Final Cut Pro and Short DVD Capture

alty127

I'm doing a project for class and I need to capture around 30 seconds to 1 minute of dvd video. My prof said that we need to use the computers that are set up with an exturnal dvd player with a capture card since the dvd drives on the mac are encripted and will not capture video.:/ I have a PB G4 and was just wondering if this is true, or would I be able to capture on my PB if I had final cut pro?



I also need to take some still shots form a DVD, on windows I know that powerdvd can capture right from the dvd, is there something like this for the mac? My prof also said that we have to use captured video inorder to take screen shots of our dvd using after effects.



Thanks for your help,



Matt

ipodandimac

well 1st off your prof needs a lesson in copyright laws. but anyways, the easiest way i can think of to capture a dvd with FCP is to track down an analog to digital converter like the Canopus ADVC-100. plug your dvd player into there, then the box into FCP.

alty127

I don't want to have to use an exturnal dvd player though. Am I able to capture any dvd video with my PowerBooks super drive? I also need to take screen shots and i can't use Apple+Shit+4 either. I guess when the apples dvd player is open it doesn't work.\

brussell

I use a program called cinematize to capture clips from DVD. But it is a commercial program. I'm not sure if there are any free apps that do this.

ipodandimac

for the record, there is a reason this is so difficult to do.

brussell

Quote:

Originally posted by ipodandimac

for the record, there is a reason this is so difficult to do.

What are you, a member of the MPAA Junior League? Even if this DVD video he wants to copy is copyrighted (and nothing he said suggested that it was), a class project would be considered fair use anyway.

ebby

Quote:

Originally posted by ipodandimac

well 1st off [ipodandimac] needs a lesson in copyright laws.

There are 2 probelms you are/will be faceing. Your Prof. is probably trying to take advantage of the "analog hole" by having you export into a non-digital format and re-capture it back into a digital format. This may NOT work. Macrovision has analog copy-protection that will prevent you from capturing what you want. I hooked my Canon GL1 to my DVD player and tried to record straight to it would stop when it sensed a copyright protection marker. (I ended up getting 8-10 clips into FCP and pieced them back together to create a awesome clip that was used in school projects years later 8) )



[snip...] Sorry guys.

alty127

Not to defend myself but the reason for the shot copying of the dvd is to make a dvd menu for our selected movie. My prof showed us how to use the set up we have at school to record some content but we only have a few computers hooked up with the external dvd players to do this. I just wanted to be able to use my own PB so I didn't have to take time out and go to the lab and capture my dvd.



Does anyone have a solution for capturing a still from the movie? Is there a DVD player (program) that will capture a still like powerdvd does for windows.



BRussel thanks for the optional program. Will I be able to import the captured video into After Effects or Director?

ipodandimac

Quote:

Originally posted by BRussell

What are you, a member of the MPAA Junior League? Even if this DVD video he wants to copy is copyrighted (and nothing he said suggested that it was), a class project would be considered fair use anyway.

Just because it's education doesn't mean its ok. That whole "time-shifting" loophole/argument only applies to personal use. A class project, unless the prof gives a grade without looking at the finished product, will not be for private use. Trust me, I tried to pull the whole "it's for education" argument last year in a class and my grade suffered. Last time I'll ever try that. I mean you have to do what your professor wants, but he shouldn't be teaching people that it's ok to use copyrighted material.

brussell

Quote:

Originally posted by ipodandimac

Just because it's education doesn't mean its ok. That whole "time-shifting" loophole/argument only applies to personal use. A class project, unless the prof gives a grade without looking at the finished product, will not be for private use. Trust me, I tried to pull the whole "it's for education" argument last year in a class and my grade suffered. Last time I'll ever try that. I mean you have to do what your professor wants, but he shouldn't be teaching people that it's ok to use copyrighted material.

It's not about private use. One of the cornerstones of the fair use doctrine is educational use. Here are the fair use exceptions to copyright law.

Quote:

Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair

use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in

copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that

section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting,

teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use),

scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In

determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case

is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include -

(1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether

such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit

educational purposes;

(2) the nature of the copyrighted work;

(3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in

relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and

(4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or

value of the copyrighted work.

The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding

of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the

above factors.

ipodandimac

hmm ok.

- j b 7 2 -

Rip the DVD to your hard drive using DVDbackup. Use DVDxDV to convert the media you want to QT. Edit your project.



Of course, your professor should be aware, and responsible for the legalities re: copyright infringement etc. I don't think it's a big deal as long as it's strictly used for educational purposes. Then again, I'm not a lawyer, nor the MPAA.

ebby

Hey, alty127. You should check your PM's now&then.

4fx

I would highly reccomend using ffmpegX. You will need to download a few things to get it to work properly, but once you do it will allow you to rip the majority of media files to another format. In this case you will want to use VLC to determine which .vob file is the one you want to reincode. These are located in the Video_TS folder on the DVD. DVD .vob files are limited to just over 1Gb, so you often will see several 1Gb files in a row (ie file01.vob, file02.vob) that are from the same video stream. These are typically the main feature(s). Menu .vobs are usually smaller and are typically toward the top of the list. At any rate, once you have determined the VOB you need, copy it to your hard drive. Then open ffmpegX and select it as your input file. Set the output file type to DV and set the bitrate to "best" (the program will determine the necessary bitrate. Keep the resolution at 720x480 and the audio encoding at DV PCM.



This will give you a DV file similar to the files that iMovie captures. You can then import it into your Final Cut project and edit it as desired.



To address the copyright issue, I am no lawyer (and I hate them anyway) but I believe that if you use it for demonstration and/or educational purposes you should be fine as long as you dont claim that the work is your own. And as such, you certainly will not want to use it as a portfolio piece or enter it into any sort contest. As far as a grade is concerned, my professors always made us identify any work that was not our own. I was always wanted to use my own stuff (such as photos) so that I could use the projects as portfolio pieces. But to each his own eh?



Personally, I use ffmpegX because my boss decided that she wasnt going to consult me when getting a whole bunch of old 16 & 8 mm films (that were created by our univeristy before I was even born) convered to DVD. Then I discover that they will need to be edited. Oh joy... I cant seem to make people understant that the DVD format is a DELIVERY medium! Not something meant to be editied off of. Ok, Im going to stop ranting and lower my blood pressure...



Have fun!

amorya

Quote:

Originally posted by BRussell

It's not about private use. One of the cornerstones of the fair use doctrine is educational use. Here are the fair use exceptions to copyright law.

Also, the school may have a special license in play. Mine has a license that allows recording, editing and rebroadcasting of any terrestrial TV to any number of people on campus - used so that lecturers don't have to worry about copyrights when showing documentaries and stuff. Our student TV channel has considered taking advantage of that and rebroadcasting Neighbours reruns with the adverts taken out - technically we can



Amorya

k_munic

I would recommend a tool called OsEx, instead of Backup or MacTheRipper, because it allows you just to rip parts/chapters of the DVD and not the whole one.



This is just a technical advise - no idea, how your country handle the legal part of this action.

In Germany, even the mentioning of such software is illegal??? haha, freedom of speech.......