TSCV - how do I..

[Doom9]

aargh.. I give up.. that program is just not to be understood.

First of all it took me ages to find out that you have to enter the main movie file in the menu tab (logic???), then the chapterxtractor import didn't work so I had to create my chapters manually.

Fine.. then I select my mpg and create a motion menu. Background, nice so I take a shot from the chapterselection menu in matrix, put in the 6 first chapters, 400 frames each, then let it encode. While I do get a motion menu with the 6 small screens nicely filled out what is being shown as animation is repeating and in no way related to my chapter selection point (chapter1 gets frames 1-400, chapter2 frames 401-800, chapter3 801-1200, chapter4 1-400, etc).

Then.. I add an intro mpg.. the stuff from matrix that is non selectable. Then.. I want to have the main menu screen from matrix where there's 4 options: start movie, chapter selection, audio selection and extras... so import that mpg as menu.. click on it.. select menu generator.. and what I end up is a black screen.. no preview, so how do I know where to draw my rectangles for the 4 options.. and all I can draw are black boxes and I don't get to see any options for what I draw so how can I link that to the desired other menu pages and mpg files?
Same goes for a still menu.. I need it on screen so I can draw the selection boxed and then I need to access the options of each rectangle I've drawn to link them to chapters or other options.

So.. who has used tscv to do more than a motion chapter selection menu? care to enlighten me how that stuff works? Damn.. I can handle scenarist so you'd figure that's it but I really don't get the logic behind TSCV.

[legman]

I have not used it in awhile and have not done what you are trying to do, but I think i understand where you ae off base.

This is not dvd authoring, it is svcd authoring. Ther eis really no connection between the menu thumbnails and the actual movie, excpt in your mind. By putting text next to a thumbnail that says like chapter 1, then your mind sees chapter 1 and and YOU hit 1 on the remome and you jump there because you had put in a marker earlier that says chapter one jumps to this point. It's all in the user head amd remote. Ther eare no overlayed pics to be used as buttones on different layers as in dvd menu creation, that you would inturn link to.



This is stuff from an old version, but it may help you understand.

[Antonio S.]

You cannot do audio selection from vcd(s) menu. This not DVD menu so you can not use thumbnails. You can make menus with "numbers". Then you can asign each number an mpeg file or cuepoint (chapter) of an mpeg file.
For example : 1- can be mpeg-1, 2- can be mpeg-2 chapter1, 3- can be mpeg-2 chapter2, etc. etc. Also you can design what is happening when you press "NEXT", "PREVIEW", "DEFAULT", or "TIME OUT". TSCV is a good tool or gui of VCDimager. To understand better how it works download the "Structure of the GNU VCDImager XML File" available in the VCDImager site.
To make menus you can use others program: 1-"Mpeg2VCR" to take snapshots of your MPEG, 2-"Paint" to edit that snapshots (add text, modify backgrounds, erase text, etc.), 3-and then you can make "mpeg still files" encoding with TMPGEnc( you can use your JPEG as source and add audio)...:cool:

Antonio S.

[legman]

You can do thumbnail, moving ones and still ones.

[Doom9]

ahh... now that is something I didn't know. Prolly time for me to get back to DVD authoring... even micro dvd player (and I'd assume dividivx) can handle more advanced authoring scenarios. And indeed.. I just checked my I-author guide and it doesn't look as if I'd done anything more advanced there.. must have been the DVD authoring guides I wrote after that that got me off track..

so.. if I go thru the xml documentation on vcdimager... will I know everything that is possible or are there parts of the specs that vcdimager does not fulfill (besides pres there's no subtitle support for instance).

[jj59]

well vcdimager support subs but TSCV does not (yet).

HVR has put some sources and info her:
http://www.vcdimager.org/pub/vcdimager/contribs/svcd-subtitles.tar.gz

and put the binaries
http://www.vcdimager.org/pub/vcdimager/.testing/vcdimager-0.7.12pre1.win32.zip

DVD2SVCD used submux in his latest versions

[Infinite_stupidity]

Originally posted by Doom9
so.. if I go thru the xml documentation on vcdimager... will I know everything that is possible or are there parts of the specs that vcdimager does not fulfill (besides pres there's no subtitle support for instance).

Well I'm pretty sure the svcd spec supports some kind of virtual code command lists, but I sincerely doubt anything other than a real (S)VCD player (chinese or not) would support this anyway... Well maybe chinese dvd players as they are required by law to be svcd compatable...

[Antonio S.]

