[JeremyS]

I want to take the audio & video from a vob file and use it in a iDVD project, but it seems iDVD cannot read vob's, can someone suggest a easy method to convert the file into a iDVD compatible format.

I am confused by all programs that claim to do this, with about 20 steps. Can anyone help to make this possible and easy?

[starman]

You have to demux the vob into two separate video and audio streams. I don't know how to do it on the Mac, but there are about a gazillion tools to do it under Windows.

Mike

[tr]

you'll need an app like bbDemux

first, you should really do a search in the digital video/audio forum.

you're going to have to demux; convert the audio (from ac3-->aiff) if needed. put the audio and video in sync using some video editng program. export to a file that iDVD will take (.mov? i don't remember what videos iDVD can take), then drop into iDVD.

[thePurpleGiant]

Doesn't Toast do this?

[JeremyS]

Ok I tried BBDemux, then I am left with 2 files,

mydvd.m1a

mydvd.m2v

When opening the .m2v file in Quicktime, it takes forever to open but eventually it does, then what would be the best thing? I tried exporting to a DV stream file but it looked horrible after it was done.

Another thing is when you open the .m2v file in Quicktime, the copy/paste functions are greyed out, I thought I heard the way to add the audio was to paste it onto the video file.

Can someone help me with what I should do after using BBDEMUX to get these files working with iDVD, thanks!

[tr]

Originally posted by JeremyS:
Ok I tried BBDemux, then I am left with 2 files,

mydvd.m1a

mydvd.m2v

When opening the .m2v file in Quicktime, it takes forever to open but eventually it does, then what would be the best thing? I tried exporting to a DV stream file but it looked horrible after it was done.

Another thing is when you open the .m2v file in Quicktime, the copy/paste functions are greyed out, I thought I heard the way to add the audio was to paste it onto the video file.

Can someone help me with what I should do after using BBDEMUX to get these files working with iDVD, thanks!

first, are you using quicktime pro? you're going to need it if you want to paste audio and video together. ("add scaled", not just "paste")

for your video file use macmpeg2decoder to get it to quicktime. DiVA will also do this.

for the audio, i think you might be able to open that file in iTunes, and convert it to aiff.

take a look at this tutorial:

http://www.prism.gatech.edu/%7Egtg72...s/roadmap.html

tr

[Uncle Skeleton]

you should try OpenShiiva, it does audio and video together. You should also know that it and DiVA are the only ones of the many MPEG-2 decoders that will maintain proper audio sync (unless you get lucky and it's just easy). DiVA is faster though. Also, always try Add before Add Scaled. You don't want to scale things if you don't have to, especially audio. Also, consider a high-quality mpeg-4 codec (like 3ivx) instead of DV. Since DV is tied to one of the two video standards (PAL/NTSC), it sometimes has issues with framerates being mangled. And it's not lossless anyway, so you might as well go for better compression. But it's not as lossy as it looks, because when you play it in QT you just get a low-quality preview, because decoding such a big file is hard. But when it's converted it will be the high-quality version of course

[tr]

OpenShiva looks sweet! i didn't know that it existed. here's a link

http://openshiiva.sourceforge.net/

but i did notice one thing it said:

"Currently, only ac3 audio is supported."

so, would JeremyS's audio (which was m1a) pose a problem for OpenShiva?

tr

[starman]

Originally posted by tr:
OpenShiva looks sweet! i didn't know that it existed. here's a link

http://openshiiva.sourceforge.net/

but i did notice one thing it said:

"Currently, only ac3 audio is supported."

so, would JeremyS's audio (which was m1a) pose a problem for OpenShiva?

tr

Despite what everyone THINKS they know about DVDs, you DON'T have to have Dolby Digital on a DVD. You can have PCM stereo on a DVD. In fact, you can even have something called MPEG Audio (used in Europe). Without knowing more about his DVD, it's impossible to know what's used.

Mike

[Uncle Skeleton]

Originally posted by tr:

so, would JeremyS's audio (which was m1a) pose a problem for OpenShiva?

hm, you're probably right. I've never used OpenShiiva. change the name of the m1a to end in mp2 and use MAD to convert to aiff. You might want to contact the author (makira) and suggest he incorporate this functionality, because both apps are GPL. But do as much of the legwork as you can first, because makira can be lazy at times

[tr]

Originally posted by starman:
Despite what everyone THINKS they know about DVDs, you DON'T have to have Dolby Digital on a DVD. You can have PCM stereo on a DVD. In fact, you can even have something called MPEG Audio (used in Europe). Without knowing more about his DVD, it's impossible to know what's used.

Mike

umm...if you read the previous posts, he states that after he demuxed, he ended up with an .m2v and an .m1a, so obviously his audio is mpeg, not ac3 or pcm.

and you can use iTunes to convert that audio file, just change the extension to .mp2 (like Uncle Skeleton suggested) and convert to aiff in iTunes.

tr

[starman]

Originally posted by tr:
umm...if you read the previous posts, he states that after he demuxed, he ended up with an .m2v and an .m1a, so obviously his audio is mpeg, not ac3 or pcm.

and you can use iTunes to convert that audio file, just change the extension to .mp2 (like Uncle Skeleton suggested) and convert to aiff in iTunes.

tr

Um, and if you played with enough demuxing tools you'd know that you don't always get what you expect. Some try to automatically convert AC-3 into stereo surround. If you want, or EXPECTED a 6-track AC-3 stream, then obviously something went wrong. If you wanted PCM stereo, again, something went wrong. Either way, an m1a file is NOT what should have come out. These tools are weak and should not be used.

