Hi, first post so be gentle....

I have a DVD - it has been made from a camcorder tape and has nothing more than some property shots and a childs birthday party on it... I've been asked to try and edit the party footage out so the owner can give it to the parents.

Exploring the DVD shows the following file types:
.lay/.vob/.bup/.IFO

I have downloaded something called Chopper XP and managed to copy and chop the main vob file containing the bits I need. I then tried to create a new movie using Nero Express which works but results in a DVD with perfect picture but no sound...

Any help would be appreciated...

I'm not the brightest bulb with this topic.

Sounds like your rip/transcode program is changing the dvd's vob files to a file type not supported by the editing/dvd creation program you are using.

I'd try different rip or transcoder program to change the vob back to mpeg. Good ones are free and available online. I have found one called mediacoder to be a good one.

I'd also try downloading one or all of the free trial consumer editing programs that should support our transcoded or ripped file and allow you to edit and render with video and audio for dvd creation.

Adobe Premiere Elements, ULead Video Studio are two good choices. I believe that ULead Video Studio will recognize and transcode vob files to allow editing and re-rendering.
goodluck

Your DVD probably has audio in AC3 (Dolby Digital) format which may not be supported by Nero Express (I don't have Nero so I don't know for sure).

For ease you should probably convert your "chopped" VOB to an MPEG-2 file with MPEG Layer II Audio prior to trying to create a DVD. I have used the freeware app MPEG StreamClip to do exactly that on more than one occasion. Make sure you download the 1.2b2 beta version - the last release (1.1) has problems and I find the Beta much more stable. Go to Squared 5 - MPEG Streamclip video converter for Mac and Windows and follow the instructions in the Download for Windows section.

You can use the program to chop out sections from a DVD by setting in and out points but I'm assuming you already have the relevant section saved on your hard drive. Open up the chopped file and then choose "Convert to MPEG with MP2 Audio" from the File menu, choose a filename to save it to and click ok. Use the converted file when authoring the DVD.

Wonderful, thanks very much for the help - especially Andy ! I followed the instructions to the letter and the job is done...

Thanks again

Keith