Why is cutting out video from a dvd so difficult?

[L84work]

Lately I checked out DVD Shrink. It´s certainly a good program if you want to make a quick copy of a DVD without much hassle. It makes it easy to simply include the audio tracks you want in your copy. Now, why can´t deleting video parts like the FBI warning or just some dvd extra you don´t want to keep be as easy? Is it just not included in shrink or is it indeed much more difficult to cut out unwanted video files?

[Kedirekin]

I believe it is indeed difficult. In order to ensure all DVDs play on all players, everything has to adhere to standards.

It's easy to hack something out of a DVD. It isn't so easy to hack something out and stay standards compliant. Doing it right requires nothing less than creating a specialized authoring utility, and doing that is not easy at all, especially considering the DVD specs cost thousands.

[L84work]

Why yes, but apparently losing some audio tracks is no problem at all and the audio is in the vob files with the video. So what is the difference? If audio tracks can be removed by tools like shrink without requiring to reauthor the dvd why can´t entire video like the annoying fbi warnings or dvd extras be removed?

[Kedirekin]

Wow! I didn't expect that response. You sound frustrated and angry.

I don't know what answer you're expecting.

Think of the MPG on a DVD as a long piece of cloth. Removing audio is like removing a single thread of the cloth (in the long direction). You can remove the thread and the cloth is still more or less whole; the DVD still plays.

Removing a warning screen (or any cell) is like cutting all the way across the cloth. The cloth is no longer whole; the DVD is broken and to get it to work again requires stitching it back together (i.e. re-authoring it).

I don't know if you'll be satisfied with an anology, but I think this anology is accurate. It gives you the spirit of the answer without delving into the technical underpinnings (which I do not know, never have read the DVD spec).

[sarahjh69]

try VOBBLANKER

or if the warnings are mixed in with stuff you want in the same vobs
edit the vobs with dvd author
then inset them back in with vobblanker

dead easy

[L84work]

Originally posted by Kedirekin
Wow! I didn't expect that response. You sound frustrated and angry.



LOL, no, not at all. I´m just curious and wanted to know more.

sarahjh69: thx for the recommendations, I will check out the programes you mentioned.

[earthslash]

You could just use DVD Shrink to re-author the DVD and just add the parts you want (example: only keeping the main movie). This is the simplest program i've ran across... and theres still lots of guides if your not sure what your doing. Only drawback is the menus aren't able to be kept in the re-author mode, and the reason for that is most likely what Kedirekin was talking about.

- Steve

[L84work]

Yes but if you re-author a dvd with shrink the menu is lost.