How do I drop DVD rez from 720x576 to 352x288, & leave menus intact?

[Darkwhisperer]

Hi guys...

I have a DL DVD, I want to keep all the menus, etc. I only want to change the Main movie resolution to 352x288, & A.R. to 4:3 from 16:9. I can easily resize the Video & sound using TMPG. But how do I join it to the menus?

What software (& steps) do I need to do this?

Thanks...

[frank]

You need DVD-RB. There is an option to convert the main movie to half resolution 352x576.
352x288 is not compliant to the dvd specs.

What you want is the VCD resolution.

EDIT: Right, the VCD resolution is supported, but only MPEG-1!

[Darkwhisperer]

@frank - what are you smoking? I've lost count of the DVD's I've made with 352x288 rez @ 4:3. In TMPGEnc Express, you select DVD-PAL, then from the Resolution dropdown box, you select 352x288. If its not compliant to the spec, why is it there?

I agree with needing DVD-RB, but that doesnt tell me how to do it with DVD-RB.

[jsoto]

Not completely sure but I think AR from 4:3 LB to 16:9 is supported by DVD-RB, but from 16:9 to 4:3 LB is not.... (don't understand why not)

Anyway, you can customize your DVD with VobBlanker. Encode you extras or main movie at the resolution you want and replace the PGCs with VobBlanker. That's all. (Note all the PGCs in the same VTS must be encoded at the same resolution)

I usually encode the extras at 352x576 or 352x288 and the main movie at full resolution 720x576

Half DVD (352x480/576) MPEG-2 is standard in DVD specs.

VCD resolution (352x288/240) is standard in DVD specs, but AFAIK only using MPEG-1 (the same than VCDs). Anyway, all settops I've seen are able to decode MPEG-2 at this resolution.

jsoto

[Darkwhisperer]

Hmmm. VobBlanker, you say? Alright. I'll give it a shot and see what happens.

Is there sufficient help-docs with VobBlanker that I can figure out how to do what I want to do?

[Darkwhisperer]

Alright, read thru the VobBlanker help. Im assuming I'll be replacing a Program Chain. Some help is needed...

"Replacing a Program Chain requires a user selected VOB (set of) containing a number of cells identical to the original. In this way, the substitution will be done cell by cell"

So if I re-encode the main movie, it'll give me only a MPEG-2 file. How do I get this to be a VOB identical to the original?

[jsoto]

Yes, replace PGCs

You need to demux your PGC (you can use pgcdemux for that) and reencode the video, right? pgcDemux gives you the Celltimes.txt file.

Other ways to get the celltimes.txt of your PGC is IFOedit (select the PGC and then in main menu, Tools--> Save Celltimes to file) or using pgcEdit, double click on your PGC and click on Celltimes (options all cells and do not include end time)

Once you have celltimes.txt and all the elementary streams, just mux all together with muxman (using the stream numbers for audio/subs) , using celltimes.txt as chapter file. You'll build a muxed VOB with the same number of cells and at the same times than the original. This is the replacing PGC to be used in VobBlanker.

jsoto

[blutach]

@darkwhisperer

You just select the VTS containing the main movie, click process at the side. Click on the title in the bottom pane and click on replace at the side and follow the prompts to where your 1/2D1 video is. Click Process at the bottom and you're away.

@jsoto - DVD Rebuilder (http://dvd-rb.dvd2go.org/) converts hard matte 4:3 to true 16:9 anamorphic letterbox. It has no providion (yet) for 16:9 to somehow be converted to 4:3 (as your set top player will usually pan and scan anyway).

