File Formats for editing

I'm getting reacquainted with video editing. I have received dvd's from a friend that are VOB, IFO etc. My mac won't open them. How do I make the compatable with iMovie? Once my edits are done what is the best format to use for burning to dvd to watch on a TV?

Thanks

You can convert the DVDs to something iMovie can handle using Handbrake. I have also used Mpeg Streamclio. The videos themselves are in the .vob files

Thank you

I researched and answered my own question. Any free converters worth having?


Thanks

handbrake or MPEG Streamclip should handle the conversion. I've used both. MPEG Streamclip has the advantage of being able to do some basic trimming of unwanted footage.

Heres a description of the extraction/conversion process in MPEG Streamclip ATPM 12.03 - How To: Performing a Video Extraction

If you are planning to re-edit the videos before burning them onto a new DVD, I would suggest that you use MPEG Streamclip to convert the files to Apple Intermediate Codec (AIC). Very edit-friendly without "losing a generation" off the DVD video. The edited video will of course have to be RE-compressed to MPEG-2 as part of the DVD burning process, but at least you don't have to re-compress twice.

Thank you,

I downloaded Prism, If I use that instead of the Apple intermediate Codec will I lose a generation? Should I still get MPEG Streamclip?