A trick I need to do with iMovie: Capturing a DVD Clip

Ronald Epstein · 02-09-2008, 06:34 AM

I am making a movie of my trip to Vegas.

I need to capture 20 seconds of video off of a DVD and
insert it into my home iMovie.

Any suggestions how to capture the clip, what format to save
it in and how to import it to the iMovie template?

Thanks in advance!

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DaveF · 02-09-2008, 08:53 AM

This is a question I have, too. I figured this out on Windows: how to extract a specific segment from a DVD and convert for use elsewhere (PowerPoint, in my case). I've not accomplished this on the Mac, largely because I don't want to pay $50 for QT Pro and the MPEG2 Playback codec. But, I think this process would work (but I've not tested it, so I can't guarantee this is $50 well spent).

Buy QuickTime Pro and Mpeg2 Playback component

Rip DVD
Open VOB file(s) with clip of interest into QuickTime Pro
Use QT Pro to trim clip and export as H.264
Import H.264 into iMovie 08
Edit as desired

JohnRice · 02-09-2008, 10:40 AM

I trust this is not a commercial DVD. After all, forum rules prohibit discussion of that, in case you didn't know.

As far as getting the clip on the computer, you are probably best to move the entire dvd to the HD. Just create a folder with the same name as the disc and drag the VIDEO_TS folder to it. Beyond that, I think Dave has about the only solution.

Ronald Epstein · 02-09-2008, 12:10 PM

Don't worry....

Not looking for instructions on ripping.

Just need about 20 seconds of footage to put in a home
movie for personal use.

I figured it out based on the instructions posted. Thanks!

DaveF · 02-09-2008, 01:35 PM

Ron,
Did you use the QTPro and MPEG2 tools? Did they work well? I'm interested into extracting and embedding video clips for presentations on rare occaision. Last time I used Windows to extract a video clip. Next time I'll want to use my Mac, and it would be good to know the Apple tools provide a solution.

Ronald Epstein · 02-10-2008, 04:37 AM

Heya Dave!

Ripping the DVD and converting the video VB file to a DV stream
via Quicktime did not work. I could drag it to iMovie. but all I got
was the video -- no audio.

I then stumbled across this website.

I simply downloaded the free streamclip software and paid $19
for the MPEG-2 Apple license and away I went.

I opened the same VOB file with streamclip and converted it
to DV. I then dragged it into iMovie and voila! It worked!

Not sure why I had to pay $19 for the MPEG-2 playback license.
Not sure if that affected anything or not as I didn't use Quicktime
with this process.

DaveF · 02-10-2008, 03:38 PM

Thanks for the update. I use MPEG Streamclip to convert videos from my still camera to H.264 for use in iMovie. It's a great little program.

You needed to buy MPEG2 component because Apple doesn't include it with the OS -- royalties must be paid to the patent holders or something. Same thing on Windows XP I think.

Good info. I'm glad to know the Apple MPEG2 works with Streamclip.



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