Skipping titles after main menu with PGCEdit

[D-Daddy]

I apologize if I am using some of the terminology incorrectly. I’m trying to learn!

I am having a problem skipping PGC’s that follow the main menu and precede the main title. I can skip all PGC’s between the main menu and the start of the main title -- EXCEPT if I skip playback on the *last* PGC before the main title. If I skip that PGC, then playback dies at that point.

Using Peter Pan Platinum as an example, here is what I can do successfully. (I have had this same experience on other DVD’s.)

1. Decrypt the full disc using DVDFab
2. Open in PGCEdit
3. Perform the procedure for Jump to PGC on DVD Insert macro.
4. Save DVD and test – jump to Main Menu perfectly
5. Step through and Kill PGC Playback on each subsequent PGC. When asked if I want to blank the cells of the PGC, I click “No”.
a. Kill VTST 6, 2 TTN 2 (0:16) Title 14 [a logo]
b. Kill VTST 13, 1 TTN 1 (0:13) Title 39 [another logo]
6. Save DVD and test.

At this point everything works. The DVD goes right to the Main Menu. I pick Play Main Movie, and it will skip the pre-movie logos except for VTST 3, 1 TTN1 (0:08) Title 10 (FBI Warning, Don’t Copy Warning) which I *haven’t* skipped yet.

Here’s where my efforts fail. When I do a Kill PGC Playback on VTST 3, 1 TTN1 (0:08) Title 10, the DVD will play correctly (in PGCEdit preview mode) from insert to Main Menu to Main Movie (VTST 1, 1 TTN 1 (1:17;28) Title 1), ….but when I save it and play it on Nero Showtime or on a burned DVD, it dies soon after leaving the main menu.

The PGC (VTST 3, 1 TTN1 (0:08) Title 10) that I am trying to delete is originally listed as shown below and when I step through it executes line 1 and 2 then skips to VMGM , LU1(en), 3 (dummy):

Pre Commands
1 if ( gprm (9) = = 4 ) then { Goto line 3 }
2 (CallSS) Call the VMGM PGC 3, resume cell 1
3 Set gprm(9) =(mov) 10

Post Commands
1 LinkPGCN PGC 2

(No Cell Commands)

What am I doing wrong that I can delete all pre-movie logos EXCEPT the very last logo? And thanks to all the super-bright people in this forum who have pity on those of us who can barely fumble around with programs like PGCEdit and VOBBlanker!

-Jeff

[r0lZ]

Welcome to the forum, D-Daddy!

The PGC (VTST 3, 1 TTN1 (0:08) Title 10) that I am trying to delete is originally listed as shown below and when I step through it executes line 1 and 2 then skips to VMGM , LU1(en), 3 (dummy):
I don't understand for sure what happens after that.

If, when you continue to trace, the navigation leads to the main movie, you can probably kill the PGC simply by removing pre-command 1. The CallSS will therefore always be executed, and the main movie played.

On the other hand, if the PGC is really played, maybe Kill Playback doesn't work as expected because this Title 10 is a not-one_sequential Title (made of several PGCs pertaining to the same TTN.) I know that there are some difficult problems in this case that Kill Playback doesn't handle always successfully.

To help you more, I need to know the commands of VTS 3, 2.
The commands of VTS 3, 1 after Kill Playback might be useful too.

[D-Daddy]

Thank you, r0lZ!

Before I kill playback, VTSM 3, LU 1 (en), 1 (0:00) RootM contains:
PreCommand
1 (JumpSS) Jump to VMGM PGC 8
No PostCommands, No CellCommands

Before I kill playback, VTST 3,2 TTN 1 (0:00) contains:
PreCommand
1 (CallSS) Call the VTSM Root menu of the current VTS, resume cell 1
No PostCommands, No CellCommands

In addition, I think you are suggesting that I try removing Line 1 from VTST 3, 1 TTN1 and that will effectively kill playback of that title. Is that what you're saying?

Thanks again!

-Jeff

[r0lZ]

In addition, I think you are suggesting that I try removing Line 1 from VTST 3, 1 TTN1 and that will effectively kill playback of that title. Is that what you're saying?Yes, but w/o the IFOs, I can't be sure. Anyway, if you want to try it, do an incremental backup first.

[HFW]

Hi: I'm new to this forum and I was using PGCEdit for some time and I was wondering if there is an easy method of doing a jump to main movie from main menu, like jump to PGC upon DVD insert.
What I want to do is skip some titles that sometimes exist between the main menu and the main movie, using trace and then apply a macro.
Thanks in advance

[blutach]

Not via a macro but you can do it via blanking. Trace with preview on. If you find rubbish you don't like, click on Blank this cell. Afterwards, cleanup with a run with FixVTS (in the domains which are affected).

Regards

[HFW]

Thank you Blutach for your fast answer. This is the method I use, but I just wanted to know if there is something new... or something in the r0lZ TODO list...
thanks again.

