Guide: DVD-9 to DVD-5 "Full Copy" Instructions

[TRILIGHT]

NOTE!!! Please bear in mind that this was written assuming you already have some basic knowledge of the software tools listed. If you do not, I STRONGLY urge you to read the guides and do some searches for past posts here on the forum. To explain every little detail of how to use the software would be totally redundant and a waste of time for those who have spent the time to LEARN to do things before asking questions. I don’t mean for this to sound rude but you really should understand the basics. The guides and previous posts are here for a reason. Also, this guide only works for single PGC titles (most DVD's ARE). With this in mind, this guide should still work for most of the titles out there. Please check Jdobbs' post on the second page of this thread.

Software you will need…

DVD Maestro
CCE
DVD2AVI
SubRip
Chapter Xtractor
Pulldown.exe
ScriptConvert.exe
SmartRipper
AVISynth (or VFAPI)
IFOEdit
IFOUpdate

I personally use Nero for burning but others will work as well. A note concerning Nero, version 5.5.8.0 seems to be the magic number. Earlier versions do not handle DVD Video as well and the current 5.5.8.2 will return a “One or more files (mostly VOB-file(s))
do not belong to the corresponding IFOfile” when attempting to burn. This is currently being looked into by myself and others. For now, just stick with 5.5.8.0 and you’ll be fine.

For the purposes of this example, I am using the DVD “Double Jeopardy”. It works well for this example. You’ll find most DVD’s will work exactly the same way. This tutorial does NOT address complex titles such as seamless branching titles, etc. This is merely to serve as a set reliable method for getting most DVD-9 titles to DVD-5 or as a starting point for more complex titles.


Where do I begin??
------------------

First, you want to have a complete backup of everything on your original disk. Use the “Backup” option of SmartRipper to copy all of the files to your hard disk. With this example, we see that the largest set (VTS_02) is the one that contains the movie. It is approximately 6.44GB in total size. The VTS_03 set is apparently the trailer since it is only 157MB. The VTS_04 set at 885MB contains the “behind the scenes” extra. You can choose to dump these but we are keeping them for this example.


Chapters and Subtitles
----------------------

After you have all of your files on the hard disk, you will want to begin by getting the simple things out of the way first. These are chapters and subtitles. Use Chapter Xtractor to load up the VTS_02 set. Make sure the FPS rate is 29970 (It should default to this anyway). Click the “Format” tab. Under “Presets” at the bottom, select “DVDMaestro” You should get something like the following:

$Spruce_IFrame_List

00:00:00:00
00:06:31:06
00:13:25:02
00:20:49:26
00:27:35:01
00:32:29:02
00:40:22:11
00:46:12:00
00:52:36:10
00:58:42:26
01:06:15:21
01:15:18:21
01:21:12:16
01:29:03:16
01:36:16:02
01:40:26:06

Click the “Save Data” button at the bottom and save the file as a DVD Maestro *.CHP file.

Next, you’ll want the subtitles. There are many different ways to do this and many are just as valid as another. I’m going to share with you the way I do them as I have found it to be the most reliable with picking up special characters, etc.

Open SubRip and click on “File...Open VOB’s”. Make sure under the “Action” section, you have selected “Save SubPictures as BMP” and there is a checkmark on “+ TC & Res.”. Make sure the “Last Timecode” is all 0’s and there is no checkmark on “Enable this box if time...” Click the “Open IFO” button and select an IFO from your backed up files. It will then list all VOB’s in that directory in the right-hand window. Place a checkmark on all VOB’s from the movie. Begin with VTS_02_1.VOB in this example. When you’re ready, click the “Start” button. You will get a window asking where to save the files. There will be LOTS of them so don’t go saving them to your desktop or something! I always create a “subs” directory and dump them in there. Choose any filename you like.

The next window will pop up when the first subtitle is detected. You will want to select the “Cropping” tab. Place a checkmark on “Allow BMP cropping”. Select 720 x 480 for minimum picture width and height, respectively. Width must be a multiple of 8 and height must be a multiple of 2. Horizontal alignment should be Center and Vertical alignment should be Bottom. Click the “Colors” tab and make sure you have 0, 3, 2, 1 on the left and 0, 1, 2, 3 on the right (from top to bottom on each). Select “4bits” and “Free” for the Preset. Under the “Positioning” tab, make sure you have X and Y on “Keep Original Position”. Click “OK” when you’re ready to go!

Once the subtitles have been ripped, you will be presented with a new window containing the subtitle info. For the Output Format, select the “Sonic DVD Creator (*.txt)” tab and select “NTSC 30fps” I’ve yet to see the “drop frame” selection make any difference. Just leave it unchecked. Click the “Convert to this format” button. Next, click “File…Save As” and save the Sonic DVD Creator text file into the same directory you just ripped the subs to.

Next, you will want to convert this text file to a format that DVD Maestro can use. This is where ScriptConvert.exe comes in. Run this tool and select the TXT file you just created as the source. Select “SON Maestro” at the bottom and create a “SON DVD Maestro (*.son)” file as the target filename. Click the “Convert” button and it should tell you the number of rows finished.

Next, you will want to edit this SON file before importing into DVD Maestro. You will notice two lines in the file listed as such:

Contrast (0 0 9 15)
Color (0 0 0 2)

These numbers control the contrast and color settings of the BMP files as they are imported into Maestro. I use the settings above. You can use other colors and contrast settings if you like. My settings will provide you with white letters with a dark gray-black outline. I’ve found it works perfectly but some people prefer other colors. Now on with the show!

Damn! All that and we’re still not authoring??
-----------------------------------------------

Ok, now you need to use CCE to decrease the size of the main movie so you can fit it on the disc. I’m not going to give detailed use of CCE because there is info all over the place for it here on the site. You can frameserve using Avisynth or VFAPI. Did you remember to create your d2v project file using DVD2AVI? Did you remember to extract your AC3 audio file and use the appropriate DVD2AVI settings? I told you that you needed to understand the basics first! Thought you could skip it all, huh? hehe ;) Anyway, if you’re lost, don’t worry. Read up on using the tools mentioned in this section. There is TONS of info on them here.

When using CCE, I personally use the “Robshot” method. It can be found in the guides here and is listed as “Getting the best out of CCE”. For this example, I found the best setting was a minimum bitrate of 1000, an average of 3500, and a max of 9000. There were one or two small gray areas in the “car goes off the ferry into the water” sequence which never changed, even at the max bitrate. CCE probably just interprets this as a very difficult scene to encode. I’ve found that even if CCE is showing all green, having a bitrate as low as <3000 average generally does not produce great results. The choice is yours.

In this example, we want our video filesize to be around 3GB. The reason for this is that the total filesize of our menus, extras, and extracted AC3 audio is around 1.2GB or so. You want to make sure you stay below 4.38GB. Keeping my video filesize around 3GB as reported by CCE, resulted in my total project size being just over 4GB.


Almost there!
-------------

Next, you will need to perform a “pulldown” on the resulting video file. I found it easiest just to drop the “pulldown.exe” file into my “Windows” directory since there is already a system path to it. This way, you can access the command from any directory prompt. You will need to create two files. I will explain later why. First, use the following command line:

Pulldown project.mpv output.m2v –prog_frames p

then use this one…

Pulldown project.mpv output-drop.m2v –prog_frames p –drop_frame true

You will now have a “output.m2v” file and a “output-drop.m2v” file that can be imported into Maestro.


Finally! Authoring!
--------------------

This is really just an intermediate step. We’re not worried about creating a menu, etc. because we just want to reincorporate our project into the original file structure. Change the default “4:3” setting in Maestro to “16:9 PS/LB”. Import all of your media assets into Maestro. Place the “output.m2v” video file on the timeline and your audio file. Next, right-click in the chapter section of the timeline and import your *.CHP chapter list you made earlier.

Once the chapters have been imported, REMOVE the video from the timeline and replace it with the “output-drop.m2v” file. This will allow for proper subtitle import. You MUST NOT import the subtitles when the other video file is on the timeline! They will NEVER be in sync if you do, even if you replace the file with the “output-drop.m2v” file later. You MUST place the “output-drop.m2v” file on the timeline BEFORE importing the subtitles. Right-click on the subtitle line and import your *.SON subtitle file you created earlier.

The next part is optional but I always do it anyway. If you go to the properties of your DVD Maestro project, you will see the option to add “Jacket” pictures. I always do this to add a little extra to my project. Just make sure your file is 720x480 and remember that there is going to be some slight horizontal squeezing on the final TV output. You’ll find something that works.


How the hell do I get it all back together??
--------------------------------------------

Now is the time for the real magic! The ability to incorporate your new files back into the original DVD structure so it will be just like the original with menus and all! The first thing we want to do, in this example, is rename our authored VOB files to VTS_02 instead of VTS_01. They are going to replace the VTS_02 files in the original. DO NOT copy over the authored IFO file! DO NOT copy over the VTS_01_0.VOB file! Remove all of the original VOB files (You MUST leave the IFO file and the VTS_02_0.VOB files!) and copy over the new ones in their place.

NOTE! If you do not understand the previous paragraph as it applies to this example, read it over and over and over again! If you do not do this right, it will not turn out properly! For those that get it, please move on. For those that don’t, I urge you to review more material here on the forum and re-read this tutorial!

After you have copied over the files, you will want to use the IFOUpdate utility. Next to IFOEdit, this tool is the best thing since sliced bread! Thanks Jdobbs! Using it is very straightforward. Enter the full path (including filename) to the original movie IFO, the newly authored IFO (that was created my Maestro), and a location and filename for the backup. Click the “update” button and you’re done! This corrects all pointers in the IFO such that your chapters now line up correctly with your scene selection menu!

We’re not QUITE done just yet though. As IFOUpdate will remind you, you need to run “Get VTS Sectors” in IFOEdit. Make certain you do not forget this very important step! After you’ve done this, you will want to do one final thing! Open the original movie IFO and the authored IFO that Maestro created in IFOEdit. Go to “VTS_PGCITI...VTS_PGC_1”. Here, you will find a few things you need to edit. First, you will want to make sure that the “Audio Stream Status” and “Sub-picture Stream Status” is the same as the ones listed in the one Maestro created. Change these numbers so they match. Scroll down further and you will find the following lines:

Color 0 Y Cr CB 16 128 128
&
Color 2 Y Cr CB 235 128 128

Make sure that “Color 0” and “Color 2” match those listed in the IFO that Maestro created. If not, your subtitle colors will not be as you saw them in Maestro! Finally, save the IFO after you have finished editing it.

