UPDATED GUIDE: Adding Menus back to a DVD Shrink Re-authored DVD

[blutach]

A lot more streamlined and easier to use.

Now mainly using VobBlanker. Thanks to jsoto for hosting.

See http://jsoto.posunplugged.com/guides...enus/index.htm

Comments welcome.

Regards

[jsoto]

Also in
http://www.videohelp.com/~jsoto/guid...enus/index.htm

Thanks for the guide!.
jsoto

[CoNS]

Thanks for this guide, blutach.

The title may be a little misleading, though? Unlike your old (also very nice) guide here, the new guide doesn't really "add the menus back to a DVD Shrink Re-authored DVD", or am I mistaken? (you keep the original dvd structure and import the newly authored PGC into the original disc using the VobBlanker replace PGC function).

IMHO it's a whole different approach than your old guide where you use the newly authored disc (in your example from DVD Shrink, could also be from MuxMan or IfoEdit after adding custom subs, compressing the video etc.) and build up a menu structure on top of the new disc by importing the menus using PgcEdit.

Anyhow, I think both guides are very nice, as I said, and they're very much appreciated.

A minor bug: At the bottom of your new guide, the link to the Doom9 discussion thread leads to the thread discussion your old guide...

Also, I'm not sure about this (taken from your new guide):

Step 7 – Check and fix your audio and subtitle menus

Skip this step, if you have kept all audio and subtitle streams in your re-authored DVD.

Because DVD Shrink in re-author mode always does a “logical remapping of enabled streams”, it is probable that the buttons on the audio and subpicture menus now no longer function entirely correctly (unless you kept all streams).

When I use DVDShrink's reauthor mode and add a single title from my original disc and only keep ac3 audio stream no. 2 (i.e. uncheck streams #0 and #1), the outputted disc has the single audio stream I kept as no. 2 (82), whereas the other audio streams are set to "None" when I check in PgcEdit. I would've expected that the streams were not only reordered but also remapped so that the stream I kept was placed as stream no. 0 (80)

[blutach]

Originally posted by CoNS
A minor bug: At the bottom of your new guide, the link to the Doom9 discussion thread leads to the thread discussion your old guide...

I had thought I had just linked to the IFO/VOB Editors forums, because I had not yet set up a thread.

@jsoto (and r0lZ) - can you please change the link to point to this thread?

Also, I'm not sure about this (taken from your new guide):

When I use DVDShrink's reauthor mode and add a single title from my original disc and only keep ac3 audio stream no. 2 (i.e. uncheck streams #0 and #1), the outputted disc has the single audio stream I kept as no. 2 (82), whereas the other audio streams are set to "None" when I check in PgcEdit. I would've expected that the streams were not only reordered but also remapped so that the stream I kept was placed as stream no. 0 (80)

The stream IDs will stay the same but their places in the order will have changed. You might have in the original:

Stream 0 - English (ID 0x80)
Stream 1 - Spanish (ID 0x81)
Stream 2 - Italian (ID 0x82)
Stream 3 - French (ID 0x83)

You decide to keep Spanish and French. Spanish stays as 0x81 and French as 0x83, but Spanish is now Stream 0 and French is now Stream 1, and there is no streams 2 or 3. The original menu will pick audio stream 1 for Spanish and needs to be reprogrammed to pick stream 0 (or else it will play French). You get the picture.

Hope this clears things up and thanks for the nice words. Indeed the method has change a lot, eliminating a lot of work in fixing broken navigation links.

Regards

[richarddd]

The text says rip to a folder called Ripped. The VobBlanker screenshots use Working_Copy as an input folder. Shouldn't the screenshots use the folder "Ripped" (or use "Working_Copy" in the text)?

[r0lZ]

Originally posted by blutach
@jsoto (and r0lZ) - can you please change the link to point to this thread?

The link is correct on my site.

[CoNS]

Originally posted by blutach
Indeed the method has changed a lot, eliminating a lot of work in fixing broken navigation links.

The outputted disc with your old guide, however, had the advantage that you got a "clean" dvd structure with only the menus and titles you want, nothing else.

With the new guide, you'll have to blank out unwanted material etc., too (leaving those 10KB files with corresponding ifo and bup files), AND you will reuse any badly authored stuff from the original disc.

But I still prefer the replace PGC method, it's very easy to use...

