Improperly Ripped DVD's

There are two errors you may see when you try and play an improperly ripped DVD, an improperly ripped DVD disc image or an improperly ripped VIDEO_TS folder with Apple's DVD Player .app.

1. "There was a problem opening the media. The media type is not supported."

2. "DVD Player encountered an error it could not recover from The disc copy protection could not be verified. The disc cannot be played." (yes it's missing a period in the actual alert box)

The cause of these errors in my case is a client tried to rip one of their companies DVD's which has copy protection and didn't do it correctly. 

Since nothing really surprises me anymore I wasn't alarmed at all (just assumed it wouldn't work) when the DVD the client handed me (a DVD-R) had a .dmg of the DVD they were supposed to give me.

Stranger things have happened. So, On the DVD-R is a rip of the DVD they want me to pull footage from in the form of a .dmg file.

I mount the .dmg and even let it verify and see that it is at least a UDF volume, then, as expected, DVD Player fails to launch. It will play the intro company logos and things then tosses up error #2 up there when it tries to play the menu track.

I'm guessing one of three things happened.

1. They literally made a .dmg from their retail DVD without using a proper ripping tool.

2. They copied the VIDEO_TS folder from a retail disc to their desktop, then used something like Toast to burn it. Again, without using a proper ripping tool.

3. Ripped the DVD somehow and used some app to re-compress it to a DVD-5. And of course never tested the thing.

I'd place my money on #1 this time.

The only option to play it quickly is VLC at this point.

Calling the client (the actual person who contacted me to get this quickie job done for them, btw) and asking "This DVD image you gave me has issues playing. Any idea if I can get a retail version from you?" gets me this pass-the-buck-response, "I wouldn't know. Let me forward you." CLICK then an answering machine for their "media department".

Just for fun I tried copying the VIDEO_TS folder to my desktop and then playing it with DVD Player .app but it was wasn't happening. If I cared just a little bit more I would try ripping the mounted .dmg but I don't.

Luckily I can still use this method to get the few tiny clips they want for their project.

Burning VIDEO_TS folders with DVD Studio Pro

Ross just reminded me that not everyone knows this handy little tip on how to burn VIDEO_TS folders using DVD Studio Pro. I guess it's one of those things that us editors do so often you think everyone must know.

01) Fire up DVDSP.
02) Hit Command + F for "Format..."
03) Under the General tab tap the Choose... button for Current Directory.
04) Select the folder ENCLOSING your VIDEO_TS.
05) Tap "Burn"

Like Ross mentions, ignore any warnings.

06) Think like a client™.

(which means test your disc!)

Burn VIDEO_TS folders as UDF discs via the Terminal

There have been some issues with burning VIDEO_TS folders on a Mac without using something like Popcorn or Toast.

Usually you use DVD Studio Pro to burn a VIDEO_TS folder to discs, but if you find yourself on a computer that doesn't have that installed what can you do? Burning a VIDEO_TS folder via the Finder will result in a Mac OS Extended disc that won't be compatible with some stand-alone DVD players and won't play in DVD Player app. Same goes for Disk Utility. The Finder and Disk Utility will burn a Mac OS Extended rather than a UDF disc which is what many DVD Players (and DVD Player app) expect.

The solution is to use the Terminal. Yup.

00) Pop in a blank DVD.
01) Get your VIDEO_TS folder how you want it.
02) Fire up the Terminal.
03) Paste this:

hdiutil makehybrid -udf -udf-volume-name DVD_NAME -o MY_DVD.iso /path/to/VIDEO_TS/parent/folder

(that's all one line, btw)

Technically you're only going to paste this:

hdiutil makehybrid -udf -udf-volume-name DVD_NAME -o MY_DVD.iso

04) Hit spacebar

05) Drag in the folder that's enclosing the VIDEO_TS folder into the Terminal. You'll see it fill in that folder's path. Read step 5 again, it's important.

It's best to drag folders into the Terminal to get their path's correct as spaces in folder names make things tricky. If you want the path of a folder you can use Get Info or in the Finder hit Shift + Command + G for "Go to Folder..." and drag the folder into the text entry box. Be aware however that spaces will not appear as they should in the Terminal.