You can now burn these files to DVD and you will have a DVD-5 that now looks and behaves exactly as the original DVD-9 did!
--------------------------------------------------------

I would like to personally thank Jdobbs for all his work on IFOUpdate and his assistance in the past. I would also like to thank Derrow for his hard work on IFOEdit and everyone else who created utilities that I listed in this guide. Last, but not least, I would like to thank Doom9 for providing us with a wonderful forum where we can share our ideas! Thanks everyone!

[jdobbs]

TRILIGHT,

Great guide! I'm convinced this is the best way to copy DVDs, once you've done a few of these it becomes second nature. It's great to be able to keep all the high-tech menus, special features etc. when backing up a DVD -- and with a little work I think we'll be able to automate even more of it.

Thanks for your hard work!
jdobbs

[TRILIGHT]

Thanks again Jdobbs! I just noticed the new version of IFOUpdate you made! For anyone paying attention, the latest version allows for copying over the color table information so you don't have to do it manually as I mentioned before.

[NoFace319]

HAVE A GREAT KISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS FROM SPAIN!!!!!!!!!!!


Thanks man... I'll have 2 find Maestro hehehehe..... :P

cheeeeeeeeeeeers!!!

[TRILIGHT]

Hope you're female. hehe ;) Anyway, you're welcome! Happy burning! :D

[hortar]

TRILIGHT,

A little question about your method.
Can you need to change any settings to Pal movies ?
You talk about NTSC 30 fps in subtitles rip do I need to changed if the movie is in PAL format where or in any other part off your guide.
Assuming that I need to change in CCE part.

Thanks

[TRILIGHT]

I apologize for not being more specific. The only titles I do are all NTSC so that is why I put that. I'm afraid I don't know the specifics about working with PAL titles. I would imagine it would still work but you would need to specify your PAL framerate when you ran "pulldown". Also, I'm not sure what you would need to do concerning subtitle alignment. Perhaps someone with experience on PAL titles could address your question. Sorry. :(

[NoFace319]

Haaaaappy buuuurning ... 2 uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu


I have 2 do it... hehehehe.... yes! Female :) Female DVD burners exist!!!

[Tatjahna]

Join the Club NoFace319 :D Me too !

We will show them at those "male"... pfffftt! :sly:

(Joke)


Cya all!

[slk001]

TRILIGHT,
When you said to use PULLDOWN, I was assuming that you were converting PAL to NTSC. But then, at the last, you said that all your conversions were NTSC based. Why are you applying a pulldown to your movies? After all, the movies are already at 29.97 fps if they are NTSC (or the pulldown was applied at the transfer from film to video). Does your pulldown do something different?

[TRILIGHT]

After encoding, it is 23.976fps. Performing pulldown brings it back to 29.970fps and allows importing into the authoring software.

[slk001]

Okay, but how did it get to 23.97fps? CCE (as far as I can tell) doesn't change the frame rate of the encodes. So, if your original DVD is 29.97fps, then your encodes should also be 29.97fps, correct? I like your proceedure, but I can't for the life of me figure out what is causing you to have to do the pulldown.

Or could this be that the DVD is film (at 24fps) and the header flag is set to cause an automatic pulldown by the DVD player? Is there any way to reset the flag in the headers created by CCE so that the new encode is also film and would be pulled down by the player?

[jdobbs]

Using pulldown implies that you encoded at 23.976fps (FILM). It sets flags in the stream that tells the decoder to do a 2:3 pulldown when playing back (to bring it back up to 29.97). If you encoded at 29.97fps you don't need to use pulldown at all.

But... I would recommend you use the "FORCE FILM" option for most DVD movies (those that originated as film). It allows for better compression and quality at a given bitrate. When you do this (FORCE FILM) you then have to use PULLDOWN to get any authoring package to accept it.

[TRILIGHT]

Thanks Jdobbs. I was trying to think of the best way to explain this in common terms but you hit the nail on the head. :)

[garymon]

TriLight, awesome guide. I just have one problem. When you state to open the original IFO and the authored one like you state here.

We’re not QUITE done just yet though. As IFOUpdate will remind you, you need to run “Get VTS Sectors” in IFOEdit. Make certain you do not forget this very important step! After you’ve done this, you will want to do one final thing! Open the original movie IFO and the authored IFO that Maestro created in IFOEdit. Go to “VTS_PGCITI...VTS_PGC_1”. Here, you will find a few things you need to edit. First, you will want to make sure that the “Audio Stream Status” and “Sub-picture Stream Status” is the same as the ones listed in the one Maestro created. Change these numbers so they match. Scroll down further and you will find the following lines:

Do you mean the IFO after i update VTS SECTORS and save it? Also which IFO files do i need to make changes to? VIDEO_TS.IFO or just the IFO with the movie (VTS_01_0.IFO). After i completed all of this it played great. I even ran the movie through all of the menus and it worked great. The only problem came after i burned it. It will just loop over and over at the columbia tristar intro :(

By the way this is black hawk down, could you please clear this process up for me?

[candyman_eu]

Hello Trilight,

first of all thanks for the great guide. There are two questions left which caused me some headache today during my testing. The first is the easy one ... where do I find this 'scriptconvert.exe' you mention to convert my subrip file to a Maestro readable file ? I tried several converters but none seems to be the good one.
Second question goes to the usage of pulldown and so on. So far I used DVD2AVI but didn't do any force film option on the D2V. If I'm not mistaken I'm still on 29.97fps then which I encode in CCE. Do I need to use Pulldown.exe on my M2V or not if I'm already on 29.97fps ? I saw that my CCE (v2.64) also has an option 'drop frame' which I only used on the latest 1-2 movies but not before. I ask because when I applied pulldown, the movie lenght was wrong. I'm trying to do 'Black Hawk Down' which is 2:20:00min but after pulldown, DVD Maestro and Sonic Fusion show the lenght of the movie as 3:01:00 on the timeline. Any thoughts ?

Ah yes ... I just want to 'merge' Video/Audio/Subtitles back together. No menu ... just to play the movie immediately when inserting into the DVD player (subtitles by default should be off).

[TRILIGHT]

@garymon

I put the whole thing in sequential order...

"After you’ve done this, you will want to do one final thing! Open the original movie IFO and the authored IFO that Maestro created in IFOEdit. Go to “VTS_PGCITI...VTS_PGC_1”.

...as for which IFO, it is the one of the movie that you were working with.

@candyman_eu

As for "scriptconvert.exe", do some searches here and you'll find it. It's out there. As for your other question, if you are already at 29.97, there is no need to perform pulldown on the clip. This step is for when "force film" is used to get it to a frame rate that can be imported. Sorry for not making that more clear. Something to keep in mind though is that many have found that "force film" produces a better project file for re-encoding. You may lose some quality without doing it this way on titles that are about 95% FILM (as reported by DVD2AVI) or higher. If you're just wanting to do the movie, then I suggest you just re-author. There's no need to follow most of what is in this guide.

@both... I did "Black Hawk Down" using this method last week and had no issues. Just in case you're wondering if it's a complicated title or something. I'm sure you'll get it done fine. :)

[Colby]

Trilight,

I'm having troule with this part of your instructions:

"Once the chapters have been imported, REMOVE the video from the timeline and replace it with the “output-drop.m2v” file."

I can't seem to figure out how to "REMOVE the video from the timeline"
in DVD Maestro.


Colby

[TRILIGHT]

Click on the video that is currently on the timeline and just press the "delete" key. Drop the new video clip in it's place.

[Colby]

Thanks,

I was fishing around for a 'delete' command using only the right/left clickers and the menu without any luck until now.

Colby

[bex]

for those who asked all the talk of pulldown.exe and replacing video files in maestro does not apply to PAL films . These are set at 25 FPS wether they are film or not. Much easier
I will give your method I try it sound good:)

[TRILIGHT]

I just wanted to stress again the importance of copying your "authored" audio and subtitle stream information over before completing your project. I forgot to do it on this last title I did and, as expected, though my subtitles are there, they are not displayed when turned on with the standalone DVD player. Pay attention to detail! :)

[garymon]

Ok, this is really pissing me off. I have wasted 2 dvd's because of this. After i complete the process of your guide, My DVD comes out great menus, movie everything works perfect. I test it with WinDVD(DVD from folder)and also with IFOedit's dvd player. All of the menus work fine in both of these. After i burn it, some things work and some don't. One menu works, one dosen't. One selection takes me to the wrong place, the other one does. Stuff like that, i can't figure out why this is after i have already tested it. Is there a special program that will let me get the real results when i test it?

Thanks,

[TRILIGHT]

I'm not sure why you're having troubles. Are you sure you ran the "Get VTS sectors"? If not, it will really throw your pointers off bad. It's strange that it would play on the computer and not on the standalone. I personally use PowerDVD XP for all of my testing. I've found it is pretty reliable in showing you exactly what you're going to get.

I've gotten pretty comfortable with the process so I usually just test it that way and then burn to DVD-R. You might want to do what I used to do before I became more proficient with the intracacies of authoring. I used to always burn the project to DVD-RW and see how it came out before the final burn to DVD-R. I recommend either Verbatim or TDK DVD-RW's. I have one of each and I've recorded to them TONS (I've lost count!) and they come out great everytime. The Verbatim is even scratched to hell now and it still burns and plays perfectly! Just get you one DVD-RW for testing. It's only about $10-15 and could save you from wasting your discs if you're unsure.

[jdobbs]

garymon,

Here is something to consider when using this guide: Sometimes it will not work (properly) with multiple PGC movies. Multiple PGCs must be broken out independently and put into separate PCGs when you create the new VOBs. In order to do that you will need to recreate the PGC structure using Scenarist, Maestro, or ReelDVD (maybe others -- I know these). Of course, as TRILIGHT points out - it could also be a failure to run "Get VTS Sectors" -- PC players sometimes don't see errors associated with bad sector information.

The way to find out if there are multiple PGCs is to open the IFO with IFOEdit, and doubleclick on VTS_PGCITI. If there are more than one PGC expanded -- you need to refer to this thread (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=17400). It is very long, but has a lot of details that TRILIGHT has (purposely) left out in trying to simplify the process. Please note that many movies don't have multiple PGCs and can be done with this process -- but watch out for the ones that don't (e.g. Warner Brothers). You will sometimes find yourself clicking on a single special feature and seeing many, or going directly from a first play PGC of a logo right into the movie (without the menu).

jdobbs

[TRILIGHT]

You're right, Jdobbs. I've edited the original post to include that info in the disclaimer "note" at the beginning. I should have included it in the first place to avoid confusion. I haven't had time to do so but I will amend the guide with multiple PGC info when I've put it together.

