Anime DVD backup guide

[Platin]

Hi, I've been searching throughout the forum for specific information about backing up anime DVDs. I haven't found the guide who "does it all" for anime DVDs, and the loads and loads of tips and guides about stuff that are relative to that. I realize that anime DVDs might be not that special that they need a separate guide, but here are some issues I need to get good answers to:


Progressive frame or not? When to use IVTC?
Which settings to use in CCE?
How to demux a DVD with only one VTS but multiple PGCs?
and what if the PGCs have multiangles?
How to author the multiple PGCs in Scenarist?


I have managed to solve some of those issues myself separately but haven't been able to "put them all together".

Any tips and pointers are welcome, thank you.

[YODAS]

I believe all the questions can be answered if u consider the guides in doom's page or trilight's guides since I c u have scenarist. The problems that u describe r not different from regular dvds with multiangles or multi pgc's. So I guess if u follow step by step the existing guides u will have no problem at all. I did quite a lot anime dvds with the usual procedures that were required from each title seperetaly. I followed the relevant guides like I always do and never had a problem. I guess anime dvds r after all dvds which means their structure is the same so the demands from a full backup remain the same:-)

[Platin]

Hi, thank you for the reply. Yes, I have actually read those guides, but still manages to mess it up somehow. Maybe someone can find where I did wrong if I describe how I did it :)

DVD is anime, 7.5gb, only one VTS. The "main movie" is divided into five episodes and PGCs respectively. The extras are in two PGCs. PGC 1 to 5 is the episodes and they are multiangle (one angle for Japanese version and one for English). The extras are on PGC 6 and 7 not having multiangle. There are two audio tracks (2ch 224kbps each). There are 6 subtitles for PGC 1-6, but one subtitle track only for PGC7.

This is how I did it:

Demuxing streams with DiF4U v1.08,

check "Create folder for this VTS"
check "Demux all VTSes checked below"

"Mandatory"
check VTS 01 (default)
PGC Start = 01
PGC End = 07
Mb minimum = 0 (whatever)

"Optional Switches"
check "Vobsub PGC", choose ALL
choose "Only Language" ALL
check "All Angles"

Check "Autodetect Forcefilm/Deinterlace"
Everything else unchecked. Now ripping it!

I don't think I need to demux it by Vob-IDs since they Vob-IDs are not mixed across the PGCs.

During the ripping of PGC6 and PGC7, DVD Decrypter will give error messages about not being able to rename an existing file. I just pressed Cancel on the messages. The reasoning was probably that DiF4U thinks there are 2 Angles, while DDecrypter only finds one.

Moving the ac3-files into PGCx folders to make it better structured, also renaming filenames to shorten them. Making sure files still got unique names. Leaving video files and subtitle files in the VTS01 dir
because it's much more accessible that way. All PGCs have duplicate pair of audio AC3-files, will only need one pair probably (a pair being one with Japanese and one with English audio).

Not renaming the .d2v and .m2v files as other files (.avs->.m2v and .d2v->.m2v) depend on them.


Transcoding using CCE v2.66. Creating a template, calling it "firstpass_multiang" with these values:

"Output files"
check "Video files"
check "Video information file"
uncheck "Audio file"

"Video setting"
Mode "MPEG-2 (ES, One-pass VBR)"
Quantization factor and Bitrate
Q = 40 Min = 0 Max = 9800


"Aspect Ratio" 4:3

Advanced "Video" (button)
"GOP sequence" M = 3, N/M = 4
"SEQ header" every 1 GOP
check Add sequence end code
uncheck DVD Video complient
check DVD Video multiangle (which checks 3 other checkboxes)
check Upper field first
Luminance level "16 to 235"
Frame rate 23.976 (defaulted)
Packet size 128 (defaulted)

"Quality" (button)
Simple setting "Animation"
Block scanning order "Zigzag"
check Progressive frame flag (should it be checked?)

Now adding all .AVS files for PGC 1 to 5 (all the multiangles). Should be 10 files.

