DVDPlanner

[Zeul]

DVDPlanner is a authoring program that accepts 2 ac3/pcm audio (8 and DTS in PRO) and 4 subsreams (32 in PRO). It supports scenarist scp files and a host of other features. See the website for more info.

The BASIC version is freeware. The PRO version is donationware

http://www.dvdplanner.com

Build update to 0.2.0.4

Zeul

[setarip_old]

Hi!

If I may, a small suggestion for the website:

Slow down the screen shot changes (or make them user controllable)...

[Amnon82]

Great release. I'll take a look on it tonight. Also I wrote you an email. Some things about Pro version and your forum. For the homepage. I only did a flyby. I'll tell you later what you maybe can do to get it better ...

[Zeul]

The website will be offline for tonight for some server upgrades

[alk]

I am trying to use dvdplaner to make dvd from demuxed mpg. The problem arised with audio format. As far as I see dvdplanner basic doesn't support m2a (mpa) files, so I recoded my m2a file to ac3 (and pcm wav) with BeLight. Still get "Unsupported file format" box.
I coded m2a to ac3 384 kbs stereo then to ac3 384 5.1.
The same message for pcm wav file.
What's wrong? Perhaps the main problem is lack of any help/miniguide?

[Zeul]

@alk
can you send me a piece of the audio. The first few KB will be fine to dvdplanner at btinternet dot com

All i can think is that the header sequence is different in the files created by BeLight.

mpa audio is on the works list for the PRO version.

[Zeul]

The website has undergone some changes and now has some help files and guides built in.

@alk
Just had a thought - if you are demuxing from an mpg the audio must be running at 48Kbps not 44.1 (44.1 is illegal in DVD). When converting in belight ensure that the correct rate is being set.

[Zeul]

Build upgrade to 0.2.0.0 Changelog:
0.2.0
Fix:
NTSC sub timestamps imported from a sst file were converted to PAL
It was possible to try and remove the empty subtitle play causing a crash
Deleting a PGC would not remove it from the PGC listings or from any of the VM commands
Chapter positions could be created in slideshows anywhere (should be at an I frame)
The final nav pk of the current slide was being extended upto 1.2s even if there more slides to follow
In multiple slides the VOBU_REF pointers were only correct for every 3rd slide
Slide lengths of less than 0.4s would be accepted and muxed
Combinations of 4:3 and 16:9 sources could be used in the same track
A crash could occur when adding tracks with audio to menu domains due to a DTS error
Proper checking of video attributes on import was not performed resulting in illegal sources being accepted
The maximum of 2048 Timemap entries per title was not respected
When trying to set GPRM value in the PGC command editor, it was impossible to set anything except 'Assign' to a GPRM value
The duration of NTSC subtitles was incorrect (They were being set to PAL duration)
VM Link commands for Type3 Commands for Title domain and Language domain were reversed
VM command CallSS pointed to the wrong VMG PGC
Jump commands were not decoded properly from a script file
A dumb line of code that would give rise to a buffer underflow error on NTSC sources with RFF on first I frame
If multiple slides were used there was a chance of the program getting caught in a loop
In a VOB with multiple cells, cells2+ were 1 frame short in the celltime
Timemaps were incorrect
Synchi pointers were incorrect for VOB files 2+
Nav PK errors at VOB file boundaries.
It was possible to have 2 instances of English language menus

Addition:
Totally new track viewer which now incorporates full button creation and links for menus or BOV - button commands are set in the Structure area
Wizard for creating a DVD with audio, subtitles and chapters. Multiple tracks can be created.
Ability to auto generate simple menus for each track (available from the Wizard also). Any background can be used and any font
When a structure item is removed, a check is made to ensure there are no VM references to this item. A warning is thrown as needed
-Appropriate VM commands will be replaced with NOP
All assets can now be renamed (Tracks, Audio, Subtitles, Titles, Languages, PGCs, PGs, Cells); only exceptions are VTS names, VMG name and FirstPGC
Bitmaps can now be used as a source (they are encoded with a built in I frame encoder)
For accurate track viewing an index file is created and saved in the source folder (therefore only created once). This is created either on opening the track viewer or scanning for chapter placement
A track can now have any combination of stills/bitmaps and video files (each still is defaulted to 12 or 15f in length - this can be adjusted)
-The final still can be set to be extended to audio end (just like in slideshows)
-If a track is created as a slideshow then the default is still 10s
Proper support for MPEG1
Drop Down Menus (mouse Right click) for adding track details, stucture information. deletion, renaming etc
Min/Max size buttons enabled

Alterations:
Altered the way the GUI is built at runtime to reduce system resources
Audio delay has been extended to the range -60ms to 300ms (any fewer than -60ms would result in a PTS less than SCR
Redesign of GUI to facilitate button commands