[hortar]

Great work TRILIGHT.

Since I'm from Portugal 95 % off my films are in PAL, but after a few changes I compile a "PAL Guide" using your guide and Doom's Guides, it works fine for me but I don’t try any Warner film, I will do it later. My guide use a lot off your and Doom works so I will not attach the file without your permission.
I have some simple questions that maybe you can help me:
If I want keep all the extras shrink so the film can use more space do you recommend using remepg or CCE, with rempeg I can use VobEdit to remux, but I don't now if I can do it with CCE.
Are you trying some multiple PGC films? If so do you will update your Guide?

Thanks.

[TRILIGHT]

I definitely recommend CCE over ReMPEG!! It is worlds ahead of it in terms of both speed and quality. As for multiple PGC's, that is what the WB titles are. (Not sure if other production places do their's the same also) Anyway, I started working on it last night but it was late and I got tired. I've been pretty busy today but plan on working on it again tonight. I will certainly post the information when I've had time to compile it.

[hortar]

TRILIGHT you are the man.

A few more PAL titles finish with sucess.
One simple question for someone, who I use the delay value given by DVD2AVI when demuxing AC3 track, I have 103ms for R2 Matrix but don't know if this value it's necessary for something.

Thanks,

[TRILIGHT]

Well, I wouldn't say I'm "The Man" just yet, Hortar. I'm still working on it but getting this done in Maestro is not looking good so far. I've not exhausted all options yet but even when I make advances in one area, Maestro starts bitching or doesn't give me what I want. I'll work on it until I've exhausted all my ideas but I wouldn't bet on it working just yet.

[hortar]

TRILIGHT,

Maybe you can help me, I have 3 issues in your guide not mention in this post, and since I'm compiling a PAL guide I need your help if possible:

- How do I use the delay value (When present) that DVD2AVI give me after demux audio tracks?

- In CCE after One pass VBR (Using Doom guide) I have in general a mpv file that fit on DVD-R with audio, extras and menus, so I don't need to make the Multipass (I think that this is correct) but I lost a few MB (almost 1 Gb) because the encode is to high, can I tuning the file size in the first pass using for instance Multipass VBR and not One Pass VBR (Can I do it without lose quality?) or there are another way to tuning file size ( I Think that only Quantization factor and Bitrate trigger file size correct ?, want are your settings for this ?)

- My last and worst issue, in general I get English Audio and Portuguese subtitles (Never the first language stream), In Maestro do I need to put subtitle in the corresponding language stream according with the ifo and not put any language stream in the first one, for example in Star Wars Episode 1 R2, ifoedit says that the Portuguese subtitle in language stream number 9, but when I rip with subrip it's in the 17º language stream (1 month to figure out, thanks Pedro), so in Maestro should I put the subtitles in stream nº 9 or 17º, I try using the two, and not put any in the first stream and the movie don't work on ifoedit DVDPlay (stops on start) but works fine on PowerDVD but without subtitles, do I need to change the language stream in Maestro choosing Portuguese abbreviator (PT) for 9º and 17º stream ?

Thanks

[TRILIGHT]

1) As for the delay, you don't need to worry about this. Maestro will use the timecode in the AC3 file to align it with the video.

2) You should follow the advice listed in the Doom9 guide "Getting the best out of CCE" for this. It is the best way to get the most quality and to accurately set your filesize. You can find the guide HERE. (http://www.doom9.org/mpg/cce-advanced.htm)

3) I've never worked with other language files so I'm probably not the best person to ask. If I had to do what you're doing I, personally, would simply set the first audio track as Portuguese and leave it at that. Sure, it will not be correct as far as the menu goes but if you only want Portuguese anyway then why bother having to set it in a menu anyway? Make sure you follow my advice about copying your stream information from the authored IFO. As long as you copy this stream info over, you should be fine. I usually set all other stream info that I've left out to "0" so that the player does not assume there are other streams available when they're not there.

Good luck!

[hortar]

Thanks.

About your advice about copying my stream information from the authored IFO, is this necessary? I use ifoupdate and when I go check the stream information in Ifoedit after using idoupdate all the settings match?
I will try some more settings in maestro and see if I can put the stream in the correct slot so I can choose the corresponding subtitles in Menu, since my player don't force subtitles display, there are any way to do it using Maestro?
If Maestro force the subtitles display I can use this as a workaround for my problem and I don't need to use the subtitles menu, for now it's a little annoying choosing English in the menu to see Portuguese subtitles!!

[Crzylgs15]

I am having some problems with the "How the hell do I get it all back together??" section of the guide. I have read through it many times and still am having problems getting the menu to work.

Could someone explain to me again which files go where?

Ripped Directory: VIDEO_TS
Authored Directory: AUTHORED
Combination Directory

Please tell me exactly which files go where and which ones to remove completely.

Do I have to burn to DVDR from the Ripped Directory (VIDEO_TS) or does it matter?

How does this change when the original was VTS_01?

Thanks.

[jdobbs]

Crzylgs15,

Here's the sequence:

Three directories: ORIGINAL, NEWLY_AUTHORED (the authoring package will probably name this VIDEO_TS), and TEMP

1. You rip the files into ORIGINAL
2. You use the files from ORIGINAL to create an M2V and AC3 in TEMP
3. You use the M2V and AC3 to create a VOB set in NEWLY_AUTHORED
4. Move the original set of VOBs from ORIGINAL to TEMP (to be safe)
5. Move the .VOB files (except _0.VOB from NEWLY_AUTHORED to ORIGINAL (you many have to rename them first)
6. Run IFOUpdate. You will update the IFO in ORIGINAL from NEWLY_AUTHORED.
7. Run "Get VTS Sectors" in the ORIGINAL directory
8. Do a test run with PowerDVD.

You will have to rename the ORIGINAL directory to VIDEO_TS before burning.

[KeithXP]

Hello again jdobbs,

As you know I've been using your method using SpruceUp without failure on non-WB tiles. In the steps above #4:

4. Move the original set of VOBs from ORIGINAL to TEMP (to be safe)

Should I move all except the _0.vob to temp? I still need it right on #5 when I move the newly authored .vobs over?

Also, with this method, is the only thing I gain is the ability to have subtitles and import chapters quickly without manually entering them? Or can I get multiple audio tracks as well? I wouldn't mind having the commentaries every now and then. With SpruceUp, I can only have one ac3 track and that's it,no subtitles, but it works. Why do folks like the subtitles? I'm curious. Am I missing out on something?

One other thing I would like to add for garymon... Make an image file and check it with Daemon tools. Burning directly with Prassi DVD and RecordMax resulted in bad burns for some reason, but after making the image file and then burning all was wonderful.

Thanks a million jdobbs and Trilight.

KeithXP, newbie

[TRILIGHT]

You are correct, you do not move the *0.VOB file or its corresponding IFO out. You will need them both. It's the main files you are replacing.

As for multiple audio tracks, sure, you can do that. As long as you have space for what you're doing, you're fine. The thing to remember is that part I mentioned about the stream info. Copy the stream numbers from the authored IFO over. Change all the other unused stream numbers in the original IFO to "0".

As for subtitles, you certainly don't have to do them. It's your choice. Personally, there are times that I don't quite catch what someone is saying and it's nice to have the subtitles there to assist. Or hey, what if you have a deaf friend someday? I'm sure they would like to enjoy the movie with you and would appreciate that you took the time to do the subtitles. Or what if you meet some beautiful Spanish woman who doesn't understand English? Would be nice to have Spanish subtitles, right? ;) Hell, some of us just like a challenge! :) There's a ton of different reasons to have them around really. None of them, of course, mean you have to do them though.

And finally... You're welcome, KeithXP! :)

[KeithXP]

Thanks Trilight,

You make valid points for subtitles. I think I will try to keep them from now on. Multiple soundtracks:

As for multiple audio tracks, sure, you can do that. As long as you have space for what you're doing, you're fine. The thing to remember is that part I mentioned about the stream info. Copy the stream numbers from the authored IFO over. Change all the other unused stream numbers in the original IFO to "0".

Is this simple as dragging multiple tracks onto the video in DVDMaestro (never used it) before changing out for the '-drop.m2v' and doing subtitles OR is there some other step?

Thanks again,
KeithXP

[jdobbs]

KeithXP,

You will see in Maestro that there are areas in the timeline for each possible audio track. You just drag and drop them onto the track. In ReelDVD you just drag and drop them onto the filmstrip icon.

jdobbs

[KeithXP]

Thanks jdobbs,

I am in the process of backing up Training Day. (I finally backed up Swordfish with no extras, but with scenes and menus, with no transcoding. I'm determined to make a complete WB-movie backup minus some language tracks.)

I have a question that I hope has not already been asked and answered. How do I initially get multiple audio tracks? Do I use something other than DVD2AVI? Or do I run it several times choosing different tracks each time? I know I can use smart ripper and demux to files and get different tracks, but is his acceptable if I am going to transcode with CCE using AVISynth (If that makes sense!)?

Thanks yet again,
KeithXP

[jdobbs]

KeithXP

In DVD2AVI, under "Audio", and then "Dolby Digital" select "Demux all Tracks" -- then you don't have to run it multiple times.

jdobbs

[KeithXP]

Thanks for the immediate response jdobbs. I'm goofy now, but I promise ya, I'm gonna be good by the time I'm done.

Thanks again.

[jdobbs]

No prob... It gets to be habit after a while. What authoring program are you using when you do the multiple PGC movies (e.g. WB)? I've found ReelDVD to be the easiest.

[KeithXP]

jdobbs -

Sorry for my delayed response. I've been using SpruceUp only. When there's a difficult movie, I've been stripping everything except the movie, chapter, menus and ac3. Extras gone. This will be my first outing with DVDMaestro. All of the other non-Warner Brother movies have been simpler. I just strip out the main movie and ac3, CCE it, and put it back. Everything stays in tact, except I only have one audio track and no subtitles. I figure now, if I can do the same thing, but add subtitles and a couple of sound tracks, then I'm in like Flynn.

KeithXP

[caprioles9000]

Originally posted by garymon
Ok, this is really pissing me off. I have wasted 2 dvd's because of this. After i complete the process of your guide, My DVD comes out great menus, movie everything works perfect. I test it with WinDVD(DVD from folder)and also with IFOedit's dvd player. All of the menus work fine in both of these. After i burn it, some things work and some don't. One menu works, one dosen't. One selection takes me to the wrong place, the other one does. Stuff like that, i can't figure out why this is after i have already tested it. Is there a special program that will let me get the real results when i test it?