A better way to get the exact path (other than dragging the folder into the Terminal after you've pasted in the command) is to drag it into the Terminal before you've pasted in the command and see what the Terminal says. You can even copy/paste from here. Dragging it in after you paste in the command saves time though.

An example:

Lets say we have a folder called "untitled folder 3" we want to put into the command via it's path. Well, that folder has two spaces so in the Terminal, when we drag it there, we'll see:

/Users/HOMEFOLDER/Desktop/untitled\ folder\ 3

HOMEFOLDER will be whatever you've named your home folder in this case.

But, see how "untitled folder 3" is parsed in the Terminal?

untitled\(space)folder\(space)3

A space = \(space) in the Terminal. (space) is a space, like hitting the spacebar key on your keyboard.

So...let's say we have a VIDEO_TS folder inside a folder called "To Be Burned Off" on our Desktop. What would the path be?

/Users/HOMEFOLDER/Desktop/To\ Be\ Burned\ Off/VIDEO_TS

See, it's not that complicated once you understand how spaces work.

The command would then look like this:

hdiutil makehybrid -udf -udf-volume-name DVD_NAME -o MY_DVD.iso /Users/HOMEFOLDER/Desktop/To\ Be\ Burned\ Off 

(again, that's all one line in the Terminal, there is a space between the .iso and /Users)

Ah ha...notice that we DO NOT point it directly to the VIDEO_TS folder. That's important. Point it to the folder ENCLOSING the VIDEO_TS folder.

You can change "DVD_NAME" and "MY_DVD" to whatever you like but make sure you follow proper DVD naming conventions or things will explode. DVD_NAME will be the name of the disc so the client will be able to see it so be careful. MY_DVD will be the name of the .iso and won't be on the burned DVD.

04) Hit return.

You'll find, after a time and a lot of periods in the Terminal, a disc image called MY DVD.iso likely at the root level of your Home Folder. This .iso will be UDF. Yay!

Now you'll need to burn this .iso disc image to a disc with Disk Utility.

05) Launch Disk Utility.
07) Hit Command + B (for "Burn...) or tap the Burn button.
08) Select the .iso you just made and hit the Burn button.

09) TEST THE DISC!

Your milage will vary on this tip mainly due to all the different versions of hdiutil, OS and Terminal that have been floating around.

NOTE: an alternate command if the above fails is this:

hdiutil makehybrid -iso -joliet -udf -udf-version 1.02 \
-default-volume-name "DVD_VIDEO" \
-o "/path/to/my/outputfile.iso" "/path/to/disks/content_folder";

(all one line)

hdiutil is very powerful and has myriad options. I urge you to flip though it's man page here.

You can also use this method to make Hybrid DVDs which hold not only DVD Video but Data Files as well. Place your DVD-ROM folder in the same folder that's enclosing the VIDEO_TS folder and use the Terminal command as is.

Oh, it wouldn't be a bad idea to also include an empty AUDIO_TS folder to help with compatibility of older stand-alone DVD Players.

Making Hybrid Data/DVD Discs in DVD Studio Pro

I have this client who aside from being nearly totally computer illiterate seems to simply work on a different time plane than most of us. A project that should have taken two weeks at most for revisions and tweaks has taken over 7 months. I literally had forgotten about it when the call came in for the "latest" (their word) round of changes. I thought since I hadn't heard anything for months that the spot was already off the air and long forgotten (like my check).

But alas, it turns out that the higher ups hadn't even seen it yet let alone approved it. What's a huge hassle with all of this is that some of the people who need to review the edits need a DVD, while some want "QuickTime" versions but they're all in the same office with their desks quite literally next to one another. So, in the past I'd brought them little packages of flash drives and DVDs and hosted them online for some other mysterious people to see who needed to see them online for some reason.

So today, after they requested a rather bizarre and unexpected change to a specific part of project that has been identical in every version I've shown them for the past seven months I decided enough is enough.

Today they get a Hybrid Data/DVD Disc and they'll like it.

