[animalism2]

I've seen all sorts of posts about converting MPEG-2, VOB, etc. for later manipulation. I'm interested in something that I thought would be even easier, but surprisingly I can't find anything in the Mac world that will do this.

Anybody know of any current software or software in development that can PLAY a collection VOB files in Mac OS X? Numerous posts on the web reiterate the point that QT6 with the MPEG-2 playback component can only handle the video, not the audio, no matter if its PCM, AC3 or m2a.

As I said, I'm not interested in dumuxxing and converting. I'd like to have a video jukebox of VOB files on my computer that are currently on many DVDs I've burned using iDVD. Rather than inserting new DVD discs all the time, wouldn't it be nice to have a large hard drive with all of the VOB files right there and accessible?

Before anyone suggests it, I like the MPEG-2 compression over DivX or MPEG-4 - no offense. Am I hoping for too much? In the Windows world, the WinDVD and PowerDVD can both do this. But I'd rather not have to use a PC.

[Denis]

try

http://www.videolan.org

Denis

[V99]

VLC

[animalism2]

yes, VLC... I should have mentioned that in my post. At this point, that doesn't play the audio track well at all on my system (iMac flat-panel 800MHz running Jaguar). Probably just b/c it's a beta. As a student project, I wasn't sure if there were plans to debug the many bugs that were reported on their site.

If there are no other candidates, than I will just wait for an upgrade to VLC or for some entrepeneur to write one (like Playlist Player or Hootenany, or the many others that can handle all the OTHER media types).

Cheers.

[bantha]

I believe if you copy the VIDEO_TS folder from the DVD instead of the VOB files, then Apple's DVD player can play it from the hard drive

[bullitB]

Mplayer should work, too.

[thegdm]

Hey, VLC DOES play the audio, unless you ripped the VOB incorrectly. Try making sure that a language is selected, and use max volume. (Also, turn up your mac's volume.) The sound in VOB files tends to be pretty low-level, and sometimes VLC won't automatically select a language (audio track) to play.

[apacheOSX]

apple released a quicktime component on their site.  the mpeg2 component.  it works as a codec for mpeg2 and vobs straight through quicktime although thegdm has a point you must properly rip it.  try going to http://www.apple.com...mp...2playback/

it costs a few but it is worth it, anywho thats what i found worked for me

[pongdude1]

DVD Backup (http://www.wormintheapple.gr/macdvd/DVDbackup.html) successfully takes a dvd in your drive, decrypts ANY CSS OR ENCRYPTION OF ANY KIND and makes a VIDEO_TS folder on your hard drive that plays flawlesslly with the OS X built in dvd player software.  this works great!  now, i want to output the video (i already have an audio output periferal) to my tv to watch in my home theater.  if anyone knows a good video output device for mac (17" widescreen flat panel i-mac) please email me at: pongdude1@aol.com

DVD Backup works GREAT!! trust me you'll love it

[V99]

You know there aren't any other kinds of encryption (on DVDs)..

For video out to a TV on an iMac you probably want a VGA -> S-Video/RCA/etc converter.. fairly common cheapish things.

[Anton]

try xine via fink
it is not stable yet, but if you manage to get sound via sdl driver (I didn't) it is said to be an option. You need xfree threaded also, since x11 from apple is not threadsafe. honestly, my build crashes, but I have sound via esd driver and it seems to be a gui that is not stable. and the reason might be that I have both xfree and x11 (see x11 FAQ for the hint). I might need to remove x11 to build xine  

[gundy]

"vic" its a beta i think still but work great for playing my collections of vobs on my desktop. give it a try

[ItaMac]

Why the QT mpeg2 component don't export audio??? I can wiew and listen a .vob File in Movie Player (QT 6.1.1 for X), I can export the video in any other codec format but not the audio, why???

[bantha]

in the future, please start your own topic instead of dragging up an old one for which the title specifically excludes you question.

the answer is, you just can't.  for some reason Quicktime refuses to convert MPEG audio (except for mp3 and mp4).  try ffmpeg, or MAD

[tommaso]

Quote

Quote: from ItaMac on 3:37 am on April 26, 2003
Why the QT mpeg2 component don't export audio??? I can wiew and listen a .vob File in Movie Player (QT 6.1.1 for X), I can export the video in any other codec format but not the audio, why???

[Count Zero]

QuickTime is not very good in handling MPEG-1/-2. It simply can't and there is no obvious reason for it.

By the way: Next time, please start a new thread and don't revive an old one from nearly a year ago.

[thewebguy]

Hmmm, all this talk of other video players when all you need is Mac OS X and Mac's built in DVD Player.

USE CASE

Firstly let's just understand the most common use case behind this question...

If you browse a video DVD (like the ones you rent from the video store) you will normally find a Video_TS folder and an Audio_TS folder. VOB files are found within the Video_TS folder.

ANSWER

Anyway, back to the answer...

Dragging the Video_TS folder directly onto the Apple DVD Player (the player included with Mac OS X 10.4.x) will allow you to play the video.

This means you can play the raw files directly from a DVD (including the VOB files normally found within the Video_TS folder). The audio worked fine in my test. In fact in my test, I had no Audio_TS folder present at all.

Just in case you are wondering, dragging the VOB files on to the DVD Player will _not_ work. You must drag the 'Video_TS' folder.

I hope this helps someone out there :)

[zav]

ItaMac, on Apr 25 2003, 07:37 AM, said:

Why the QT mpeg2 component don't export audio??? I can view and listen a .vob File in Movie Player (QT 6.1.1 for X), I can export the video in any other codec format but not the audio, why???

Because it is an MPEG2 video component. And also because I'm sure Apple doesn't want you to do this with MPEG 1 or 2 files. I believe this is to make piracy a little more inconvenient.