Thanks,
]


Yep same problem here ..after i burn it and play it back on my comp and standalone ...it does not continue to the movie.....note i have a pal dvd......hmm...just don't know what it could be considering that all works well on the computer before buring the sucker..does anyone have any other ideas??????? MIND YOU THIS IS NOT A MUTLI PGC COMPILE...I COMPIELD AMELIE REGION 2 AND ITS ONLY ONE PGC

[jdobbs]

caprioles9000,

Don't know if I can be much help. I never strip anything, and don't really know what actions are taken by IFOEdit in the strip. I just use the CCE Method to create a new VTS for the movie and keep all the extras. The only time I've had failure of this type with this method (where it works on PC but not on standalone) is when I failed to do "Get VTS Sectors" or "Correct VTS Sectors".

jdobbs

[TRILIGHT]

I am making this thread a temporary sticky until I have a chance to format it all into an HTML guide for the main guides. Hopefully it will assist people as is until it is in a more suitable format.

[KeithXP]

jdobbs -

Do you keep all of the audio tracks as well? Does this limit the size of the output size of the CCE transcoded movie? Is the quality still good?

KeithXP

[TRILIGHT]

As long as you keep your Q level less than 9, you will be fine on the quality. Just make sure you don't have a lot of gray "bitches" out there. It's ok to have some but usually they are only on extremely difficult to encode areas and they don't last long enough to worry about anyway.

As for your audio, you need to keep two things in mind. First, each audio track that you keep will take up space on the disc. Make sure you check the file sizes of ALL other files (including all audio tracks you're keeping) BEFORE you try to set the filesize in CCE. You want to make sure you have enough space on the disc. The second thing is, MAKE SURE YOU DON'T EXCEED THE MAX BITRATE!! What does this mean? Well, you need to add up the bitrates of ALL your audio and video files and make sure they do not exceed the maximum DVD bitrate of 9.8Mbps. If they go above, you will either not be able to properly compile your VOB's or your final project may freeze up at that point when you try to play it on a standalone player.

[caprioles9000]

Originally posted by jdobbs
caprioles9000,

Don't know if I can be much help. I never strip anything, and don't really know what actions are taken by IFOEdit in the strip. I just use the CCE Method to create a new VTS for the movie and keep all the extras. The only time I've had failure of this type with this method (where it works on PC but not on standalone) is when I failed to do "Get VTS Sectors" or "Correct VTS Sectors".

jdobbs

hey jdobbs...thnx for tha answer...dont you strip any audio languages or subs you don't need!!!...I am sure that i did do Get VTS Sectors.....hmm.....but i did strip out some stuff from the original menus.... maybe thats the problem .....so..i'll try that next ..just keep all the original menu and extras without stripping ..re-encode the movie just like you and re-work it into the menu ..will see ..if that helps.....i want to use dvd-rw's but ...somehow ...i have many problems with them ..after burning cant seem to reuse them again:(.....oh well...will try your method...thnx ...this elped:)...if this way of keeping the menu's works ...them i'll let you guys know:)))

[bex]

I used the guide to do PAL EAST IS EAST and its spot on everything works
I was able to leave all the audio streams (3) and the subs in.

I used rempeg2 and ifoedit on a couple of the extras as this was quicker but its spot on.

As for Amelie as there are no extras on the disc I used the rempeg2 method ditching the DTS

[jdobbs]

caprioles9000 and KeithXP,

I remove extra languages and subtitles - but not with IFOEdit. I just don't add them to the new VTS I create. There is almost always plenty of room to use the robshot method of encoding with CCE and keep the Q Level less than 9 (as TRILIGHT mentioned) -- and keep the extras.

jdobbs

[Hanknyc63]

Can the gui for pulldown be used for your guide trilight?
Unfortunatly i'm a man who cant seem to pull it right. It keeps telling me it's unable to open file. I've been using the gui and robshots method but i'm not sure if it will work with yours. I'm a former Mac man who swithed over so im not very good with the promt so if I cant use the Gui for pulldown with this method maybe somebody could help me get pulldown going explaining it like I was a 3 year old or a former mac idiot.
Thanks Hank

[TRILIGHT]

Hank: I don't see any reason why you could not use a GUI. I haven't seen it but I don't imagine it would matter. Then again, I'm a bit confused why you can't do it at the command prompt. I put exactly the command you should use. You just reference the original file CCE created and then make a name for your output file.

[caprioles9000]

Originally posted by jdobbs
caprioles9000 and KeithXP,

I remove extra languages and subtitles - but not with IFOEdit. I just don't add them to the new VTS I create. There is almost always plenty of room to use the robshot method of encoding with CCE and keep the Q Level less than 9 (as TRILIGHT mentioned) -- and keep the extras.

jdobbs

Hey Jdobbs......you say that you don't use3 IFOedit ....then how do you remove them???

Greetttzzz...
Caprioles9000

[jdobbs]

When you recreate the new VTS with DVDMaestro, Scenarist, SpruceUp, or ReelDVD you have to specifically add audio, subtitles, etc. I just don't add the ones I don't want. I DO use IFOEdit, but only to review IFOs etc. -- I don't use it to remove any part of the original DVD.

[KeithXP]

jdobbs,

This new way (for me) is sweet. I can see why opting for DVDMaestro over the limited-SpruceUp is the way to go.

Do you add the audio tracks and subtitles that you want in a particular way when authoring? After I add the tracks in DVDMaestro, then compile, IFOUpdate, and correct VTS sectors, I get a good playable DVD, however, when selecting different audio tracks, like the commentary, I get the wrong ones. I have to go in and manually change the location of the tracks under the PGC area in the correct VTS_0x_01.VOB. Example: I change the audio area from 33536 to 33024 in hex. Follow me?

Is that the right way or are some of my steps before getting to this point twisted up? Either way, I think I got it now. I really really got it and I'm a happy camper.

Thanks as always,
KeithXP

[TRILIGHT]

KeithXP: I've found the same issue from time to time. In fact, I had to change the codes myself on the recent title I did "The Cell". I tried putting the audio in different sections in Maestro but it didn't seem to make a difference (or perhaps I still had them in the wrong order). It's easier just to do as we did by editing the IFO instead of changing it in Maestro and waiting for it to compile again.

[comfysofa]

err - just read through the thread.......been at this for the last nine months on and off - one of the other guys asked if there was a sort of "cut down" version for just getting the film back on to the disc.....after all you can have the bit rate higher then resulting in a better picture!!?.....i have read through it some of it i under stand some of it...not, so could you post a reply with the cut down version? i might be able to get my head round that.......thanks very much...... finally this leads me to think if youve got to go through all that to get a film in sync (which is the problem im having...) back on to a dvd then it makes all these "how to get a bigger film back on to a dvd-r in vcd help and the like....total shite - cos ive been through em all and always had sync problems.....

Alternatively what would i have to do to an audio or video file to get them to go into sync when chucking them back into the authoring software......cos that my main stumbling block.....

On the whole its really appreciated that youre taking time out to help idiots like me!!....

Thanks

Comfy

[TRILIGHT]

If that's all you want, Comfy, the main guides here on the site already do a good job of explaining basic authoring software usage. Any gaps are easily filled in by the posts already made. This guide was specifically written for re-encoding, re-authoring, and re-integration for a full copy of a single PGC disc. There's no "simple" version out there, really. When I first started, it took me 4 straight days of reading before I started to understand what was going on. It may seem like a lot of information but most of it becomes second nature when you begin to understand the basic concepts.

[comfysofa]

ok - wheres the link to that page.........

the other thing is.......on thinking about it, if im extracting an ac3 file without changing it and putting it, back in with a re-hashed bitrate piece of video then it would seem that the video timing is in some way "out" but how or why i dont know - there is another thread in the advanced dvd2svcd section on how to configure dvd2svcd to turf out a dvd compliant recalculated bit rate video file - i followed it to the tee and still had the same sync problem.......

Thanks for your help so far.....

Comfy

[Ekin]

TriLight I have a question for you since you have a guide on on Maestro. Ok i have loaded in my m2v and mp2 audios. I am up to the part for chaptering. I load Chapter X and just copy the first 3 chapter of the movie. Because i just want to test it. But when i import the .chp Maestro give me an error saying "I-frame Insertion entry frame rate is not consisten with current tape frame rate! I-Frame import will be canceled." Why ??? my clib was only the first 3 chapters and the .chp is only the first 3 chapter too..it's from 0:00:00 to 15:20:00.

[TRILIGHT]

It's because the clip you have on the timeline is drop-frame. The guide follows a sequential order. There are reasons that you have to have certain clips on the timeline at certain times. Once you've imported your chapters on a NON-dropframe clip, you can replace it with the drop-frame so that your subtitles are correct.

[klona]

Another trick, don't know if already mentionned, is concerning subtitles colors.
Do not edit the .sum file, but just double click on any sub in Maestro and edit the palette, changing color to have colors you want.
Do not change the colors for this sub, but edit the palette.
If you change the color it will be only for this one sub, and you will have to do it also for every other sub (pretty boring hug ?)
but if you edit the palette, it will apply to ALL subs.

[TRILIGHT]

For anyone interested, I put this guide into a little better format with some extra info and screenshots. Until Doom9 adds it to the "guides" section here, you can access it at this URL...

http://www.trilight.com/guide/

[svcdentro]

Trilight i've followed your guide but after vfapi when i use cce it begins encoding and about 30 mins later appears this message:

cce encoding failed ICDecompressEx()failed(-100)

What's the problem, thanks....

[TRILIGHT]

I honestly don't know. Perhaps someone else who has seen this error can help you. I've never seen an error like the one you mention. The best I can tell you is not to move any files around once your d2v project file is created.

[denfert]

french PAL guide on www.dvdguru.net


Batman

[oceansky]

Hi, trilight, i have followed your guide and unfortunately, i miss the software of dvd maestro and stuck there. So, is it possible using this guide with using other dvd authoring software, such as Spruce and DVDit, which i have them myself.
thanks.

[jdobbs]

SpruceUp works very well in this method. But it has a limit of only one audio track and will not do subtitles. All you have to do is import the M2V file into SpruceUp, drag the asset to the first play area (the icon at the bottom of the screen) and create the title set. You then rename, copy, and IFOUpdate just like you would with Maestro.

[oceansky]

hmm, no subtitle, that's not perfect, how about the dvdit?