Okay, so what's a hyrid disc? It's a DVD-R (or whatever flavor you want) that has a VIDEO_TS folder and Data on it usually in a DVD-ROM folder. In this case the data in the DVD-ROM folder will be QuickTime versions (exports) of the commercials on the disc as so they can copy and watch to their heart's content as well as play it as a regular run-of-the-mill DVD. So, it's two discs in one: One, a playable video DVD and Two, a data disc with files on it that you access by popping it into a computer.

There are three ways to do this:

01) DVD Studio Pro (which is fully compliant and outlined below)
02) The Finder (which has a BIG gotcha but is outlined below as well)
03) The Terminal and Disk Utility (which is fully compliant and outlined in this post)

Here we go:

01) Make your DVD replete with menus and whatnot in DVD Studio Pro. Save. (always save...)

02) Somewhere in the Finder make a new folder called anything you want, it's name doesn't matter and no one but you will see it. I tend to name things like IHATETHISCLIENT_TEMP which one day will inevitably will get me into trouble somehow.

04) Now, inside that folder you just made create another folder and call it "DVD-ROM". You'd don't have to name it this but it's a bit of a tradition with hybrid discs and for people who are a little computer savvy it's a recognized name. So why upset the pomegranate cart?

05) Put all your exports into this DVD-ROM folder, meaning all the stuff you want on the Hybrid Disc that are to be accessed via a computer. This can be photos, videos, sound files...whatever.

Now here is where you have a branching option and need to make a decision based on some important factors.

You can burn the disc with something like Toast, Popcorn, Disk Utility or even use DVDSP itself. Now, using DVDSP adds a little complexity to this since you'll be building and burning the disc (and data) so you need to set up DVDSP and it's prefs properly. If you don't have Toast or Popcorn you don't have Toast or Popcorn. If you use The Finder there's a one big gotcha you have to be aware of.

To keep things simple I like to use the Finder to burn the hybrid disc IF THE DISK WILL BE PLAYED ONLY ON STAND-ALONE DVD PLAYERS.

Using the Finder: (results in disc with some compatibility caveats)

06) When your DVD in DVDSP all peachy keen and just how you want it you need to tell DVDSP to export a VIDEO_TS folder of it all. Do so by hitting Option + Command + C which is the "Build" command. Tell DVDSP where to save it to and let it do it's thing. When it's done you'll have VIDEO_TS and AUDIO_TS. Keep the AUDIO_TS for this reason.

NOTE: DVDSP may place a .layout file in the VIDEO_TS folder after it's done "building" this folder. Unless you need it, trash this .layout file. You'll see why below. Nonetheless, be aware that when you burn with DVDSP or Toast they'll automatically ignore this file (and .lay files) when burning the disc...the Finder won't. If you forget to trash the .layout file nothing horrible will happen but it can potentially cause an issue later on during playback. Maybe.

Also, using the Finder to burn discs is very slow and not only because it likes to verify, it's just slow.

07) OPTIONAL: Put your VIDEO_TS, AUDIO_TS & DVD-ROM folders into one folder just to keep them organized.

08) Pop in a blank Disc.

09) Drag your VIDEO_TS, AUDIO_TS & DVD-ROM folders to the blank disk. Do not drag the enclosing folder you may have made in step 7 to the blank disc!

10) Hit Burn. (and name it something sensible)

IMPORTANT NOTE:

There is a BIG HUGE gotcha here that you need to be aware of.

This largely pertains to the DVD Player app; the disc will play on a stand-alone player but likely not in the DVD Player app on your Mac. What gives? Your Mac cost way more than the $30 stand alone DVD player from that big box retailer's bargain bin.

There are a few theories as to why this happens: one is that it has to do with out of order .vob files and if that is the case there's not much you can do about it when burning via the Finder because of the way the Finder sorts file names. I've not seen files out of "correct" order but maybe I've just not noticed it. I don't think this is the problem, to be honest.

Another theory is that the .layout file that this method places in the VIDEO_TS folder confuses DVD Player app (and some stand-alone DVD players) as this may be the first file encountered. This has a sounder footing in reality since some stand-alone DVD players just start going down the list of files on a disc and choke if something isn't "playable" by it. If you delete the .layout file before you burn you may, or may not, have better luck with compatibility. However, it will likely still not play in DVD Player app.

