How do I read a VOB file when renaming to *.mpg doesn't work?

Question

I have a mini DVD camcorder. I copied the VOB files onto my computer to edit, and have subsequently accidentally erased the original DVD. I now only have the VOB files. Usually, renaming a VOB file to .mpg works, and it's readable as an MPEG-2 file. But these aren't. My camcorder is a Canon DC95. How do I get at the footage? I don't really want to lose my holiday videos...

Answer 1

www.squared5.com

MPEGStreamclip.  This application is free to download & install and will let you convert the .VOB's to most other video formats (DV .AVI .MOV etc) so long as you have the correct codecs installed on your computer.

I find it works well with Quicktime Pro installed (you will need to buy the pro key from apple and perhaps also the mpeg2 key)

I could have been a lot more helpful, but then you could also have given us a lot more info, like what kind of computer you are using....

Cheers & hope this works, try the squared5 download first before you buy the Quicktime keys, it may work with what you've already got on your system.

Answer 2

Renaming a VOB file shouldn't work. It's not strictly just an mpeg. It also contains menu info etc for the DVD as well as a muxed video and audio file. You'll need to get some extraction software to separate the streams.

You could try burning the VOB files and creating a new DVD with them. You can then play that DVD back into your computer. (providing you have the appropriate capture card etc.)