Creating another template, "firstpass" using "firstpass_multiang" as
template. Changing only the Advanced Video settings by unchecking "DVD Video Multiangle", making sure the 3 other checkboxes ("Close all GOPs", "Restrict auto I fram insertion" and "Equalize each GOP's bit length") dependend on this checkbox are unchecked. Adding the two last .AVS files (PGC 6 and 7) using this new profile. Starts encoding the first pass, creating .mpv and .vaf files.

When first pass is done, editing the "firstpass_multiang" profile. Changing these:

"Video setting"
Mode "MPEG-2 (ES, Multipass VBR)"
Bitrate Average = 4200 Min = 0 Max = 9350

Lowering Max bitrate to 9350 since total audiostream bitrates are 448 kbps.

Saves this new profile as "multipass_multiang", and editing the "firstpass" profile. Changing it to

"Video setting"
Mode "MPEG-2 (ES, Multipass VBR)"
Bitrate Average = 3100 Min = 0 Max = 9350

Saving as "multipass" and choosing template "multipass_multiang" as current profile and loading the PGC 1 - 5 .AVS-files (there are 10 of them). After loading them, double-clicked on the first file to bring up the encoding properties of the videostream. Pressing the "Bit allocation" button and adjusting the gray areas. Doing the same on the other 9 files. Finally choosing the "multipass" profile and loading PGC6 and 7, encoding can start.

After CCE encoding done, used DiF4U to do pulldown on the mpv-files which resulted in 12 .mpv.M2V files. Renaming them to short names like P1A1.M2V (pgc1, angle1).

Subtitles are opened as framerate 29.97 and converted to .sst using SubResync (VobSub 2.23 package), saving only the 3 English subtitles (for each PGC), which makes 6 x 3 .sst files. PGC7 subs was 0 size so ignoring it. DiF4U produced 3 pairs of .idx and .sub files for each PGC1. Seems I will only need one pair. The resulting .sst files and .bmp files are saved in a separate subs folder on the same level as the VTS01 folder.

Starting new project in Scenarist NT, choosing NTSC, 1 VTS, ignoring subtitle color settings (using the defaults). Not wanting to complicate things, I will only try to multplex the first PGC. So I'm loading PGC1 video files (P1A1.m2v and P1A2.m2v) and the PGC1 audio files. Now I have 4 assets. Changing them all to "Drop frame".

Dropping the P1A1-asset into the Tracks editor. Then adding one Angle to the timeline and dropping P1A2-asset on that angle. Adding the two audiotracks, and then importing the 3 subtitles. From the menu, choosing Tools and "Verifying Track" produced this result:

Total bitrate = 9798000 [ audio + main video ]

Switching to the Scenario Editor and dropping the authored track into the Title_1 folder. Switching to Layout Editor and pressing Start gives this result:

Info Creating DVD Files
Info No VTS<VTS_1> Language Tracks found
Info Creating DVD data (VTS Title) VTS#01
Info Preparing to multiplex track P1A1-t
Info Creating Multiplexer info
Info Multiplexing
Info Multiplexing VOB Main Stream
Error Video or Audio Buffer underflow: (Dts: 4002114, SCR 4002221)
Error dvd_mux : DoMux Multiplexing Error
Error Terminated Multiplexing (kk2-1.scn-P1A1-t_t.vob.0).
Error Total bitrate is too HIGH. Please reduce the stream bitrate or the number of stream.
Error Multiplex is failed.

Verify track gave OK result, but now this??? Ok, so maybe I should lower the max bitrate in CCE, but before I start re-encoding I want to look at the result so far, so I open the Simulation window, and starts the simulation. The video are totally off sync with the audio and subtitles (audio and subtitles are in synch with each other). The video is running too fast... so I checked the file with Bitrate viewer but it confirms it being 29.97, which it should be right? (Since it's 23.976 pulled down 2:3).

So I have been digging this forum for info solving these two issues but have so far just found posts confirming the process. My question is now what did I forget or where did I go wrong? :scared: :confused: