Making a xvid movie out of a dvd with two discs?

[cogd115]

I am trying to make a xvid movie out of God Father 2 and Good Fellas, both of which are two disced dvd movies. My plan is to make an avi file for each disc, join them, and then cut them apart for storing on cds. But it seems that birate and pixels for each avi created from each disc may differ. Would that cause any problem for joining the avis and general look? Is there anyway to get the files from the two discs encoded for an one avi (that is, without having to encode the files from each disc one at a time and join the avis later)? Thanks in advance..

[jggimi]

You haven't specified what process or encoding suite you are using.

Assuming your process uses DVD2AVI .d2v project files at some point ... you can combine both VOB sets into a single .d2v. Just rip them to separate folders, select the VOB set for disc 1, then "add" the VOB set for disc 2.

Examination of the ending chapter of disc 1 and starting chapter of disc 2 may be needed. When I did this with Fellowship of the Ring Extended Edition, the DVD authors added an additional chapter to disc 1 to tell you to switch discs, and an additional chapter in the front of disc 2 to tell you you were playing disc 2.

You may need to remove "extra" video frames at the join position, which are blank. I'm not sure the reason these appear -- they may be due to the known GOP issues DVD2AVI 1.76 has with initial frames -- but they are easy enough to remove with the Trim() filter, if AviSynth is part of your procedures.

[cogd115]

Hey go easy on me Jggimi -- I am just a newbie without jargons, :D ... Thanks for the reply. :) I am using Gordian Knot and Roborip4. Roborip does use DVD2AVI.d2d. But it is beyond me when it comes to how I combine two VOB sets and tell Gordian Knot that they are now one. Could you explain the procedure? And How I can use Trim() filter? I am really a newbie with wide eyes. :o

Thanks a bunch..

[jggimi]

R4R automates the use of DVD Decrypter and DVD2AVI. You'll just need to do those two steps manually.

DVD Decrypter Insert Disc 1 in your DVD-ROM

From Gknot's Ripping tab, click on DVD Decrypter.

Press the I key to ensure DVD Decrypter is in IFO mode. You can also do this from the Mode pull-down menu.

Select a folder, or let DVD Decrypter choose one for you automatically, such as C:\<Disc name>\Video_TS.

Press the DVD -> Hard Disk graphic, wait for rip to complete.

Change discs.

Make sure a different folder structure is selected. If automated, it may be C:\<disc name>\Video_TS.

Press the DVD -> Hard Disk graphic, wait for rip to complete.DVD2AVI From Gknot's Ripping tab, click on DVD2AVI.

Follow Doom9's DVD2AVI -> .d2v Guide (http://www.doom9.org/mpg/d2a-mpeg2dec.htm) with the following changes: In step one, use the File...Open (F3) command to point to the first .VOB file in the Disc 1 folder. All .VOB files in that folder will appear in the list of files. Then, press the Add button and point to the first .VOB file in the Disc 2 folder. You should now have all vobs, in order, from both discs.

Ignore the section on cropping and resizing, since you'll do that in Gknot.

After saving the project (F4), you can stop following the directions.Gknot creates AviSynth scripts (.avs files) for you. These are text files that you can look at or edit in a text editor, but when "played" by an AVI player or encoded by an AVI encoder, act like uncompressed video. If you need to excise "extra" frames ... you first need to determine if they exist, and edit the script to insert a trim command.

AviSynth Open the .d2v in Gknot.

From Gknot's preview window, find the transition point between discs 1 and 2. If there are "extra," blank frames, record the frame numbers to be removed. There may be none, or there may be a few.

Press the Save & Encode button from the preview window.

On the Save .avs window that pops up with filter options, such as resizing method, note the action buttons at the bottom. Along with a second Save & Encode button, there is an Edit button. Press it.

Add a Trim() command at the bottom. The syntax for Trim is a little odd. First, you need to list the frames you save, not the frames you remove. Second, the value 0 is used both for a starting frame as well as ending frame. For example, to remove five frames numbered 401, 402, 403, 404, 405 ... you would use:Trim(0,400)++Trim(406,0) Press the Preview button after adding the trim command. This will save the script as "Preview.avs" in the Gknot folder, and open it with Windows Media Player. Be sure it plays properly, and has no syntax errors ... and that the excised frames are gone. Assuming it's working properly, Press Save & Encode from the editor.

[manono]

That was a heck of an explanation, jggimi. Must have taken you a while to write it. It should be preserved for posterity somewhere.

The almost certain audio async issues haven't been discussed yet, though. You may have bitten off more than you can chew, cogd115, so early in your ripping career. Those 2 DVD movies can be a challenge for even experienced rippers. This is especially true when you join all the vobs together, in order to have consistent quality throughout the whole movie.

