Converting to SD Video from a DVD

 

Programs required: SmartRipper, DVD2AVI, TMPGEnc MPEG Encoder, Panasonic MovieStage

 

It may be important to note that since we are dealing with complete DVDs, you will need free hard drive space in the region of 10GB.

 

Part 1 – SmartRipper

adapted from Sefy’s DVD Backup Guide (http://www.videohelp.com/sefy/)

 

§         Run the program with the DVD in the drive.

 

§         It will ‘check’ your DVD – if at any point it tells you that a file is locked, you will have to first open the DVD with your DVD viewing program. (i.e. PowerDVD or Windows Media Player)  When the DVD is playing, click retry in SmartRipper – it should now be able to unlock all the files and will enter the program.

 

§         In the bottom left corner click Settings

 

§         Match your settings to the one in the image below.

 

 

§         Click OK to return to the main window.

 

§         Click on the folder icon next to Target.  Select a folder to place the files into and click Save.

 

§         After ensuring that Rip Method is set to Movie, click Start to begin ripping.

 

You will be able to watch the progress of the ripping.  The time will depend on the length of film and age of your DVD drive.

 

§         Close the program.

 

Part 2 – DVD2AVI

 

§         Run the program.

 

§         Click File>Open and browse to your created folder.  Click on the first file that has been created by Smart Ripper – generally vts_01_1.vob, and click Open.  This will select all of the vob files created by SmartRipper automatically. 

 

§         Where the list of vob files appears, click OK.

 

§         You can now select the desired audio track by going to Audio>Track Number.  Generally Track 1 will be the main 5.1 Surround English track. 

 

Note: Often DVDs also have a Dolby 2.0 Surround Track as well – this would be ideal and is generally found in Track 2.  Check the case of the DVD to see if it has this 2.0 option.

 

Hint: After selecting Track 2, go to Option>Information.  An Information box should pop up, although it may be slightly off screen on the right hand side – just drag it into the middle.  After this box appears, go to Option>Preview.  The film should start playing.  In the Information box, look for Format under Audio.  If it says DD 2/0… you have found the Dolby 2.0 Surround track – congratulations!  Otherwise, stop the preview, by going File>Stop, then change the track number and repeat the process until you find the appropriate track.

 

§         You now need to go Audio>Output Method>Decode to WAV (AC3, LPCM) to ensure a readable WAV file is created.

 

§         You now need to go Audio>Dolby Digital Decode>Dolby Surround Downmix in order to downgrade the 5.1 track into a 2 channel track.  If you have selected the Dolby 2.0 Surround option above, you do not need to perform this downmix.

 

§         Finally, select File>Save Project.  When the Save As dialog box appears, type in a file name and click Save.

 

§         When it says FINISH next to Remain (under Status), you are finished and may now close the program.

 

§         After ensuring that your created folder now contains several VOB files, a WAV file, and a d2v file, you may continue.

 

Part 3 – TMPGEnc MPEG Encoder

 

§         Run the program.

 

§         If this is your first time running the program, a wizard will appear.  If you wish, untick the box in the bottom left corner to prevent the wizard appearing again (you can find it later under the file menu), and click cancel.

 

§         Click File>New Project to reset

 

§         Next to Video Source, click Browse.  Browse to your created folder, and select the d2v file.

 

§         Next to Audio Source, click Browse.  Browse to your created folder, and select the wav file.

 

§         Click Settings and under the Video tab, change to the following settings.

  • Size: 320x240
  • Aspect Ratio: 4:3 (Select PAL (Region 2) or NTSC (Region 1) depending on the origin of the DVD source)
  • Frame Rate: 15 fps (internally 30 fps)
  • Motion Search Precision: Highest Quality (Very Slow)

 

§         Click the Advanced tab and change the following things:

  • Source Aspect Ratio: 16:9 (Select PAL (Region 2) or NTSC (Region 1) depending on the origin of the DVD source)
  • Video Arrange Method: No Margin (Keep Aspect Ratio)

                                                                        

§         You may also choose to do the following:

  • Under Source Range, you can select to encode only a selected part of the film – you can use this feature to break up the film into segments. (in case someone calls you while watching, and you have to go back to the start)  Use the Set Start Frame and Set End Frame to set the frames.
  • Remove the additional above/below bars present on a widescreen film, so that you will get a full framed clip on your phone.  To do this, go into Clip Frame and use the Top / Bottom values to cut out these bars. (I suggest a very bright frame, where the contrast between the black bars and the film is very apparent)

 

§         When you’re done, click OK to return to the main window.

 

§         Now you’re ready to output the file. 

 

§         Click File>Output to File>AVI File, and the Save As dialog box will appear.

Note: if you are splitting up the DVD into several pieces, you may wish to go to File>Add Current Project To Batch List>AVI File.  This will enable you to set up all the parts of the DVD so that you can encode them all at once.)

 

§         Firstly, set frame for interleave width to 5.

 

§         Next, click setting next to video.

 

§         Set compression to Microsoft MPEG-4 Video Codec V1 (you can leave the data rate).

Note:  If you do not see this option, you will need to download the K-Lite Codec Pack – details are in Getting Started.

 

§         Now click setting on the right.

 

§         Set keyframe to every 1 second, set compression control to 75, and data rate to 6000.

 

§         Click OK twice to return to the Save As dialog box.

 

§         Click setting next to audio.

 

§         Set the audio to PCM, 24.000 kHz, 16 Bit, Mono.  You may wish to save this as Sharp 902 for later use.

 

§         Click OK to return to the Save As dialog box.

 

§         The box should now look as is shown in the image below.

 

 

§         Go to your MediaStage/MovieStage Encoding folder and type in an appropriate filename if you want. 

 

§         Click Save to save the file.

 

§         The video will begin encoding.

 

§         While encoding, click Option>Preview Option and decide whether you want a preview as the file encodes, and how you want it to display.  You will want to click the fix to 320x240 option as this will enable you to make sure the file is being created with the correct aspect ratio – i.e. your people aren’t too thin or fat. 

 

[If you are having problems with this, you will need to play around with the source aspect ratio in the advanced tab of settings and/or the aspect ratio setting under video]

 

You may also want to set how much of the computers processing power you want to allow TMPGEnc to use in encoding.  Use Option>Task Priority to set these settings.  Basically, high priority will encode the file the quickest, but render the computer unusable during this period.

 

§         Ensure the video has encoded – it should say 100% in the progress bar, and start should reappear.

 

§         Close the program.

 

§         Follow the MovieStage instructions to convert to SD Video.