I'm making elearning modules that require video clips from our company's DVDs. What software do you heroes use to edit clips from DVDs? Price is a big consideration.
I use iMovie, QuickTime Pro (quick and dirty) for most editing. I have Premiere Elements but haven't used it a lot. You will likely want to get Handbrake (free) to convert your DVDs vob files to an editable movie format.
Here's an older thread where folks shared video editing tips and tools.
Ahhh the good ol' days. I remember having to pull videos off of DVDs because the source files were not available, or were too much of a pain to get. Another vote for Handbrake, although I haven't used it in a couple of years. A piece of advice. If you can, do a test rip of one of the .vob files on the dvd, instead of doing the whole thing at once. If there are a lot of large files on the dvd, it can take a long time to rip the whole thing. Then make sure that whatever your going to use to edit that video will take that file. Nothing worse than getting a "cannot import file" error after youve spent forever converting a file to be edited.
For making easy quick edits for free, I vote for mpeg streamclip. Ive only used it on the Mac, but it is awesome for making edits, then exporting to just about any format. It seems to be very fast too.
Then if you need to start doing things like making cross dissolve transitions, fade in/fade out, titles and text overlays, mixing in audio and the like...your going to need a buy something.
I use an ancient version of Sony Vegas Video pro. But the entry level (80 bucks or so) one they have now, seems to do 95% of what I need.
I've used a plethora of things. Camtasia is a good thing to grab snip-its and then you can add effects with Premiere elements. The trick is the screen capture.
BTW David - you rock.. I could not remember what the name of the software for creating ISO images. I recently ran into an issue where I needed to convert video clips to ISO images so I could mount them with Virtual Clone Drive. For those of you unfamiliar with a virtual clone drive, it's software that creates a virtual cd / dvd drive on your computer without the disk or the drive.
Now that I'm thinking about this. You could also use a variable frame rate screen capture software called Fraps. My son uses it to snag screen shots of games he's playing and to create YouTube tutorials.
I agree with James. Since you will likely not be using the entire DVD, using Camtasia is a quick way to grab video. Then you can use the post-production tools of your choice to edit, add effects, etc.
The VOB (Video OBject) files on DVDs are actually MPEGs. If you copy the VOB file to your hard drive, just rename it as an MPEG. Then you can edit as needed in your favorite application.
Thanks for all your suggestions Heroes. I'll probably be trying to do this later this, or next week. I think most of the videos are short so I hope it won't take too long to rip. I don't have Camtasia, but might give Fraps a try.
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Hey Linda,
I use iMovie, QuickTime Pro (quick and dirty) for most editing. I have Premiere Elements but haven't used it a lot. You will likely want to get Handbrake (free) to convert your DVDs vob files to an editable movie format.
Here's an older thread where folks shared video editing tips and tools.
Thanks David
If you are just pulling clips, Handbrake to rip and MovieMaker (widows box) or iMove (Mac box) is a free and simple solution.
Hey David-are you the same David I knew at Sears?
We use Pinnacle software. Costs about $150. Very easy to learn.
@Terrie - Welcome to E-learning Heroes! Glad to have you in the community I shop at Sears but I never worked there.
Ahhh the good ol' days. I remember having to pull videos off of DVDs because the source files were not available, or were too much of a pain to get. Another vote for Handbrake, although I haven't used it in a couple of years. A piece of advice. If you can, do a test rip of one of the .vob files on the dvd, instead of doing the whole thing at once. If there are a lot of large files on the dvd, it can take a long time to rip the whole thing. Then make sure that whatever your going to use to edit that video will take that file. Nothing worse than getting a "cannot import file" error after youve spent forever converting a file to be edited.
For making easy quick edits for free, I vote for mpeg streamclip. Ive only used it on the Mac, but it is awesome for making edits, then exporting to just about any format. It seems to be very fast too.
Then if you need to start doing things like making cross dissolve transitions, fade in/fade out, titles and text overlays, mixing in audio and the like...your going to need a buy something.
I use an ancient version of Sony Vegas Video pro. But the entry level (80 bucks or so) one they have now, seems to do 95% of what I need.
I've used a plethora of things. Camtasia is a good thing to grab snip-its and then you can add effects with Premiere elements. The trick is the screen capture.
BTW David - you rock.. I could not remember what the name of the software for creating ISO images. I recently ran into an issue where I needed to convert video clips to ISO images so I could mount them with Virtual Clone Drive. For those of you unfamiliar with a virtual clone drive, it's software that creates a virtual cd / dvd drive on your computer without the disk or the drive.
Now that I'm thinking about this. You could also use a variable frame rate screen capture software called Fraps. My son uses it to snag screen shots of games he's playing and to create YouTube tutorials.
I agree with James. Since you will likely not be using the entire DVD, using Camtasia is a quick way to grab video. Then you can use the post-production tools of your choice to edit, add effects, etc.
This may save some time...
The VOB (Video OBject) files on DVDs are actually MPEGs. If you copy the VOB file to your hard drive, just rename it as an MPEG. Then you can edit as needed in your favorite application.
Thanks for all your suggestions Heroes. I'll probably be trying to do this later this, or next week. I think most of the videos are short so I hope it won't take too long to rip. I don't have Camtasia, but might give Fraps a try.
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