MPEG-2 Playback vob file

Question

Ok I am a newby to video editing, never attempted it in my life. What I have is a DVD+RW, which I have a 40 min recording of from Sky. It was recorded via a DVD player/recorder that sits under the TV. The DVD plays on my laptop with DVD Player. I have, using Disk Utility, put a disc image of the DVD on the desktop.
I wanted to edit the DVD (remove commercials), and make a professional looking DVD. I was hoping to make use of my giddily waiting creative tools, the iBook. I was planning on using iDVD and iMovie. What I seem to have discovered is that they are geared at movie clips recorded with cameras. I have QT pro.
After a bit of research, I understand, that the files on the DVD are in something called .vob, which is a form of MPEG-2. When I click on the disc image a folder with two folders in opens. One folder is called "VIDEO_RM", in it are 5 files with extensions like; IFO, BUP & DAT. I have no idea what these are. The other folder is called "VIDEO_TS", in are 10 files. And in it are; 6 .VOB files, 2 .IFO files and 2 .BUP files.
From what I have googled. I am supposed to install the MPEG-2 player for QT, and export the files to something that iMovie can read. From then on I must learn how to use iMovie 5 (HD, hard to find video tutorials for old software), and proceed to edit the video, then use iDVD to burn the video. Whether I have a DVD that can be watched on my DVD player just like "The Godfather" remains to be seen.
Someone please guide this sinking ship in the right direction, if possible fix the hole. Sorry for the metaphor or analogy but I haven't the foggiest.

Answer 1

From what I have googled. I am supposed to install the MPEG-2 player for QT, and export the files to something that iMovie can read.
Is sounds like you have the basic concepts. Whether or not the Apple MPEG-2 Playback component ($20) is required depends on the specific work flow you opt to use. My personal preference would be to use MPEG Streamclip (free) for the conversion which does require installation of this component. FFmpegX (donation-ware), Visual Hub (pay-ware), HandBrake (free), etc. would also work but do not include the specific features I tend to use on a daily basis. (E.g. Visual Hub would be better if you do a lot of conversions between Windows and Mac and HandBrake has limited output options for your goal.)
Basically, all you do is install the MPEG-2 component and the MPEG Streamclip application. Since your DVD is not encrypted, simply copy the VIDEO_TS folder (or just the "title set" of VOBs you want) to your local hard drive. Once copied, Select the MPEG Streamclip "Open Files..." File menu option. A window will open allowing you to navigate to the VIDEO_TS folder content and select the VOBs you need. (Note: files that do not contain audio/video media will be "grayed" out here.) Shift-Click or Command-Click the file(s) you want and press the open button to bring them into the work/review area. If any timecode breaks are detected during the loading process, the program will inform you and ask if you want to fix them. (Even if it doesn't catch any breaks, it is usually a good idea to press Command-F to scan for/fix possible breaks.)
At this point you can view your content, select segments for saving or deleting, and check volume levels, color saturation, brightness, contrast, etc. for first cut adjustments or simple leave this to whatever editor application your end using. In any case, when ready to convert your content, select the "Export to DV..." File option. DV content is editable in any Apple Editor application and the only thing you may have to worry about is segmenting output if using the very oldest versions of iMovie. Simple select the output (DV25, DVCPRO25, or DVCPRO50), "Standard" (NTSC or PAL), and aspect ratio (4:3 or 16:9). As to the rest of the options here, the default values will normally work for you but you may wish to experiment with at a later time.
Before actually exporting your file, it is usually a good idea to run a preview to make sure everything look okay. To do this, simply press the preview button. The preview is video only and only shows one "freeze" frame out of about every 5 seconds of content converted. When satisfied that all is working properly, press the "Make DV" button and provide file title/navigation information for storage and confirm the start of your conversion. Thats all there is to it in this case. When done, import the file to your editor and go to work.