[tyee]

I have just finished using the IFOUpdate method for the first time and everything except one thing works right. I'm using WinDVD4 and when I grab the scroll button and try to scroll ahead in the movie the program hangs and I have to shut it down. All the chapter skipping and main menu items work correct. I tried scrolling with just the Maestro non-menu version and it works fine.

Any suggestions why the scrolling function crashes WinDVD4?

tyee

[dvdRENEGADE]

I just completed a movie-only dvd without having to reencode my video stream. For my video stream, I used Smartripper to demux it to a new file. I've used your guide for the subtitle portion of my project. I first tried your settings for the second pulldown file included in your guide, the dropframe one. When I tried it like your guide has it, Pulldown project.mpv output-drop.m2v –prog_frames p –drop_frame true, it would run pulldown but would not show it as setting drop_frame. I tried it as Pulldown project.mpv output-drop.m2v –drop_frame true –prog_frames p and it worked like a charm. Also, my project was a Warner Brothers movie, so I had to adjust the time settings in the subrip portion of your guide to accomodate this, I set it to subtract 12 seconds from all subtitles. The movie, The Wizard of Oz, works like a charm...subtitles and all. Thanks for the guide and just thought I'd let you know, dvdRENEGADE

[jdobbs]

tyee,

The "VTS_TMAPTI Transfer" option might fix that. I'm not a WinDVD user but have been told that it uses this table, and that's why I added that option. Beware, though, as sometimes (not often) it can cause other inconsistencies...

jdobbs

[oceansky]

HI, Trilight or anyone:
I have tried using linear or uncheck linear in CCE, and the videos are all almost gray, why is that, I can barely see some titles appear on screen, other than that, nothing shows up. Can you tell me why?
Thanks.

[tyee]

jdobbs
Thanks, The scrolling function now works with WinDVD4 after enabling "VTS_TMAPTI Transfer" option!

tyee

[Geezer-UK]

can someone just show me which files i copy from my newly Authored file to my Original file.

Original folder
VIDEO_TS
VIDEO_TS.BUP
VIDEO_TS.VOB
VTS_01_0
VTS_01_0.BUP
VTS_01_0.VOB
VTS_01_1.VOB
VTS_02_0
VTS_02_0.BUP
VTS_02_0.VOB
VTS_02_1.VOB
VTS_02_2.VOB
VTS_02_3.VOB
VTS_02_4.VOB
VTS_02_5.VOB
VTS_02_6.VOB

VTS_02 Files are the main movie vobs

Newly Authored Folder

UNTITLED1.LAY
VIDEO_TS
VIDEO_TS.BUP
VIDEO_TS.VOB
VTS_01_0
VTS_01_0.BUP
VTS_01_0.VOB
VTS_01_1.VOB
VTS_01_2.VOB
VTS_01_3.VOB

Sorry if this has been answered as i just don't get it!

[tyee]

I copy all newly authored files over to the original directory EXCEPT _0.*, where * includes vob,ifo and bup. I've only done it once but it did work.

tyee

[jdobbs]

Geezer-UK,

In this situation it looks like you should:

1. Move VTS_02_1.VOB through VTS_02_6.VOB in the original folder to some other directory just to keep them safe.

2. Rename (in the Newly Authored Folder)
VTS_01_1.VOB to VTS_02_1.VOB
VTS_01_2.VOB to VTS_02_2.VOB
VTS_01_3.VOB to VTS_02_3.VOB

3. Copy those three files to the original folder.

4. Run IFOUpdate. The original file path should point to VTS_02_0.IFO in the original directory. The Newly Authored path should point to VTS_01_0.IFO in the Newly Authored Directory.

jdobbs

[svcdentro]

The files you must copy are only the new movie vobs beginning with the vob 1, usually if you have a 7 or 8 vob movie the result is 3 vobs vts_01_1/vts_01_2/vts_01_3.....
And don't forget to cut the original vobs from your movie folder before pasting the new ones, don't replace!

[oceansky]

Can someone really tell me what's going on my cce output, i still couldn't figure out why my cce output are in gray screen, I follow the guide and using Avisynth with correct path to mpeg2dec.dll and my d2v project file and ResampleAudio(44100)

I used bitrate viewer and get these settings for my VTS_01_1.VOB:
Num. of picture read: 25588
Stream type: MPEG-2 MP@ML VBR
Resolution: 720*480
Aspect ratio: 16:9 Generic
Framerate: 29.97
Nom. bitrate: 9801600 Bit/Sec
VBV buffer size: 112
Constrained param. flag: No
Chroma format: 4:2:0
DCT precision: 10
Pic. structure: Frame
Field topfirst: Yes
DCT type: Field
Quantscale: Nonlinear
Scan type: Alternate
Frame type: Interlaced

And here is my ecl file settings:
; Cinema Craft Encoder SP -- Encoder Control List

[item]
title=ChrunkenExpress.avs
vid_out=1
vaf_out=1
aud_out=0
vid_file0=M:\ChrunkenExpress.mpv
vid_file1=M:\ChrunkenExpress.mpv
vaf_file=M:\ChrunkenExpress.vaf
aud_file=M:\ChrunkenExpress.mpa
file_focused=0
encode_mode=0
packet_size=4096
timecode=0x0
width=720
height=480
vmode=0
frame_rate_idx=1
cbr_brate=6000
opv_q_factor=30
opv_brate_min=0
opv_brate_max=9800
vbr_brate_avg=3500
vbr_brate_min=3500
vbr_brate_max=9800
vbr_bias=0
vbr_pass=1
quality_prec=15
use_filter=0
filter_val=6
seq_endcode=1
dvd=1
half_width=0
half_height=0
fast_mode=0
progressive=1
alternate_scan=0
non_linear=0
top_first=1
lum_level=0
intra_dc_prec=-1
aspect_ratio=3
gop_m=3
gop_nm=4
gop_hdr=12
seq_hdr=1
all_closed_gop=0
fix_gop_length=0
mpeg1=0
mpeg1_cps=0
samples_per_sec=44100
stereo=2
brate_idx=7
crc=1

[file]
name=M:\ChrunkenExpress.avs
type=0
frame_first=0
frame_last=146945
encode_first=0
encode_last=146945
chapter=0:
chapter=8025:
chapter=17316:
chapter=24241:
chapter=31338:
chapter=37188:
chapter=46663:
chapter=51793:
chapter=58319:
chapter=67378:
chapter=74896:
chapter=84016:
chapter=91025:
chapter=99472:
chapter=107276:
chapter=115072:
chapter=121130:
chapter=127224:
chapter=137778:
chapter=143637:

thanks.

[Geezer-UK]

Jdobbs
thanks for the help on the Vob files
there is just one more thing can you go in to detail on the IFOUpdate thing.
this is what i done

1. run IFOUpdate
2. set the Original IFO path to my (Original Film) DVD Rip file VTS_02_0.IFO
3. set the Authored path to the Folder were my VTS_01_0.IFO file would be from the folder which was made by DVDMaestro
4 set Backup IFO to any folder

in Options for IFOUpdate i have all of these ticked to on
Transfer VTS_C_ADT Table
Copy Color TAble in Each PGC
Correct VTS Sectors (Autocorrect)

Then i Play the DVD from The Original Folder is this Correct

[jdobbs]

Geezer-UK,

That should be right. I'm making the assumption that when you authored the file it has the correct number of chapters (matches the original) and, if necessary, has multiple PGCs.

jdobbs

[ScarMouth]

TRILIGHT...

I'm a relative newbie. and having trouble with DVD2AVI.
I checked the DVD2AVI forum and didn ot find much.

In fact, GORR pointed out that a guide existed here such that:
Originally posted by Gorr
There's a guide http://www.doom9.org/mpg/dvd2avi2.htm.
However, the link is invalid.

I've used SMARTRIPPER to create a DEMUX'd D2V file and an AC3 stream along with a VOB containing the BMP subs.

I've extracted the chapters and subs and now am trying to use DVD2AVI to convert the D2V to AVI.

The original D2V is around 4 gig but using DVD2AVI creates multiple 2 gig AVI files. Hence, I run out of disk space.

I assume that since CCE is doing the re-encoding at a lower bitrate, I tell DVD2AVI not to do any compression. Beyond that, I do not change any of the DVD2AVI settings.

I hoped to review the robshot method(http://www.robshot.com/ ) but found that this link also was dead.

I also hope that I've done as much research as you deem appropriate so that you truly believe that I'm not wasting your time with frivilous questions that I could have answered myself had I've only looked harder.

Thank you for documenting the process and I look forward to hearing from you!

[bex]

the easiest way with mpeg2avi is to save project this makes a small file on your hard drive with the gop information

then with avisynth installed

make a file called something like movie.avs

that contains the lines

LoadPlugin("MPEG2DEC.dll")
mpeg2source("yourprojectnamehere.d2v")
ResampleAudio(44100)

save it to the same path as the d2v file
and copy
MPEG2DEC.dll and MPEG2DEC2.dll to the same folder also

then load this file into cce 2.5 (avisynth does not work without a wrapper on newer versions of cce)

saying that if you have room to decode to avi it will be quicker to reencode

this information is all over the place here for instance http://www.doom9.org/mpg/cce-advanced.htm

[oceansky]

where do i find the mpeg2dec2.dll? I can find the first file only.
thanks.

[oceansky]

Another question, i couldn't load the avs into cce, i got error as my avs file is not ecl, why is that?
thanks.

[oceansky]

Forget the last question, i finally figure it out.
Sorry wasting two entries, including this one.

[jdobbs]

You can get MPEG2DEC2.ZIP here. (http://www.trbarry.com/mpeg2dec2.zip)

[oceansky]

Thanks, jcobb.

But, this time even worse, before i still can open the avs file from cce. However, i got erro open it after redo the d2v file.

It should't be complicated doing the d2v thing, as i select force field, select track 1, select yuv. that's all. and save the project. Then, why i keep having problem using the cce.
Would you help me to solve this thing? Really appreciate that.
thank you.

[jdobbs]

oceansky,

Post your AVS script. Also, try running the AVS file from the Windows media viewer. Even a syntax error will bomb CCE -- if you open it with the media viewer you will see an error message displayed.

jdobbs

[oceansky]

Hi, Jdobbs, thanks for the quick response.
Here is my avs script:
LoadPlugin("K:\Video_TS\SaveData\mpeg2dec.dll")
mpeg2source("K:\VIDEO_TS\SaveData\ChrunkenExpress.d2v")
ResampleAudio(44100)

And it's true i couldn't play the avs in media player.
And the error message said:
****
Unrecognized exception!
(K:\VIDEO_TS\SaveData\ChrunkenExpress.d2v, line 2)
****

I did follow your words as I have put mpeg2dec.dll and mpeg2dec2.dll into same folder of the savedata.

