PgcEdit v9.0 released (24 Dec 2008) and v9.1 (3 Jan 2009)

[mikenadia]

Thanks ,Les, for your advice.
What I did.
Open the corrupt file,DVD1,save,delete the backup folder (including menu*.*), pgcedit still open, "remove useless VOB menus".
a) if I do the workaround in post#47, I am able to open DVD2(clean file).
b) if I reload the DVD1 file (without rerunning "remove useless VOB menus, I am able to open DVD2(clean file).
c)If I load DVD2 file (same error as post #47).
in a) and b) the fix is temporary .
The file is corrupt so it is not very important but when opening a file while one is open, may be we should really close the first one completely so it does not ( with a corrupt file opened as the first file) prevent the second one (clean file ) from opening.
Thx for your advice.

New info: the file is not corrupted. The problem occured with specific duos of DVDs (straight from the rip) and doing the following.
DVD1 is SPARTANSUNRATED; DVD2 is T4XI. load DVD1, "remove useless VOB menus", load DVD2. The problem occurs with specific duos of DVD (that is why I give the DVD titles ;if I load another DVD than T4XI, it may not happen even if T4XI was not modified by PGCEdit). Also,doing DVD2 first and loading DVD1 does not yield to an error (same thing for loading DVD1 then another DVD3 and then DVD2) From my experience, the problem is rare but not unique .

Edit: Corrected in v 9.1

[r0lZ]

Theoretically, you're right, mikenadia. But loading a DVD can be really long, and PgcEdit needs sometimes to save and reload a DVD just to synchronize the data in memory and on disc. This is the case, for example, when the titlesets are remapped, as they have to be remapped on disc too. I've tried to avoid to have to reload everything (for example, it is usually not necessary to rescan all VOB files for menu buttons and BOVs), but that means that a DVD is never unloaded totally. It is replaced by itself, or by another DVD. When a DVD is corrupt, that can have some bad consequences. Sorry for that, but I'm not going to change this philosophy. What you want would require to save the whole DVD (including the VOBs) in another directory every time you save it. It's the philosophy of DRM, but not mine. Anyway, you can get what you want simply by closing PgcEdit and reopening it with the new DVD.
Of course, if I can fix the bugs related to that method, I'm happy to do so, and I thank you for your bug report. As I said, I hope the bug has been fixed.

[selyb]

figured it out

Bug: if menu tearoffs is disabled, first item on Trace and Preview menus stay disabled

I disabled menu tearoffs the very first time I used pgcedit

[r0lZ]

Right! Thanks.

BTW, why have you disabled this option? IMO, it is extremely useful when you have to repeat the same operation several times. For example, when you need to delete many PGCs in a domain, it is much more easy to detach the menu and click repetitively on the menu entry. Personally, I can't live without that option. And it is in the options menu only because it crashed under old versions of Tcl/Tk for Mac OSX.

But I'm glad you don't use it, as you have found the bug! ;)

[Wombler]

figured it out

Bug: if menu tearoffs is disabled, first item on Trace and Preview menus stay disabled

I disabled menu tearoffs the very first time I used pgcedit

Good find selyb!

I'd been working my way through the differences in your configuration files and mine but I hadn't tried that one yet.

Saved me a lot of effort.


Wombler

[AlienX69]

Hi r0lZ (and others),

Well I finally got around to using 9.0 (just installed).

First thing I noticed after doing the Automatic install and installing the key is that it runs considerably SLOWER in Trace Mode. Previously it would ZIP (very fast) through the PGC's. Now it's almost like I'm manually clicking the -> Step button repeatedly.

Every time I select the ->> Next PB I can watch it step through the PGC's. If I had to apply a number to it I would say about 10x slower or more than 8.x !!

Well I don't know if "Speed" was on the older versions, if it was I don't remember (once set I never changed).

After setting to "Fastest" it returned to my normal tracing speed.

Just thought I would post in case someone else runs across this issue !!

PS: Haven't checked all the NEW features, but what I do see I like the improvements !!

