AVI vs VOB footage

[Jayell]

I'm putting together a video from movies I've made as far as 6 years back.
In one case I have TWO choices of media to work from. I can either use the AVI I created after completing the movie .. or I can use the VOB from the actual DVD I created. Would working from the VOB give me better starting quality?

I'm using PRE7 and all files are SD

[Dave McElderry]

Just the opposite Jayell. The AVI is a less compressed format and is also the preferred native format for PrEl. Importing the VOB is a less desirable option in cases where the original AVI isn't available.

[Paul LS]

I agree with Dave, remember that DV-AVI is 13GB per hour, DVD-VOB is 4GB per hour at best quality. So the DVD-VOB is compressed... meaning in this case that the quality is somewhat reduced.

[Jayell]

Wow! Glad I asked. Thanks guys!

[Bob]

Also, avi is entirely complete "i" frames. VOB is a mixed of complete frames and deltas. You won't be able to edit as precisely as with an avi.

[Jayell]

Also, avi is entirely complete "i" frames. VOB is a mixed of complete frames and deltas. You won't be able to edit as precisely as with an avi.

Thanks, .. that's certainly important to understand. So that leads to the next question: When I save an HD movie for future use (assuming I'm getting rid of the original footage), best to save it out as MPEG 1440x1080?

[Paul LS]

You have little option really, HDV MPEG2 (1440x1080) is a good compromize between quality and file size... an AVI (even compressed) would be very large. If you export from Premiere Elements make sure to export with a CBR bit rate of 25Mb/s... the HDV standard (default is lower). This will at least ensure you have a good quality HD movie.

[Jayell]

If you export from Premiere Elements make sure to export with a CBR bit rate of 25Mb/s... the HDV standard (default is lower). This will at least ensure you have a good quality HD movie.

Great. Thanks, Paul!