Changing file extension vs. converting to .avi

[hold-onhope.livejournal.com]

Hey vidders,

I'm very new to this process, so of course the information out there is pretty overwhelming. I'm hoping you can help me decide my best choice as far as which program to use, how to go about ripping DVD files, codecs, etc.

I have both Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 and Sony Vegas Movie Studio HD. As far as making/editing clips, I really like Premiere (although it's possible that Vegas' trimmer is just as easy to use and I just can't figure it out...). I'm confused about ripping DVDs. Apparently Premiere doesn't like XviD/DivX, so I've been trying to avoid that.

What I've done is ripped a disc of episodes (S1 of Supernatural, not that it matters much) using CloneDVD5, which of course gave me .vob files. I looked around the internet a bit, and learned that Premiere will accept .vob files if you change the extension to .mpg, and it worked. I was able to import a .vob file and played around with editing it as well. The only problem I ran into is that the episodes were split into more than one .vob file - is that something my DVD ripper did, and if so, how can I fix it?

The big problem is that it seems too easy. Will I have trouble exporting/getting my finished vid onto the internet if the clips used were edited as .vob/.mpg files?

Basically I'm wondering if I should stick with Premiere, and if so, keep editing as .mpg or try to convert my .vob files into something else. Or, should I just convert them into DivX files and learn how to use Vegas? I realize that what program you use is just a preference issue, but I don't want further complications down the line.

Thanks!

Comments

[hold-onhope.livejournal.com]

I'll give it a try; thanks!