Regards,
AX

[r0lZ]

The Speed setup is new. Previously, the same setup was used to control the speed of the trace itself and the minimum duration of the preview, but that was confusing, and it was impossible to trace the nav at slow speed with a short playback, or vice-versa. Therefore, I've split the setup in two independent controls.

[selyb]

Right! Thanks.

BTW, why have you disabled this option? ...

I don't like my desktop cluttered with different windows, esp. from the same app. If I had it my way, the watch window would be a small section just above the status bar.

I almost never remove pgcs manually. I edit the commands to remove references to pgcs then I use the menu item to remove unreferenced titlesets then uncalled pgcs.

For very repetitive motions, I prefer the keyboard over any mouse clicking which is why (several years ago) I had requested a keyboard shortcut for trace step. when I am moving commands around, I keep one hand on the keyboard to do shortcuts like Ctrl+C, Ctrl+X, Ctrl+G, Ctrl+V, Ctrl+Shift+V, Ctrl+A

[blutach]

Good find selyb!

I'd been working my way through the differences in your configuration files and mine but I hadn't tried that one yet.

Saved me a lot of effort.


WomblerYes, a good find!

@Wombler - use winmerge to discover differences between text files - it's a breeze.

Regards

[Wombler]

It wasn't actually finding the differences that was time consuming bit, it was changing each of the non-matching configuration settings individually to see if I could replicate the circumstances causing the bug that was a bit tedious.

PgcEdit also had to be closed and restarted on each occasion.

Good call with winmerge though. Nice addition to my toolkit. :)


Wombler

[Big Barn]

Can someone tell me where is that setting to speed up
the trace mode.

Thank You

[mikenadia]

I read Blutach manual in http://www.digital-digest.com/~blutach/pgcedit_guide/remapping/PgcEdit_Advanced_Functions.htm
and it says that it can restore to an earlier state .
It seems (and may be it is wrong) that I am able to go back to the initial stage (straight from the rip) by copying back all the files from the Backup sub-folder (without the menu*.* and comment*.*).
The problem occurs when, after some procedures and doing "remove useless stuff ", the file VIDEO_TS (DVD movie not the IFO file) is deleted rightfully from the VIDEO_TS folder , a backup is made with a timestamp that includes the deleted file, but no trace of the deleted file in the Backup subfolder (therefore the "restore backup" do not bring me to the initial state (until I bring back the deleted file from that specific timestamped backup) and without doing incremental restore, I do not know that I am missing the deleted file.

Thanks for your advice on how to go back to the initial state (without reripping).

And, more important, Happy New Year to all, specially dev(s).

[blutach]

You don't need to copy. Just Ctrl-Alt-N (Restore Incremental backups) all the way back. It also tells you when to (manually) restore the FixVTS, MenuShrink and VobBlanker backups.

Regards

[mikenadia]

Thank you, Blutach.
N.B. Pure cosmetics : when doing a restore in Trace mode , it keeps the breakpoint (but it may be a different file). May be should have the same behaviour as loading a recent file (goto VMG-FP and clear breakpoints). And some "comments" (do not know about SPRM) left when there is no more incremental backup left ( "Jump2PGC_control " left in the "info,GPRM" window))
Thx.

[blutach]

Yes, I've noticed that sometimes some comments are left - I suspect this is because there will have been comments in your 1st incremental backup. They are easy to delete from the File --> Comments and GPRM Labels function. And, of course, the trace is easily re-initialised.

Regards

[r0lZ]

The backups have to be restored in the correct order. As blu said, use Undo Last Incremental Backup.

Also, to be on the safe side, you should always accept to copy the modified VOBs in the backup folder when prompted to do so. (It's an option, as this could be time consuming or require too much disc space, and some users prefer to take the risk of IFOs-only backups.)

