Scenarist: "The preceding VOB in seamless connection is too short" Error

[Lazarus Long]

Hello everybody:

I'm trying to transcode the Men in Black Bonus Disc (Region 2), but until now I haven't been able to do so.

First I came across a strange thing. While analyzing VTS10 with IfoEdit I realized it had to be ripped by VobID (it's multiangle), but one of the angles (the last one) had a frame length smaller than the others so Scenarist refused to rebuild the original structure. Since it's a small sized VTS I just decided to use the original to rebuild the DVD.

Now for my main problem. VTS07 is also a multiangle one and also I ripped it by VobID. It has 7 VobIDs the first and the last have 1 audio stream and no subtitles the 2+3+4+5+6 set are multiangled and have 1 audio stream and 3 subtitles. I dropped the needed parts in Scenarist, built up the tracks and created the scenario to emulate the original VTS without any error. When at the Layout Editor tab I told Scenarist to create the DVD files I got the following errors:

Info Multiplexing VOB Main Stream
Error This VOB has 64 fields (in track:VTS__07_V01.4~3_1-t).
Error -- The preceding VOB in seamless connection must have equal to or more than 75 fields.
Error dvd_mux : DoMux Multiplexing Error
Error Terminated Multiplexing (vts07-chap.scn-VTS__07_V01.4~3_1-t_t.vob).
Error The preceding VOB in seamless connection is too short.
Error Multiplex is failed.
Info Multiplexing failed, Track<VTS__07_V01.4~3_1-t>

Error MuxFromDB:MuxVTS failed
Error Multiplex failed
Error DVD files could not be created
I don't know what have I done wrong, so can anyone please help me on this problem.

Thank you very much for your time,

[mpucoder]

The message says it all (well, if you're familiar with interleaving and the spec). What is the preceeding cell? The spec requires 75 fields of PREU (actually, 3 VOBUs) before the split takes place. PREU is the pre interleave segment, and it's needed to get the player ready for interleaved reading (among other things it starts stuffing the buffer faster, and speeds up the rotation of the disk, and is ready to skip the laser laterally).
You didn't mention what came before this, there must be something there.

[Lazarus Long]

Originally posted by mpucoder
The message says it all (well, if you're familiar with interleaving and the spec). What is the preceeding cell? The spec requires 75 fields of PREU (actually, 3 VOBUs) before the split takes place. PREU is the pre interleave segment, and it's needed to get the player ready for interleaved reading (among other things it starts stuffing the buffer faster, and speeds up the rotation of the disk, and is ready to skip the laser laterally).
You didn't mention what came before this, there must be something there.
I appologize but I'm somewhat of a newbie so I don't understand most part of the jargon (yet?). The full log is as follows:

Info
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 VTS__07_V01.4~3_1-t
Info Creating Multiplexer info
Info Multiplexing
Info Multiplexing VOB Main Stream
Error This VOB has 64 fields (in track:VTS__07_V01.4~3_1-t).
Error -- The preceding VOB in seamless connection must have equal to or more than 75 fields.
Error dvd_mux : DoMux Multiplexing Error
Error Terminated Multiplexing (vts07-chap.scn-VTS__07_V01.4~3_1-t_t.vob).
Error The preceding VOB in seamless connection is too short.
Error Multiplex is failed.
Info Multiplexing failed, Track<VTS__07_V01.4~3_1-t>

Error MuxFromDB:MuxVTS failed
Error Multiplex failed
Error DVD files could not be created

Could it have anything to do with the fact that the first VobID has no subtitles? The same applies to the last one also.

This is the only VTS on the project (I created a new project just to figure this out), so I don't understand what preceding VOB and preceeding cell refers to. Did I mention I'm somewhat of a newbie? :p

Thank you very much for your reply.

[mpucoder]

I missed something the first time. I thought there was no VOB preceeding the seamless split, but I see now there is, it is just too short. According to the log the VOB (a term that Scenarist uses in a confusing manner, it means cell in this case) that preceeds the seamless branch is only 64 fields long, it needs to be longer to meet spec.
From your first post you say that there are 7 VobIDs, and the first and last are single-angle. Are they all there? Because it's saying that VobID 1 is too short.

