Lots of tools and no success, help auth a DVD with multiple AVIs, each with subtitles

[Endrick]

I've been having a heck of a time working with the tools of the DVD authoring trade trying to figure out how to make things work the way I would like. Everything I've grabbed or borrwed from the neighbors seems to be unable to do everything the right way.

Here's the current situation I'm in, how many steps do I need to take to make this work??

I have a lot of anime episodes each with their own individual subtitles (srt or ssa) file. I want to bundle 6 of them to a dvd.

I have nerovision express but it never gets the aspect ratio correct. Makes pretty menus though. Wouldn't be able to handle subtitles anyway.

I Have avi2dvd (and therefore all of the bundled tools) but it would only take one subtitle file. I could use avi2dvd to create 6 different video_ts folders but then I don't have a way to join them.

I have roxio ez DVD creator, but it can't handle subtitles and refuses to accept the aspect ratio of anything I've shown it.

I've tried using aviSynth to stream the subtitles over to CCE, but the instruction I used failed to work (C:\Program Files\VirtualDub\plugins\textsub.vdf is not a valid avisynth plugin)

CCE Doesn't like the original because it's too large (800 x 448, 16:9)

I can use virtualdubmod with textsub filter but then it takes an extra 2 hours per episode to hard encode the subtitles in xvid that would need to be transcoded again anyway. I tried using the frameserver from virtualdubmod but I obviously don't have any encoders that can read the output.

I havn't even thought about a menu yet, but thats on the agenda too.

What are the steps I need to take to make this work?

Please help, I'm tired of wrestling with this.

[Matthew]

One way would be to use DVD2SVCD to convert the avis (forget the subtitles) to 6 sets of audio/video assets (no authoring). Then use DVDLab to author the audio/video/subs onto a dvd.

[Continuity28]

I've been having a heck of a time working with the tools of the DVD authoring trade trying to figure out how to make things work the way I would like. Everything I've grabbed or borrwed from the neighbors seems to be unable to do everything the right way.

Here's the current situation I'm in, how many steps do I need to take to make this work??

I have a lot of anime episodes each with their own individual subtitles (srt or ssa) file. I want to bundle 6 of them to a dvd.

To be honest, if you want it done right, it takes a bit of learning. You'll need to ask yourself if its worth it in the end. There's always simpler solutions if you can deal with lower quality and obvious problems.

I have nerovision express but it never gets the aspect ratio correct. Makes pretty menus though. Wouldn't be able to handle subtitles anyway.

I Have avi2dvd (and therefore all of the bundled tools) but it would only take one subtitle file. I could use avi2dvd to create 6 different video_ts folders but then I don't have a way to join them.

I have roxio ez DVD creator, but it can't handle subtitles and refuses to accept the aspect ratio of anything I've shown it.

I don't use any of these programs, nor do I know if you can get it to work the way you want it to using them.

I've tried using aviSynth to stream the subtitles over to CCE, but the instruction I used failed to work (C:\Program Files\VirtualDub\plugins\textsub.vdf is not a valid avisynth plugin)

You're using a VirtualDub filter in AVISynth, that's why. The proper filter is named VSFilter.dll, and the command is still called TextSub. Get the newest version of VobSub and use VSFilter.dll.

CCE Doesn't like the original because it's too large (800 x 448, 16:9)

Use AVISynth to resize it first. Make sure you take into account your TV's overscan, if it has it. Because you're hard encoding subtitles, not compensating for overscan can make the text cut off the screen. So for example, while the real resolution on a 4:3 TV may be 640x480 - overscan makes it more like 576x432 (or maybe even 560x420). Is your TV widescreen?

I can use virtualdubmod with textsub filter but then it takes an extra 2 hours per episode to hard encode the subtitles in xvid that would need to be transcoded again anyway. I tried using the frameserver from virtualdubmod but I obviously don't have any encoders that can read the output.

Use AVISynth, it's much much faster and powerful.

I havn't even thought about a menu yet, but thats on the agenda too.

Most DVD authoring programs have a decent enough menu creation system. I use DVD Lab PRO myself, and can't complain.

What are the steps I need to take to make this work?

Please help, I'm tired of wrestling with this.

There's a lot of issues that will come up, and a lot of learning to do. I could go through my method if you want. I use AVISynth, CCE (but any encoder will work) and DVD-Lab PRO.