Can someone tell me where is that setting to speed up the trace mode.
In the trace panel, menu "speed". Easy, no? ;)

[mikenadia]

Great program RolZ. Because I was not backing up the modified VOB (a must) as a consequence of my laziness not risk-taking , my restores were usually not working and that is why I asked those questions. Because it is a chain of incremental backup ( as strong as the weakest link), my advice to " more newbies than me" is do not open a backup folder (yes I did that and will not do it again) as it may affect the chain ( I did not test it).
Thanks a lot.

[blutach]

Opeing the folder is not the issue - certainly, saving the VOBs is a must; otherwise, it is impossible to restore the backup if you have done anything to them (including deleting uncalled PGCs, which will remap the menu button commands and running FixVTS which will delete actual cells from the VOB).

In a restore, it is necessary to manually restore some backups ("alien" backups - eg FixVTS_backup and VobBlanker_backup).

Regards

[mikenadia]

last question on this subject.I have some incremental backups from PGCEdit , and later on, one made by VOBBlanker (having only cut some frames in some cells before processing).
If I am processing them with DVD-RB and decide to keep everything in the VIDEO_TS folder (including backups from PGCEdit but not the one from VOBblanker), will it be meaningful to use those PGCEdit backups or should I delete them because I did not keep the last backup (made by VOBblanker).
Or may be I should cut the frames first in VOBblanker and then go to PGCEdit ?
Thx for your advice.

[r0lZ]

A missing backup when restoring things to an earlier stage can have disastrous consequences, but can also be harmless. Usually, if the VOB files are modified, or if the order or the number of titlesets has changed, it is necessary to have the backup. So, if you have deleted a VB backup, you can probably delete all previously made PgcEdit backups, as they are useless.

[stereo]

Hi r0lZ,

When I launch Firefox (my standard browser) through Help -> Homepage, PgcEdit tells me that Firefox isn't my standard browser. I guess this is a bug, though a small one.

Again, thanks for the new version, glad I donated!

[r0lZ]

Hum, PgcEdit doesn't check your standard browser, and doesn't issue any warning about your browser. Try to reconfigure it via Options -> Input/Output -> Select Web Browser.

[stereo]

That helped, thanks! I must have configured v8.6 without remembering it...

[r0lZ]

PgcEdit v9.1 released!

This is a bugfix release. Please download and install it as soon as possible, as I have fixed two bugs that can have consequences on the navigation of the DVD!

F. DVD -> Clear Useless Set GPRM Commands and Info -> Find Useless Set GPRM Commands were sometimes erroneously considering a GPRM as useless. Clear Useless Set GPRM Commands and DVD -> Remove Useless Stuff were therefore dangerous to use, as they sometimes cleared a useful command.
F. DVD -> Delete Last VTS produced an error when a PGC of the last VTS was selected when calling this function. The VTS was not properly deleted from disc.
F. Preview -> Automatically Start Preview Playback produced an error. The menu worked as expected though, and the bug had no consequence.
F. With the option "Allow tearoff menus" disabled, some entries in the main PgcEdit menu were not enabled when a DVD was loaded.
F. Fixed the incorrect View -> Toolbar checkmark.
E. Title -> Title Play Map Table: The headers of the columns no longer scroll when using the scroll bar.
F. A JumpSS from a VTSM to a menu in another VTS was not flagged as illegal.
F. PUO Editor: PgcEdit was frozen after having pasted a value in the Input Value dialog.
F. Trace: The trace was stopped and impossible to continue when the preview was enabled and the VOB files were missing.
F. Domain Stream Attributes: The new Film/Camera flag was not disabled in read-only mode.
F. Since the sources of PgcEdit are no longer publicly available, I've removed all references to the GPL license from the program.
F. Fixed several small bugs.


New plugin:
Hex Bit Operands by Morris/Elysium (aka M_Knox):
- Allows display of bit operations values in hex
- Allows display descriptive bit operands
Note that you need PgcEdit v9.1 to use this plugin!

This excellent plugin modifies the way the commands containing bitwise operators are displayed by PgcEdit. There is an option to display the operand in hexadecimal instead of the standard decimal value, and an option to add a description of the affected bits.

