Generic Error

[Photochief]

Hi to all,

I have encountered a problem transferring media from a DVD to Premier Elements 14.
A little background: One of my Significant Other’s relatives was on the TV program Wheel Of Fortune and she asked me if I could record the program and put it on DVD. I set up one of my DVD recorders to record the program and made a recording of the show. We watched the DVD the following day and it played perfect. I was then requested to remove the lead-in, extra imagery and commercials and put it on a finished DVD. I figured I could do it easily in Premiere Elements 14.
That’s when the problem started: When I tried to transfer it into the PE program it would not accept all of the recording. Video_TS.VOB and VTS_01_1.VOB icons showed up as a ‘Strip of film’ while the others displayed actual views of the program. When I clicked on: Get Media I got an Error message block and only part of the video would open up. I transferred all of the data from the DVD to my hard drive and tried again but all I get is an Add Media Failure: The importer reported a Generic Error. As stated above this disc will play perfectly in either my computer’s VLC Media player or on my Blu-Ray Disc player attached to my main TV.

I Goggled the error and checked the Muvipix.com site for a possible fix and found that most suggestions were several years old and to either delete and reinstall the program or download a conversion program. What is the latest advice for this problem on PE 14? If I try a conversion program do I just convert the 2 VOB’s not opening or all of the disc’s files? What is the best recommended conversion program? Thank you for any help or assistance.
Respectfully, Photochief

[Steve Grisetti]

A couple of issues to consider.

For one thing, DVD recorders don't often save high-quality DVDs. Many of them save at a low-quality, low-resolution similar to VHS.

That said, the proper way to get the DVD video into a Premiere Elements project is to put the DVD in your computer's disc drive and then, in the program, click Add Media/From DVD Camera or Computer Drive. This will open the Video Importer in which you can preview and select the video you want -- ensuring that you get the right video.

Once you've ripped the video from the disc to your project, add clip to your timeline and then go the the Project Settings (under the Edit menu) and ensure that, on the General page, the project is set up for 720x480 video, upper field first. Otherwise nothing else is going to work right.

If your project has set up correctly, you should NOT see a yellow-orange line along the ticker at the top of the timeline, above your clip. If you do see a yellow-orange line along the top of the timeline, you're going to need to do some manual tweaking.

This may sound like a lot of legwork before you even begin editing but, trust me on this, if you don't make sure things are done right at the beginning of your project, you're going to run into more serious issues later.

Please let us know how things go when you use this workflow.

[Photochief]

Hi Steve,
Thank you for the speedy reply.
I am not sure you understand my problem. I have played the video on both my computer and my large TV and it plays beautifully so I am not concerned about its current quality. It was recorded off of my HDTV Tuner box and the picture is great and the complete show IS available.
My problem is Premier Elements 14 will not allow the video to open up in the program so I can edit it. I put my disc into my DVD player, open up PE14 > Add Media > DVD Camera or Computer Driver and the Video Importer opens up with (Attachment Vob-1). Now when I click on the Get Media button I get a box telling me that the video has already been downloaded to C:\Users\Owner\Videos (Attachment Vob-2) but my File Manager indicates that nothing is there. A phantom location?
By the different icons in the first two files I figure that the files got corrupted in some way during recording, but if they are corrupted why does the video play so great on a TV?
I want to know if there is anyway I can open up these files in PS14 so I can remove the commercials. Thank you.
Respectfully, Photochief

[Steve Grisetti]

Once you've added the video from the DVD to your computer using the Video Importer (which you've apparently done) you DON'T need to import it. It's already in your project.

All you need to do is open the Project Assets panel (in Expert view) and drag the video clips to your timeline.

Have you watched our 8 part Basic Training tutorials for Premiere Elements? Part 2 in particular may be helpful in understanding how to add media and Part 3 will show you how to move it from Project Assets to your timeline.
http://muvipix.com/products.php?searchp ... 20&btn.y=7

[Photochief]

Hi Steve,
Thanks for sticking with me and I appreciate all your help.
What I am trying to tell you is that there is NOTHING in the Project Assets panel. (Attachment Vob-3)
Respectfully, Photochief

[Steve Grisetti]

It's possible there's a glitch -- but it's also possible you're missing a step.

Please describe in detail each step you're taking after you put your DVD in your computer's disc drive.

Also, on the Video Importer screen, UNCHECK the option to create an InstantMovie. We don't want to do that at this point.

[Photochief]

Hi Steve,
This is what I have done every time from the beginning.
Starting from the DVD in the Computer and Premiere Elements14 open to the Expert mode.
1. Clicked on Add Media option button.
2. Clicked on DVD Camera or Computer Drive option button.
3. Video Importer opens up and looks the same as Image Vob-1 in previous message.
Removed check mark from Create Instant Movie box as requested.
4. Clicked on Get Movie button at bottom right.
5. Got same identical screen warning as Vob-2 in previous message.
6. Clicked on OK button and got the same screen as Vob-3 with nothing in Project Assets.
Sorry to be such a PITA but thank you for your assistance.
Respectfully, Photochief.

[Steve Grisetti]

That's what I was afraid of. Your DVD burner is not creating standard DVD files. And I'm just not sure what we can do about it. (By the way, I'm assuming your Windows 10 computer is fully up to date and that you have the latest version of Quicktime installed, per the program's requirements.)

Download the free program G Spot and open one of your VOB files in it.
http://www.headbands.com/gspot/

Post to this forum the resolution, frame rate and audio and video codecs it lists.

[Photochief]

Hi Steve,
I am not sure what you are looking for but i'll bet it is not this.
(Vob-4)
Respectfully, Photochief

[Chuck Engels]

I'm thinking that you may have to convert this file to another format. GSpot doesn't even show the video codec info so that is really strange. Must be a good converter out there somewhere. Hopefully Steve or someone else here has dealt with this issue in the past and will be able to provide a solution for you.

[Steve Grisetti]

Chuck might be right. The program isn't even giving us a data readout.

Try opening your VTS_01_2.VOB. From your screen captures, it looks more like this one is an actual video. (In your screen capture of the Video Importer, above, VTS_TS.VOB and VTS_01_1.VOB don't even show thumbnails.)

[Bob]

Something is wrong. That doesn't look like a "VOB" file. Gspot, in the container field, identifies that as an "IFO" file. And, the other information is missing -- which is how it would look if it were an "IFO" file. IF it were a "VOB" file, the container field most likely would have said "MPEG-2 Program Stream" and you would have information regarding the codec and properties.

You say the dvd plays fine. So, we need more information. Would you please post a screen shot of the directory listing so we can what files are present on the DVD? Please set the folder view to display details so we can see properties. Also, please use Gspot on one of the other VOBs and post the results here too. Choose a large one.

Thanks.

[Kent Frost]

You might also consider a DVD ripping program, which will extract the data from the disc to a file type on your computer that is more standard. After that, import the newly ripped files instead of the disc from your DVD recorder.

[Chuck Engels]

That's pretty much what I was recommending earlier Kent, do you know of any reliable programs for this? So many of these on the internet are nothing but malware ridden junk.

[Photochief]

Thank you to all that took the time to reply,
YES! the video plays perfectly on both my computer and normal TV setup.

Vob-5 image is the GSpot results on file 01_02.VOB that was requested.
Vob-6 image is the files on the disc taken from my File Manager.
I hope I understood what imagery you wanted me to supply and appreciate all of the help I am receiving.
Someone mentioned a DVD ripping program. I am willing to try almost anything, so if there are any suggestions on one to download (preferably free) please let me know and I will do so and put the results back into this forum topic. Thanks again to all, Respectfully, Photochief