[Lazarus Long]

Originally posted by mpucoder
I missed something the first time. I thought there was no VOB preceeding the seamless split, but I see now there is, it is just too short. According to the log the VOB (a term that Scenarist uses in a confusing manner, it means cell in this case) that preceeds the seamless branch is only 64 fields long, it needs to be longer to meet spec.
From your first post you say that there are 7 VobIDs, and the first and last are single-angle. Are they all there? Because it's saying that VobID 1 is too short.
I think so, here is the original IFO information:
PGC_1 (program chain): [Title(TTN): 1] [00:03:16.14 / 25 fps](Programs: 2) (Cells: 8) (uses VOB-IDs: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7)
[Ch 01] [Pg 01] [Cell 01] [V/C Id: 1/ 1] : time: 00:00:01.15 / 25 fps [Pos: 00:00:01.15] [Frames: 40]
[Cell 02] [V/C Id: 2/ 1] (Angle 1): time: 00:03:11.19 / 25 fps [Pos: 00:03:13.09] [Frames: 4834]
[Cell 03] [V/C Id: 3/ 1] (Angle 2): time: 00:03:11.19 / 25 fps [Pos: 00:03:13.09] [Frames: 4834]
[Cell 04] [V/C Id: 4/ 1] (Angle 3): time: 00:03:11.19 / 25 fps [Pos: 00:03:13.09] [Frames: 4834]
[Cell 05] [V/C Id: 5/ 1] (Angle 4): time: 00:03:11.19 / 25 fps [Pos: 00:03:13.09] [Frames: 4834]
[Cell 06] [V/C Id: 6/ 1] (Angle 5): time: 00:03:11.19 / 25 fps [Pos: 00:03:13.09] [Frames: 4834]
[Cell 07] [V/C Id: 7/ 1] : time: 00:00:01.15 / 25 fps [Pos: 00:03:14.24] [Frames: 4874]
[Ch 02] [Pg 02] [Cell 08] [V/C Id: 7/ 2] : time: 00:00:01.15 / 25 fps [Pos: 00:03:16.14] [Frames: 4914]
and here is what I did:
VTS_1
|
Title_1
|
PGC
+--------------------------------------------------------+
Program Program
+---------+--------------------------------------+ |
Cell* Cell Block Cell*** Cell****
+-------+-------+-------+-------+
Cell Cell Cell Cell Cell**

* Track 1 (Audio & Video from VobID 1)
** Track 2 (Audio from VobID 2, Subtitles from VobID 3, Video from VobIDs 2,3,4,5,6)
*** First scene from Track 3 (Audio & Video from VobID 7)
**** Second scene from Track 3
I hope this is clear enough since it's hard to draw in ASCII. I didn't manipulate in any way the original files (besides transcoding them), and I have done multiangles before so I'm lost here.

Once again thank you for your time and effort.

[mpucoder]

Check to see if there are still 40 frames in VobID 1, the transcoding may have dropped some. If so, 40 frames is short enough to just use the original.

[Lazarus Long]

Originally posted by mpucoder
Check to see if there are still 40 frames in VobID 1, the transcoding may have dropped some. If so, 40 frames is short enough to just use the original.
Strange, I get only 33 frames on the .m2v file (the extracted one from the original VOB) and the same on the .mpv file (the transcoded one). Even stranger I tried to use the original .m2v but I got an error saying that the audio (which I didn't touch) was 6 frames shorter than video for the seamless branching to be successfull.

Don't know what to think about it, maybe I'll try to demux the original VOBs again?

[mpucoder]

Well, there's the problem. You didn't say what program you used to rip by VobID, try using something different.

[Lazarus Long]

Originally posted by mpucoder
Well, there's the problem. You didn't say what program you used to rip by VobID, try using something different.
Sorry about that, I used DoItFast4U! as I always do for ripping (I didn't post this in the DoItFast4U! forum because I thought it was not about it but about multiangle and/or seamless branching, but I'll ask to move the thread there if you think it's the correct place for it).

Thank you once more for your reply.