For example, the command:
Set gprm(0) &=(and) 10
can be displayed as:
Set gprm(0) &=(and) 0x000A (preserve bits 1, 3)
Really useful! Thanks M_Knox!

[mikenadia]

Thanks a lot, R0lZ. No more error messages for me (I had no clue of the bug so cannot say it is fixed:) ) but everything is perfect on my side.
Also , tried to delete a sub-menu (straight from the rip) and got an error message (cf log: the DVD has ILVU: probably irrelevant).
The error message invites me to fix it with IFOEdit (I'd rather not delete the sub-menu) but should I still go to IFOEdit even without deleting the sub-menu (bad rip or whatever).
MsgBox "PgcEdit: Kill PGC Playback" -> yes

ERROR! get_int: Attempt to read 2 bytes at offset 0 (0x0) after end of table!
Variable: cellpostable, length of table: 0
MsgBox "PgcEdit fatal error" -> no
*** Dialog title: "PgcEdit fatal error"
*** Dialog type: error
*** Dialog message:
Fatal error!
PgcEdit is trying to read data after the
end of a table.
This means that a Length Of Table value
is probably wrong. (See log.)
Please try to fix the problem with IfoEdit.
The missing value may be fixed to 0, but
this could lead to strange results.
Do you want to fix the value and continue
anyway? (NOT RECOMMENDED!)
*** Dialog buttons: [Yes] [No]
If I click on No,I have an error message :error attempt reading... I can ignore it?
Thanks for your advice.

[r0lZ]

Hum, difficult to understand what's happening. According to the error message, the PGC you've tried to kill is a dummy.
Please read your PMs.

[vwpassion]

Is there any reason why you can't chose SPRM 0 from the trace mode -> breakpoints -> "SPRM write breakpoints" menu?

[r0lZ]

No! I can select it here. Could you give more info? Why can't you chose it? Is it disabled?

Could you also try to enable the breakpoint via Info -> GPRMs (click on the GPRM number) and via the trace Watch window (again, click on the GPRM number)?

[vwpassion]

No! I can select it here. Could you give more info? Why can't you chose it? Is it disabled?

Could you also try to enable the breakpoint via Info -> GPRMs (click on the GPRM number) and via the trace Watch window (again, click on the GPRM number)?

It just doesn't appear in the menu.

http://i.lulz.at/m5Zq468.jpg

Click here (http://i.lulz.at/o5Ny658.jpg) for another screenshot.

[r0lZ]

Hoops, sorry, I haven't read your message carefully enough. I thought you were speaking of GPRM 0.

SPRM 0 (the preferred menu language) is not available, simply because it cannot be written by a VM command. The only way to modify its value is by using the player configuration menu. Therefore, it doesn't make sense to watch it. (Same thing for SPRMs 12, 13 and 15 to 23.)

However, note that you can actually enable the watch function for those read-only SPRMs by clicking on the SPRM number in the Watch or Info->SPRMs windows, but of course, it's useless.

[vwpassion]

I see. Sometimes I modify sprm(0) commands, especially on Sony Region 2 dvds, when I remove foreign menus. Sony usually masters their dvds to call the player's preferred menu language and thus I modify these commands and set them to something like this:

Original: Set gprm(0) =(mov) sprm(0:Preferred menu language)

Modified: Set gprm(0) =(mov) 25966 ("en")

This way it doesnt matter anymore which menu language is set within the player. So for me, it'd be quite useful. But I'll stick to Info -> SPRMs instead.

[ron spencer]

thanks for V9.1....great job

[spare]

Could Someone cook up an icon for the PgcEdit homepage ??
It would make it easier to spot on my bookmarks :)

Thank You.

[Wombler]

Actually that's not a bad idea.

r0lZ, how about it?


Wombler

9203

[blutach]

Thanks r0lZ and also big thanks to M_Knox. It is soooooo easy to understand those bitwise operations now.

