After TMPEGing, how to burn DVD with AC3?

[IndyJones1023]

I ripped a DVD and resized it to CVD specs with TMPEG. In the process, DVD2AVI left me a WAV file for the audio portion, which works, but loses the surround sound. Is there a way I can "rip" the AC3 (or DTS) audio from the VOBs and (using DVDit) use that for the audio portion when I burn the new MPG file back to a fresh DVD?

[JReiginsei]

Open DVD2AVI and go into the audio setup and select demux or demux all tracks. That will demux the .ac3 file instead of converting it to .wav.

[IndyJones1023]

Originally posted by JReiginsei
Open DVD2AVI and go into the audio setup and select demux or demux all tracks. That will demux the .ac3 file instead of converting it to .wav.

So then just add the CVD'd MPG file and the new .ac3 file into DVDit? DVDit will know the .ac3 file is the audio?

[IndyJones1023]

Originally posted by IndyJones1023
So then just add the CVD'd MPG file and the new .ac3 file into DVDit? DVDit will know the .ac3 file is the audio?

I tried this on a whim and it doesn't work. The AC3 file is 1/4 the size of the WAV file that works (367MB instead of 1.2GB) and even though DVDit doesn't mind the AC3 file, there is no audio on the resulting DVD it produces.

Any other tricks?

[IndyJones1023]

Further testing has DVDit yield the following error: "DVDit recognizes only stereo Dolby Digital, this file has too many tracks." I am paraphrasing, but that is the general error. Any other ideas, please?

[mikecito]

DVDIt does not support Dolby Digital 5.1 surround. It only supports left/right... thus the error you received of "too many tracks."

Unfortunately, the only way to fix this is to use an authoring program that accepts AC3 5.1... such as scenarist, maestro, or the like.

Also - save yourself some time. While ripping the dvd, if using smartripper(the best IMHO), check the stream processing and have it rip the AC3 to a seperate file. You can skip audio completely in DVD2AVI that way. Then reencode your video or whatever. Just remember that if you clip your video, you have to do that to the audio too, which will REQUIRE you to decompress the ac3 to 6 wave files and then reencode using besweet or soft encode, etc. But if you leave the video the same length, the ac3 file doesn't have to be touched.

Also - AC3 is compressed, so expect a much smaller file than the associated wav file.


Good luck!

[IndyJones1023]

OK, thanks for the tips. I tried following the Doom9 guide to Maestro, but then get into menus and buttons and so forth, which I don't need. I just want the movie to auto start. So, can anyone point me to a simpler Maestro tutorial where I can merely add the m2v and ac3 files and have the sucker play?

[framerman]

Some films also have the 2 channel ac3 file. But be careful, most of the time it's the directors comments. If there are two 2-channel ac3's, then at least on will work for you. I believe you can also import the audio into BeSweet and change the 5.1 ac3 to stereo ac3 without any quality loss. You can also change it to a wav or mp3. I'm unsure about how to author CVD's though. I'm not familiar with them. Is this similar to a dvd?

[IndyJones1023]

Yes, CVDs are "DVD-compliant" MPEG2 videos, merely half as wide as standard DVD (352x480). But with a high enough bitrate, they look DVD-quality anyway. The upshot is the files are now smaller in size. So, those of us with DVD burners can make longer DVDs (since we can only burn to 1 layer, and not dual layer).

At any rate, since I want to preserve the 5.1 surround sound, I have the AC3 file ripped and the CVD-formatted M2V file. Now I just need to find a way to assemble a DVD with these files somehow.

[framerman]

Well, I'm not sure if this will work, but here goes. If you open up ifoedit v. 0.95, click DVD Author from the drop down menu. In here place your m2v file first, then your ac3 file, then your subtitle file and last your chapter file. Press save and select a new folder to store everything, not the source folder though. This will give you vob's. I'm not sure if this is what cvd's require though. Is this the right file extension you need (vob's)?

I'm curious, with a 352x480, does that squish your video horizontally? And do you put your files onto a dvd disc? You've got my gears turning.

[IndyJones1023]

I'll try the IFOedit thing, even though I don't have subtitles or chapters.

And no, it doesn't squish the video at all! It looks perfect! Which is why I want to make this work! I burned a test with plain stereo sound and it was flawless. It looked exactly like the original movie. Of course, I want to preserve the AC3, so that is the next hurdle. If I can get this to work, then the sky's the limit!

