec (meaning, you convert your finished video to it, so you can upload the video to YouTube, or share it online). This article gives some excellent reasons why you should stay away from DivX/XviD for editing. If you want to take your chances and edit with DivX/XviD anyway, good luck—perhaps you'll not experience any problems. Just don't ask for tech support here if you have difficulties!
By all that is holy, DO NOT—DO NOT—convert your DVD rip to DivX/XviD/3ivX/WMV or some other compressed file. AMV.org cautions against it (top of page). It's absolute insanity to convert lovely raw DVD footage to a highly compressed, lossy, problematic format like XviD/DivX. If I were low on disk space, I'd trim to just the scenes I needed to use, and possibly use a lower quality (but still suitable for editing) codec like MJPEG or JPEG 2000. Tutorial for saving disk space by using MJPEG or JPEG 2000.
You cannot expect to skimp on disk space when editing video.
It's not uncommon for video editors and vidders to buy additional hard drive to store media. (An external Firewire drive is often used by Final Cut professionals.) I sometimes hear vidders say that they think DivX/XviD is "better" because the file size is smaller. This is exactly the opposite of the truth. Compressed video formats are the last type of files you want to use for editing.
Converting your downloaded XviD/DivX/3ivX AVI, WMV, MP4, etc. footage to DV AVI or DV MOV:
This may have been recommended to you, because editing in straight XviD AVI (or whatever compressed file format you downloaded) can cause problems in your video editor.
To convert the downloaded footage, follow the instructions outlined above (obviously ignoring the part about locating the .vob files on your drive). You will have to know the aspect ratio of your footage in order to configure the aspect ratio in MPEG Streamclip. Hint: If the frame size is more "rectangular" rather than "boxy," then it's probably 16:9 or widescreen. But if it's some super-widescreen aspect ratio like 2.35:1, then forget it, you'll never get it looking right unless you know how to tweak aspect ratio manually in your video editor.
Mac users will be able to open and convert WMV files in MPEG Streamclip as long as they've purchased WMV Player Pro ($29 US), but I don't think Windows users can convert WMV directly in MPEG Streamclip. (Not sure about other encoding software either.
)Downloadable samples edited using DV files:
To see some video samples which were made using the ripping/encoding methods described in this tutorial (as well as the exporting tutorial), visit this page.
.... from realising that the newest version of QT alternative wouldnt work with MPEG to all about how Divx has compromised the quality of my vids in the past, it all made complete and utter sense to me at last 
) Question: I've heard somewhere that it's better to rip DVDs using a desktop computer. Is that true? Or do laptops and desktops give the same quality? 
Around 15 minutes of footage was going beyond 300 MB 