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Importing DVD footage to FCP
If you guys could help me on this one it would be much appreciated.
First of all, I’ve been doing some editing for some actor friends of mine, they have DVD copies of projects they’ve done and now were trying to splice all their material from MULTIPLE DVD’s to make a nice demo reel to show there stuff. The final product, of course, would be a DVD to give to agents/producers/casting directors etc…
I’ve been searching the form and have gathered that FCP can not and does not import DVD files that are useable in FCP timelines (In my experience, the VOB file contains no sound, in what I’ve read, it only plays portions of imported material). I did find one post that mentioned “Cinematize” as a $60 downloadable program that will make DVD footage useable in Final Cut Pro.
Personally, after shelling out thousands on a Final Cut system, then, to have to spend another $60 for a function (importing DVD’s into FCP) I’d think would be built into Final Cut Pro makes me mad.
So, perhaps there are some understanding FCP users that might have felt the same way, asked the questions I have and have gained wisdom to hand down to me? If so, maybe you could answer my questions of wise one(s).
1) First of all, what are my options for importing DVD material to be useable in FCP. (I.E. which programs are best, importing from DVD/TV combo, to Mini-DV camera, and DV to FCP….*Quality loss?*…and other methods I have not though of …etc…)
2) Second, what kind of quality loss can I expect from a project going from DV to DVD then imported back to DV Codec for my use? Then back to DVD. (were trying to splice all their material from MULTIPLE DVD’s and make a nice demo reel to show there stuff. The final product, of course, would be a DVD. So were going *SOURCE*DVD(s) to FCP, then back to *ACTOR’S REEL*DVD.)
3) Is there is quality loss? If so, what’s the best advice I can give my actor friends for getting high quality Masters of their work?
4) Lastly, why in the world doesn’t final cut pro support importing DVD files? I realize the copy right issues, and that FCP could be used as a tool for pirating, otherwise store bought DVDs, but giving the tools to break the law, isn’t breaking the law. (Example: Cars/Speeding) Besides, shouldn’t our own character and judgement decide how to use our tools and not FCP regulating and limiting them for us? That is, if they purposely leave out this feature for stated reason.
5) but MOST IMPORTANTLY, how do I import DVD footage into FCP?
Thanks for all the help and advice guys,
Will Keir
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9 Replies
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MPEG Streamclip. DVDxDV. Google them. MPEG is free, DVDxDV costs $25. They both convert DVD VOB files to DV/PAL or DV/NTSC.
Qulaity loss? Yes. DVDs are already in the MPEG-2 format, which is highly compressed. If you take that, pull out a DV file, edit, then compress to DVD, you will notice it. It won’t be broadcastable, but for Actor and Dir demo reels, it will be fine. I have done this myself. DVD to DV to DVD still looks better than a VHS comverted to DVD.
Why doesn’t FCP import DVD files directly? Because MPEG-2 is a delivery format, not an editable one. HDV being the exception, but that is a whole different monster.
Shane
Alokut Productions
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THanks for the speedy reply.
Would you know what the quality difference is between the two?
Will Keir
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Extracting DVDs to a DV timeline is adding an unnecessary stage of compression. Simply extract the DVD material using a professional tool such as DVDxDVPro to an uncompressed Quicktime file and import it into an uncompressed FCP project. Export the end result back to MPEG2 and author a new DVD.
There’s no need to even use the DV codec at all. You won’t improve the extracted MPEG-2 footage any, but you also won’t be adding unnecessary DV compression to the extracted material before you have to recompress it to MPEG-2. Any titles/dissolves/color correction that you do to the material in your edit will benefit from not being DV-compressed before being ultimately compressed to MPEG-2.
As to why Final Cut Pro doesn’t import DVDs, there are many reasons. As has been stated already, MPEG-2 is a highly compressed delivery format, not an archiving or mastering format. Final Cut Pro is just that – Pro meaning Professional. Using MPEG-2 material from DVDs is a worst-case scenario, and hardly desirable.
Obviously you have to work with what you’re given, and if a client only has a DVD, then you’re forced to deal with it. However, to fault Final Cut Pro for not having DVD extraction built-in is a bit naive. Other professional editing applications don’t have this feature, nor is there a huge outcry for it from the professional user base. Final Cut Pro doesn’t support WMV files or muxed MPEG-4 files either. It’s not a shortcoming of the application, it’s that some people have expectations that are beyond the scope of use for which the application was designed.
With regard to archiving formats, anyone wishing to archive video material should use the highest quality format available. If the material was shot on DV, then DVCAM tapes would suffice. If the material originated on film or Digital Betacam, then D1 or DigiBeta would be the most desirable option as far as tape formats. Another solution would be to save the original footage to a hard drive. The basic rule is to avoid any further compression or generation loss at all costs.
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If you want a free DVD extractor, there is one called “Yade X”. Not only it’s free, but it allows to extract selected parts of a DVD.
For quick jobs edited in DV I convert the .m2v file straight to DV. There is some subtle quality loss, but usualy it doesn’t matter unless it’s graphics. And DV gives small files that require no rendering in a DV sequence.
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If I was to provide you with information on how to decrypt commercial DVDs with their CSS encryption, I would be liable under the Digital Millenium Copyright Act for “making available” a “circumvention device.”
Unfortunately, those actors don’t have the right to make reels from commercial DVDs, even if they own them, under the DMCA (actually, even under copyright law they would need permission of the copyright holder).
Under copyright law we can make archive copies of discs we own, in case they get scratched, but it’s illegal under the DMCA to do this because we circumvent a protection scheme.
So be careful what you post on this site. And support the Electronic Frontier Foundation ( http://www.eff.org )
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Unless you really need the hard drive savings, or lower throughput, why would you ever convert something to DV? As Alan said, go straight to uncompressed, or even DV50 will look better than DV, and save space.
Ed[Le Coyote] “For quick jobs edited in DV I convert the .m2v file straight to DV. There is some subtle quality loss, but usualy it doesn’t matter unless it’s graphics. And DV gives small files that require no rendering in a DV sequence.”
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The differece between DV and uncompressed when ripping from a DVD is negligible. Unless you are going to broadcast its a fairly moot point.
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We are not talking about extracting encrypted commercial DVDs.
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[David Roth Weiss] “The differece between DV and uncompressed when ripping from a DVD is negligible. Unless you are going to broadcast its a fairly moot point.”
Exactly. And when you’re editing DV captured footage in a DV sequence, it’s much easier to capture DVD footage straight to DV. No render, little wonder. This might be different if your footage is only DVD, but this hasn’t happened to me. Yet.
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