hi, im tinkering with mpeg streamclip and its giving me problems because it won't open my ripped dvd files from my desktop. It keeps giving me the same message "no VOB files can be found". Can anyone help me, this doesn't make sense.

You need to convert the VOB files in the TS-Folder of the DVD back to DV which iMovie is designed to handle. For that you need mpegStreamclip:

http://www.squared5.com/svideo/mpeg-streamclip-mac.html

which is free, but you must also have the Apple mpeg2 plugin :

http://www.apple.com/quicktime/mpeg2/

(unless you are running Lion in which case see below))

which is a mere $20.

Another possibility is to use DVDxDV:

http://www.dvdxdv.com/NewFolderLookSite/Products/DVDxDV.overview.htm

which costs $25.

For the benefit of others who may read this thread:

Obviously the foregoing only applies to DVDs you have made yourself, or other home-made DVDs that have been given to you. It will NOT work on copy-protected commercial DVDs, which in any case would be illegal.

And from the TOU of these forums:

Keep within the Law

1. No material may be submitted that is intended to promote or commit an illegal act.
2. Do not submit software or descriptions of processes that break or otherwise ‘work around’ digital rights management software or hardware. This includes conversations about ‘ripping’ DVDs or working around FairPlay software used on the iTunes Store.

If you are running Lion:

From the MPEG Streamclip homepage

The installer of the MPEG-2 Playback Component may refuse to install the component in Lion. Apple states the component is unnecessary in Lion, however MPEG Streamclip still needs it.

To install the component in Lion, please download MPEG Streamclip 1.9.3b7 beta above; inside the disk image you will find the Utility MPEG2 Component Lion: use it to install the MPEG-2 Playback Component in Lion. The original installer's disk image (QuickTimeMPEG2.dmg) is required.

The current versions of MPEG Streamclip cannot take advantage of the built-in MPEG-2 functionality of Lion. For MPEG-2 files you still need to install the QuickTime MPEG-2 Playback Component, which is not preinstalled in Lion. You don't have to install QuickTime 7.

MPEG Streamclip needs MPEG2 plugin to display MPEG2 files OS X 10.7-8. OS X 10.7-8 do have MPEG2 support built-in, but MPEG Streamclip still needs the old plug-in.

http://store.apple.com/us/product/D2187Z/A

(The old Apple URLs are obsolete BTW).

The plug-in's installer does not run in OS X 10.7-8 so for 10.7 there is Utility MPEG2 Component Lion. But that doesn't work in OS X 10.8 so at the moment you must use apps like Pacifist to install that pesky plug-in.

http://www.charlessoft.com/

About the VOB:s: Do you have a disk image containing the VOBS, did you mount it? MPEG Streamcli0p has a command to open such moiunted disk. Or open individual VOBs.

> rip a dolby digital 5.1 dvd onto my desktop

You can skip that step for unencrypted DVDs -- a simple Finder copy will do then.

> command to open a mounted disk?

If you have a .dmg, .toast etc DVD image, double-click it to mount it. Then:

MPEG Streamclip > File > Open DVD... > and choose the DVD. Or:

MPEG Streamclip > File > Open Files... > open the desired VOB inside the DVD.

> how do i use pacifiist to download mpeg-2 playback component for the mac?

No, you must buy "QuickTime MPEG-2 Playback Component for Mac OS X" from:

http://store.apple.com/us/product/D2187Z/A

If you are using Lion, you can use MPEG Streamclip's "Utility MPEG2 Component Lion.app" to install the MPEG-2 Playback Component.

If you are using Mountain Lion you can use Pacifist to install the MPEG-2 Playback Component because the "Utility MPEG2 Component Lion.app" does not work in Mountain Lion.

I personnally think the best mac mountain lion dvd ripper is currently DVD Ripper for mac v2.6.1. It handles a lot of DVDs both encrypted and non-commercial homemade DVDs others won't and it can recover scratched DVDs that no other software will dare to try. Free trial if you want to give it a go!

Tips:I try to export to DV with MPEG Streamclip, but that is not possible because i need MPEG-2 playback component.