Basic Restrictions:
Max of 4 tracks
Depending on the display mode a max of either 12 , 6 or 4 buttons per subpicture can be created (full amount via script)
No DTS
Max of 24 PGC commands
No Linear editing of subtitles
2 Audio Streams
4 Subtitle Streams
MPEG1 video not allowed
Only 1 track allowed from the Wizard

Known Bugs
Macroblock field based decoding is not quite right, but frame based decoding is fine.
MPEG1 decoding is not right

[bigotti5]

Wow - very impressed -thx zeul

one question:
Is it possible to select more than one scene for drag and drop from track listing to a pgc?
Dragging "all scenes" creates PTTs for each cell and if you set pgc playback mode to random or shuffle PTTs are not removed automatically (for random or shuffle pgcs only one PTT should be assigned) so you have to drag and drop scene by scene.

minor bug:
Display area for PAL subs are not correct if you import a 720x576 bmp.

Planner: Set Display Area: sx=0 ex=719 sy=2 ey=575
Correct: Set Display Area: sx=0 ex=719 sy=2 ey=574

Note, though, that subpictures are limited to 478 lines in NTSC, and 573 lines in PAL

[Zeul]

@bigotti5
Only one scene can be selected at the moment (I will see if that can be changed), however, i could include an option switch: create a PTT for each scene or create 1 PTT only (these options would be available for 'All Scenes' only)

I'll look into the display area.

NB there is a minor bug in the Title existance flag not being set and also the Root menu flag is being set for dummy pgcs. These have already been corrected.

[Zeul]

Build update to 0.2.0.1

Fix
For maximum compatability a root menu PGC is always created (which can be occasionally a blank dummy). This was selectable from the remote causing a crash
TitleMenu PGCs (in the VMG) were not selectable from the remote.

[Zeul]

@Bigotti5
I was thinking about this and a switch has no value, you can already create a PTT and then drag 'All Scenes' onto the PTT. There is value in multiple selections though - but that is going to require a rewrite of the drag routine.

[bigotti5]

I was thinking about this and a switch has no value, you can already create a PTT and then drag 'All Scenes' onto the PTT.

Sometimes I feel so stupid...:D

[Zeul]

Well i have started looking at angles, and now I feel sick :confused:

[bigotti5]

Just tried the wizzard in DVDPlanner Basic.
Created one video track - Generate Menus and DVD Layout - Make DVD
DVDPlanner adds an illegal postcommand for title 1
30 08 00 00 00 42 00 00 (CallSS RSM=0, Title Menu)
should be
30 08 00 00 01 42 00 00 (CallSS RSM=1, Title Menu)
Checked this in DVD Layout - VTS1_TitlePGC - Postcommands
I can read in Line#1 CallSS RSM=1, TitleMenu :confused:

Line is correct in GUI - but wrong entry is created in IFO

[Zeul]

yep, found that bug and nailed it :)
Until the next release you can goto the title pgc and replace the post command with a new CallSS command - this will automatically update the database.

[bigotti5]

If you import a scenarist script without any vmg pgc, DVDPlanner creates a dummy titlemenu pgc without any precommands so pressing title menu button would cause the player to stop

[ilovejedd]

During Make DVD using DVDPlanner Basic, I get an "Unrecoverable Excessive Bitrate Error - Aborting. Try reducing the quantity of audio streams or Video bitrate" when it hits a certain part.

Track/Segment Creator => One Video Track w/one video stream (6 video plays, 720x480 16:9 AR) and one audio stream (6 audio plays, AC3/2 384kbps 48kHz). DVD Layout => VTS1_Title1_PGC1 containing All Scenes under the default VTS1_Title1.

The m2v were all encoded using HCEnc 0.18. It always stops at 28m:52s into the video stream at this m2v:
nr. of gops: 654
nr. of frames: 8559
nr. of I-frames: 654
nr. of P-frames: 2940
nr. of B-frames: 4965
average quant (non linear): 5.955
VBV underflows detected: 0
VBV underflows fixed: 0
minimum bitrate: 285
maximum bitrate: 8962
average bitrate: 3324

I've already tried running the AC3 file through ac3fix. Any other ideas? Does buying the Pro version get rid of this error?

[Zeul]

@bigotti5
A PGC should be created however, the titlemenu should not be selectable from the remote - obviously a bug.

@ilovejedd
Although the max bitrate is 8962, it can spike above this. Now, if there are too many spikes or the max bitrate is not respected properly, ALL authoring systems will fail with an excessive bitrate error. Reducing the max bitrate usually fixes the problem. However, i would be interested to know if muxman and scenarist also fail at this timestamp. Also, perhaps hcencoder is not respecting the max bitrate - try the new build (i believe is 0.19)

[Zeul]

@bigotti5
I have been setting the Menu Existance Flag to 0 for dummy Title and Root menus. This worked perfectly with PowerDVD, however, they are still selectable with Ifoedit. Setting Category Menu Masks to 0 for dummy Title and Root Menu PGCs makes them unselectable in Ifoedit - so i guess that needs to be done also.