Thanks.

[jdobbs]

That was someone else... I don't personally use MPEG2DEC2.DLL.

That error usually means the path is wrong or the file doesn't exist. Look at the path of your .D2V carefully. Is that where you stored it? It is unusual that you would be storing your .DLL files in the same directory as the source for your video. Typically you'd put the .DLL files in the same directory as AVISYNTH.

[erwan]

i got this "unrecognized exception" error when i used dvd2avi newer than 1.77.1. (got this message in media player)
it would crash my CCE 2.50.

so i got back to 1.76, redid my d2v and all went fine.
i read somewhere on this forum (search for "unrecognized exception")
that the last dvd2avi doesnt make d2v compatible with mpeg2dec anymore.

erwan

[jdobbs]

I use version 1.76 and believe it is the last really stable version.

[oceansky]

Then, i am going to redo again, since i used the 1.82 version of dvd2avi prog.

Also, i didn't realize I should put he mpeg2dec.dll in AVISYNTH folder. Maybe this is another cause.

thanks you guys. hope this time will work.

[jdobbs]

It really doesn't matter where you put it, but since it is there to stay, you don't normally put it in a temporary folder like the ones you put movies into.

I upgraded to the higher versions of DVD2AVI in the past and it was just more trouble than it was worth...

[oceansky]

Thank you so much, this time d2v work fine using avs file and played fine in media player.

And cce load avs file with no more error message.

Ha, it's time to do the next step encoding.

thanks again, jdobbs and erwan.

[Taz69]

TRILIGHT

I've noticed that your guide is only for single Program Chain's

In Maestro you need to use Playlists for multiple Program Chains.

Just add all the different clips from each of the different chains to the same timeline
(Movie first would make importing chaper points & Subtitles simpler)
one after another.
Encode your audio channels; sort out your subtitles and click on that strange icon in the bottom right of your main window.

You shold now have access to the Playlists window where you can build up each Program Chain as a new Playlist Selecting the required footage.

I've not gone into detail incase I'm preeching to the converted but I expect you'll be able to figure it out if you have not tried using the Playlists before.

[riggz]

hi all, and thanks to trilight for this guide.

i was trying to backup my copy of "metropolis" which is anime.

it is ntsc interlaced. i finished my encoding in cce and got a .mpv file. the length is 1:48:35. i'm not sure what to put for pulldown? is it ok that i do a "-prog_frame p"? i followed the instructions exactly (at least i think so :P), but when i import output.m2v into maestro it shows up as 2hours and 15 minutes.

this is a 1.25x increase (135/108), which i noticed is also the multiple as 29.97/24...what is it that i'm missing? when i put the mpv in bitrate explorer it shows up as 29.97. i've tried the -nopulldown option on pulldown and prog_frame set to i, but no luck, the output.m2v's always come out as 2:15:00.

thanks for your help!

[jdobbs]

riggz,

You don't normally use pulldown on a 29.97 interlaced original. It is meant only for FILM. Did you have DVD2AVI set for FORCE FILM or NONE? If you had a 29.97 interlaced original it should have been set to NONE.

[riggz]

thanks for your reply jdobbs,

i set dvd2avi set to none.

then i encode with cce, and the resulting .mpv file i get i've tried to import into maestro, which is all ok (and it shows the correct length). however, when i try to import the chapters, it gives that "i-frame insertion entry" error.

now that you've said i dont need to pulldown, i think i'll try doing a pulldown with "-nopulldown -drop_frame true" and see if it works. i read what trilight said about drop frames and inserting the chapter points.

however, it seems that regardless if i set the -nopulldown flag it always changes the length.

can i author the movie fine without inserting the chapter points i wonder? it isnt a biggie to me if i cant skip to a certain chapter. :P

[jdobbs]

You should put the chapters in just so the original menus point correctly. BUT, they don't have to be EXACTLY set to the same frame as the original. You just need to be close (and have the same number) enough to satisfy yourself.

[oceansky]

Hi, Jdobbs, i got the problem as my final dvd didn't play the audio part.

The situation is if i play the vob file only thru the powerdvd player, the audio is played fine, and if I play the movie thru the windvd player using selecting source from that drive location and play like normal dvd movie. I can see the video part of the movie is fine and is sychornized with the subtitle just by watching the mouth's movement, except no audio. Why is that? And I can see the audio is off as there is no response when I punch the audio button on my dvd player as I also tried it on dvd player.

So, do you know where is my problem, maybe in dvdmestro setup?

thanks.

[jdobbs]

Typically that means that the stream ID of the audio track you created does not match the one that was default. You can change that in IFOEDIT. Look at your original IFO under VTS_PGCITI and then VTS_PGX_1. At offset [0000000C] you will see what is the default (normally) stream. Look at the value. Also look at VTSI_MAT at offset [00000204]. If it says DTS under coding mode, just change it to AC3 (in the modified IFO, of course) and your problem will probably go away. Of course that's doing it by hand... if you use the "copy audio/subs" option it should do it for you...

At any rate, if you play with these values for a while (save the original values) you will probably figure out how to make it work.

[oceansky]

Hi, jdobbs, I checked both ifo(original and authored),

VTS_PGCITI and then VTS_PGX_1 at offset [0000000C], value are same.

And VTSI_MAT at offset [00000204], both are AC3.

So, I went back to dvd2avi guide link from best of cce guide.
I noticed I didn't select demux from dolby digital and left it select as decode. Do you think this cause the problem?

Meanwhile, I am going to try it again with the right selection for audio from dvd2avi.

Thanks.

[oceansky]

Jdobbs, what should I say as I didn't look over my audio settings.
Hah, now everything is worked fine.
Thanks for all your help.

And, one thing I saw your last post to the chapter frame, could we set the frame number same as original if not hard to do thru ifoedit?

I try to look over it but don't know where to edit.hehe.

[drmih]

I have also used a similar method to this for quite some time but would offer the following advice on subtitles.

If you use the character recognition option you will typically get between 5 and 10 Mb of subtitles making up a film. I've just done 'The Last castle' and it had 1529 subtitles and when using character recognition it used 8.5 Mb. However, to do a good job it can take between 1 to 2 hours and that is often too long for a film you're not bothered about. Therefore I would suggest the following options for bitmap capturing. The method used suggest that you select 720x480 for the sizing but this makes each bitmap about 200 kb in size - therefore for The Last Castle 1529*200 = A Lot. You will find that Subrip automatically will select the smallest area around the bitmaps, so if you use the values of 8 and 2 you still get the bitmaps but without all of the black screen. I wanted red subtitles with a black border so I set background to white, Font to red, outline to black and antialiasing to red. Run the program but when you select the output window make the following changes: Background (Primary colour 0) to black 15, font to red 0, outline to black 0, and antialiasing to red 15. Obviously the red in both cases can be whatever you wish. The subtitles created take up about 1.5 times the character recognition ones (12 to 15 Mb) but typically 30 less than if the whole screen is captured, and require no interaction to obtain.

Great work though in putting the guide together.

[Muyo]

Hello, sorry if this is something already been asked, I used the search and coudln't find the answer I need.

I have some DVDs that are 8.5gig where it has 4 episodes per disc and splits into 4 ifo and 4 vob, And I would like to make backups where it'll fit on an DVD-R. I have made a few disc where it only has one menu .ifo/vob and and one movie ifo/7vob into an dvd-r following this guide and it works great all the menus and audio tracks works. Super Guide :)

So now the problem is how can I do the same with dvds that has 5ifo/5vob?

do I just do What I have been doing following the guide and do each ifo/vob as they were the only file on the disc, and author it with DVDMaestro one ifo/vob at a time. then replace each vob as they were. and update all 4 ifo then burn?

I would give that a try but because the DVD are anime where it's ntsc 40%avg I'm still trying to figure out a best way to do the deinterlacing so far I'm not getting good pictures without lines yet to try and reencode each vob on their own and try yet.

Any info would be great
TIA

[drmih]

It's easy if the 4 titles are in 4 different title sets. Just handle each one as if it was the only one. You'll end up with 4 audio tracks (or multiples of if there are commentaries etc) and 4 re-encoded m2v files (if you're using Maestro I assume that you're also using CCE). Under Maestro just create 4 movies and add the correct assets to each one. Don't bother with anything else, just make an image on the HD. It'll give you warnings at the end about subpictures and first play etc but don't worry.

Make a clean directory and from the original source files copy everything but the 4 sets of movie vobs (you'll still want to copy the menu vobs VTS_0*_0.VOB). Then from the Maestro authoring directory (usually c:\video_ts) copy only the movie vobs to the clean directory (if you have to replace any files then you've made a mistake).

Next use IFOUpdate to copy the cell info from the movie *.ifo files in C:\video_ts to the ones in the new directory you placed the files in. Finally use IFOEdit to correct sectors / remove pop-ups / regions free etc and that should be it.

[oceansky]

Hi, jdobbs or anyone, I backing up another movie but I have problem when I import my audio ac3 file into DVD Mestro and the error said:
"Cannot locate a frame SYMC word at an expected byte offset. Data might be corrupted."

Could you or anyone tell me what's this message mean?

Thank you.

[lrosado]

Hey Trilight or anyone else that knows this guide to the T,

Great guide by the way Trilight, I am a newbie to the whole DVD Ripping and Authoring. Now following the DVD9-DVD5 guide but using scenarist instead, do you still have to do:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pulldown project.mpv output.m2v –prog_frames p

then use this one…

Pulldown project.mpv output-drop.m2v –prog_frames p –drop_frame true
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

or can you just do the one output.m2v. Or will you run into the subtitles not being in synch problem the same as Maestro as you explained if you dont do the output-drop.m2v?

[CMG]

Maybe a little off topic, but since you say nero 5.5.8.0 is the magic number, and that it should work... it's not. I have re-authored a number of discs and burned them with nero 5.5.8.0., but it allways simply refuses to play on a normal DVD Player... (all but Finlux DVD Players, but that's just the way they read a dvd...) I tested it on over 20 dvd players, including sony's, pioneer players, JVC's, and so on. Not one will play them. If i rip the movie to my computer from the disc, create an .img file, and burn it again, it does work. Anny one got an idea how/why this is happening?

N.B.