[D-Daddy]

I have another problem and I think I have found a good clean example of it. Sometimes when I remove a title from between the main menu and the main movie, the movie jumps to a point a few minutes into the movie.

1. I ripped the DVD
2. I opened in PgcEdit
3. I clicked my way through with Next PB past the main menu
4. I got to Title 3 (a 9 second FBI warning with 2 cells) between the menu and the movie. I clicked Kill PGC Playback, checked the playback in PgcEdit and everything is fine.

When I save the DVD and play it back (either with a software player or on a burned disc), the navigation goes from the main menu to the studio logo (as expected) then it skips over Title 3 (as expected) but then goes to a point about 1:33 into the main movie.

I have had this happen on a couple of other videos, but in this case I made no other modifications except for the deletion of Title 3.

Am I leaving out a step? Do I need to change the default PgcEdit settings?

Thanks! -Jeff

[D-Daddy]

Trace with preview on. If you find rubbish you don't like, click on Blank this cell.

Blutach,

When would you use Blank This Cell (in Preview mode) rather than Kill PGC Playback?

-Jeff

[blutach]

I tend to be a Kill PB guy D-Daddy and then blank when PgcEdit asks me if I want to. Preview allows you to see what you are doing, that's all.

As to your issue with the 1:33 into the main movie, perhaps a GPRM has got itself badly set and you are skipping to chapter 2. This seems unlikely though. Strange issue - without the IFOs we are flying a bit in the dark and unfortunately, we can't allow posting of them as they are copyrighted material.

What we can allow is you to post excerpts of the various relevant PGCs. Use Info --> PGC to do this and perhaps we can follow what is going on.

Regards

[D-Daddy]

What we can allow is you to post excerpts of the various relevant PGCs. Use Info --> PGC to do this and perhaps we can follow what is going on.

I'll be glad to give it a try since I am at a total loss.:confused: Which PGC's should I try to post? Even with the Jump to PGC function, there are still at least 10 PGC's that it runs through before hitting the movie.

Are the PGC's marked (dummy) just as important as those with time values?

Thanks for your patience! -Jeff

[r0lZ]

Use Trace mode to trace to your main movie, and post the trace log here.

If you can, please add some comments to the log. For example, we should identify the FBI warning PGC you have killed.

[D-Daddy]

Well, I wanted to make sure I wasn't make any obvious mistakes. So, I started from scratch by decrypting my original DVD, then using the latest revs of PgcEdit and VobBlanker... and wouldn't you know, the end result DVD plays perfectly on all 5 DVD players that I tried it on.

I skipped to the menu on insert and skipped all warnings/logos between the menu and the movie. (I have used Nero Showtime to check/play the files before burning them, and maybe the problem is with Nero.)

I'll write again someday when I find a "repeatable" failure -- this one was not. Thanks for all the help!

-Jeff

[r0lZ]

... the end result DVD plays perfectly ...
:)

The first time, maybe you forgot to restart the trace from the beginning. Another possible problem during the trace is that it is still possible to click on another PGC or command, and to continue to trace from that new point. I have not forbidden that possibility, as that can be useful, for example to test what happens if a command is skipped, but, of course, when using Jump2PGC, you should not do that.

Anyway, thanks for the confirmation that it's not a bug in PgcEdit! :rolleyes:

[D-Daddy]

I don't mean to brag, but I will -- I am getting so good at skipping right to the main menu then right to the movie without any logos/warnings/garbage. My kids now gripe if they have to sit through even one logo or FBI warning.

I had a Cartoon Network movie the other day that asked for the widescreen or standard aspect ratio between the main menu and the start of the movie. Obnoxious! By fumbling around with PgcEdit, I was pretty easily able to find that the aspect ratio was controlled by gprm(15). I set it to "43" (value for standard non-widescreen) rather than 0 at the start of the disc and it worked perfectly!

What an awesome program, r0lz!

By the way, I think that the many problems I had in the past (where the movie would jump from the main movie to a point 2 or 3 minutes into the movie) may have been due to the fact that I would "Save DVD" before clicking the "reset" button (the one that looks like an "Eject" button). I think that I wasn't setting all of the registers back to 0 and the result was a mess.

I've modified 10-20 DVD's recently -- quickly and easily and with perfect results! Thanks again!

-Jeff

[r0lZ]

By the way, I think that the many problems I had in the past (where the movie would jump from the main movie to a point 2 or 3 minutes into the movie) may have been due to the fact that I would "Save DVD" before clicking the "reset" button (the one that looks like an "Eject" button). I think that I wasn't setting all of the registers back to 0 and the result was a mess.No, impossible. When using trace mode, the navigation is never changed automatically. The registers are reset to 0 when you click "eject" only for the trace mode. The current state of the GPRMs is never saved with the DVD.

What an awesome program, r0lz!Thanks for your appreciation! :)