Using .vob files in WMM Vista

[biggnife]

I was re-ripping my Lucky Star DVD's and, just out of curiosity, tried importing the VOB's directly into WMM. It didn't show up when I had the import dialog box set to look only for video files, but when I used drag-and drop or selected "all files" on the dialog box, it imported! Not only that, but there was no interlacing and the picture/sound quality is fantastic!

Now, I'm 99% sure that it imported because I have the ffdshow filters ticked, but I couldn't help but wonder, is it a good idea to work directly with the VOB's, or should I listen to ErMaC and AbsoluteDestiny's guide and use AviSynth scripts with VirtualDub to get my source footage?

[Kariudo]

editing with vobs gets messy because 99% of the time they are interlaced. I'd preview it in DGIndex before saying it's progressive.

I wouldn't trust WMM because (at least in XP) it can't edit on the frame level. You can get close, but you can't make a cut at any specified frame (or view any specified frame).

[vnvnvn2000]

I have a Sony Handycam that uses mini-DVDs. I am trying to edit some content
from the mini-DVD in Windows Movie Maker, but the content is in VOB files so
WMM cannot import/open them. Do I need to convert the VOB files first? If
so, what is the suggested app to do so? Thanks.

[Kariudo]

sounds like you will have to convert those .vob files

Read <a href=http://www.a-m-v.org/guides/avtech31/>ErMaC & AbsoluteDestiny's Friendly AMV Guides</a>. It's technical, and may take a few reads but it has a lot of good information.
Basic process:
index the .vob files using DGIndex (this gives you .d2v files)
write an avisynth script to open the .d2v files (you'll be using mpeg2source() )
open the avisynth script in virtualdub (or virtualdubmod)
save clips as .avi files, use huffyuv as the codec (IIRC lagarith and WMM don't get along so well)

huffyuv is a lossless codec, which means files will be hueg liek xbox. That's why it's recommended to make lossless clips instead of encoding the entire file with huffy

open the video file in virtualdub mod go to video->compression->Huffyuv or Lagarith

then go to file->save


use those to mark the beginning and the end of the "clips" you want so you can save room

As a side note, I'd recommend making clips this way instead of in WMM because WMM can't make cuts at the frame-by-frame level...which means you can get some stray frames in your finished video here and there (more annoying than anything)

everything you need should be included in the amvapp (which is part of the aforementioned guide)