The all play on the computer tho ;)

[TRILIGHT]

Must be something wrong with your installation or Nero is not set up to work properly with the particular drive you have. I've used 5.5.8.0 with my DVR-104 for quite a while now and all my discs play on any of the Sony, Pioneer, or Panasonic standalones I've tried them on. In fact, I've not found a (recent) DVD player that won't play them! (My older Sony DVP-S7700 won't)

On a side note, albeit related... I'm about to post an easy to read guide for multi-PGC titles. (It's based on Scenarist though because I personally find the Maestro multi-PGC method rather convoluted.) Whether it gets posted in the "guides" section will be up to Doom9 but I should have it posted here this weekend.

[CMG]

whell, i burn it with my Pioneer DVR-104 also, and test on Pioneer 454 Stand alone amungst others. Re-installed it a few times, but no go :P

Thanx tho, looking forward to your Multi-PGC guide

[gingga]

ok i have read this thread twice now but there is no explanation on what i need to do to get this guide to work with pal titles as i have tried a few times without any success :( i have done ntsc dvds following this guide with 100% success but cant get a single pal title to work

[TRILIGHT]

You might need a PAL user to give you specifics but, if memory serves me correctly, all you have to do is A) Set Maestro to PAL instead of NTSC and B) You don't have to run any pulldown on the file because PAL will accept it as is. Like I said though, you might want to wait for verification from a PAL user. I'm fairly certain these are the only differences though. (Save for obvious things like setting your FPS properly when doing chapters, etc.)

[Bonge]

I am a relative newbie in this DVD2DVDR playground, but I've done over 200 SVCDs using methods from the doom9 website.
I've recently completed my first DVD R copy using TRILIGHT's DVD-9 to DVD-5 method. I tested the completed "new" DVD using IFOEDIT and noticed that the chapter menu features were not working. All other menus in the root title menus are working. I've searched this forum thoroughly but have not found an answer to my question. Has anybody come across a problem similar to this? I figure if there is a solution to this, the brilliant minds in this community would have it. Thank you all in advance:)

[TRILIGHT]

Don't know about playing in IFOedit. I never do that. I always test with PowerDVD XP. Are you saying your "Scene Selections" don't work? Are you certain you ran IFOupdate properly and didn't mess up the IFO files in the process? Updated the VTS Sectors properly?

[Bonge]

Trilight,

Yes. The scene selection feature does not work. I am pretty certain that I ran IFOupdate properly and didn't mess up the IFO files in the process. How does one verify if it wasn't completed properly? If I ran the process incorrectly how can I "fix" it. Any advice?

[TRILIGHT]

Well, it sounds like the menu IFO or one of the menu VOB's got screwed up really. If you select a chapter, it should at least go somewhere although maybe not to the right spot. One thing I've seen people do more than once is say they are following the guide "to the T", however, they are doing things such as stripping items before or after and messing with the overall structure. Did you do any of these things? If so, the results are typically inconsistent.

[Bonge]

1.) I used Power DVD per your suggestion to view the newly authored movie (LIKE MIKE). Thanks.
2.) The chapter menu feature works to an extent. The chapter selection doesn't quite point to the scene index accurately (that's cool, minor detail). I am ecstatic with the progress I've made. The first DVD is always the toughest.
3.) I came across another issue. I'm having trouble burning this DVD, now. Geez. My re-authored DVD resuslted in a two VOBs produced. When I try to burn using Nero 5.5.9, I get an error stating a third VOB is missing and is required. Is this error related to the initial IFOUPDATE "mix up" I may have done? Any help would be welcome. Thanks, Trilight.

[Stress_analyst]

Hi all,
I have been following the CCE Maestro guide in order to make a backup Insomnia (NTSC).
I’ve backed up the same movie with Ifoedit but I couldn’t get the subtitles to be compiled without a buffer error. Ifoedit Authoring will give me a file where the subs are in synch initially but slowly will get out of synch or not work at all.
Therefore, I’ve decided to use this guide. The problem is that picture and audio are in synch, but I can’t get the subs in synch, not even at the beginning (the subs are looking great when the .spf file is loaded just not synched)!!! I have followed the guide and even used the SubRip 1.02. I have the original m2v from Decrypter and I have used pulldown 0.99d both with and without the drop_frame option. I have imported the subs with the drop_frame.m2v in the timeline but the subs are still out of synch.

Any suggestions will be a great help. I have seen that everyone suggests using the drop_frame file in the timeline prior to importing the subs. I have done that but maybe the drop frame option is not working properly for this movie??

BTW if there is a solution to the Ifoedit subs issue I would like to know what that is. (From the posts I have conclude the there is a problem with 2 cells in the vod and ifoedit can’t process this correctly).

Thanks for the help,

The Analyst

[ghobbit]

Hi

Have been following this thread with interest but I just can not get my subtitles to work at all. I'd be happy just to see them even if they werent sync'd so long as they are there!

The movie I'm doing is the Mummy. All I want are the subtitles when they speak ancient egyptian. I used Subrip to identify the correct subtitle stream. I selected save as bitmap etc as suggested in the guide. I have a folder called 'subs' in which are all the bitmaps plus a file called mummy.son.

I have loaded the chapters, encoded m2v from tmpegenc and the ac3 audio. I then load the mummy.son into the 'ABC' part of Maestro.
So far so good. I then compile. It creats the VIDEO_TS and AUDIO_TS folders with the vobs etc. If I try and play the vobs on PowerDVD XP there are no subtitles. Video and audio are sync'd fine. I havent created any menus or anything as I just want the movie and audio (plus subtitles where necessary). Do I in fact need to create a menu to have this. When I right click in PowerDVD XP the subtitles option is greyed out.

Do I need to do anything with Ifoedit or any other sort of program to get my subtitles to appear before looking at the vobs with Powerdvd XP?

I have tried authoring with Ifoedit but also with no luck.

I think I'm also there and that its something simple that I"ve overlooked somewhere.

Any guidance would be most appreciated.

thanks

Steve

[TRILIGHT]

Originally posted by ghobbit
All I want are the subtitles when they speak ancient egyptian.

Sounds like you're referring to "forced subs" which are displayed regardless of whether or not subs are actually turned on. You'll need to identify each of these and change them so they are "forced".

[ghobbit]

Hi Trilight

Thanks for replying so quickly.


The stream that subrip identified were labelled as 'Forced'. Is the procedure to rip them etc still the same?

If so do I take it from what youre saying that all I have to do once I have added the subtitles to the 'ABC' part of maestro, I right click on them and select properties and then select the 'Forced Display' option?
I assume I need to do this for all the subtitles where they appear in the subtitle area of the timeline?

Thanks for your help

Steve

[TRILIGHT]

That's correct.

[ghobbit]

Hi Trilight

OK I did that and I just did the first 10 or so subtitles to see if it would work but unfortunately it didnt. Still no subtitles.

I ripped the dvd and then used subrip to identify the stream that had the subtitles I needed.
Then I ripped that stream from all the vobs and saved 'subpictures as BMP'. This was then saved as mummy.son ready for Maestro.

I opened Maestro and first added the chapters (got from chapterxtractor). Then I added the m2v that I created using Tmpgenc. Then I added the AC3 file and then I added the .son file.

I right clicked on the first ten subtitles and checked the 'Force Display'.
I then compiled. Maestro created a VIDEO_TS and an AUDIO_TS folder and put the vob files etc it created into it.

I tried playing the first vob in PowerDVD XP which opeded fine and had audio and video in sync. The subtitles should have appeared within the first 2 or 3 minutes or so but there was nothing.

Is there anything you can see from what Im doing that is obviously wrong or that I should check with the programs I am using. This is a PAL movie and I have slected the obvious settings as such.

Sorry to be a pain but this is getting quite frustrating.

Thanks for your patience

Steve

[AlainDelon]

Did you set your subtitle stream in Maestro to on(under project properties/initial stream setting)?

[ghobbit]

Yes

I right clicked on the project name in the left hand window and selected properties. Down the bottom of that window I made it a '1' which is what I think you referring to.

I had a look at the .son script file created by subrip and at the top it said something about 'non-forced' so I changed that to 'forced' to see if that would make any difference but it didn't.

I think (though I could be wrong) that it is an authoring problem. I seem to have everything there - chapters,m2v,ac3 and .son. I can open up the subtitles and look at the bitmaps. Everything appears to be in order.

When its compiling I can see it says its making subtitles. But nothing appears in final product.

Could it be something to do with PGC? Ifoedit says that the original ifo is one PGC yet when I see the compiling window I see something that refers to multi PGC (seven I think it said). The authored PGC is still one.

One other thing I've noticed. In subrip the stream I rip out and create bitmaps from is 0X30. In the authored ifo it says 0x20. Could that affect it? Does anyone know how to change it?

Thanks for your help on this.

regards

Steve

[TRILIGHT]

It's almost definitely your stream information is incorrect. They are there but are not being accessed properly. Go to this page (http://dvdguides.trilight.net) and look at the Multi-PGC guide. Scroll all the way to the bottom to see what I'm referring to when it comes to the stream numbers.

Now this is not to say that it is automatically going to correct things for you. While you're on that guide, you should read it and be doing things that way. As you mentioned, this is a multi-PGC title and the Maestro "full copy" guide you are following was written only for single PGC titles. Even if you were to get the movie working correctly (which is still a toss up), the rest of your disc would not work.

[airedale]

I have a quick question about the whole pulldown thing and the forced film...

In DVD2AVI, I have been working on a movie where it first starts out as NTSC and then flips over to Film and then back to NTSC... It does that a couple of times until it hits film and starts climbing from around 50% film and finally tops out around 97% - 98%. Then it will pretty much sit there at that. Once or twice I saw it flip to NTSC and then right back to the high percentage for Film. So when I demuxed, I set it to Forced Film. Should I have done that?

Also, I was wondering what exactly the -drop_frame flag does in pulldown.

Thanks!

[Stress_analyst]

I’m still working on the Insomnia.
I have made some more testing regarding the subtitles in this movie.
Subrip will give me the subs (.bmp) with their timing in the son file (there is no difference of the timing between the two versions of Subrip 1.02 and the latest 1.11).

When I input the subs in Maestro with the insomnia-drop.m2v in the timeline the subs are imported in the correct time spots. The timing of the subs in Maestro is the same as in the .son file.
The problem is that at the video frames of the m2v file are not matching this timing. For example the video frame at 4:48 sec from the insomnia-p.m2v or the insomnia-drop.m2v file is not the one matching the subtitle (according to the .son timing). The subs need to be moved 14 sec back in order to match the video.

Theory 1: The .son file is not determining the subtitle timing correctly for some reason.