The reality here is that the resultant disc will be Mac OS Extended rather than UDF (Universal Disc Format) which is what many hardware and software DVD Players expect. Of course some stand-alone dvd players and even some software ones don't really care and will play anything with a VIDEO_TS folder without even wearing a raincoat. To be fully compliant is to be a UDF disc.

Apple's DVD Player .app likes UDF discs and throws up an error if a disc isn't in UDF format.

This is also why some discs that are not UDF will still play correctly on stand-alone DVD players: some DVD players just scan the disc looking for a folder named "VIDEO_TS" and start playing with reckless abandon. Other DVD players aren't even that smart and give up if they don't see a VIDEO_TS folder right at the top of the disc's file structure (or immediately after an AUDIO_TS folder). Then still other DVD Players give up if the disc isn't a UDF formatted disc to begin with. This is why you must test, test & test some more.

Your best chances at a compatible DVD disc (hybrid or not) are to have:

UDF Formatted Disc
No .lay or .layout file

That's kinda it. Like I've said, I've yet to run into out of order .vob files.

10) Test your disc in a few computers and on a few stand-alone DVD Players. Also, test it on your Mac with DVD Player app. If you get "Supported Disc Not Available" that doesn't necessarily mean it won't play in a stand-alone DVD player. Test it out on some hardware DVD Players.

If you want to see the DVD content in DVD Player app and see "Support Disc Not Available" you will need to drag the VIDEO_TS folder on the burned disc to DVD Player app icon in the Dock or Finder or wherever you have it.

The take-away here is that if you want to create the most compatible Hybrid disc possible Use DVD Studio Pro as outlined below (or the Terminal). Those discs will play in both DVD Player app and in Stand-Alone DVD Players. So Remember:

A Hybrid made with the Finder will play in many but not all stand-alone DVD players but not in DVD Player app. The disc will be "Mac OS Extended".

A Hybrid made with DVDSP will play in both stand-alone DVD players and DVD Player app. The Disc will be "UDF".

A Hybrid made with DVDSP as a .img and burned with Disk Utility will play in both stand-alone DVD players and DVD Player app. The Disc will be "UDF".

Using DVD Studio Pro: (results in generally more compatible discs)

06) Either in Graphical View or Outline View highlight the Disc in DVDSP. This means clicking the gray background (nothingness) in Graphical View or clicking once on the very topmost thing in Outline View which will have a Disc icon.

07) In the Inspector (Option + Command + I) under the General Tab you'll see "DVD-ROM". Tick the checkbox named "Content:".

08) Tap "Choose..." and select the folder ENCLOSING the DVD-ROM folder you made in steps 3, 4 & 5.

It's unlikely you'll need to check "Joliet Extension Support". If something goes wonky check this as it may help really old stand-alone DVD players and/or certain file types you're trying to burn to the hybrid disc. Test everything when you test, even opening data files you burned to the hybrid disc.

09) Test all of this mess out. In DVDSP hit Option + Command + F for "Build and Format".

10) In the window that pops up, at the bottom under "Destination" set Output Device to "Hard Drive".

11) For Output Format choose ".img". (told you using DVDSP adds complexity)

12) Hit the "Build & Format" button and tell DVDSP where to save it. (If it asks you about deleting and reusing existing files I just hit delete but the choice is up to you. You can always re-create the VIDEO_TS folders etc... again later since you still [should] have the original assets)

13) Test out this disc image. Double click it to mount it. DVD Player should launch. Test the "virtual" DVD that's loaded. If DVD Player doesn't auto launch, launch it in the Finder and test. You shouldn't need to drag the VIDEO_TS folder to the DVD Player app using this method as burning the hybrid disc this way should make a UDF disc that DVD Player app will accept.

Also make sure that the DVD-ROM contents are on the disc and function as expected by checking them in the Finder. That means opening them as if you were the client.

14) Things Tested okay? Then launch Disk Utility and burn the .img (after unmounting it in the Finder) by selecting Burn (Command + B) and selecting the .img DVDSP made.

