[Dan Barter] “It seems strange to me that there wouldn’t be a way to get the actual digital footage from the DVD, since it’s, well, digital.”
Yes it is digital, but it is still compressed. All video on DVD is compressed. You can try mpeg stream clip, but to get the best results I always say get your hands on the original masters.
If the place decided to do it in house you will have top have the old place hand over originals anyway.