Originally posted by blutach
The stream IDs will stay the same but their places in the order will have changed. You might have in the original:

Stream 0 - English (ID 0x80)
Stream 1 - Spanish (ID 0x81)
Stream 2 - Italian (ID 0x82)
Stream 3 - French (ID 0x83)

You decide to keep Spanish and French. Spanish stays as 0x81 and French as 0x83, but Spanish is now Stream 0 and French is now Stream 1, and there is no streams 2 or 3. The original menu will pick audio stream 1 for Spanish and needs to be reprogrammed to pick stream 0 (or else it will play French). You get the picture.

Yeah, but just weird IMHO that DVDShrink re-author mode, where the output per definition doesn't have language/audio/subtitle menus, doesn't rearrange both the stream mapping and the stream numbers...

[CoNS]

Originally posted by r0lZ
The link is correct on my site.

Yep, I was using the guide from jsoto's site...

[blutach]

Originally posted by richarddd
The text says rip to a folder called Ripped. The VobBlanker screenshots use Working_Copy as an input folder. Shouldn't the screenshots use the folder "Ripped" (or use "Working_Copy" in the text)?

If we were being so pedantic, I spose you're right. But users should get the idea. The text pretty much explains it, I hope.

Regards

[blutach]

Originally posted by Cons
The outputted disc with your old guide, however, had the advantage that you got a "clean" dvd structure with only the menus and titles you want, nothing else.

True, but it's hardly a big deal.

With the new guide, you'll have to blank out unwanted material etc., too (leaving those 10KB files with corresponding ifo and bup files), AND you will reuse any badly authored stuff from the original disc.

Yes, you're right. I will amend the guide to ensure users blank unused titlesets. Thanks

But I still prefer the replace PGC method, it's very easy to use...Yeah, but just weird IMHO that DVDShrink re-author mode, where the output per definition doesn't have language/audio/subtitle menus, doesn't rearrange both the stream mapping and the stream numbers...

I have been thinking about a better way of doing this. Essentially, I think users should change the stream positions back to the original ones in PgcEdit's PGC Editor. This is so easy and will not involve ANY menu re-programming (other than hiding unused buttons). It will leave some "gaps" in the stream positions, which should not be a problem - they can be filled in with stripped streams, anyway. I will update the guide and release an updated version in the next day or so.

Thanks for your feedback.

Regards

[jsoto]

Originally posted by blutach
@jsoto (and r0lZ) - can you please change the link to point to this thread?

Done.

[blutach]

Thanks jsoto. What do you think of the idea of remapping the streams back to their original place in order to eliminate the need to re-program the VM commands in audio and subpic menus?

Regards

[jsoto]

I usually keep the streams at their original position in my backups, so I don't need to modify the menu buttons. But, as you know, "gaps" on streams are not well managed by some settops, so I never disable a stream in the middle. This is not a big problem in audio (you cannot have more than 8 audios), but in subs, it is really odd... Imaging you want to keep the subs streams #1 #2 and #31. You have to keep all the subs indexes!.

BTW, when I author with IFOedit/Muxman, I use some "silence" files (usually one frame length) to fill the stream gaps in the VOB.

jsoto

[blutach]

I agree, I have a settop that does not like cycling through streams with the remote unless there are no gaps (the menus work fine though). But I figure you could just pop the original stream definitions back in - they are stripped and won't play anyway.

Regards

[jsoto]

Originally posted by blutach
But I figure you could just pop the original stream definitions back in - they are stripped and won't play anyway.

Yes, I always do it.
jsoto

[Methanoid]

A question, if you please.

I'm trying to re-author the German film Der Untergang (Downfall) to use English subtitles.

Is it possible to use this method to REPLACE one set of subs with the English ones but keep the menus?

I assume I'd have to

Demux the Movie only, add the subs using ifoEdit author and then shove that back into the disk using vobEdit?

[blutach]

Yes, once you have your new PGC created with whatever tools you like, you can just replace one TTN with another.

Regards

[blutach]

Further update to this guide posted on PgcEdit site in MS Word format. HTML version coming soon.

I believe it will also be available on jsoto's site shortly.

Regards

[Methanoid]

Thanks, yeah I found how to do this a week or so ago... re-author (movie only) with ifoEdit replacing the German subs with net sourced English ones. Use VOBEDIT to replace the new movie into the original (keeping menus). Check they match up.

Result is great!

[Tirges]

Not sure if this is the right place to ask, but as this thread is about menus....

Is it possible to re-enable (or unhide) a button in a menu once it's been hidden

(Say you have a DVD where a subtitle has been stripped, and it's menu button has been disabled (but you know it was there, because the picture still says so )
But there is plenty of space so you decide to re-add the subtitle; heck the button is gone....)