How to: convert video footage with VirtualDub

by David Fearon  |  Friday 18 February 2011  | Comment Now
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Walkthrough:: Convert a DVD to an AVI file

The MPEG2 format used by DVDs can easily be compressed to a smaller, single file for hard disk storage. We’ll demonstrate by converting a non-protected DVD of a mountain-bike event. Remember that ripping commercial DVDs is illegal.
The MPEG2 format used by DVDs can easily be compressed to a smaller, single file for hard disk storage. We’ll demonstrate by converting a non-protected DVD of a mountain-bike event. Remember that ripping commercial DVDs is illegal.

VirtualDub doesn’t include an MPEG2 decoder, but thankfully, the open-source community has provided one. Visit neuron2.neth to download an array of plugins. Pop the downloaded file into VirtualDub’s plugins folder.
VirtualDub doesn’t include an MPEG2 decoder, but thankfully, the open-source community has provided one. Visit neuron2.neth to download an array of plugins. Pop the downloaded file into VirtualDub’s plugins folder.

Browse to the folder on your DVD that contains the VOB files and look at their file sizes. You’ll likely see that the first one or two VOB files are only a few kilobytes in size. Note down the file name of the first file that’s 1GB (1,048,574KB) in size.
Browse to the folder on your DVD that contains the VOB files and look at their file sizes. You’ll likely see that the first one or two VOB files are only a few kilobytes in size. Note down the file name of the first file that’s 1GB (1,048,574KB) in size.

Start VirtualDub by double-clicking virtualdub.exe (not vdub.exe – that’s the command-line version). Then select File | Open video file. Navigate to the folder containing your VOB files and click on the file name you just noted down.
Start VirtualDub by double-clicking virtualdub.exe (not vdub.exe – that’s the command-line version). Then select File | Open video file. Navigate to the folder containing your VOB files and click on the file name you just noted down.

Before clicking Open, tick “Ask for extended options after this dialog”. Now click Open. You’ll automatically see options for the MPEG2 plugin. Tick “Open multiple VOB files as one virtual file” and also “Allow ‘Direct Stream Copy’ of MPEG audio”.
Before clicking Open, tick “Ask for extended options after this dialog”. Now click Open. You’ll automatically see options for the MPEG2 plugin. Tick “Open multiple VOB files as one virtual file” and also “Allow ‘Direct Stream Copy’ of MPEG audio”.

The Open Multiple VOBs dialog: as you selected the first VOB file of the video proper (here, VTS_01_1.VOB), the correct succeeding files should be selected automatically. VirtualDub can now seamlessly link them when it creates the output video. Hit OK.
The Open Multiple VOBs dialog: as you selected the first VOB file of the video proper (here, VTS_01_1.VOB), the correct succeeding files should be selected automatically. VirtualDub can now seamlessly link them when it creates the output video. Hit OK.

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This Feature appeared in the February, 2011 issue of PC & Tech Authority Magazine

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Source: Copyright © PC Pro, Dennis Publishing

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