VOB files with Premiere PRO CS4

[Jeff Bonano]

Hey Mark,

I’ve used AVS software before with some pretty good results. It’s not too pricey either. For a little bit more, you can get the whole package of software they provide, but here’s the link to the Video Converter that I use.

https://www.avs4you.com/AVS-Video-Converter.aspx

I do want to point out though that if you decide to go this route, your settings have to be just right otherwise you might not get audio to sync up right or your video might become distorted. Play around with the settings to get the right look for what you need.

Jeff Bonano
http://www.bonanoproductions.com

“I want to have a cool quote at the bottom of my signature, just like everyone else on the cow forum!” -Jeff Bonano

[Mark Weaver]

Jeff,
Hey thanks for the link to the software. I downloaded and
tried the non-activated version. It seems to work fine. A little
slow, but the output is what I needed. Now off to get the
credit card and purchase.

Thanks again for the response and help!

MBW

[Bala Chandran]

Hello Mark
If you are using CS4 PP there is no need for any conversion.
First copy the VIDEO_TS folder to your hard drive. Then import the folder in to your project (ignore errors). Now just drag and drop the VOB files to your timeline. That’s all. You will have all your video and audio from the DVD on the timeline.
-BC

[Mark Weaver]

BC,
Thanks for the email. I thought I’d read about CS4 being
able to import VOB files, which is great. Unfortunately, when
I try the method you describe CS4 appears to only be able to
recognize the first 18 seconds of audio/video. The VOB has
2 minutes of video and audio so it appears that CS4 is
having difficulties with bringing in VOB files.

Did I do something wrong?

Mark

[Bala Chandran]

Such short clip shouldn’t have a problem at all. Do you have enough empty space in your relevant hard drives for cache, confirm etc? Have you updated PP to the latest version? CS4 PP in general is finicky so there must be a glitch somewhere in your setup.

[Mark Weaver]

BC,
I have 150GB of HD available and 4GB of RAM, that should be plenty.
I do think there might be a setup issue. I unfortunately did the Adobe download for my upgrade from CS3. What a cluster @#%@ that is. It comes in a bunch of tar files and you have to determine the correct installation sequence. I will never do that again. It’s DISKs or no sale for me. 🙂

Not sure how to fix the installation setup, except by uninstalling everything and trying again. Not sure it is worth that though.

Mark

[Bala Chandran]

Sorry this is happening to you Mark. CS4 PP is a terrible program compared to CS3 PP (in my opinion). It works for some people but for others it’s a nightmare. I have i7-920 processor with 12GB ram and raid drives on Win7 64 bit and still unusable/unreliable.
I guess you must have tried clearing/deleting the cache files, or better yet starting a fresh project.
Good Luck!
-BC

[Mark Weaver]

BC,
Thanks for the ideas. I wouldn’t say that CS4 PP is terrible. I
tend to like it much more that CS3 PP. It’s just this VOB file
stuff. Can’t understand why it is so difficult to convert these
files back to something useful in an editor.

Oh well… At least I can purchase another $50 program to do it.

Have a great night…

Mark

[Aristides Tiropolis]

I had similar issues when I tried to use .vob files for a project I was working on. Premiere CS4 states that direct .vob file editing is possible, but unfortunately not all .vob files are made equally maybe due to different GOP structures and mpeg-2 encoding techniques resulting in the dreaded issue you’re having.

I solved all my problems with mpeg stream clip (on the Mac but it exists for Windows as well) it is capable of reading all vob structures, it knows and provides the choice to display the whole or partial movie (vob_1,2 and so on) rebuilding problematic files and providing a proper in-out scheme for exporting in any kind of encoder resident on your machine. From then on it was a breeze, so you may give it a try:

https://www.squared5.com/svideo/mpeg-streamclip-win.html

p.s: For Mac if you install Perian it provides the same functionality for .flv files as well..

[Mark Weaver]

Aristides,
Hey thanks for the idea, I’ve checked out the link. One thing
that concerns me is the Quicktime Alternative that I would need to
install. I’m on a PC and I’ve had so much trouble with Quicktime
over the years, that when I have a working Quicktime/iTunes install
I don’t want to change it. I’ve downloaded the demo to the AVS
software mentioned earlier and it seems to work so at least I’ve
got a work around, but FREE would be a better price. 🙂
Appreciate your time and effort to mention the alternative. I’m
getting a MAC deleivered in a couple of weeks so I’ll be able to
try your MAC suggestion then.

Thanks

MBW