DVDStyler: No chapters are created, and no time is displayed at all, no fastforward

[Jackie]

Hi, i have made a fresh install of DVDStyler, and try to simply write a readily muxed MPG-File which was created using TMPEGEnc Express to DVD. What I want is no transcoding, since the file is already DVD compliant. And I want automatically inserted chapters every 10 minutes, which is the standard in the video settings.

When I create my DVD, I have the problem that I have no chapters at all, and I cannot fast forward or rewind in the file. In fact, none of my programs, MPlayer Classic, VLC, Windows Media Player, show a time information at all. The video runs, but the time stays at 0:00, and I cannot jump anywhere. The source MPG file works fine, however. Any idea how to fix this?

[Ghitulescu]

The lack of "time information" is mostly related to the presence of video, inappropriate of course, in the menu part instead of the title one.
You probably did something wrong in the authoring process.

[setarip_old]

@Jackie

Hi! I want automatically inserted chapters every 10 minutes Isn't that something you should have done when you were using TMPGEncExpress (Before using DVDStyler)?

[manolito]

@Jackie

Hi! Isn't that something you should have done when you were using TMPGEncExpress (Before using DVDStyler)?
Not at all... Creating and inserting chapters is part of the authoring stage, not of the muxing stage. So Jackie is right, it sure is DVDStyler's fault.

I do have a feeling what might have happend here. DVDStyler sometimes does not recognize DVD compliant MPEG files and demuxes and then remuxes them again. By default the remuxing is done by ffmpeg, and this feature is broken in DVDStyler.

Try the following steps:
After dragging the MPEG file on the timeline, rightclick on it and select 'Properties'. Make sure that transcoding is disabled for both video and audio. If DVDStyler obeys then it should start right with DVDAuthor after you click 'Burn'.

If this does not work you still have another option. Go to Configure and activate 'Use mplex'. By default mplex is only used for menues, not for the movie itself.

I have reported these very annoying bugs more than once in the DVDStyler support forum, but the author seems to be more interested in adding new features than in fixing bugs...:mad:

If you like DVDStyler but do not care for its transcoding capabilities (using ffmpeg) then you can also go back to version 1.62. This is the last version which comes without ffmpeg which makes it a pure authoring software without the capability to transcode just about any input format to DVD.


Cheers
manolito

[setarip_old]

@manolito

The following is from the "Q&A" page at the TMPGEnc website at:

http://tmpgenc.pegasys-inc.com/en/product/te4xp_qa.html#create_dvd


19.Can I insert chapters?
TMPGEnc 4.0 XPress Clip editor provides the functions to designate specific pictures as keyframes or chapters. The keyframe/chapter information can then be used in the encoder stage to change some of the outputted video picture characteristics. A text file containing a list of the marked pictures can also be outputted along with the video for use in the TMPGEnc Authoring Works 4 chapter editor.

[manolito]

This is not a contradiction to my statement at all.
A text file containing a list of the marked pictures can also be outputted along with the video for use in the TMPGEnc Authoring Works 4 chapter editor.
TMPGEnc Express can create key frames at the desired chapter points, but in order to create chapters it has to pass these chapter locations to its own authoring application.

But if you use a different authoring application like DVDStyler, the text file created by TMPGEnc Express cannot be used. DVDStyler uses DVDAuthor, and DVDAuthor creates the desired chapters at the nearest key frame (since chapters can only start at a key frame).


Cheers
manolito