Time for a change!

Dave Step 8:12 AM - 26 April, 2012

Hello all you VSL'ers out here. I am looking for a little help - I have a ton of questions, and I have been searching this forum up and down for the past few days. I thank you in advance for your comments!

Firstly, I am a VDJ user. Back in the day when VSL was not even around, VDJ was the only thing to use. My machine is old, and I need to update, and as any of you guys that have ever used VDJ know - it takes weeks of work in terms of trying many different system components, hardware, codecs, etc to even get the darn thing stable, and then even more work to get timecode somewhat working. I am not willing to do that again, and, quite frankly the new versions of vdj don't appeal much to me. Latest version I have managed to get stable was 5.

So I think I am finally going to go VSL. Macrumors has estimated that the new macbook pro's will drop in about two months, and I really thinking about buying one the second it comes out. This will be my first mac I have ever owned.

I want to get a jump on things and I know that my library needs massive work. My library consists of 50% VOBs. I stopped all my DVD subscriptions in 2009, and have been just using smash and a few other sites since then, but I do find myself regularly playing a few older vobs.

So, I am reading through these forums - people report mixed things about lots of different software / settings / presets. I can't really test anything, as I do not yet have the macbook. I figure it will take at least a few weeks to do the encoding process, so I was really hoping to start doing it now. And I obviously have to do it in batch - there is no way I can do each video individually. I am not looking for perfection - I do not really care all that much as long as the videos are "ok" looking and perfectly functional in VSL. That might seem odd, but I have been replacing vobs with smash and other digital services, so as smash/etc puts out more, I can just continue to replace my encoded vobs until they are all gone. Or so I will continue to hope :)

My top picks so far from browsing the forum: Handbrake / Cinematize

Handbrake seems like it would meet the task, but it seems alot of people have had problems with the presets in the past, and they have a newer version out that nobody has really discussed.

Cinematize was recommended, but, due to it not being free - I was hoping for some confirmation on that before I bought it. Looks decent though.

Can anyone share their thoughts / opinions / presets?

Thanks!

skinnyguy 8:50 AM - 26 April, 2012

Well, at least we don't have to tell you to get a Mac....

On a Mac, serato is pretty much plug and play, right out of the box.

However, be aware that with the new generation of macs, especially this upcoming one which seems its going to have some major changes, there could arise a whole new slew of problems that never existed before. Like when the i-series of macs came out, nobody knew that there would be problems with the sl1 and ttm57 (or was it only the 57?) because of the USB 1.1 hardware.

In another recent thread, the more knowledgeable members suggested on getting a mbp now before current supplies are out. They suggest this because most issues have been dealt with and work with ssl and SV flawlessly. Not as flawlessly for some, as those members are trying to find ways to go back to snow leopard from lion. The leopard and snow leopard run great. lion is doing good for the most part; who knows what mountain lion will bring.

Kinda ironic and sad that a lot of guys here (myself included) are hesitant to move to the newer versions of ssl. Some refuse to move because of the if-it-ain't-broke-don't-fix-it attitude and don't need newer features of ssl. Others refuse to go to the newest version because of compatibility with Mix Emergency doesn't work with it (whole other can of worms there).

As far as batch converting on the pc side, I used Super converter. Worked fine for me. And it was free.

Also, feel free to download the current version of ssl to start organizing your playlist crates and analyzing your files. You'll need the current version of ssl to work with the current version of SV. Unless you want to go the mix emergency route, then you'll have to get ssl 2.3.3.

djnak 8:52 AM - 26 April, 2012

start reading about ivtc and deinterlacing if you want those vobs to look nice or try and replace them all new copies from a service like vjpro/smashvision

also a refurbed 2011 mbp will suit your need and save you money... I still sometime use a preunibody to run well....not vsl/sv anymore but another plugin

Dave Step 9:13 AM - 26 April, 2012

Thanks skinnyguy and nak. I appreciate you taking the time to reply. I am down to be on the cutting edge - and, like you mentioned, being one of those it-it-aint-broke-dont-fix it guys (I stuck with VDJ for too long), I might as well snag the new one, as I will have it for awhile. I have faith that the serato community will fix any issues that come up, even if it takes them a bit. I am going to dedicate myself to the library for the next few weeks - who knows what upcoming news from apple might come out to influence my decision.

And, I do know a little about ivtc/deinterlacing. I take the time to do that to the source material of my personal edits, but, I have never run across any way to do that any other way than by hand and 1 by 1. I am just not willing to do that to thousands of files that I know smash will eventually replace :) Really just looking for a good / tested / generally recommended preset for one of these programs.

I did not know you could start organizing stuff, and transfer it later. That is pretty cool! Going to look into that for sure!

I am trying to find a good working link for the movie batch info program, do any of you guys know where to get that?

and lastly, skinnyguy - I could not see where super had any settings for these all important keyframes?

Thanks all!

Dave Step 9:20 AM - 26 April, 2012

Doh, nix that on the movie batch info. If you click the banner for it - it takes you to download serato. If you look it up in the VSL help, it is right there :)

phatbob 11:08 AM - 26 April, 2012

If you want to get busy encoding vobs and you aren't going to be totally anal about it (which is fair enough) then just use the Serato preset for handbrake: serato.com

You won't get such great results as when you IVTC etc but what you will get are videos which conform to the required standards of Serato Video, and you can do them in batches.

That will get you started, at least, and you can gradually replace or re-do important videos at a later stage.

djpuma_gemini 4:09 PM - 26 April, 2012

vob to mp4 is utter garbage if you don't ivtc

skinnyguy 7:08 PM - 26 April, 2012

I can't remember if it had a keyframe setting....it was quite full of options tho...

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