Best Way To Assemble Montage from Many DVDs

[jweite]

I'd like to assemble a montage from 20+ DVDs. I cannot fit the imports of all of these on my hard drives at the same time. What do you think is the best way to extract the scenes I want to use in my project from each of these DVDs in a form that I can later import into PE7 with as little loss of quality as possible?

Thanks!
-JGW

[ATR]

JGW

The following approach is recommended and has appeared in the threads here numerous times.

I will recap specific to your question.

1. By DVDs, I am interpreting that in the typical way as DVD-VIDEO format on a DVD disc.

2. For a given DVD, you rip the VOBs from the DVD using the Premiere Elements Media Downloader. Details to follow when I know what version of Premiere Elements that you are using. Some users get good quality and no problems using that route. Others do not. For the do noters, VOB conversion to DV AVI is needed with a program, such as MPEG Streamclip.
http://www.squared5.com/
Then you bring the DV AVI version into Premiere Elements for the edits, etc.

3. Once you have your content (VOB or DV AVI) from one of your DVDs on the Premiere Elements Timeline and complete your editing, then you export/save it (File Menu/Export/Movie) to a hard drive folder.

4. You continue to do the same for each of the other DVDs that you have. When you have a DV AVI for each of the original DVDs, then you bring all the DV AVIs into a new Premiere Elements project for arrangement, etc, followed by export.

You cannot import a Premiere Elements project .prel file into another Premiere Elements project .prel file.

Any further questions, please let me know. (Do not forget to mention version of Premiere Elements in use.)

ATR

[jweite]

Thanks for outlining the process for me ATR. I am using PE7 - sorry to have left that detail out. I have successfully imported my DVDs to PE7, so I don't need guidance on that. I appreciate the details on doing the export and use of the DV-AVI format.

I'll take a look at Streamclip too, in case it turns out to be a better tool for this job.

Thanks again,
-JGW

[ATR]

jweite

When you get a chance, please let us know the outcome.

I have worked with that MPEG Streamclip. Is is a quick and easy procedure, yielding good results. My major hang up with that was the choices:
a. MPEG Steamclip + Quicktime Alternative (free MPEG2 playback component), but you have to uninstall your regular Quicktime
or
b. MPEG Streamclip + your regular Quicktime, and you buy the MPEG2 playback component from Apple.

I went the completely free way, and had a very difficult time trying to get the regular Quicktime to uninstall. I finally did, but it was not easy.

ATR