Hi,
2 part question...
I just followed your guide for editing DVD recorder discs. The disc was recorded with my new http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/smileys/smiley17.gif JVC DR-M10. It was just an hour long home video. I used DVD Decrypter to extract a single large VOB. I didn't really want to edit it, just to re-author with chapter previews in Workshop 2. I renamed the file to an .mpg extension (because Workshop wouldn't open the VOB) and opened it in Workshop. I was expecting to be able to add chapter points, but Workshop says the clip is only 14 sec long. Any idea what's going on?
As for the other question, the reason I didn't just import into Workshop directly from the DVD is because when I tried that Workshop treated each chapter as a title, which is not what I wanted. Is there some way to record on the JVC, not finalize, but import the video into Workshop? Or is there a way to prevent the JVC from creating chapters in the first place?
Thanks.

Which version of DVD Workshop is this, and do you have ALL the patches/updates for it installed?

It is DVD Workshop 2.231 w/updates.

Ok, I just took care of the first question by letting DVD Decrypter demux the files. DVDWS had no problems with the two streams.
But, I'm still unsure of the 2nd question. I guess I'm hoping there is a way to import the VOB's directly into DVDWS without retaining the chapter points as titles.
Thanks.

In order to edit "DVD" files, you have to extract the files back to the most basic form, proper audio, video (and maybe others like subtitles).

This guide on this site will help with that process:
http://www.digitalfaq.com/edit/recor...corderedit.htm

The reason you cannot rename a VOB as an MPG is because they are NOT the same thing. While a VOB contains MPEG video, it is not an MPEG file alone inside. A VOB is a container that holds other files too.

Now on to the second half of the question...

What you want is pretty much impossible. It's not the nature of the technology. A DVD is a final product. It was not meant to be edited or altered in any way. The VOB is what contains the NAV info (chapters, etc), not the MPEG. An authoring program is built to accept proper video/audio/sub/etc files, add menus/nav (as needed) and then create a disc. It is not meant to edit a disc.

Consider this analogy (using silverware)...

You have a spoon, but want to "edit" it to turn it into a fork. But their exist no conversion machine to input spoon, and then receive a fork as the output. If you want that spoon to become a fork, you must melt it down (extract back to base materials), and the re-cast it into a fork.

Hope that helps. http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/smileys/smiley1.gif


There are some exceptions to note:
A JVC DVD recorder, as are many other DVD recorders, do a simple audio/video mux into VOB. Those are essentially the same as an MPEG. I use a JVC hre, edit the video files in Womble MPEG-VCR, and then dump into DVDWS2 for authoring. I am not sure if JVC's "editing" of the files would affect this, as I never use a DVD recorder to edit. I use the PC. Also, be sure to enable all the "remove" options in DVD Decrypter, as shown in the guide.