So.... I have some home movies I own on a DVD and I'm trying to get them into an editable format on my computer (read: avi, mpg, etc.) so I can make chapters, menus, etc. But, I'm quite new to this... can anyone point me in the direction of some free software that would enable me to take these DVD vob files, or whatever they are and make them into anything else that I can edit?
Plus, are there any good software choices for making kick-ass menus?
check out the guides section at <!-- w --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.afterdawn.com">www.afterdawn.com</a><!-- w --> - you'll never look anywhere else for info
doom9.org and videohelp.com are good sources also
You'll probably end up using TMPGEnc for encoding the VOBs
Check out a program called DVD-Lab for the menus, but there are a variety of different apps you could use, you just have to find which one you like best.
Yeah I found <!-- w --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.afterdawn.com...">www.afterdawn.com...</a><!-- w -->. that TMPGEnc program or the Gordian Knot package look promising, but it looks like it will take all day and confuse the crap out of me.
Follow the guides closely and take your time and you shouldn't get confused - learning the process and learning why you're doing what you're doing is essential.
and yeah, if there's one thing about encoding dvd video is that it takes a long time.