Book or web references on computer programming for DVDs?

[Amby]

I'm a highly experienced computer programmer, and I'm looking for reference material -- either books or web sites -- that I can study to learn the fundamentals of computer programming using movie-type DVDs for input and output.

I have very little experience in this area, which is why I'll have to start at the beginning. I've done some peripheral work with very basic programs reading and writing MPEG-1 and 2 streams, so I'm not starting completely from nothing, but I've got a great distance to go.

I've searched the web for such reference material and have found nothing particularly relevant. The MPEG-2 standards documents are not at all what I need, nor are technical descriptions of DVD hardware technology (I'll only process DVD data once it's on hard disk); I need instead things like advice on how to read and write and process VOBs and IFOs and menus and subtitles and such.

I suppose what I'm most interested in are references to code libraries and interfaces and such. Oh, and I'll be programming in a Windows XP/Vista environment.


Any and all suggestions are most welcome!

[setarip_old]

Hi!

You might find this to be a good starting point:

http://www.dvddemystified.com/dvdfaq.html

[Amby]

Hi!

You might find this to be a good starting point:

http://www.dvddemystified.com/dvdfaq.html

Thank you again, sir; that answered a few very basic questions.

However, I still need programmer-level info. But thanks for trying!

[neuron2]

http://www.mpucoder.com/DVD/

Beyond that, you can get the DVD specification document -- the blue book. Be warned, it's all very complicated. You'll need to invest a LOT of time.

[setarip_old]

You're either a very quick read or a very superficial one ;>}

Toward the bottom of that primary page you'll find another link - to "Books about DVD":

http://www.dvddemystified.com/dvdfaq.html#6.4.6

[Amby]

http://www.mpucoder.com/DVD/

Beyond that, you can get the DVD specification document -- the blue book. Be warned, it's all very complicated. You'll need to invest a LOT of time.

Thank you, I found both long ago. They do not help much at all to addresss my questions. Please try again. I've already read the DVD specicifcation and it is completely irrelevant to what I want to know. As for MPUCoder's site, it doesn't address programming considerations either.

And thank you for getting me a warning for NOT cross-posting! Couldn't you just have advised me that even a mere LINK to another post is stupidly considered a cross post instead of reporting me and getting me in trouble over such a stupid issue?



:angry:

[Amby]

You're either a very quick read or a very superficial one ;>}

Toward the bottom of that primary page you'll find another link - to "Books about DVD":

http://www.dvddemystified.com/dvdfaq.html#6.4.6

Thank you, I saw and read that section. But there is not one single reference there or on any of the books based on the links provided that even MENTIONS computer programming, which is what I asked for.

[setarip_old]

A friendly suggestion, if I may:

In another thread, you strongly implied that "mpucoder", one of the Doom9 Forum moderators, had taken your money under false pretenses.

In this thread, you're challenging "neuron2" - another moderator.

My friendly suggestion to you (You can feel free to take it with a grain of salt) is simply that you should choose your words more carefully - perhaps most particularly with the moderators ;>}

[setarip_old]

Perhaps the problem is that you're not clearly communicating your need. Can you describe a hypothetical project that would require the information you're seeking?


By the way, from links within the links:

Customers who bought this item also bought

Making DVDs : Creating and Authoring Your Own Discs by Lee Purcell
Designing DVD Menus: How to Create Professional-Looking DVDs by Chris Schmidt
Robin Williams DVD Design Workshop by Robin Williams

And, regarding the book "DVD Demystified", based on the following table of contents, it's hard to understand how it wouldn't be useful for your purposes:

http://www.dvddemystified.com/toc.html

[Amby]

Perhaps the problem is that you're not clearly communicating your need. Thank you for your reply. Could you advise me on how to improve my opening sentence to better specify my request? I would have thought it extremely self-descriptive. I wrote:"I'm a highly experienced computer programmer, and I'm looking for reference material -- either books or web sites -- that I can study to learn the fundamentals of computer programming using movie-type DVDs for input and output."

Perhaps this would be better?: "I'm a highly experienced computer programmer, and I'm looking for reference material -- either books or web sites -- that I can study to learn the fundamentals of computer programming using movie-type DVDs for input and output." (the only difference being the bolding.)


Can you describe a hypothetical project that would require the information you're seeking?

Yes, gladly. I would like to know which integrated Windows programming environments and website or books describing them, which major Windows APIs and website or books describing them, which Windows-based software development books and website or books describing them, and which free or commercial Windows-compatible object-oriented or traditional code libraries and website or books describing them, are available that would allow me to write a computer program to read and write data to and from a hard disk such that the input is a ripped-to-hard disk from a DVD and the output could be burned to DVD (I'm not interested in the transfer of this data to and from the hard disk). The code libraries will take care of processing and interpreting the standard and private streams (with which I'm already adequately familiar), so highly detailed knowledge of the DVD structure is not required to use these libraries. One such hypothetical project that would require the information I'm seeking is writing an application that would, for one example, read a file set on hard disk containing a DVD, interpret the streams, replace one stream with another, and write it back to hard disk.


By the way, from links within the links:

Customers who bought this item also bought

Making DVDs : Creating and Authoring Your Own Discs by Lee Purcell
Designing DVD Menus: How to Create Professional-Looking DVDs by Chris Schmidt
Robin Williams DVD Design Workshop by Robin Williams

I'm sorry, none of those are relevant to my request, even as originally stated in my OP. They do not involve computer programming, only content programming at most.

And, regarding the book "DVD Demystified", based on the following table of contents, it's hard to understand how it wouldn't be useful for your purposes:

http://www.dvddemystified.com/toc.html

I didn't say it wouldn't be useful (although I'm already familiar with most of that material), what I tried to say is that it didn't even come close to answering my request, even as stated in my original OP.

But I do appreciate your responses. Thank you.

[setarip_old]

Thanks for responding to my suggestion.

I believe that, if you haven't inadvertently burned too many bridges here, you've now restated your request in a manner that can be better understood - so that the programmers amongst the members of the Doom9 Forum may respond in a meaningful manner.I would like to know which integrated Windows programming environments and website or books describing them, which major Windows APIs and website or books describing them, which Windows-based software development books and website or books describing them, and which free or commercial Windows-compatible object-oriented or traditional code libraries and website or books describing them, are available that would allow me to write a computer program to read and write data to and from a hard disk such that the input is a ripped-to-hard disk from a DVD and the output could be burned to DVD (I'm not interested in the transfer of this data to and from the hard disk). The code libraries will take care of processing and interpreting the standard and private streams (with which I'm already adequately familiar), so highly detailed knowledge of the DVD structure is not required to use these libraries. One such hypothetical project that would require the information I'm seeking is writing an application that would, for one example, read a file set on hard disk containing a DVD, interpret the streams, replace one stream with another, and write it back to hard disk.

(Sounds like you're still seeking a way to replace/add audiostreams)

BTW - You may gain some insight by examining the source code of "DVD Flick" - an Open Source program...