15) Test the physical DVD you just made in several computers and DVD players.

16) Hand it to the client (make two copies, they'll lose one) along with your invoice.

Remember that if you don't want to bother with DVDSP making a .img and then burning that with Disk Utility (we only do that to test before burning so as not to waste a blank dvd and time) you can hit Burn (Option + Command + B) [not Shift + Command + F] in DVDSP and burn to the disc directly from there in lieu of step 9 under Using DVD Studio Pro.

As if this post isn't long enough I should mention that if you don't have Toast, Popcorn, DVD Studio Pro or anything else but what comes with your Mac you can still make a compliant Hybrid UDF DVD with the Terminal and Disk Utility. It's all in this post.

I should really shorten this post. Thanks for reading this far.

Ripping DVDs to ProRes

ProRes is really great but it has some limitations you should know that can trip you up later.

A friend called me tonight saying they were getting an error in Final Cut they'd never seen before which was this:

"Codec not found. You may be using a compression type without the corresponding hardware card."

I knew this wasn't true after talking to them a bit so I asked from step one what they did and discovered a big gotcha when ripping DVD content to ProRes for use in Final Cut Pro.

They'd used MPEG Streamclip to rip video from a client's DVD of old footage. Since my friend wanted to use the footage in Final Cut they set MPEG Streamclip to export (transcode) the .VOB file to ProRes.

(No, I'm not sure why MPEG Streamclip lists ProRes twice in it's export options. They're likely HQ and non-HQ but I'm certain.)

When it was done the file was great, imported into Final Cut and they happily edited away. Until they needed to render something and saw the above error. Any kind of rendering produced that error which we knew wasn't true because they had used ProRes many, many times before. Something else was different.

Dissecting the project I started to jot down all the settings and media types in the project and ran across something not readily apparent unless you know to check.

The resultant ProRes file from MPEG Streamclip wasn't a compliant size for ProRes. It wasn't either:

1920x1080

or

1280x720

If it's neither one of those sizes Final Cut pro runs and cries in a corner. My friend had left MPEG Streamclip to create a file that was 854x480 because next to it, in MPEG Streamclip's options, it reads "(16:9)" which this footage was and their thinking was that since it's a DVD they didn't need to rip it as an HD file.

I suggested they re-rip the bit of video they needed with MPEG Streamclip set to "1280x720 (HDTV 720p)". They did and after substituting the file for the renderless one Final Cut behaved as expected and rendered away.

So if you rip something to ProRes make sure it's a size that ProRes and Final Cut are expecting.

For more info check out this page in the FCP 7 manual.

Audio Out of Phase

Without getting too much into the details as they're complex and vast sometimes (eventually) you'll receive audio that is out of phase, likely 180°, if the audio sounds like it was recorded with the mic in a plastic bucket. Another clue is that it'll sound okay when played back from whatever it was recorded on but be very low volume when played back in Final Cut Pro.

There are myriad ways this can happen but the most common is that the audio was recorded on two separate mic's that were improperly spaced apart so the audio they're recording reaches one mic later than the other and causes a comb filter effect.

One way I've experienced this is when on set someone has the brilliant idea of setting up a "back-up" mic close to but not along side the main mic's and rather than helpfully recording it to a separate channel they mix it in with the the main audio feed. I cringe when someone tells me they have "reference" audio as well on a multi-camera shoot because there's the risk the audio guy (or girl) mixed it all down.

One particularly bad case was when someone mixed in an off-camera (and off-set) "back-up reference" shotgun mic on a c-stand along with a TV host's lav. I know!

The out-of-phase audio you can monkey with is when there are two mic's recording the same audio source but those mic's are placed at unequal distances from that audio source and they're recorded to separate channels. Audio bouncing off a nearby wall or something into one mic can cause a similar problem.

The basic result is that one audio channel is canceling out the other (sorta, it's really just reducing the amplitude). The peaks of one meet the troughs of the other's waveform thereby reducing the clarity and volume of the audio. This page has some good visuals explaining it. You can get an idea of the effect by reversing the leads to one speaker on a stereo and playing a VO (Voice Over); it'll sound "funny".

