On a PC, I use a combo of SmartRipper and AnyDVD for ripping content. AnyDVD removes the copy protection and region coding. In the past this has always worked for me well, although lately I've noticed a few instances where the copy protection wouldn't come off and I couldn't do the rip. On Mac I use MacTheRipper. It's quite hard to get a hold of the latest version, but it is out there, and it's excellent. I use that when SmartRipper and AnyDVD fail to work (I vid on a PC but my main computer is a Mac, so I get to use both, luckily).
I don't convert the vob files because I use Sony Vegas Movie Studio to edit, and that takes them unconverted. Saves so much time! It also has an awesome feature in the project settings where you can click on a clip and tell Vegas to set your video settings to match it, so everything comes out the right aspect ratio and frame rate (well, 95% of the time, and it's easy enough to tweak if it doesn't). I've been using Vegas for about 12 years now, through many different versions, and I love it so much that I bought a PC just to be able to use it, even though my main computer is a Mac. It takes just about every file format - I recently made a vid with a mixture of formats and it coped admirably. It prefers wav for audio but takes mp3 and other audio formats too.
In the event I have to convert something into a more usable format, I use MPEG Streamclip, which is free. I'm not very good using it, because I don't often have to do it, but that takes a multitude of formats and can convert to all sorts. I just used it last night to create a mov file from an mpeg 2 avi. You do need to obtain some of the codecs, like DivX, Huffy, Lagarith and Quicktime separately.
For compressing the final vid, I make a master file first, which I output at the same setting as the source (usually ending up with an 800-ish MB avi file) and then I run that through Handbrake to compress to a nice quality mp4. I've also used MPEG Streamclip to create DivX files, and Windows Movie Maker does a really nice job of creating a good quality wmv. You can also open your master vid file in Vegas and render to many compressed formats. I prefer to compress after I've rendered the master vid, because it's quicker, and if you have effects and transitions in the vid, they tend to look weird if you try to compress and render the video all at once. I also like having one great big really nice quality master to watch.
For cons I use Llamaenc. Failing that, I seem to recall outputting separate files from Vegas or MPEG Streamclip - just choosing to render the video only and selecting m2v, then re-outputting audio only as wav. It's been a while since I did that, so specifics are hazy :o)
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2015-01-11 08:43 pm (UTC)I don't convert the vob files because I use Sony Vegas Movie Studio to edit, and that takes them unconverted. Saves so much time! It also has an awesome feature in the project settings where you can click on a clip and tell Vegas to set your video settings to match it, so everything comes out the right aspect ratio and frame rate (well, 95% of the time, and it's easy enough to tweak if it doesn't). I've been using Vegas for about 12 years now, through many different versions, and I love it so much that I bought a PC just to be able to use it, even though my main computer is a Mac. It takes just about every file format - I recently made a vid with a mixture of formats and it coped admirably. It prefers wav for audio but takes mp3 and other audio formats too.
In the event I have to convert something into a more usable format, I use MPEG Streamclip, which is free. I'm not very good using it, because I don't often have to do it, but that takes a multitude of formats and can convert to all sorts. I just used it last night to create a mov file from an mpeg 2 avi. You do need to obtain some of the codecs, like DivX, Huffy, Lagarith and Quicktime separately.
For compressing the final vid, I make a master file first, which I output at the same setting as the source (usually ending up with an 800-ish MB avi file) and then I run that through Handbrake to compress to a nice quality mp4. I've also used MPEG Streamclip to create DivX files, and Windows Movie Maker does a really nice job of creating a good quality wmv. You can also open your master vid file in Vegas and render to many compressed formats. I prefer to compress after I've rendered the master vid, because it's quicker, and if you have effects and transitions in the vid, they tend to look weird if you try to compress and render the video all at once. I also like having one great big really nice quality master to watch.
For cons I use Llamaenc. Failing that, I seem to recall outputting separate files from Vegas or MPEG Streamclip - just choosing to render the video only and selecting m2v, then re-outputting audio only as wav. It's been a while since I did that, so specifics are hazy :o)