Regards

[jsoto]

@jsoto - DVD Rebuilder converts hard matte 4:3 to true 16:9 anamorphic letterbox. It has no providion (yet) for 16:9 to somehow be converted to 4:3 (as your set top player will usually pan and scan anyway).
Regards[/color]
This is what I thought, but I do not follow DVD-RB development too close, so I was not sure...
So
A) 4:3 LB to true 16:9 anamorphic.
Why? Which is the advantage? Am I missing something?
4:3 LB has black borders --> lower bitrate. Converting to true 16:9 (at same resolution) you will need more bitrate, more size, and the quality will be (at maximum) close to the original. Never better than the original. Playing the 4:3 LB in a 4:3 is OK. Playing in a 16:9 TV, sure you have a 16:9 zoom.
Playing a 16:9 in a 4:3 TV, the settop will do an additional LB process.
Playing a 16:9 in a 16:9 TV, is OK, but you will not have more resolution than the zoomed option.

B) 16:9 anamorphic to 4:3 LB
Aha! this make sense, mainly for extras....
The conversion needs to add black borders to keep the AR. AFAIK, this is imposible to do in a transcoder, like dvdshrink, but very easy to do in an encoder, so it is a piece of cake for DVD-RB.
Bitrate is drastically reduced, and you save a lot of space.
Playing a 4:3 LB is not a problem in a 16:9 TV, sure you have a zoom mode...


And, finally, the standard
AFAIK 16:9 anamorphic is not legit in half D1 nor in VCD resolution (although I do not know any settop unable to play it). But from the standard point of view these resolution and AR combinations are not legit.
Mmm, may be I'm wrong here... I'm talking from memory, but I'm unable to find the source of this statement...If anybody knows it, please confirm

jsoto

[blutach]

@jsoto

I think the idea in converting from 4:3LB hard matte to 16:9 true anamorphic is actually to save BR. The black bars in 4:3 take up bits, while the extraction to 16:9 ana should save this. Or am I missing something?

Regards

[jsoto]

@jsoto
I think the idea in converting from 4:3LB hard matte to 16:9 true anamorphic is actually to save BR. The black bars in 4:3 take up bits, while the extraction to 16:9 ana should save this. Or am I missing something?
Regards No, that's not true. Black bars practically do not use bits. And because enlarging the resolution in any sense needs more bitrate (even with the same source), converting from 4:3LB to 16:9 true anamorphic needs more bitrate than a 4:3LB to 4:3LB at the same quality level.


jsoto

[blutach]

Aahhh - thanks for that. Next time I come across one of these (very rare do I see them), I will try and see what happens.

Regards

[rpboy]

This is what I thought, but I do not follow DVD-RB development too close, so I was not sure...
So
A) 4:3 LB to true 16:9 anamorphic.
Why? Which is the advantage? Am I missing something?
4:3 LB has black borders --> lower bitrate. Converting to true 16:9 (at same resolution) you will need more bitrate, more size, and the quality will be (at maximum) close to the original. Never better than the original. Playing the 4:3 LB in a 4:3 is OK. Playing in a 16:9 TV, sure you have a 16:9 zoom.
Playing a 16:9 in a 4:3 TV, the settop will do an additional LB process.
Playing a 16:9 in a 16:9 TV, is OK, but you will not have more resolution than the zoomed option.
Well, most widescreen TVs here in America that I have seen will cut off some of the pciture if you zoom a LB widescreen film to get it to fit the widescreen image. Depends on the TV, but it can cut off quite a bit.

So being able to get rid of the bars and format it as 16:9 during the encode will present a better experience for a widescreen tv.

And by that, I'm speaking only of the image fitting the screen without being cut off by the TV zoom process, not of quality. (Although my TV's zoom process doesn't look so good, so I think the quality will actually be better to have it done by the encoder.)

[jsoto]

Well, most widescreen TVs here in America that I have seen will cut off some of the pciture if you zoom a LB widescreen film to get it to fit the widescreen image. Depends on the TV, but it can cut off quite a bit. Well, that's what they have to do to keep the AR... All the 16:9 TV I've seen here have a 16/9 zoom mode, where they cut the upper and the lower part of the screen...just the black bars of a 4:3 LB coded movie.
BTW, some care has to be taken with the subs..., if not you can loose them (in the lower part of the screen).

jsoto