Convert VOB files to MP4

What is in a VIDEO_TS folder

• VIDEO_TS.VOB: the disc's main menu.
• VTS_01_0.VOB: the menu of the first title set.
• VTS_01_1.VOB, VTS_01_2.VOB…: the video itself, in pieces of at most 1 GB.
• .IFO and .BUP files: the disc's map of chapters, menus and play order. Octoolo does not use them.

Each VOB is an MPEG-2 file with its sound and subtitles woven in, which is why Octoolo can read it like any other video. A disc can hold several title sets (VTS_02_…, VTS_03_…). A DVD recorder often makes one per recording; on a film disc, the set with the largest files is usually the main feature. A single-layer DVD holds up to 4.7 GB, and DVD video runs at up to 9.8 Mbit/s, which is why the VOBs are so large for standard-definition video.

Discs a PC can read

Films bought on DVD are almost always copy-protected. Octoolo cannot read protected discs and does not try to get around the protection, so it is for DVDs you made or that carry none: camcorder discs, DVD-recorder discs, wedding and event videos, school plays, and discs burned from your own projects. Discs made with Windows DVD Maker or similar programs are ordinary DVD-Video and need no extra step.

A disc from a DVD recorder or a DVD camcorder has to be finalized in that device before a computer sees its VIDEO_TS folder; the recorder's menu has the option. Some recorders, DVD-RAM ones especially, also have a VR mode that stores recordings as a VR_MOVIE.VRO file instead of VOBs, which this page does not cover.

Sound tracks, subtitles and size

DVD sound is usually Dolby Digital (AC-3), sometimes MPEG audio or uncompressed PCM. With As it is, Dolby Digital goes into the MP4 unchanged, 5.1 included, and the others become AAC. Every sound track Octoolo finds is kept, so a disc with two languages keeps both, and a stereo disc stays stereo.

DVD subtitles are stored as pictures, and MP4 cannot hold picture subtitles, so they are left out. Menus and chapter points live in the .IFO files, so the MP4s hold just the video.

The MPEG-2 picture is re-encoded as H.264, which needs much less data for the same picture, so the MP4s usually come out a good deal smaller than the VOBs. The picture keeps the DVD's 720 × 480 or 720 × 576 unless you choose a smaller size. For phones, Balanced or Small make the files smaller still.

One MP4 for the whole disc

Because each VOB becomes its own MP4, a film cut into 1 GB pieces gives you several files. To join them, open the Video Editor and add the MP4s in order, VTS_01_1 first; they play one after another. Press Export (Ctrl E), choose Video, and you get one MP4. Merge videos has the details, and you can trim off any black lead-in while you are there.

If you only need part of the disc, such as the vows from a wedding video, add the MP4 that holds it, trim away the rest and export just that. The Video Editor's export mixes the sound to stereo, so keep the separate MP4s if the 5.1 track matters to you.