Doom9:

The VCDIMAGER (7.12) that is included in latest DVD2SVCD package can handle MPG files with subtitles, but you will need a multiplexer like "I-Author" to add your subtitles to the MPG. When multiplexing remember to check "PS Format" option. Then after mux rename ".PS " to ".MPG". This new MPG file can be loaded to TSCV (vcdimager 7.12) so you can do menus and chapters... :)

Antonio S.

[Mozart]

nope. You don't need I-Author anymore. Look at DVD2SVCD homepage. There you can find a freeware called SubMux (it has nothing to do with that one of vobsub pack). It is open source and can mux subs better than Iauthor muxer.

[Antonio S.]

How can I use SUBMUX ?:confused:

[24hourloop]

I'll second that question. Apparently some script has to be script has to be created whose syntax could be derived by reading the source code but I would presume somebody has done this before.

Anybody that can shed some light on this?

[Doom9]

dvd2svcd uses submux.. so go figure.. start the prog, let it rip subs then you see what's needed. There is atm no program capable of converting a known subtitle format in the required format for submux

[Infinite_stupidity]

Originally posted by Doom9
There is atm no program capable of converting a known subtitle format in the required format for submux

Why convert? Just use SubRip to rip the subs, choose the Philips subtitle format in the options and the correct colors, then save the text file in the Philips Svcd Designer format (*.sub). then run the submux commandlines:

submux -s# [-C] in.mpg subs.sub out.mpg
#=subtitle stream (starting from 0)
-C=CVD subs

If you want different color subtitles (like those in some anime that are yellow) choose those colors in the options box that pops up at the begginning. Bottom line, the subs will appear on a standalone exactly as they appear in that box, with black being transparent...

Submux will complain about the first few lines being junk, but thats just the Philips sub format junk submux doesnt use. Now Im not sure if there are better settings in SubRip (like raw sub output or something), but these were the first I tried and they worked with the same functionality as DVD2SVCD...

Well maybe that'll help somebody :)

Edit: Whoopsy, appearantly it wasnt obvious. You do need to use the time correcting functions in SubRip to get you seperate per cd .sub files...

[24hourloop]

I do all of this (actually I used the GUI, which makes it easier) and Submux muxes without a hitch (I deleted the lines that make it complain and only leave the subtitle information).

However, when I use VCDEASY with VCDimager, VCDXBuild throws a fit about OGT being out of range.

Any ideas?

[Antonio S.]

24hourloop:

To make SVCD with MPEG and subtitles you need VCDIMAGER 7.12. VCDEasy do not accept ver.7.12...

How do you use submux gui?

Antonio S.

[24hourloop]

I think you hit the nail on the head. This is exactly what I tried to do - Use VCDEasy with VCDIMAGER 7.12. VCDEASY got very upset about that.

Do you know whether I can use VCDEASY to generate the XML script and then feed this to VCDIMAGER 7.12? OR do I have to do this from scratch (which would be a definite deterrent)?

I use the GUI as follows:

I extract the thing and then run INSTALL.BAT (which copies some batch files to the Windos directory).

I run SUBRIP generating the BMPs and the Philips file. It apparently doesn't matter where the Philips file resides but the BMPs should be in the same directory as the input MPEG (I am sure you can tweak that but I didn't).

I fire up the GUI and specify the input MPEG file (the one that I want to add the subtitles to) and an output file name. I select 'Sub 1' and enter the Philips file name. I click on START. I get a couple of warnings about the first few messages in the file (if you delete everything that is not BMP info that will go away). He then proceeds to tell me xxx bytes written until in the end he indicates how many subtitles were added.

Is this not how it works for you?

[Antonio S.]

24hourloop:

Thank you for the "submux gui" guide. The only version (GUI) that work for me(800mhz Athlon with Windows ME)is version 1.0.xx. I can load original MPEG movie and Phillip's Text.sub. As soon as I execute it gives me some warnings, but the new MPEG file is created. The problem is that as soon I load it to TSCV, VCDImager said that buflen is incorrect...So, new created SVCD doesn't include subtitles ( Maybe there is a bug in Subrip 0.92b. I notice that text created said "PAL" when I am encoding with NSTC framerate. I change it back to NSTC but it keep writing it as Pal).

About VCDEasy, I think there will be a new version that can accept VCDIMAGER 7.12. For the moment you can create a XML file and then run manually VCDxbuild. Also you can use TSCV gui that works with VCDIMAGER 7.12( It works with MPEG with sub created with I-Author).

Antonio S.

[24hourloop]

I now used VCDEASY 1.06 and voila - works like a champ. Nifty.

[sax]

this stuff is just about ripping, but i got another prob:
1. i download a music video - (*.m2v) and want to add subtitles (because i'm czech and don't understand everything). so i don't have any other source for the subtitles than text file...

any help?