[bigotti5]

@Zeul

Why does DVDPlanner create these dummys?

Does not make sense to me in all cases. Maybe it is usefull to add an option "Disable default navigation generation" as in Muxman

[ilovejedd]

@Zeul
I haven't tried re-encoding yet (as that would take some time), but I did try using muxman (don't have access to scenarist). muxman worked.

[Zeul]

@bigotti5
I have done that for maximum compatability. My Sony player for one doesn't like a disc if there are no Language tables.

@ilovejedd
Oh dear - something wrong there.

[Zeul]

@ilovejedd
This is interesting. I have just run my own test with very high bitrate sources to force an excessive bitrate error. You are correct, Muxman allowed my test also. However, on examination of the VOB file produced by Muxman, at the timestamp that DVDPlanner failed, the SCR timestamp was later than the DTS timestamp of the first B frame. AFAIK this is a definate error (the SCR is when the data enters the buffer, the DTS when it is decoded), however, at this timestamp the GOPS were closed.

I would appreciate some comments on this especially whether the GOPS being closed has a bearing.

So there is a possibility that although Muxman allowed it, it may not play properly.

[techmule]

I could not find an option to import .sup subtitle file(generated by demuxing using PGCdemux) in DVDP, is it supported or do you have to convert to .sst only ???

[Zeul]

SUP files are on the to-do list. At the moment sst only or individual bitmaps

[techmule]

SUP files are on the to-do list. At the moment sst only or individual bitmaps

Gr8, whats the expected timeline ???

[Zeul]

@techmule
Not sure on the timescale. A decoder for the sup file will have to be built so that the subtitle inside the sup file can be viewed.

[Zeul]

Build update to 0.2.0.3

Fix:
Critical Fix to DTS streams in the final VOBU (DVDPlanner would go into a forever loop!)
A wizard project saved would incorrectly name the first track scene (if no chapter file imported). Reimporting the dpp would show incorrect layout
Seq_End_code setting in ini was not respected
If there were I frames with seq_end_code in the middle of a video stream buffer under/over flows resulted
- if seq_end_code is kept then a 12/15 frame VOBU is created at this timestamp
- if seq_end_code is removed then the I frame will be treated as 1 frame - so buffer under/over flows can still happen
Dummy Root and Title menus were still selectable on the remote
If a subtitle BMP was oversized, then it was not cropped correctly to respect the maximum subpicture size allowed
CallSS command was setting Resume to 0 in the wizard
When an audio stream was removed, and a new one put in its place - this new stream would not get muxed
The very final pack for PCM Audio did not have the correct padding bytes and syntax
96kHz PCM could have the emphasis flag set (only 48kHz allows this flag)
Any combination of PCM data was accepted - a check is now made to ensure DVD conformity
PCM Audio packetizing was incorrect resulting in multiple errors if more than 2ch
Audio Buffers were incorrectly initialised
If an audio stream was removed then Audio Offset data was still written to the Nav Pk

Addition:
Both types of DTS are now available - this is padded and non-padded (sometimes has the .cpt extension so this is now available also)

Alterations:
If only DTS audio is present then you now have the option of continuing with mux anyway -> non-standard DVD
If AC3 bitrate exceeds 448Kbps then you now have the option of continuing the mux -> non-standard DVD
If PCM bitarte exceeds maximum allowed (depends on # channels) then option of continuing mux (which will probably fail) -> non-standard DVD
Changed the progress bars to smooth scrolling
Removed '62:None' from the subtitle VM command generator - not sure on the legality of this. '63:Forced' replaced with '63: Dummy'
Changed the wording 'Remove Selected Item' from the drop-down menus to 'Delete Selected Item' to avoid confusion with 'Rename Selected Item'
Video types that are supported are now explicitly shown in the openDialog

[Zeul]

Build Update to 0.2.0.4

Fix:
Single frame mpv files would go into a forever loop when added to a segment, and an error would occur in the trackviewer.
If file indexing had been previously run, it wasn't being correctly loaded when the file was selected at a later time
Better handling for seamless flags. Everytime a cell is added/removed all flags are verified to confirm seamless ability
The last slide did not have a chapter point set when assigning chapters
Chapters for slides were generally not being calculated correctly
ExtendAudioSlide flag was not being saved to a dpp file
PCM buffer handling was incorrect (the 7 header bytes of each pack were not being accounted for in the buffer)
Only AC3 streams with BitstreamID of 6 or 8 were allowed, it should have been any ID <=8. This was the cause of some corrupted VOBs
When a script file was loaded, adding a new audio stream would have resulted in a crash

Addition:
Added the ability to have seamless joints between vobids (PRO build only)
The region codes can now be set
Auto Chapter creation can now be set, along with the chapter lengths, or in a slideshow, a new chapter at each slide
ExtendFinalSubtitle flag is now available. This will force the final subtitle & highlight to the CELL_END.