Regards

[blutach]

I see. Sometimes I modify sprm(0) commands, especially on Sony Region 2 dvds, when I remove foreign menus. Sony usually masters their dvds to call the player's preferred menu language and thus I modify these commands and set them to something like this:

Original: Set gprm(0) =(mov) sprm(0:Preferred menu language)

Modified: Set gprm(0) =(mov) 25966 ("en")

This way it doesnt matter anymore which menu language is set within the player. So for me, it'd be quite useful. But I'll stick to Info -> SPRMs instead.Do a search for the word preferred in the search box. That way you will hit all the required registers (0, 16, 18). Then use the search and replace plugin. It is very easy. See attached for changing eveything to English. This goes in your search_replace_presets folder in %appdata%/PgcEdit

Regards

[vwpassion]

Do a search for the word preferred in the search box. That way you will hit all the required registers (0, 16, 18). Then use the search and replace plugin. It is very easy. See attached for changing eveything to English. This goes in your search_replace_presets folder in %appdata%/PgcEdit

Regards

Oh, didnt know about presets. Thanks. :)

[r0lZ]

Could Someone cook up an icon for the PgcEdit homepage ??
It would make it easier to spot on my bookmarks :)The mirror in belgium (http://home.tele2allin.be/vt6328799/pgcedit/index.html) has an icon. The main homepage at VideoHelp (http://download.videohelp.com/r0lZ/pgcedit/index.html) doesn't display it, I don't know why. I will have a look...

[Wombler]

Ahh... I didn't realise that.

I've always used the main page and had noticed the lack of an icon before spare mentioned it.

But if there's some insurmountable technical problem then the simple answer for spare would be to use the Belgian mirror.


Wombler

[r0lZ]

The icon file was simply missing! The technical problem was therefore not totally insurmountable! ;)

[Wombler]

Excellent!

If only everything else was that easy. :)


Wombler

[r0lZ]

Also , tried to delete a sub-menu (straight from the rip) and got an error message (cf log: the DVD has ILVU: probably irrelevant).
The error message invites me to fix it with IFOEdit (I'd rather not delete the sub-menu) but should I still go to IFOEdit even without deleting the sub-menu (bad rip or whatever).
MsgBox "PgcEdit: Kill PGC Playback" -> yes

ERROR! get_int: Attempt to read 2 bytes at offset 0 (0x0) after end of table!
Variable: cellpostable, length of table: 0
MsgBox "PgcEdit fatal error" -> no
*** Dialog title: "PgcEdit fatal error"
*** Dialog type: error
*** Dialog message:
Fatal error!
PgcEdit is trying to read data after the
end of a table.
This means that a Length Of Table value
is probably wrong. (See log.)
Please try to fix the problem with IfoEdit.
The missing value may be fixed to 0, but
this could lead to strange results.
Do you want to fix the value and continue
anyway? (NOT RECOMMENDED!)
*** Dialog buttons: [Yes] [No]
If I click on No,I have an error message :error attempt reading... I can ignore it?
Thanks for your advice.

I wanted to delete the sub-menu (with subtitles) of the version with alternate ending.

Trace;Run;Click on Button2;Select;Click on "Kill PGC Playback";
Click on the button "Kill Playback" with the button "English " selected.
{71 01 00 08 00 01 00 0D}

I did the same thing on a non-ILVU DVD and got a similar error.
Hope I did not screw the IFO and menubuttons.
The first one is after loading, and the second is after saving after the error message.

I see! After some tries, I've finally been able to reproduce the bug.

It is caused by the fact that you Kill Playback of the menu when the menu viewer (automatically opened by the trace) is still open. If you close it (for example by selecting Close And Break Trace), and then you kill the menu, the problem does not occur.

In fact, it should be impossible to modify the DVD when trace mode is active. It doesn't make sense to trace something that is constantly modified. However, I have not disabled the main GUI when the trace mode is active, because in some cases, it is possible to modify some commands while the DVD is tracing. That's useful, for example, to test what happens when a command is modified to jump elsewhere or change a GPRM value without having to restart the trace from the beginning. However, there are things that cannot be made in trace mode, as if the structure of the current PGC or domain is modified, the trace will not be able to continue.