Final Cut Pro doesn't have a way to fix this readily, but one quick check for phased audio (and a fix kinda) is to simply turn off one channel and listen to it to see if it sounds better. If it does: the audio sounds brighter, louder, clearer, it's likely the audio was recorded out of phase.

A quick fix (meaning if the client is there waiting when the audio sounded great when played back on their camera through headphones) is to turn off one of the channels, duplicate the one remaining above or below itself, and then adjust the audio level a bit. It'll be in mono but you can fake that by offsetting the duplicated channel by a few hundredths of a frame (in the Viewer via moving the In point while you hold down SHIFT).

I may post more about this later in greater detail but I thought I'd mention this since if it pops up it can be pretty flummoxing if you've never seen (heard?) it before.

Live Capture HVX-200 to Final Cut Pro

Just a quickie one.

If you have a Panasonic HVX-200 and a FireWire cable and a laptop running Final Cut Pro (an external HD doesn't hurt, even a USB one) you can capture 720 live.

I won a bet today setting it up which is really why I'm mentioning it now (it was -and I'm quoting here- "a free anything" at a nearby coffee house, btw which became a free French Press...'What's that?' the producer said pointing "You said 'a free anything.'").

The trick is to set the HVX to 720 24p (NOT 720 24pn) and set Final Cut to Non-Controllable Device and 720 24p.

Final Cut Server is teh dead?

Maybe. There are lots of rumors flying about but thinking about it wouldn't surprise me that much. It's complex, data hungry (meaning it works best when you have vast archives of stuff) and a little hard to get your head around. I know of only 4 places that actually use Final Cut Server (...not own it, or just installed it to test it out...but actually use it and rely on it daily).

My experience could be lacking though. It's hard to get reliable numbers on units sold et al.. but it's all just rumors anyway. I think Final Cut Server is pretty cool but its usefulness is limited to larger clients in my experience.

QuickTime Pro's "Conform aperture to" setting

In case you're not quite confused enough Apple has updated it's knowledge base article on QuickTime Pro's Conform Aperture To setting.

• Clean: The recommended setting for most video. Crops the video to the area of frame free from digitization artifacts and applies pixel aspect ratio correction. A 4:3 DV NTSC track appears as 640 x 480; a 16:9 DV NTSC track appears as 853 x 480.
• Production: Used for video production. Shows all pixels in the the video including the edges and corrects for pixel aspect ratio. A 4:3 DV NTSC track appears as 654 x 480; a 16:9 DV NTSC track appears as 873 x 480."

Got that?

Clean 16:9 DV NTSC is 853x480 while Production's is 873x480. Likewise Clean's 4:3 DV NTSC is 640x480 while Production is 654x480.

There. Hopefully you're a little more confused than before. I get confused over this stuff all the time. Don't even start thinking about what happens when a client plays these with something other than QuickTime Pro...just...don't. And don't think about Square vs non-square pixels either. Seriously. Don't.

Clients & Codecs

When your assistant sends off "master" exports to your client make sure that the client can actually play them so you don't get a call at 5:30pm that the video "won't play". And by that I mean explain to your assistant that FCP will export (Export QuickTime Movie) at the codec (yeah yeah I know) it was originally ingested as.

So, for example, if you've shot or ingested something that's DVCPROHD it's likely the client won't have that if they don't have FCP installed. And no, it's not really the best idea to send them a copy of the codec for legal reasons and because many client's I've worked with won't have that kind of access to their machine since IT people love to lock non-IT people out of everything that's actually useful on their computers so you'll end up wasting time trying to sort that out then discover they don't have Admin access.

So a tip: Export your masters in a codec that the client has that they can use and view. Animation, ProRes, Apple Lossless, etc...stuff that they're likely to have by default.

Also, keep in mind what they'll need if they need to do more than just watch. If it's just an approval copy go with H.264, it's small and looks great. If they're on a Windows Box I'd still go with H.264 (seriously, .wmv? No. .avi is dead, although I do like a good .mkv).

If they need to transcode it (ie...it's been approved) to DVD or something send them an Animation or ProRes so they can do with it as they see fit.