HDMV Resume between titles

[mp3dom]

Hi, I'm currently trying to implement the resume between titles on HDMV BDs (I mean, from the movie you jump to an extra, and at the end of the extra the movie resume automatically).
What I would like to ask to the experts is how the resume practically works. For example, If the movie have 3 audio and 3 subs, and I jump to an extra with only 1 audio and no sub, what's happens to the audio/subs when the movie resume? Will it resume to the movie enabling only the first audio and no subs or it will keep the original audio/subs mappings? Do I need to track the audio/subs in use and restore them prior of resuming?
Thanks.

[rik1138]

I'm pretty sure the feature will resume playing aud 1 and subtitles off if the extra only has the one track.

When I do this, I set a 'BonusFromFeature' GPR flag to 1 when jumping from the PopUp menu. (Anytime the PopUp is opened, audio and subtitles settings are automatically stored, so they are always accurate.) On the extra piece, during the 'Post commands' (after the PlayPL command), if BonusFromFeature is 1, I set all the audio/subtitle streams to what's in the GPRs, and resume feature. Even though these commands are on the bonus piece itself, they still work. I assume because the bonus piece is no longer playing, so they player will make the settings in anticipation of the next PlayList...

Rik

[mp3dom]

Thanks!! Do you also know if the PSR36 (the backup register for title-id) always contains the 'title you came from' even when the resume-flag is set to discarded or there are cases when the PSR36 contains not up-to-date values? (for example, I go to an extra from the TopMenu and the PSR36 contains the feature as TitleID rather than the topmenu)

[rik1138]

Not 100% sure about that one... Haven't really played with the backup registers much. My understanding is that any time the actual register is changed, it's value is moved to the backup. I think the TopMenu value would be moved to 36 in your example...

[perquin]

hi mp3dom,

All rik explain is true.

To have a value in psr36 you need two conditions:

The title that you leave need that "resume intention flag" is to "suspended"
You launch the other title by a CALL (or press the top menu key)

it resume at the good time but with the last audio track number played (it seem to not really work like that for subtitle), you have to make what rik say or simply copy your bonus track to have the same number than in main feature.
Is it why you have to put in topmenu title as many audio than in feature.

that all

[mp3dom]

Thanks guys!

[mp3dom]

Sorry to bump up the topic, I have another question. I've seen that some blurays offers an additional PopUp menu on the extra contents, that allows to resume to the movie. In that case, since the current extra (with only one audio, for example) is playing, how can I resume to the movie keeping the original feature audio/subtitle selection? If I try to restore the feature audio on the extra popup probably the change would be useless. Or am I wrong?

[perquin]

hi,

yes you change the audio before to make the resume. Normally i think it work.

[mp3dom]

You mean that something like this:
In the Extra PopUp (with different audio/subtitle number than the feature) when 'Resume' button is pressed:

SetSTN Aud=GPR1, Sub=GPR2,Display=Off
If subEnabled(GPR3)== 1 SetSTN Display=On
Resume


Should work correctly resuming the feature with correct audio/subtitle mapping?
Thanks.

[rik1138]

Let us know if that works... Surprisingly, I haven't had a client insist on a pop-up during EC yet (with HDMV menus at least), so I haven't had to experiment with it... :)

It would be good to know if that works though, since I'm sure I'll be asked to do that eventually...

[mp3dom]

I'll let you know quite soon, since I'm near to finish the authoring stage :) . I think that the other only possible way to have this kind of resume to work correctly is to let the feature resume by itself. But is it ever possible? In the Movie Object of the Feature to call a 'resume'?

[mp3dom]

Bad news... It doesn't work BUT I can't find a way to have the basic 'resume' to work (resume after the playback of the extra). Every time it restore the audio track 1 even if I set audio=GPRx where GPRx have the correct value. I'm debugging it with Scenarist QC so I see that GPRx have inside the right value, it set it to Audio=2 (for example) but when it resume, it starts with Audio=1.
rik1138, what's your sintax exactly?!

[rik1138]

Heh, just tried it in Scenarist QC (never really use that if I don't absolutely have to), and you are right, it doesn't work...

Works fine in PowerDVD, PS3 and every other real player though. Scenarist QC apparently is not a reliable playback device for functionality. It's only useful if you need to actually see the code the player is executing. The Trace Utility is neat, but the player isn't 100% accurate to what real players do (I noticed it ignored my timing of the first part of the InEffect animation. The TopMenu comes on immediately, instead of waiting for the menu intro to finish...) It's a buggy player at best. (At least it doesn't seem to crash all the time though...)

