How to trace languages with PGCedit?

[ux-3]

I have just worked my way through a guide to remove intro clips etc. using PGCedit in trace mode. It worked fine and was successfull (beginners luck). Thanks to those, who participated in guide und program.

But HERE is my problem. I just removed the intro clips of a multi language DVD, but when I tested, they were still showing. After being stunned briefly, I realized, that I was tracing the english intro-branch to the english main menu. When I was playing, I was seeing my local language branch leading to that menu. I guess I need to set PGCedit to tell the tracing DVD a different player setting. Sounds simple, but I am somehow too dumb to figure it out. I have now downloaded a plugin, LU_Plugin and installed it, but I found no documentation for this.

Is this plugin the way to go? Or can I set PGCedit somewhere to pretend that the DVD-Player is set to a different language menu preference? A link or hint would be welcome. I am willing to read, but I don't know where.

Greetings
UX-3

Edit: I just hit upon the virtual player setup. Damn, am I stupid! :stupid:

I gues the strategy is to set the virtual player to every language there is a menu for and go through with the procedure of bypassing the (same) intro...

[blutach]

Only set the virtual player to the languages of the player you are using.

If you find PGCs where menus are replicated in various languages (this happens a lot!), I find it useful to substitute the cells from the other languages with the desired language (do this in the PGC Editor). Strip the now unreffed cells out with VobBlanker (http://jsoto.posunplugged.com/vobblanker.htm) and you have saved some space :)

Or, delete the cells from the unwanted languages entirely from the PGC (but be sure to remove any VM commands that refer to them) and again use VobBlanker (http://jsoto.posunplugged.com/vobblanker.htm) to recover the space.

Regards

[r0lZ]

Blutach is right. That's the method to use if the various menus are all in one single LU. But if you are lucky, you have several LUs. Removing them is very simple: click on any menu PGC belonging to the LU you want to remove, and call Menu -> Remove LU. Repeat for all LUs but the one you want to keep. Save.
Process the domain with FixVTS or VobBlanker if you want to regain some disc space.

Of course, if there is only one LU, it will be played anyway, regardless of the virtual player settings. Therefore, it is better to remove the LUs before blanking the remaining intros.

Note that you don't need the LU plugin to remove the useless LUs. The LU plugin contains only advanced functions.

[ux-3]

Thanks for answering my post, but you gave me way to much credit in these matters. I am no expert on this.

For my current project, space was no issue so I just wanted to make sure I get rid of the intros in all languages, though this time, I would like to keep the all the different menue versions. I can see the point of removing them, when on a quest for extra space.

As far as I see it, the intros are now skipped with the used languages.

Greetings
ux-3

[ux-3]

When I am in trace mode and arrive at a button menu, I am under the impression that PGCedit gives me (among other options) two choices:

1. To push a button and have this pushing recorded so that the menu will take care of itself in the future and act as if the button were pushed.

2. To push a button to continue with the trace, but NOT have this push automated or recorded for the future.

(Number one would be to bypass a main menu vs advertising choice, number two would be to go beyond the main menu and kill more trailors)

I am not able to figure out how I have to operate PGCedit to securely chose either 1 or 2. Can someone point me to a guide. In theory, it should be covered in here:
guide (http://jean.laroche.free.fr/SkippingStuff0.4.3.1/index.html#SkipMenu)
I am under the impression, that I managed to get PGCedit to do 1. for me, but I can't figure out, how I did it. I can't do it again.

Any clues?
thanks
ux-3

[r0lZ]

What do you want to do exactly? Go to a specific PGC when the DVD is inserted? The guide covers that, so I'll asume it's what you want.

This guide is very well written, and therefore is still valuable to understand the method. However, it is now somewhat outdated, since the procedure is now almost completely automated in PgcEdit. All you have to do is to locate the PGC you want to play at startup, and set a pre/post breakpoint on this PGC (right-click menu). Then, start the trace, and let it run until the target PGC is reached. Since there is a breakpoint, the trace will stop automatically when that PGC is entered. At this point, call PGC -> Jump to PGC upon DVD insert. The rest is automatic.

If you reach a menu during the trace, you have to select the button you would normally select on a real player to reach your target PGC, and click on Select to continue the trace. It's not difficult.

Good luck!

[ux-3]

Actually, I have used the PGCedit build in ability to jump to a menu according to a linked guide. It worked fine.

If you reach a menu during the trace, you have to select the button you would normally select on a real player to reach your target PGC, and click on Select to continue the trace. It's not difficult.

Yes, I found that too, but it seems that this push is not recorded for future automated execution (which makes sense to me). BUT if I want it to be recorded, what do I have to do? Or am I mistaken about the programs ability to record such a button push? I am under the impression that I managed before to get the button push recorded.

What do I want to do? Well, basically steamline the DVD, by taking out unwanted intro or final material or breaching menues where I never would make a different choice.
I am trying to make the DVD play more convenient for me, not to save space.

greetings
ux-3

[r0lZ]

I don't understand what you mean. You don't need to "record" anything.
When you will reach the target PGC, the Jump to PGC function will record the state of the player, and modify the nav commands for you to jump to the target PGC, and restore the state of the player. This way, when the modified DVD is played, you will see the target PGC immediately, but the player will react exactly like if you played the DVD normally, from the beginning.
If you have to select a menu button, it will not be recorded, but its action is remembered.