After following the directions and before encoding, I'd suggest opening the .avs and the audio in a player that can load and play both (BS Player, among others). Then go to where the 2 parts join and make sure that audio synch is maintained in the second half of the movie. If not, you may have to adjust the Trim values.

[jggimi]

And, in addition, if you're selecting IVTC in the Save .AVS window, you'll need to move the Trim() command above the IVTC filters ... because the frame numbers you recorded at 29.97fps won't be the same numbers after the reduction in frames to 23.976fps.

[cogd115]

First of all, I don't know how to thank you, Jggimi, for explaining everything so thoroughly. I need to put my jaw back...

I will stduy and follow your post step by step. It looks so doable now. :)

Thanks to Manono for the additional point.

I will try it today.. And, I will report back the result.. Umm... Tomorrow. Thanks once again, guys...

[jggimi]

You're welcome.

I found that removing the "extra" frames eliminated the sync error in the second half for me, which is why I bothered to remove 6 black frames.

The DVD2AVI guide I pointed you to is an old one, and I need to clarify how to properly demux audio, since the guide doesn't really cover it.

Be sure to use the Audio...Dolby Digital pull-down menu, and select Demux. If you're not sure which audio track to select from the Audio...Track number pull down menu, then select Demux All Tracks rather than Demux. In either case, you should never have DVD2AVI Decode audio when using it with .d2v projects.

[cogd115]

Gotcha, Jggimi.. Have a great day.. :)

[cogd115]

Risking a severe backlash by the op for cross posting :D, how do you guys deal with permanent subtitles when you encode a movie of two dvd discs?

I am thinking about joining two sub files (and probably synchronizing them in Gordian Knot or something like Subtitle Studio2 R2??). And then inserting them via Gordian Knot. Does it actually work that way?

Thanks..

[manono]

Hi-

Yeah, SubResynch in the SubTitle Tab of GKnot can do it. Make sure to edit the .avs so the VobSub line reflects the name you gave the joined sub file. And make sure you test it before encoding to make sure the subs for the second half are timed correctly. Open the .avs in VDubMod and find a close up of someone's face in the second half to make sure that the subs show up when he starts to speak.

[cogd115]

My latest report:

It was an epic battle of encoding a two disced movie. So many obstacles including my girlfriend and even my dog. But, I am almost there. :D

Due to a sudden power outage -- I am in the capitol of lightening, Florida -- I bothced up Godfather2 in the middle of encoding it. I had a couple of movies to encode beside that one -- all in due shortly. So, I gave up on Godfather2. Instead, I got The Lord of the Ring: the fellowship of the Ring. I precisely followed jggimi's instrcution and added the subtitles following manono's hint. Then, my girlfriend and my dog conspired and stepped on the power cord to disrupt encoding in about three quarter way -- wasting about 15 hours of encoding! I finally got the damn thing going again and finished encoding it, which took me about a day. And, I found that the trim command did not work! As jggmi told, audio was out of sync. So, I sliced the encoded movie into two parts. I got rid of the 6 blank frame in nandub, resync'ed audio fresh out of the sound portion of the second disc, joined the two parts, and sliced it again for stroing on cd's. I finally got it done though side-stepped a little. (Boy, was I magnificent! Pardon my pomposity. :D )

At any rate, it naturally inspired me to pursue why the trim command did not work. The following is the precise addition to the edit window:

>> #Trim(0,X)++Trim(Y,Z) <<

(X=the frame number right before the blank frames,
Y=the frame number right after the blank frames,
Z=the frame number right before the long credit to
the official fan club)

I added # because every line in the edit window starts with it. And, I kinda got experimental that I could cut away the fan club thingie by adding Z. So, I guess either adding # or adding Z screwed it up.

Should I have added an additional trim like ++trim(some frame number very close to the end of the creit,0) right after the second trim()?

At any rate, thanks to you guys for getting a newbie done this intricate task. You guys are my shepherd. Let your work done through me! :)

[Tuning]

Due to a sudden power outage -- I am in the capitol of lightening,

You can hibernate the windows on such conditions.The encoding will start from where u hibernated and can save time.(and will not affect quality-only the time elapsed and time estimated will be added up with the time you turned off(hibernated))

Tuning

[manono]

Hi-

>> #Trim(0,X)++Trim(Y,Z) <<
I added # because every line in the edit window starts with it.

LOL! Please forgive me for guffawing. Guffaw! Guffaw! The "#" is a comment and means that nothing is done. You actually have some lines without them. It's just hard to pick them out in that large GKnot generated .avs. That's why I recommend deleting all the lines beginning with "#" so that you can actually make sense of the thing. But if you look for the MPEGSource line, the Crop line, and the Resize line, among others, you'll see lines without the "#" in front.