Alterations:
Removed the options menu and replaced with a new settings tab

[r0lZ]

Thanks Zeul!

[SeeMoreDigital]

I think I must be suffering from "brain fade" today....

I use DVDPlannerBASIC in "wizard" mode (sadly I don't think I'll ever be clever enough to use it otherwise). I've managed to generate quite a few DVD back-up with chapter points... However today, I can't for the life of me remember the "text" layout required to create and import my own chapter points.... I keep getting the following error message: -

http://img167.imageshack.us/img167/5830/dvdplannerbasiczk9.th.png (http://img167.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dvdplannerbasiczk9.png)

The last chapter file I tried was written as an ANSI text file like this: -00:00:00.00
00:00:05.64
00:00:09.04
00:00:12.88
00:00:14.44
00:00:17.36
00:00:18.40
00:00:20.96
00:00:26.64
00:00:31.92
00:00:34.60
00:00:41.04
.... But it does not work. Maybe my file is too short at just 50 seconds!


Cheers

[Zeul]

Your chapter file is fine, the only thing i would suggest is that it should be in the format hh:mm:ss:ff, instead of hundreths of a sec. However, I cannot repeat this. I have even copied your chapter file. There must be something else going on. Does this happen with this set of files only or all the time?

[setarip_old]

Hi!

Does the chapter list require a final chapter equal to the end time of the entire video?

[SeeMoreDigital]

Thanks Zeul,

I re-wrote the chapter text file to suit "frames" at the end, like this: -00:00:00:00
00:00:05:16
00:00:09.01
00:00:12:22
00:00:14:11
00:00:17:09
00:00:18:10
00:00:20:24
00:00:26:16
00:00:31:23
00:00:34:15
00:00:41.01And everything works perfectly now :D

http://img167.imageshack.us/img167/483/450896dkt6.th.jpg (http://img167.imageshack.us/my.php?image=450896dkt6.jpg)

I feel more than a little dumb for not trying the "frames" at the end, as this is my prefered "time-code" editing method.


Many thanks

[Zeul]

@setarip_old
No final chapter is required. Any chapters that are beyond the video length will be discarded during the mux. Any cells not actually written will be removed from the IFOs. If file analysis has been run (always recommended) then all chapter positions will be adjusted to the nearest I frame, and 'extra' chapters removed.

@SeeMoreDigital
Looks pretty good. Nice to see you making use of the auto menu generator :D

[SeeMoreDigital]

That reminds me....

I have noticed that the "Main Menu" selection option appears to be quite low in the GUI (only 17No pixels from the bottom), when using the default font options: -

http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/9952/menulayoutoz6.th.png (http://img297.imageshack.us/my.php?image=menulayoutoz6.png)

When viewing via a PC's software player and monitor it will look fine, but via a stand-alone player and TV set-up, the bottom of the "Main Menu" wording might be lost/clipped to "over-scan".


Cheers

[Zeul]

:stupid:
I'll correct that

[SeeMoreDigital]

Thinking about it some more....

Is there any particular reason why all the selectivity options can't be moved over to the left: -

http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/7880/snap1ho1.th.jpg (http://img224.imageshack.us/my.php?image=snap1ho1.jpg)

....As this would leave plenty of room over on the right to add personal images, such as DVD covers 'n stuff


Cheers

[Zeul]

Perhaps i can add a flag to do just that.

However, don't forget that the auto-menu creator was designed to be simple. Once you know how to do the menus it is probably easier to make your own from scratch.

[techmule]

you are adding good features in DVD planner Zuel, keep it up and thanks

[Zeul]

techmule
:thanks:

[SeeMoreDigital]

Once you know how to do the menus it is probably easier to make your own from scratch.Indeed...

I've been practising by muxing/authoring very short duration streams (of less than a minute or so). I've been trying to replicate "manually" what I'm able to obtain via the "wizard".

I know it may sound like "small beer" to all you guys who understand the inner working of a DVD's structure. But yesterday after adding a second audio track via the wizard. I was able to manually change the language setting from "Spanish" to "English (Directors Comments 1)".... I was quite proud of that!

I can't quite imagine myself making menus from scratch yet though :eek:

It is great fun though and I'm enjoying the challenge....


Thanks Zeul

[Zeul]

:)
I did think of one thing last night that could be updated. It would be much better to have the Audio & Subtitle Menu pages showing the Language instead of Audio 1, Audio 2 etc.

My todo list seems to be growing...

[SeeMoreDigital]

How about something like this: -

http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/3149/dvdplanerbasictbj8.th.png (http://img228.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dvdplanerbasictbj8.png)


Cheers