Encoding a DVD using CCE

[CoNS]

During the years I've done a lot of DVD editing, mostly blanking of unwanted stuff, some editing of PGC commands and adding custom made subtitles to my DVDs.

However, lately I've tried to obtain knowledge on how to use CCE when backing up DVDs, i.e. compressing DVD9 to DVD5. So far I've primarily been using DVD Shrink and DVD-Rebuilder for this, but I'm not satisfied with the blocky output I often get with DVD Shrink (and other transcoders), and I would like to know more about the process of CCE encoding instead of "just" using DVD-Rebuilder.

I've searched the Doom9 main site and this forum (and Videohelp and After-Dawn), and also googled for answers, but after reading tons of forum threads and guides I'm still puzzled with some (very basic, I assume) questions, which I hope someone here can help me with...! :)

Basically, what I want to do, is to manually rip the entire DVD with menus etc. to a harddisk folder, do some blanking of unwanted material (trailers, warnings, unwanted bonus material) both to skip annoying stuff and to save space for the video, and then compress the main movie (and/or left titles with extra features) to make it all fit a DVD5. I don't want to use 1-click-tools, where I feel that I loose control of the process and don't understand what's going on...

When I first started looking into CCE encoding, I thought that I could use the same process as I use when adding custom subtitles:
Use PgcDemux to demux the PGC in question (for example the main movie PGC) into a m2v video file, and some audio and subtitle files, plus save the chapter info in a celltimes.txt file.
Use CCE to encode the m2v file to a new m2v file with a smaller size (but same number of frames etc.). Beforehand I could calculate the maximum size of the encoded m2v file, in order to make it fit onto a DVD5.
Then put it all back together using a muxer like MuxMan.
Finally I would use VobBlanker's Replace PGC function (or PgcEdit's Replace VTS function, or the IFO update functions of BatchUpdateIFO or IfoUpdate)

But, alas, I quickly discovered that it was not so easy! It seems like CCE will only accept video input in AVI or AVS formats? And AVS format is outputted by AviSynth, which is a frame scripting program? :confused:

So, this is when I started looking for a freeware application that would act as a "bridge" to CCE, so that I can specify a single m2v file, or PGC (or VTS) in a DVD that I want encode, enter the desired output size, and then let the "bridge application" do the rest with the use of CCE, ending with an outputted m2v file or a simple DVD containing only the PGC (or VTS) in question. Again, the all-in-one package with DVD-Rebuilder or DoItFast4U is not what I'm after...

For this purpose I tried DVD2SVCD (http://www.dvd2svcd.org/) and DVD2DVD-R (http://www.dvd2dvd-r.de/). Support for the latter seems to be in German only, and it looks like development has stopped? Also, AFAIK, none of these programs are able to use the latest versions of CCE.

Before I go into further testing and search for info on this subject, I would be extremely grateful if someone here could guide me in the right direction... TIA :o

[jel]

hi CoNS,

it all comes down to how much control/automation you are looking for.

personally i find that the 'big 3' method ( DoitFast4U, BatchCCEWS, ScenAid & NuMenu4u (http://forum.doom9.org/forumdisplay.php?f=66)) satisfies my needs to this end.

however if you prefer to have even more manual input in the demux/frameserving part of the process, you should have a look in the doom9 guides section. in particular:
DGDecode frameserving (http://www.doom9.org/index.html?/mpg/dgindex-frameserving.htm)

from this point you can then manually load the .avs file into cce or use a batchencoder (eg BatchCCEWs) to create a batch list.

hth
j

[CoNS]

Well, I do want control of the process, but not the scripting/frame serving part, which I just don't understand at all and probably never will!!

That's why I'm looking for a program which works on top of CCE and does the "dirty" work with the AVS scripting etc.

Is there such a program that would allow me to simply specify a PGC etc. in a DVD that I want encode and enter the desired output size, and then automatically do the work with CCE for me, outputting an encoded m2v file or a simple authored DVD with the encoded PGC only?

I have briefly tested the "big 3" tools, and as far as I can see they constitute a complete package for all the steps you can imagine in the process, from ripping the DVD to the outputted final DVD with menus and everything. I would like to have control of many of these steps and do them manually (rip the DVD, shrink the menu if needed, blank unwanted material and strip audio streams etc. And author the new DVD and copy it back into the old DVD structure etc.).

It's "just" the CCE part I'm puzzled about!

Help, anyone?!

[jel]

what part of the guide i linked to is 'puzzling'?

avisynth would have to be one of the most valuable tools you could ever have with regards to video processing, and it would serve you well to at least understand the basics of its use.

to be honest, beyond 'the big 3', dvd-rb, and dvd2svcd, i do not know of any other tools that automate this process to the level that you require.

you are aware that with the 'big 3' you can remove audio/subs, unwanted menu items, and to a lesser degree (although not actually endorsed by the writers of the programs) extras at a pgc level?

[manono]

You want to have control. so you need to learn AviSynth. No 2 ways about it. Install AviSynth (which you've already done, since you've used DVD-RB). Use DGIndex to make the D2V project file, and make yourself a script as simple as:

LoadPlugin("C:\Path\To\DGDecode.dll")
MPEG2Source("C:\Path\To\Movie.d2v")

Name it Movie.avs or some such. If you want to filter (IVTC, crop, resize, spatial or temporal smoothing, etc), then you load the appropriate filter if it's not built in, and add the command. Test the script in VDubMod, which will give you an error message if something's wrong, before sending it to CCE.

Read everything you can over at www.avisynth.org.

Your proposed workflow is almost identical to mine (clean out what you don't want, compress the movie and remaining extras, author, and replace using VobBlanker. You just need to learn some basic AviSynth to complete the puzzle.