So, remove the "#" from in front of your Trim line. Then before encoding, open the .avs in VDubMod and make sure the frames have been removed. One way to do this is to go File-File Information and check the number of frames without the Trim line included (or with it commented out), and again after the Trim line is there.

I can just picture you thinking, "OK manono, I'd like to see you perform brain surgery, argue a case in court, turn a steer into steaks, teach a class in history, place a fly a foot in front of a bass (fill in what you're good at). Then we'd see who's laughing." In a month or so, after you've mastered this, you'll be chuckling too. Until then, with all the time wasted, the power outtage, the dog pulling the plug, it may not seem so amusing.

And good going on figuring another way to lick the problem.

[cogd115]

mamono: Yeah, laugh all you want. In a few short months, I will be in position to return the favor. Nah, it will probably take forever for me to just get a few things in Gknot done properly. :D Your instruction duly noted and appreciated. :) No wonder why the trim thingie did not work. Ignorance never quits on me. Puhahaha.

Tuning: Great idea. I will try that next time.

Thanks, guys.

[cogd115]

This time, I tackled Amadeus. I got the trim syntax right this time without # and everything. Yet, I found audio not in sync. The reason, I realized later, was that the second disc had 45 blank frames before it hit the second part of the movie, and the audio was set up inclusive of those frames. Of course, I deleted or trimmed the frames as I encoded the movie; thereby, audio is not in sync.

So, instead of re-enciding everything I tried to sync audio for the second part by adding 45 more frames to the second part (I cut the second portion of the encoded movie with extra 45 frames from the first part) and then resync it with mp3 from the second part or disc. But, nandub does not allow me to do it. I cut the second part including only 45 frames prior to it, but nandub keeps on adding almost extra 120 frames from the first part. I tried to do almost everything conceivable to remove those extra 120 frames -- without any success. Impossible to retain only the 45 frames without the extra 120 frames.

So, my questions are:

1) why the heck nandub ignores my operation and command to include only 45 frames and adds those extra 120 frames? I tried to delete the 120 frames in nandub, but it simply ignores it. Haha...

2)Is there any software that cuts precisely as opposed to loose cutting of nandub including the unwanted frames?

Probably, it is faster to re-encode the whole movie.. But, this thing really gets at me, and I wanna find some solution to it. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks..

[manono]

Hi-

Didn't I suggest earlier in this thread that you play the .avs and the audio before encoding to make sure this wouldn't happen? The number of black frames with no audio varies from movie to movie.

1. You can cut only on keyframes, and not on whatever frame you want. That's why it cut 165 frames (or whatever it was), instead of the 45 you wanted.

2. I'm going to send you to a thread where the guy got asynched audio when trying to join the .avis from a 2 DVD movie that he had encoded separately. So the situations aren't exactly the same. You joined the vobs together to encode all at once, didn't you? But you may find a workaround from the thread:

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=58768&highlight=Gangs+Of+New+York

And I think in your case you can cut as close to the midway point as possible (somewhere in the black if possible), adjust the delay of the audio of part 2, and save that, and then rejoin that new part 2 to part 1. No reencoding necessary.

[cogd115]

Hi manono,

Yes, you did suggest checking the .avs in vdub and bsplayer. Somehow, vdub did not find the .avs cool though it has the function to open video file via avs. Nandub, though it does not have the function, somehow opened the video file via avs. So, I checked the subtitles but not the audio as nandub does not seem to be able to play the audio -- prolly I dont know how to do it yet.

I installed the bs player but have not been able to figure out -- hmm you might have another series of guffaws :) -- how to load both video and audio.. I seem to get only one thing, either video or audio, going at a time.

Oh well... And I am paying the price for being not studious and careful, I guess..

The thread gave me some more ideas as well as being helpful, for which I thank you..

Thanks once again...

[manono]

Hi cogd115-

No, no guffaws this time. Not even a chortle or a chuckle. :) Took me a couple of minutes to figure it out myself, after I learned about it.

So, here's how you play a good .avs and the audio together in BS Player. Open BS Player. If you open it by double-clicking a movie, then right-click the movie and go Playback-Stop. Right-click that olive green rectangular box. What's that called, the console? Right-click the console and hit Open. Instead of media files, hit that little triangle and get "All Files" and open the .avs. Right-click the console again and "Open Audio File" (Audio Files this time, and not All Files). It should start playing, but if it doesn't, right-click the black video screen and Playback-Play. I did notice that the MP3 files play asynch, probably because they're VBR and unmuxed, so you'd probably better open the .ac3.

As they say, hope that helps.