Like I said, there are WINDOWS apps that do it RIGHT. PCM on the DVD, AIFF (the closest cousin) out. AC-3 on the DVD, AC-3 out. It's as simple as that.

http://filext.com/detaillist.php?extdetail=M1A

"Apple Audio MPEG file".

You're telling me that's what the DVD had on it? No.

Let me append this by saying that I spent a LOT of time working with .vob files. I know their ins and outs simply because I want to play .vob files of trailers in order before a movie starts on my home theater system. Also, there are some music DVDs that I ripped so that I can listen to them in the car. I've been doing this for at least 3 years.

Mike

[tr]

wow...3 years...good for you.

tell you what, you stick with your windows apps that do it "right", and we'll work with OS X using apps that are "weak" and "should not be used". deal? deal.

obviously, JeremyS is not using windows, and the output he got from his demuxing gave him an .m1a, which can be converted. it's a moot point if his programs "did it wrong", this is what he has. we should look at the information given, the question asked, and try to help answer it. now, i'm sure you can tell him "hey, your programs suck. use windows apps that do it right", but that's not really an option or a viable solution, is it?

tr

[JeremyS]

Thanks guys, great stuff here.

I am trying DIVA right now to convert that m2v file, I am using the 3ivx codec because I heard it's really good.

Once it is done I will see what happens, I will keep you posted.

Quick question though, 3ivx is a mp4 codec right? So iDVD will import this and spit it back out as mp2?? Is that correct?

[starman]

Such hostility.

I'll tell YOU what...you go ahead using these crappy Mac apps, and I'll do it right using Windows. It's not like everyone on the planet can't find a Windows machine .

Yes, it can be converted, BUT IT'S BEEN CONVERTED ALREADY. That means LOSS IN QUALITY.

There's also the use of Virtual PC. Didn't think of THAT, DID YOU?

Did you ask Jeremy if he has access to a Windows machine, or are you just some Mac zealot who would rather take 20 steps to do it half-assed on the Mac, or one step right on Windows.

Don't blame me, dude. I'm just telling you the God's honest truth - Mac apps SUCK for DVD extraction/conversion.

Mike

[starman]

Quick question though, 3ivx is a mp4 codec right? So iDVD will import this and spit it back out as mp2?? Is that correct?

Sorry...I read that as iMovie, not iDVD.

iDVD HAS to use MPEG-2.

Repeat: HAS TO.

Essentially, iDVD expects what iMovie or FCP exports which is MPEG-2. DVDs are made with MPEG-2, not MPEG-4.

You already have your MPEG-2 video. Why are you encoding it again?

Then, are you sure the audio and video are going to sync back up properly?

Mike

[JeremyS]

Yes I know it's already mp2 video but iDVD will refuse to import the m2v file, which is my point, how do I get these 2 files (after DEMUX) into iDVD together so I have video and audio.

I don't really have access to a windows machine and wouldn't even bother if I could, I know what ever I need can be done on a mac, I have virtual pc but let's stick to native mac solutions for now.

[starman]

Originally posted by JeremyS:
Yes I know it's already mp2 video but iDVD will refuse to import the m2v file, which is my point, how do I get these 2 files (after DEMUX) into iDVD together so I have video and audio.

I don't really have access to a windows machine and wouldn't even bother if I could, I know what ever I need can be done on a mac, I have virtual pc but let's stick to native mac solutions for now.

Ah.

I did this only once, so someone will have to jump in here in case I wrote something wrong.

Open the m2v file in Quicktime Pro. There's a way to add the soundtrack to the file but I don't remember how. You need to export the file as a .mov or a .dv. DVD Studio Pro allows importing of m2v and AIFF and/or AC3 files separately which is why I'm more used to that way to do it. It's that .mov/.dv file that iDVD SHOULD let you use.

I'm guessing that you have to have the video in DV format, and the audio in AIFF.

You MIGHT have to export the m2v video file as DV as one step, and convert the audio to AIFF as a second step, join them, and export. QT Pro MIGHT allow you to do that in one step.

You see, the problem is that you have an m2v file which is the END product of iDVD, so you're essentially converting the m2v to the uncompressed DV format only to have iDVD convert it BACK to m2v.

Try it with a small clip first if you can.

Update
Here's what worked for me:

.DV file
Video in .DV format (DV NTSC)
Audio in 48 kHz, 16-bit, Stereo, DV compression.

Mike

[JeremyS]

ok, I think I tried that quicktime to DV thing before and when it was done the video was barely viewable, it was smeared. Now someone said that it will look like that but should be fine once it's burned or something, is that right? I find that hard to believe.

If that's the case why does it look pretty good after DIVA is done with it?

I did try opening it in DVD Studio Pro and it had no problems with it, now I will try adding the audio track to it and see if it syncs.

One more thing, how would I go about cutting some parts out like a little from the start and from the end?

What would you recommend to do this?

[JeremyS]

Ok I just tried converting the m1a file (which I changed to .mp2) and it gives me a error (-2003) error occured when trying to convert this file. The file is only 97MB so size shouldn't be an issue.

I tried opening it in quicktime and it won't give me any option to export to AIFF.