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Jun 25, 2007
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Cinematize 2 Pro makes DVD file extraction easy
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by Chuck Gloman
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As a TV/film faculty member, I archive all my student work on DVD. In the past, if I needed to extract a segment from a particular DVD, I had to locate the section on the disc, make a mini-DV copy, and then burn that on another DVD. Although the process is transparent, it's a lot of extra work.
With Cinematize 2 Pro, a great piece of software from Miraizon, I can choose the exact section or chapter, extract it, and save it on my computer -- a much faster and easier process. The extraction process is faster than I thought and seamless.
I received the Mac version to review and loaded it on our university's new Power Mac Pro with 2.66 GHz Dual Core Intel Xeon processor and 2 GB RAM. The software will load easily on anything more recent than a G3, running OSX 10.3 or higher.
There are a few ways to access the DVD, but the easiest is to find it on your desktop, open it, locate the "Video TS" folder and drag it into your Cinematize box. Another option is to click on the "Add" button on the bottom left of the Cinematize window and select your Video TS.
Double click on the file and, after a brief period of reading time, a window opens showing your selection. Navigate to where you want to begin and select "Extract Data." Select a location for your files to live and begin the extraction process -- that may take a little time depending on the size of the segment selected.
Through the selection process, you are given a multitude of choices, such as starting and stopping points, separating the video and audio, decoding to QuickTime, AVI, WAV, AIFF, or MPEG-4. You can also choose the quality settings of your output. If you are extracting numerous segments, Cinematize 2 Pro has a batch processing feature which automates this sometime tedious process.
If that weren't enough, Cinematize Pro gives you the options of basically re-editing a DVD by extracting what you want: Change the menu, add new music or narration track, add or change subtitles, incorporate DVD footage in presentations, and create still images from an existing DVD. The program is easy to master, and my students are routinely extracting files from their DVDs to create better demo reels.
The manual is well written. In particular, Chapter 2 goes into the structure of DVDs, sort of a mini-course on the history of the menu so you can be educated in how a DVD is created. Chapter 3 discusses some of the limitations if you try to mix files from different DVDs. The later chapters go into the meat of the process with too many choices and options to list here.
I have never needed to extract just the audio or subtitles, but Cinematize 2 Pro has that ability. Students liked the idea that they could extra segments from their classroom DVD projects and export them to their iPods for movies.
There is, however, a major limitation with Cinematize 2 Pro. When I was originally given this software to review, I was hoping that, for teaching purposes only, I could extract scenes from a replicated DVD to show just those segments in the classroom. Oops.
You can't extract scenes if the disc is encrypted, which happens to be every DVD mass produced in the last few years. If I am discussing lighting techniques in class and want to pull a segment from Snakes on a Plane or even The Graduate, Cinematize 2 Pro will display an error message. Too bad, but with copyright infringement being a serious concern (abuse even occurs in educational environments), it's understandable. According to the manual, software may be downloaded that will allow encrypted files to be opened, but Cinematize does not support the process.
Cinematize 2 Pro prices start at $129.95 for a download from the Miraizon Web site. The non-professional version of Cinematize 2 is available a lower price point ($59.95 download) but offers far fewer options. With a learning curve of less than 30 minutes, a fast extraction process, and a history of DVD lesson built into the manual, Cinematize 2 Pro is an excellent addition to any school's production or IT department.
Chuck Gloman is an awarding-winning producer/director of photography with more than 800 commercials to his credit, and is a member of the faculty of DeSales University. Contact him at chuck.gloman@desales.edu.
MORE INFO
Miraizon miraizon.com
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