Note that the "Skip" button in the menu viewer can be used to skip the selection of the menu button, to see what happens when an animated menu ends before the user has activated a button. Normally, the menu will loop back to the beginning, but it can also call another menu, or jump directly to the main movie. Anyway, you should not need the Skip button to use the Jump to PGC function.

[ux-3]

Sorry for not making myself clear.

Assume the Dvd has this intro sequence:
Choose language menu, "want to view advertising" menu (menu in the propper language), main menu, THX logo, movie.

I like to see a movie in english as well as my own language, so I don't want to skip the language selection. I would like to skip the advertising offer and go to the main menu, then kill the THX.

So far, I was thinking to take both possible roots to the main menu, leaving the first menu active to choose the language, but skipping the advert menu by choosing the "No" button to be selected automatically.

If this isn't possible, I can live with that. I was just thinking that it was possible to "automate" an in between menu to a default choice.

If I still don't make sense, just ignore me.... :)


greetings
ux-3

[r0lZ]

It's possible, but not with the Jump to PGC upon DVD Insert function, which skips everything that is before the target PGC.

To skip only some things, you should use the Kill Playback function on the PGCs you want to skip.
If the PGC is a menu with buttons, the menu editor will be opened automatically. Select the button you want to simulate, and click "Kill PB". The PGC will be skipped, but will act as if you selected the right button.

In your case, you should locate the advertising menu and the THX logos, and kill them.

Note that it is also possible to blank the cells of any PGC from the preview in trace mode. When you see a cell you don't want, just tick the "Blank This Cell" option, and continue the trace. If all cells of a specific PGC are blanked this way, you will have the option to Kill Playback of the PGC, too, so that you will not see the tiny black cells at all.
I've added this feature recently, at the request of several users, but personally, I don't like it. I prefer to locate the PGCs I want to remove with the normal preview, and use the Kill Playback function on them manually. (The trace method has the disadvantage that you can miss some logos if your player is not configured exactly the same way than the virtual player in PgcEdit.)

[ux-3]

If the PGC is a menu with buttons, the menu editor will be opened automatically. Select the button you want to simulate, and click "Kill PB". The PGC will be skipped, but will act as if you selected the right button.

THAT was it, I was looking for! :thanks:

[blutach]

I also prefer Kill Plaback - it is much more elegant and the whole PGC can be made into a dummy. There is just 1 little thing and PgcEdit (http://www.videohelp.com/~r0lZ/pgcedit/index.html) gives a warning about it - if there are links to programs or cells in the precommands, these need to be fixed (essentially, you ned to remove them).

Regards

[Kayaker]

Interesting issue (at least to a clueless guy like me).

I've never undestand quite well the difference/pros/cons of Kill PGC vs blank cells/PGC. (beside of course that kill PGC doesn't gain space on its own unless folowed by FixVTS or VobBlanker, that is pretty clear)

Also never understand quite well that issue of changing post command into pre commands when you blank.

But now I understand a little better the more elegant or cleaner aproach of kill PGC vs blank everything at will.

[r0lZ]

In fact, currently, both methods are almost identical.

- Blank All PGCs is used to quickly blank everything in the current domain. It's fast, and the space used by the VOB files is regained immediately. There is also an option to kill the playback of all PGCs, so that even the tiny black cells are not played.

- Kill playback is a method to skip the playback of a PGC, without removing the actual video. Recently, I have added an option to blank the PGC also. Here, I cannot remove the cells easily, because there are usually some cells still used by the other PGCs of the domain. Therefore, you have to process the VOB files with FixVTS or VobBlanker if you want to regain the space.

IMO, it is better to use Blank All PGCs when it's possible. If you want to keep some PGCs in the domain, you have to use Kill Playback.

With the PGC Editor, it is also possible to explicitly remove or blank some specific cells in a PGC.

[Kayaker]

I meant or was comparing the methods of blanking with VobBlanker vs the kill feature of PGCEdit.

If I don't understand wrong they are different.

The methods you said were almost the same were the various kind of kill of PGCEdit ?

So correct me if I'm wrong.

Blanking has to move the post commands into pre so as to not display black blanked frames.

On the other hand, kill PGC doesn't need to do that and it's cleaner.


Is it right ?

[r0lZ]

No, it's the oposite.

Kill PB moves the post commands into pre (and Kill has also a blanking option.)
Blanking is the process of replacing the VOB cells by tiny black frames (and there is also a Kill option.)
Basically, they do the same thing.

VobBlanker's main feature is to blank cells or PGCs (and there is again an option to kill the blanked PGCs: "change post into precommands".)

[blutach]

The theory behind Kill PB is that a DVD executes commands in the follwing order

- Precommands
- Play cells (executing any cell command following the playback of a cell)
- Postcommands (which usually take you somewhere else in the DVD)

So, if the post commands are copied to the precommand section (and all Breaks, Link PGMs etc are changed to Goto the start of the newly copied post commands), the title will never play - it simply executes the precommands it was going to execute, except any time it gets a "play" command, it goes (effectively) to the post commands and navigates out without playing the content.

There are other methods of killing the content involving start sector manipulation, but this one is very simple.

Regards

[Kayaker]

Thanks guys for the clarification.

I'm a little less lost now :)