Keeping your system efficient is key to avoiding video playback problems. If your computer does not meet the recommended requirements, we suggest converting your VOB files to optimized MPEG files (or upgrading your computer). Optimized MPEG files are smaller in size and place less stress on your computer, however still provide a professional result.
Tip: Optimizing video files can be a lengthy process. If your computer does not meet the recommended system requirements, it may be wise to consider a computer upgrade, rather than spending time on video optimization, where ultimately you will want play videos in DVD quality in future.
Optimized MPEG Video files-
The following are some recommendations in regards to creating optimized MPEG video files, which will use fewer system resources.
Use MPEG2 video compression. MPEG2 will exhibit less pixellation (blocky images) than MPEG1, however more hard drive space is used per video file.
Encode your MPEG2 files to 352x288 resolution (for 4:3 aspect ratio clips), or 512x288 resolution (for 16:9 clips).
Encode your MPEG2 files using a data rate of 3Mbs or higher (5Mbs recommended).
Use VBR encoding (for both audio and video) to optimize file sizes.
There are numerous applications available on the internet that can create MPEG2 video files. We highly recommend TMPGEnc 4.0 XPress, from Pegasys Inc.
To assist in the conversion process, OtsLabs have created Templates that can be used in TMPGEnc 4.0 XPress that create optimized MPEG2 video files. These Templates can be found here.
Unzip the TMPGEnc Templates file, and copy the resulting Export and Filter folders into your My Documents\TMPGEnc 4.0 XPress folder.
Below are the basic steps to convert a VOB (DVD) file to an optimized MPEG2 file, using TMPGEnc 4.0 XPress and the OtsLabs templates.
1. Open TMPGEnc 4.0 XPress and click on the Start New Project button.
2. Click on the Add A File button.
3. Click on the File Types drop-down box, and select All Files (*.*)
4. Select the VOB files you wish to convert to MPEG2.
5. When prompted with "Do you want to open this file anyway?" select Yes.
6. As each file is opened, click on the Filter button.
7. Click on the Open Filter button, and select one of the following options.
For standard 4:3 Aspect Ratio clips, select Ots-Width720.txpf
For widescreen 16:9 Aspect Ratio clips, select Ots-Width720-Ana16_9-PAL.txpf (for PAL) or Ots-Width720-Ana16_9-NTSC.txpf (for NTSC)
For other Aspect Ratios, choose the appropriate filter.
8. Click OK to proceed.
9. Repeat the steps above until you have added the required VOB files.
Tip: It is much quicker to group like aspect ratio clips, and convert them in a batch. For example, select all 4:3 VOB files at once. Convert them, and then process your 16:9 clips etc.
10. Click on the Set Output button.
11. Enable the Display custom templates only check box.
12. Choose the Output description that matches your batch of VOB files.
For 4:3 clips, select Ots-MPEG2-NTSC-opt4_3.txpe (for NTSC)
For other Aspect Ratios, choose the appropriate Output option.
13. Click on the Encode button.
14. Choose the Output clips separately option (bottom of window), and select the destination folder.
15. Click on Start Output to begin the conversion. (You can also select Add to Batch Process if you will be converting multiple batches)
At the completion of the conversion process, you will have a collection of optimized MPEG2 video files. These files can now be converted to Ots files using Ots Studio.
Convert your Optimized MPEG files to Ots files using Ots Studio.
To convert your existing music video library to Ots files, use the batch conversion tool in Ots Studio. If you have a large music video library, the conversion process may take some time, so make sure you don't leave it until just before a gig. We suggest converting a few music video files to begin with, so that you can become familiar with the process.
Once you have converted your videos to Ots files, it is highly recommended that you check your files for audio trimming. Some music videos have non-musical intros and outros. In most cases, you wouldn't want to hear or see these when performing. Using the ACI (Audio Control Info) chunk in each item, you can edit the intro and outro points so that the non-musical elements are not heard.
Note: Editing the intro and outro points is a non-destructive process, and you can go back at any stage.