Trying to get footage from DVDs. Can anyone Help!

D

Dests

Member
Does anyone know how to make regular video DVD's into quicktime files so I can edit them in FCP. The only way I know how to digitize the footage is to play it on my dvd player than connect the RCA connectors to my Sony Vaio and capture it in my Giga pocket program. Is there a way that I can put the DVDs in my powerbook and make them into a quicktime files that I can cut in FCP. If any can help. It will be appreciated.
 
I heard its a lengthy process because the DVD footage is compressed. You will have to uncompress it to be able to edit with it again.
 
The way I'd do it is to capture the DVD footage IN Final Cut Pro. Use your deck (or camera) as the passthrough and capture using the "non controllable device" option. It's simple and works just like capturing DV or anything else.
 
It depends what you are trying to capture. If it is copyrighted, it will probably have inbuilt copying protection that will scamble the picture. However, some devices "strip" this protection off, such as most mision mixers. If it isn't copy protected, I would take the AV outputs of a DVD player straight it a DV deck of camera (if it has analogue in of course).

The software options are also possible, but may take a while and I have found the disc layouts are often difficult to comprehend.
 
capt m's suggestion was the best one, imo. at least, it's what i use. there are 2 main kinds of copy protection for dvd's. macrovision protects the analog signal from the dvd player from going into another analog input, like a vcr, or oftentimes a dv deck/cam which you would use to do the conversion. the reason that the mixers mmm mentioned work is because the macrovision protection exists on the sync signal from the dvd player's output. any device that generates new sync (like most video mixer/switchers,) will eliminate the macrovision.

the other kind of protection is css, which protects the content digitally. it is what keeps you from saving a dvd to your harddrive, for example. this kind of encryption has been cracked though, so there are utilities out there that will remove it (along with the macrovision and region coding.)

i'm not advocating illegal activity here. however there are legitimate uses for this stuff. there is a mac utility called "dvd backup." it's freeware. that, in combination with the utility from capt m's link will sort you out. the first will get the fils onto your harddrive, and capt m's recommendation will do the mpeg-qt conversion.

what's nice about mpeg streamclip is that you can set in and out points for your dvd material so you don't have to convert the entire disc if you just want to excerpt a 5 minute clip.
 
ps-
when you back up the dvd you end up with a VIDEO_TS folder. (it's best to make a new folder first named after the dvd, so that you know where you put the movie if you're doing a few.)

if you open that folder there are a bunch of files with various extensions. the ones you care about are .VOB if you sort by size you'll see that they are the biggest. if you open any of these files in mpeg streamclip, the program will ask whether you want to open just that vob or the entire stream. if you open the entire stream the entire movie will open up and then you can select any clip you wish to excerpt. nothing difficult here.
 
When you capture through FCP via "non controllable device" then you don't have to worry about copy protection, etc.

Run an RCA cable out of your DVD player into your camera or deck, from the camera or deck it goes to FCP via firewire under the "non controllable device" setting. You'll have to use "Capture Now".

I've done it this way many times. It's easy and works like a charm.
 
http://www.dvdxdv.com/

They have basic and advanced versions. This does NOT break copyguard. It IS Mac only but since you're asking about FCP use. . .

I use this frequently. It exports a DV codec Quicktime file. Sometimes you have to alter the field order and reconvert, but it does a good job of the trasncoding.

They also make a hdvxdv program too.

MR
 
I just tried ZaniacMedia's method with the non-controllable device setting and it worked great! First, the video would blink in and out and I thought it wouldnt allow me to capture. I just pushed the capture now it the blinking stop and I have a clean copy of some old black and white footage from a "public domain" War Department film about WWII. THanks Zaniac
 
ZaniacMedia said:
When you capture through FCP via "non controllable device" then you don't have to worry about copy protection, etc.

Run an RCA cable out of your DVD player into your camera or deck, from the camera or deck it goes to FCP via firewire under the "non controllable device" setting. You'll have to use "Capture Now".

I've done it this way many times. It's easy and works like a charm.
Click to expand...

^^^^
If you're not getting anything on your capture window, then:
1. Go to your DVX Menu
2. Go to "AV In/Out setup"
3. On "DV Out" put it to "On".
 
DVX_South_Korea said:
I have a clean copy of some old black and white footage from a "public domain" War Department film about WWII.
Click to expand...

If you ripped this footage from a commercially available DVD then I doubt the footage is "public domain" as you state. It's probably owned by whoever produced that DVD or they paid for the rights to use it in their production. I doubt WWII footage is public domain.
 
there is TONS of public domain wwii footage. library of congress has it. so does the prelinger archive. here's one example:
http://www.archive.org/details/Remember1945

a great deal of government-produced footage is public domain. if you see it on a commercially available dvd, that just means that the producers used pd footage. tons of doc makers do so all the time.
 
Maybe it got lost in all the subsequent responses, but I say the best (free) solution is to get Handbrake, as Scottdvx100 said:

http://handbrake.m0k.org/

Just be warned that it won't directly produce files encoded in DV, but ... hey, it's free. ;)
 
Pais, is it correct to say that it will convert it to mpeg2 and than it is up to you to convert to .mov? If so how would you do that?
 
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