In this particular case, you trace to the menu you want to kill, and PgcEdit displays it in the menu viewer, and waits for your selection. At that time, you kill the menu. This has the effect of automatically closing the original menu viewer window and opening another menu viewer to let you select the button to use for the kill. Then, you do the kill... and the trace tries to continue. Of course, it cannot find the buttons any more, since they have just been deleted, and the error occurs.

Of course, this case should be trapped. I should either refuse to apply Kill PGC Playback when the menu viewer is already opened, or stop the trace when Kill PGC Playback is applied. I will see what I can do. In the meantime, do not use Kill PGC Playback when the menu viewer is opened, and everything will be perfect.

Since I don't have your DVD, I can't verify if the error has caused some problems in your IFOs, but I don't think so. IMO, Kill PGC Playback has made its job well. The error was produced when the trace has continued. Since the trace doesn't modify the DVD (except if you use Blank This Cell/PGC from the preview in trace mode), the error should be harmless.

[r0lZ]

OK, now, if you try to kill playback of a PGC when the menu viewer is opened and trace mode is enabled, a warning is displayed, and you have to close the viewer and relaunch the function.

Note that I have added the same security check as well on several other functions, such as Blank OutAll PGCs Of Domain or Remove LU.

Anyway, remember that it is never safe to modify the structure of the DVD when trace mode is running. (When the menu viewer has been opened automatically by the trace, and even if you are currently in "Step" mode, the trace is running, as it waits for your input, and will at least continue by executing a button command.)

[mikenadia]

Anyway, remember that it is never safe to modify the structure of the DVD when trace mode is running.
Does this mean that during the Standard " Jump to PGC upon insert" procedure, I should get out of Trace mode just before clicking on "Jump to PGC upon insert".
And If I do that, when I get out of trace mode, I am sometimes going at the first post-command of the PGC (even if there are pre-commands ) instead of staying at the first pre-command (seems to happen when the "PGC upon insert" is a second level menu). I should manually go back to the first pre-command and then click on "Jump to PGC upon insert. Right ?

Thank you very much.

[r0lZ]

No! I said "when trace mode is running". When you are in trace mode but you have stopped it, no problem! (In some cases, even that is not safe, but PgcEdit closes the trace mode automatically for you. It's the case, for example, if you try to remap the titlesets.)

But as I have tried to explain above, when the trace has opened the menu viewer and you haven't replied to it yet, then trace mode is currently running, even if you are in step by step mode. In fact, the trace is in the middle of a step, and waits. You should therefore avoid to call a function before having replied to the menu viewer and stopped the trace.

[selyb]

I keep PGCEdit in Trace Mode always I wish trace mode wouldn't turn off when I delete unreferenced pgcs.

Maybe I'm a little ignorant on this but I think the end user should expect problems when he/she edits commands while trace mode is running

[blutach]

I wish trace mode wouldn't turn off when I delete unreferenced pgcs.I too always run with trace mode on and asked r0lZ about this some time back and he said it was necessary. Not sure about the technical reasons but it's only 1 click to get it back on.

Regards

[r0lZ]

As I said above, the trace mode should normally be closed before doing any modification to the DVD (including simple command edits) but I have left this possibility open for the power users that know what they are doing. However, I have to reset completely the trace mode when the structure of the DVD changes in such a way that trying to continue the trace or restart it from a snapshot is not possible. (This was a cause of several bugs in the previous versions.) I have to clear all trace data, and for me, it is easier to close the trace. When it is re-opened, it is reinitialized from scratch, and everything should work fine.

[blutach]

@r0lZ - just an idea ....

Is there a way to keep trace open and "automatically" press the open/close tray button instead?

Regards

[r0lZ]

No, sorry but I have had many difficulties with the option to open the trace automatically at startup. This is more complex that it sounds, and has been the source of several bugs. I should have removed this option! Anyway, I'm not going to change that again, to make it even more complex. Click on the button, or use the hotkey. It's not that difficult.