Can I edit the DVDs once you have converted my old tapes?
DVD Video was never intended to be a recordable format. A few years ago it just wasn’t possible to edit them. The good news is that most video editing software can now edit your home videos from a DVD Video disc.
Video editing software requires a certain degree of patience to learn how it works. Fortunately you don’t necessarily have to learn all of the features in order to get started.
Home users.
The first thing you need to know is that iMovie on the Apple Mac and Windows Movie Maker (free from Microsoft) will NOT always edit directly from DVDs. Some versions of iMovie will import the video but not the audio. Windows Movie Maker Live starts off promising but then completely fails to let you do anything useful (Tested August 2011).
You’ll need to get hold of some proper editing software or find a conversion tool to rip the video and audio from the DVD into an editing friendly format. Commercial video editing software is widely available but there are also lots of free tools if you are prepared to browse around the various help sites and read a few tutorials. Scroll down this page for useful links.
Professional & semi-pro editors
Modern editing software will import VOB sets but not necessarily do it properly. VOB2MPEG (Windows) or Handbrake (Mac) will demultiplex the MPEGs. In either case editing from DVD (IBP MPEG2) can pose quality issues and is not best practice.
A far better solution is to have analogue footage digitised into an edit friendly CODEC. We find DV files (MSDV AVI or QuickTime DV) provide a good balance for most domestic tapes and some professional formats. High end analogue tapes will benefit from a 4:2:2 CODEC (ProRes, MJPEG or uncompressed).
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Commercial vdeo editing software.
These non-linear editing programs (NLE) are made by world class software companies who also make professional versions of each product.
Video Editing software lets you:-
- Edit out or fix poor audio or video
- Add titles and music
- Make DVDs & Blu-ray discs (provided you have a suitable writer)
- Prepare web video – some can upload your video directly to YouTube and facebook
30 day free trials are usually available so you can download the software and have a go before spending anything.
Adobe Premiere Elements is a good home video editing package (Windows and Mac).
Sony Vegas Movie Studio is another well known home video editing package (Windows)
Grass Valley Edius Neo is a comprehensive editing package (Windows)
Useful tools.
Handbrake will convert DVD footage to other useful formats.
VOB2MPG extracts MPEG 2 files from DVD Video discs. The free version works fine.
MPEG Streamclip converts footage from DVDs to various other formats.
More help and advice.
Video Help is a great resource with links, reviews and free guides to just about any video editing question. Most of the content is safe but do be careful when downloading software from any website.
DVforums (**currently offline**) is a very friendly user forum dedicated to video editing.
And finally
We’ve tried to keep this guide concise and hope that you find it informative. Do feel free to reply, ask questions or provide feedback. For more information about our video to DVD transfer service please click here.