How can I get DVD's to run better

March 31, 2009 1:44 PM

DVD question. First, a little background. At church we have mpeg dvds that we can rip to the computer and add to playlists in windows media player. This works great. The problem is that the Pastor buys other dvds which are not in this format.

When you insert the dvd a menu comes up. Using these menus is not as smooth as I'd like. The big problem is that we use dual monitors and if steps aren't followed just so then the whole thing locks up. Not a preferred behavior in the middle of a service. Exploring the dvd shows an audio folder and a video folder.

The ideal solution would be some kind of rip and conversion to mpeg. We own the dvds and would not be selling anything. This is strictly for ease of use.

Thanks for your time.

posted by notned to Media & Arts (12 answers total)

Can you let us know what operating system you're using, please?

What method/process/software are you using to rip your "mpeg dvds"?

Are the "mpeg dvds" you mention simply DVD discs with mpeg files on them?
posted by chudmonkey at 1:50 PM on March 31, 2009

Also, what menu comes up? Is it a menu to play the DVD? Or a menu from the ripping program?
posted by filthy light thief at 1:52 PM on March 31, 2009

Response by poster: Windows XP.

It was a while ago, but it wasn't difficult. I think that I copied the files to a folder on the C drive and imported the files to windows media player. Maybe rip wasn't the right word for me to use.

Yes the mpeg dvds are simply DVD discs with mpegs.
posted by notned at 1:55 PM on March 31, 2009

Best answer: If your problem DVDs aren't copy protected, you can use vob2mpg to reformat the raw files from the DVD.

If they are copy protected, you'll need to use something like dvdfab hd decrypter to unprotect the DVD first, then do the vob2mpg step.
posted by nomisxid at 1:56 PM on March 31, 2009

Response by poster: A menu to play the dvd. For instance you can choose lyrics on or off. The demo track or six different versions of the song.
posted by notned at 1:57 PM on March 31, 2009

What you are asking to do is called "Fair Use". Media companies refer to this as "Piracy".

Your best option is likely to use the tools pirates fair use advocates have developed to bypass the protection stopping you from copying the media onto your computer. You're looking for a program that will rip the disk (copy media to your computer) and transcode it (move it into a different format, like WMV or MPEG that can be played back by the media player).

DVDShrink seems to be the favorite Windows version. Some DVD burner software will also do this - Nero Recode, for example.

Note that strictly speaking making a backup copy of a DVD is NOT illegal, but playing a commercial DVD for an audience in a public venue without a license to do so IS illegal. Some leeway may be there for churches, but I can't say for sure. All I know is that the copyright warning stating "licensed for home use" doesn't cover public broadcast.
posted by caution live frogs at 1:57 PM on March 31, 2009

Handbrake can do all this for you.
posted by kcm at 2:00 PM on March 31, 2009

Response by poster: nomisxid - You were first with the links vob2mpg worked. That's exactly the kind of thing that I had in mind.

caution live frogs - Some of the things that you outlined were the reasons that I kept struggling the way that I was. As far as the public venue thing, I leave that to the Pastor. He makes the point that we are not charging admission.

kcm - I'm looking at Handbrake too.

One last thing. I don't seem to have the lyrics (subtitle sort of thing) coming over. Is there an option that I'm not seeing.

Thanks guys you've helped me very much already.
posted by notned at 2:24 PM on March 31, 2009

Some of the things that you outlined were the reasons that I kept struggling the way that I was. As far as the public venue thing, I leave that to the Pastor. He makes the point that we are not charging admission.

This doesn't matter at all.
posted by unixrat at 2:26 PM on March 31, 2009

Here's more on DVD Shrink. It's really easy, though Handbrake has a lot more features, and may be more what you are looking for, including hard-coded subtitles (Subtitles on DVDs are generally kept in separate files, not part of the picture).

DVDs that your Pastor gets are probably intended for more common use - simple play-back. They contain what you want, but it'll take a few more steps to get them into something you can add into a slideshow. The menu that you see is the auto-play menu, or some DVD playing software recognizing that there is playable DVD in the drive, not just a DVD full of data (MPEGs, JPEGs, etc).

In regards to the use of the DVDs - I'm guessing these are from Christian bands who your Pastor knows, so I think they'd be happy that their music and videos are used in that way. I haven't heard of the RIAA knocking on church doors in regards to illegal public performances of licensed music - the bands might not even be covered by the RIAA.
posted by filthy light thief at 2:31 PM on March 31, 2009

Another option is to rip the disc with DVD Shrink, which can also compress it at the same time so that it takes up less hard drive space, and then play it with VLC Media Player, which unlike the Microsoft player is able to play VOB files directly. (In this case it's saving a VOB file, not an MPEG file.)
posted by XMLicious at 2:40 PM on March 31, 2009

Auto Gordian Knot is a *really* easy to use program that will transcode DVD into Xvid .avi video files. Takes a little while, especially if you have an older computer, but you can queue up a few discs (if you've got them ripped to your HD or if you have multiple drives) and convert them overnight.
posted by porpoise at 6:55 PM on March 31, 2009