Theory 2: The insomnia-p.m2v and insonia-drop.m2v files are not following the original insomnia.m2v (from decrypter) timing. The subs from Subrip were created using the original .IFO and .VOB files. If the pulldowned m2v files are not in timing agreement with the original .VOB files then the subs should not be synched.
BTW there is no difference between the insomnia-p.m2v and the insomnia-drop.m2v files. There both the same time length and file size. I was thinking that my CCE conversion was wrong but then why is the audio in synch? I have used CCE 2.5 with the the exact settings from the “Getting the best” guide (these settings are in agreement with bitrate viewer analysis).
I’m providing some info on my files, when inputted in Media Player, Maestro or CCE using .avs:

Insomnia.mpv---CCE output
Insomnia-p.m2v---Pulldown output
Insomnia-drop.m2v---Pulldown output drop frames

Insomnia.mpv---------WMP=1:58:05 sec----CCE.avs=1:58:05:17
Insomnia-p.mpv-------WMP=1:58:12 sec----Maestro=1:58:05:21
Insomnia-drop.mpv---WMP=1:58:12 sec----Maestro=1:58:05:21

Thank you for the help AND Happy new year

[TRILIGHT]

From what you said before and are saying now, I don't know if your dropframe file is actually being created properly. Actually, before it sounded as if they were imported with the non-drop clip on the timeline. You've not mentioned this time whether any of them are correct or if they are all off the entire time. Something else you need to keep in mind is that you may think things are not in the right place but when you actually check it on playback, it is. Are you sure the scenes you're looking at are correct?

I'm also curious, however, how you are properly recreating the seamless branching structure of this DVD in Maestro. It is a multi-PGC seamless branching title that does not lend itself well to Maestro at all. Not saying it can't be done but it would be a bitch in comparison to Scenarist.

Are you actually trying to do a full backup or are you starting a butcher shop? hehe ;) If you're not actually doing a full disc backup, you should probably post this problem in a seperate thread so as to at least keep this particular thread's integrity.

[Stress_analyst]

Trilight

I stand corrected

I was not planning on doing a full dvd backup, but keep video audio and subs. I will start a new thread. If anyone has any suggestion please follow up on the new detailed thread.

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=41984

Thank you

[TRILIGHT]

Not trying to give ya a hard time. ;) Just that the thread is about doing a full copy and anything other than that will confuse newbies who may be doing searches trying to learn.

[ghobbit]

I did it I did it I did it I did it

Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou

To all those that have given advice and support

Thankyou

I now have a working copy of the mummy at v.good quality, 5.1 sound and subtitles when they speak ancient egyptian. What a mission! It only took several weeks.

But now I know how to do it I can move on to the Mummy returns :-)

Thanks

Steve

[TRILIGHT]

Awesome!! Congrats on completing your project, Steve!

[destemido]

Starwars episode 1
i have a problem.... i've created new vobs in maestro and i managed to update the ifo but when i try to play it in ifoedit, it doesn't work. if i play it on powerDVD it will work. i burnt the files to a DVD+rw and the disc works but takes a shitload of time before the disc is recognized... and i formated the disc and tried a 2nd time.
why are all this things apenning???

[TRILIGHT]

I may be wrong but if I'm not mistaken, that title is a multiPGC title and this particular post/method does not apply. You will have to recreate the title following a multi-PGC method (which I personally do not support doing in Maestro). Maestro, IMHO, is only reliable for single-PGC titles. I suggest you use Scenarist and follow the other guide if this title is multi-PGC.

[destemido]

yeah i think that's the reason...
fisrt play says: jump to title 2
and when i re-encoded the vob's i used DVD2DVDR which will only re-encode 1 PGC (the one you chose, of course).
so when i the ifo tells the dvd to go to title 2 it stops, because there's no title 2 in the new vobs...
as for sceanarist... i don't know... many people say it's very hard to understand, and i'm already having some dificulties with maestro.
not to mention it should be expensive as hell...

do you think i use warez software???? ;)
no one on the forum does that!!!! it's would be against the forum rules...
oh... and did i mention it's also illegal???
:D

[stationx]

I thought i'd have a got at the DVD-9 to DVD-5 full copy method as up to now i've used ifoedit to either strip down to one disk or span two. But i have come to a problem, I'm sure this is an easy one for someone but I’m unsure how to approach it. Im trying to back up my copy of Behind Enemy Lines (NTSC). IFOedit shows it as having 1 PGC so I have chosen the Doom9 DVD-9 to DVD-5 "Full Copy" method not the Scenarist method.

The movie is in VTS_04_X.VOB. The video has few minutes of animated menu followed by the chapter stills then into the main movie. The menu/chapters part of the video has a separate audio track to the main film.

My problem is how to set it up in maestro in order to author it. If I bring in my new video stream it has the menu and chapters at the front (1.38 min approx). When I add the movie audio it has to be off set by 1.38min to be in sync. Then I add the menu/chapters audio which doesn’t have to be offset but looks funny as it appears to over laps into the movie area on the timeline(because the audio plays while the chapters screens are frozen) i'm sure this is ok it justs looks funny. Any chapter or subtitle import will be out of sync by 1.38 mins as time timing is referenced to the start of the video not the start of the film. I did try off setting the imported chapters by editing each one and adding 1.38min which did the trick. But i can't import the subtitles.

I had the idea of cutting the video using TMPGenc tools and bringing the menu/chapters in as movie1 and the film as movie2. However maestro didn't seem to like the cut video. I know i some how need to make the start of the film sequence the 0 sec reference point so that any import i.e chapters etc will be in relation to this point and not the start of the video but i can't think how to do it.

I hope i have explained my self clearly. Any pointers sugestions would be greatly appreciated.

[TRILIGHT]

You ripped the menu VOB along with the others. In this guide, as well as the multi-PGC guide, you do NOT ever touch the *_0.VOB files! This is where your menu is located. You need to be using *_1.VOB and on for the given VTS set.

[stationx]

Thank you TRILIGHT. I knew something wasn't right in DVD2AVI as the video type under the f5 preview was showing 35-40% and rising instead of 99% solid. I couldn't work out why but now i know.

Thanks again
Stationx

[TRILIGHT]

Originally posted by stationx
f5 preview was showing 35-40% and rising instead of 99% solid.

You're welcome. However, be careful. There are times that you run across hybrid clips that can be up to 50/50. Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back is a good example. Just make sure you never touch the *_0.VOB files. The guides are written such that you should not have to recreate or touch the menus at all.

[atreides93]

Trilight, do you only have to use the drop frame version of the m2v file if you import SUBS?
what does drop frame even do?

[TRILIGHT]

Without getting into the techncalities of what drop-frame actually is, it is required for things to be in sync (at least for NTSC. I do not do or know anything about PAL titles. From my understanding, they do not use drop-frame) In fact, the whole use of "non-drop" in Maestro is just to be able to import the chapters without receiving an error. All NTSC projects should be done using drop-frame clips. In fact, now that I use Scenarist exclusively for DVD backups, I don't even use "non-drop" anymore.

[deadk]

i read ppl having trouble with multi-pgc titles and this guide
i wanted to know, would this guide work if the title was multipgc but the 2nd pgc was just like a logo that ran for 2sec or so like on a few dvd's.
If i used this method, what problems would i run into... i tried it on one movie (la haine) and it all played fine till powerdvd, but once burned, the dvd standalone didn't even launch the menu.
I noticed ifoupdate pointing out that the "original ifo has 2 pgc's and authored has only one"
since its a small pgc, is there a workaround?

[TRILIGHT]

Originally posted by deadk
i read ppl having trouble with multi-pgc titles and this guide

I don't mean this to sound rude but it even says in the "NOTE" at the very beginning... "this guide only works for single PGC titles" This is not a multi-PGC guide! There is an updated version of this guide as well as the one I wrote for multi-PGC HERE (http://dvdguides.trilight.net)

[LeXXuz]

Originally posted by TRILIGHT
1) As for the delay, you don't need to worry about this. Maestro will use the timecode in the AC3 file to align it with the video.


Trilight, are you really sure that Maestro handles the delay values correctly ?
Does any AC3-Stream from a movie-dvd has a timecode ?
If not how do i find out having a timecode in the ac3 file ?

I used ac3 delay corrector so far for handling the audio delays.
But this tool isnt very exact, cause it's only able to cut/add multiples of 32ms to or from a stream.

If I cut the delay from the file and add this file into my maestro project , shouldn't I have a new delay then?

Example : I have a delay of -100ms. I cut 3 frames from the file (aprox. 96ms)-> add this into my timeline -> maestro shifts the file according to the timecode 100ms before the video. => So If you're right I should end up with a new delay of 196ms.

I'm a bit confused by now, cause I never had a delay within my authored movies and a delay of 200ms is easy to recognize.

regards
Lexxuz

[TRILIGHT]

Apparently PAL users have sync issues. You absolutely do not need to alter the audio if you are working with NTSC.

[LeXXuz]

Originally posted by TRILIGHT
Apparently PAL users have sync issues. You absolutely do not need to alter the audio if you are working with NTSC.

Yes. You're right! I'm a PAL user ;)
But I dont know why this should be the reason....
So any suggestions ?
Is there a better way for correcting the time-delay?
As I said AC3 Delay Corrector only cuts/adds multiples of 32ms. :(

[TRILIGHT]

Don't know what to tell you. Thank goodness I'm an NTSC user. hehe ;) You might want to check the insanity over on this thread...

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=20433

[LeXXuz]

Originally posted by TRILIGHT
Don't know what to tell you. Thank goodness I'm an NTSC user. hehe ;) You might want to check the insanity over on this thread...

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=20433

Yeah it's quite insane... :D

I did the following with the last dvd:
-r*pped movie to hdd with dvddecrypter into one vob-file
-demuxed movie .m2v and .ac3 files with vobrator
(the movie had to 2 vob ids so I got 2 m2v and 2 ac3 files)
-loaded all files in maestro
-put both m2v files into the timeline
-used function "create sync audio track" and added the ac3 files to their m2v files
(ignore ac3 timecoded is set to OFF in the project settings)
-activated "sync to audio timecode"
-compiled the project

The result played fine on my standalone and was 100% sync. :)

But I'm not sure if its correct to activate "sync to audio timecode" or not. :rolleyes:

[TRILIGHT]

Yeah, I think they are just confusing themselves over there. :D As for "sync to audio timecode", I'm not sure. I don't do things that way. In fact, I really only use Maestro for my TiVo->DVDR stuff. I use Scenarist for all DVD->DVDR stuff. As for "ignore ac3 timecode", you are exactly right. This should not be checked.