My commands for bonus pieces are like this:
PlayPL Whatever
if playing bonus from within feature do:
SetStream Audio:No=(GPR)Aud[ID:1] PG_textST:No=(GPR)Subs[ID:2][DispOFF]
If subs were on, then [DispON] command
Resume

Works in everything except Scenarist QC apparently... :rolleyes:

As for making a 'return to feature' button work, try it first in another player and make sure it's not a S QC thing... If it doesn't work in other players, maybe try having the button just execute a jump chapter command (assuming your EC has one chapter, and it's at the very end of the video).

Any existing HDMV titles out there that this works on well? Worse case we can find out how someone else did it... :)

[mp3dom]

I'm using exactly the same syntax... It works in TotalMediaTheatre... but TMT isn't accurate too (for example the 'Random' command starts to generate from 0 rather than 1) and it doesn't always plays my animation on buttons (at least version 5).
It doesn't work anyway if I resume from the 'Extra' PopUp.
To overcome this I think that I can create a chapter near the end of the extra (as you told) but also a 'TerminatePL' command should work good, since that would execute the 'post-command' directly (which manage the resume).
For the extra popup with a "Play movie from start" (and to keep the audio/subs mappings) the only way I found is to create a title with a 12frames clip, with the same number of audio/subs as the feature and then an 'alwayson' popup that set the correct audio/subs and then jumps to the feature. Not tested yet but it should work...
I'll see...

I have a title with resume/play from start that works perfectly but it was probably authored in BluPrint since there are at least 200 pre-commands for every title with AND, Shift and at least 60 registers in use. Quite hard it was made by hand that kind of horror...

[rik1138]

For the extra popup with a "Play movie from start" (and to keep the audio/subs mappings)
If it's always 'Play from start' (not resume), just JumpTitle to the feature title and set your aud/subs there... It's only when it's a resume command that it becomes tricky (since a resume would ignore the 'pre commands' in your navigation command set...)

I have a title with resume/play from start that works perfectly but it was probably authored in BluPrint since there are at least 200 pre-commands for every title with AND, Shift and at least 60 registers in use. Quite hard it was made by hand that kind of horror...

That's why I hate using abstraction-layer programming tools... You have no idea what they are doing behind the scenes. Sure, it still works, it just seems like there should be a better way. :cool: Spruce was like this for DVD... It does some of the most ridiculous things on the final disc, but I guess it has to assume EVERY possible thing you could want to do on a DVD, so there's code for everything included.

I use the AND command to figure out what subtitle is active, but that's about it. I guess if I have to figure out the player's internet and 3D capabilities I'd need to do some ANDing and shifting, but for simple titles none of that is necessary... But Blu-print is anticipating every possible need, so it's all programmed in there.

Rik

[mp3dom]

If it's always 'Play from start' (not resume), just JumpTitle to the feature title and set your aud/subs there... It's only when it's a resume command that it becomes tricky (since a resume would ignore the 'pre commands' in your navigation command set...)

I've actually start the project in the 'reverse' way. So actually I backup audio/sub registers prior of an extra playback (in the extra 'precommand' just before PlayPL) and then restore-back the audio/sub when the extra returns to TopMenu (managed directly in the TopMenu, it checks if it comes from an extra or from the feature). I've made before ever think to the resume management. The Feature doesn't have any SetSTN so I can't jump directly from extra to feature. I've made this because a *very rare* user could change the audio/subs with the remote while the feature PopUp is enabled so there's a way that audio/sub backup GPRs are not up-to-date with the current values.

P.S: Anyway thank you very much for all your suggestions!!

[rik1138]

It wouldn't matter when a user changes the audio/subs... Whenever you _leave_ the feature, store the streams at that time. (In the PopUp, when the user presses the button to play a trailer, first thing you do is store streams, and then jump to the trailer). If the user TopMenus out, first thing you do is store streams (after confirming you came from the feature). There's no way to leave the feature and go to a bonus piece other than activating a button, that's where you store the streams. Streams don't ever need to be stored on the bonus pieces themselves (unless you want to remember changes made there and have them affect the feature settings as well).

If you are starting the feature from the beginning, prior to your PlayPL command, set the streams to whatever is stored, since it's _always_ accurate (if you program for every possible contingency). While you are _in_ the feature, they may not be always up to date (but it doesn't matter since you can't do anything with them anyway...), but anytime you leave the feature, the streams get stored.

That's the technique I use, it works quite well and doesn't seem to be able to be 'defeated'... Despite many attempts by the QC dept. :rolleyes:

Rik

[mp3dom]

Ok, understood! Thanks again! :)

Edit: BTW, the resume on the Extra PopUp via TerminatePL command works :)