[framerman]

Yeah, you don't really need the subtitles. I put them on just in case of a movie like "Snatch" where you can't tell what the frig they're saying. The chapters are very easy to do, and it doesn't take hardly any space at all. This will give your remote the possibility to skip to chapters easily, rather than scan in fast forward. Let me know if this works, I would eventually like to put Lord of the Rings on 1 dvd and if this reduces file size without sacrificing quality, then I'm on your team!

[IndyJones1023]

Originally posted by framerman
I would eventually like to put Lord of the Rings on 1 dvd

Amen to that! This is exactly why I never bought a laserdisc player. I didn't want to have to flip the disc. So it bums me out that some of the newer, longer movies (Pearl Harbor, Fellowship Extended) are on 2 DVDs. This would be a great compromise.

[framerman]

I typed in cvd in search and can't find anything. Is there a guide somewhere?

[IndyJones1023]

Originally posted by framerman
I typed in cvd in search and can't find anything. Is there a guide somewhere?

I think I discovered it on www.vcdhelp.com

In anticipation of creating CVDs, I modified the DVD Video logo so it reads CVD Video. You can download it if you like to make labels and case inserts and stuff. It's on my site:

http://www.westg8.com/cvd/

I just put ChapterXtractor there to, so I can try it out when I get home.

[framerman]

I've gotta say that I'm not impressed with my results with the quality. Very blocky. The website you sent me to said the max resolution for cvd's is 2520. This is what I set in TMPGEnc. It came out with a very good reduction in filesize, but it is very noticeable in poor quality. Maybe I'm missing something. Can you set the bitrate higher?

[IndyJones1023]

Yes. I will send you my TMEPG template. Push that baby up! I think I did 4000 max, 3000 average, and 2000 minimum.

[mikecito]

To use Maestro to only have the movie(no menu, single track of sound), make a new project.

1)Delete the only menu listed on the left.
2)Double click "Movie1"
3)Drag the m2v file and ac3 file into the assets bin on the bottom right
4)After the files are read and verified, drag the m2v file into the movie track in the movie1 window, and the ac3 into the first audio track
5)Right Click on Untitled1 Project
6)Click View Connections (If it's already checked, find the connections window)
7)Drag Movie1 from the bottom half of the connections window into the top half of the window placing it in the bar that says "First Play" on the left
8)Click on Tools, Compile...Choose a place for it to put your finished DVD
9)Test the DVD in PowerDVD, or burn to disc if you have discs to waste... I suggest Nero 5.5.8.2

This method does not include subtitles or extra audio tracks, but if you want to add them, check Maestro's user manual. It has tons of great help.

Any questions - feel free to ask!
Good luck!

[IndyJones1023]

Woohoo! Success! The IFOedit method works. Just use the DVD Authoring command, add the M2V, the AC3, and burn away! My CVD looks near-DVD quality and has retained the 5.1 surround sound! I am currently fiddling with the chapter settings. Does annyone know which format IFOedit reads chapter files? ChapterXtractor can save as Maestro, Micro DVD, and others.

[framerman]

Gotcha covered! Easy as pie. Open up the main movie ifo file after you stripped in ifo. Select VTS_PGCITI in the upper window. Under this select the VTS_PGC of your movie. Then in tools, drop down and select "save cell times to file". It will save it in a text file for your ifoedit authoring location. Voila!

[mike4692]

framerman, the advice you gave me about ifoedit 0.95 worked a treat , multiplexed the m2v file and ac3 and is easy peasy to use , just the main movie and it auto plays complete with the chapters cheers mate :D

[IndyJones1023]

Thanks for the cell times trick. Did you want my CVD template for TMPEG?

[Navellint]

Originally posted by mikecito
Just remember that if you clip your video, you have to do that to the audio too, which will REQUIRE you to decompress the ac3 to 6 wave files and then reencode using besweet or soft encode, etc. But if you leave the video the same length, the ac3 file doesn't have to be touched.

also, if you leave it, the audio won't deteriorate severely due to recompression.

Use Vobrator to demux dts. For dts you'll HAVE to use Scenarist or Maestro to re-author.

[Frikkie]

I tried a few times already but everytime i Tried to use vob files in ifoedit 0.95 it gives me a error " Can't open for writing"
Is there a other way to to make Vob's if you have video and a ac3 stream ?
I'm running Windows XP

[mikecito]

DVD Maestro, Scenarist, DVD Quickbuilder... just to name a few. Most dvd authoring programs accept AC3 and Mpeg2 streams. Just remember that DVDIt and lower end programs like it will not accept 5.1 surround sound... usually.