To my pleasant surprise, Sony Movie Studio Platinum Suite 12 has undocumented VOB support, at least within the Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit (Service Pack 1), first-generation i7 Intel chip working environment I have it installed. (My software build number is 756.) I have not tested this in any other environment.
Importing a VOB file isn't possible using the normal "Import Media" function; ".vob" does not appear as an option in the drop-down menu of "valid" formats. However, I can copy and paste a file path to a ".vob" file and successfully open the file. I'm also able to add VOB file(s) by dragging and dropping them into the "Project Media" window.
I have had no issues working with VOB files and have noted three apparent advantages when using them in this software:
1. I can work with VOB files without having to convert them first into another format.
2. In my environment, the video response-time in the monitor window is in real-time or in very smooth, near-real-time depending upon the preview method. The advantage is not being dependent upon converting a clip to DV or another "edit-friendly" format to achieve this. When I preview any selected video directly from the timeline, it is in real-time and includes all edits, transitions and effects applied to the selection. The preview also has never stuttered.
3. I have yet to come across any problem with video/audio de-syncing, whether in any preview mode or after rendering to any format I convert to: .mpg, .mp4, DV, or AVI. I'm very glad not to have to worry about this problem. I have not tested this when converting to any other format.
Just to note, I have never knowingly added any third-party codec support or enabled any funtionality that might be allowing this use of VOB files. It's possible any supported platform/environment may allow this option natively, but any individual user would have to verify it's available using their own machine.
Importing a VOB file isn't possible using the normal "Import Media" function; ".vob" does not appear as an option in the drop-down menu of "valid" formats. However, I can copy and paste a file path to a ".vob" file and successfully open the file. I'm also able to add VOB file(s) by dragging and dropping them into the "Project Media" window.
I have had no issues working with VOB files and have noted three apparent advantages when using them in this software:
1. I can work with VOB files without having to convert them first into another format.
2. In my environment, the video response-time in the monitor window is in real-time or in very smooth, near-real-time depending upon the preview method. The advantage is not being dependent upon converting a clip to DV or another "edit-friendly" format to achieve this. When I preview any selected video directly from the timeline, it is in real-time and includes all edits, transitions and effects applied to the selection. The preview also has never stuttered.
3. I have yet to come across any problem with video/audio de-syncing, whether in any preview mode or after rendering to any format I convert to: .mpg, .mp4, DV, or AVI. I'm very glad not to have to worry about this problem. I have not tested this when converting to any other format.
Just to note, I have never knowingly added any third-party codec support or enabled any funtionality that might be allowing this use of VOB files. It's possible any supported platform/environment may allow this option natively, but any individual user would have to verify it's available using their own machine.