popBD - simple MKV/*TS/MPEG to AVCHD/BD tool - split to 2 (BD5/BD9) volumes supported

[deank]

Hey there all!

Here is another small application I coded in few hours. It was requested few days ago by turbojet, hence the idea for the name "popBD":

turbojet:

Hi,

What I am mainly looking for is kind of like a very stripped down version of multiAVCHD (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=143744) that can convert mkv to BD with accessibility and simplicity being the main priority.

Basic operation would be: get mkvinfo, make meta, run tsmuxer, burn with imgburn, optionally split in half with mkvmerge, which is useful to split a BD9 to 2 BD5's or some really long movies into 2 BD5's or BD9's.

For simplicity just a simple gui with an input box (drag and drop too)... with these options: image, burn, delete auxdata directory (for samsung players), mux directory (defaults to mkv dir), image directory (defaults to mkv dir), default mux dir, default image dir.

multiAVCHD (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=143744) is a must have tool when dealing with multiple files. However if it's an mkv that fills a dvd5 or dvd9... there are many times I wished with that I could pop in a dvd and press a button and in 15 minute it would pop out a burned disk that I could play in a BD player. I also think this is something other people would want...

So, here it is:

http://multiavchd.deanbg.com/popBD.jpg

Download links:

Full package: popBD (http://multiforum.deanbg.com) (3MB)

If you have multiAVCHD (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=143744) you can simply put popBD.exe in your multiAVCHD folder and use it. You don't need the "full package" as popBD uses some of the tools that multiAVCHD (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=143744) uses.

*****

Using it is really simple. One feature of interest is that it supports TWO volumes (for writing to TWO DVD discs).

For example if you're using a MKV file that exceeds 4GB limit, popBD will split it (at the selected size) and will create second folder (AVCHD_2). Be advised that max of TWO volumes is supported. Then you can burn two discs and get 2xDVD5s of about 8GB, 2xDVD9s - 16GB or 2xBD25 and get 50GB movie playable on your SAP/PS3.

It features:

* mkv/ts/m2ts/mts/mpeg/mpg support
* external SRT or SUP subtitles
* external AC3/DTS/LPCM audio tracks
* chapters from MKV/*TS/MPG or external chapters (in movie.txt file with HH:MM:SS format, space/";"/new line delimited)
* STOP after DVD/BD playback (no loop)
* split for volume 2 with correct start offset
* one pass processing - no intermediate/temporary muxing/splitting
* external applications used: mkvinfo/tsmuxer (mediainfo/mkvextract only if using original chapters)
* tsMuxeR in version 0.6 is updated to 1.9.9. popBD will not work properly with older tsMuxeR versions

Please test it and share your comments.

Dean

[nwg]

Nice work. There is actually a not well known free software called Blu Ray to DVD Express which does the same with Blu Ray. There is also a pay Pro version.

http://www.opencloner.com/blu-ray_to_dvd/

[deank]

:) Well... popBD is free and without any obligations. I just used some spare time this afternoon to partially fulfill a doom9 user request... I hope more people will find it useful.

I'm not sure if it is really correct to post a link to pay-ware application right after I posted the tool :)

[nwg]

:) Well... popBD is free and without any obligations. I just used some spare time this afternoon to partially fulfill a doom9 user request... I hope more people will find it useful.

I'm not sure if it is really correct to post a link to pay-ware application right after I posted the tool :)

I am always how fast you work. I used to be the same with VB programming but that was a long time ago.

[deank]

Yes... it's a pleasure to code different things and it's been this way since 1983 when I wrote my first BASIC program :) My job is more about programming ISs and huge DBs but I can always find time for side projects.

I just think of when I'll find the time to use my own programs... :p It's fun anyway...

[Adub]

You are doing a fantastic job helping out the community there deank. I may be working with you in the future as I am preparing a tutorial website for things such as this, and I would love to show people how to take full advantage of your programs. Excellent job.

Keep on coding strong, and know that your efforts are appreciated.

[setarip_old]

@deank

Hi!

Congratulations on creating what appears to be an impressive tool ;>}

I have a question/request:

I have thusfar intentionally avoided purchasing "AnyDVD HD" (as a matter of principle) and have instead been using (presently freeware) "MakeMKV" as my first step in backing up BluRay discs. This has worked extremely well with almost all manner and configuration of BluRay, EXCEPT those containing VC-1 video.

It recently came to light that MKVs containing VC-1 video created by "MakeMKV" do not have the required "default duration". Among other things, this causes tsMuxer to generate an "unable to process" error (both when used directly and when accessed by "popBD").

Is there some way you can enhance your program to overcome this shortcoming?

[~bT~]

^ this tool also uses tsmuxer.

congrats deank on another lil gem!

[setarip_old]

@~bT~^ this tool also uses tsmuxer.I am well aware of that - and that's one of the reasons I've asked this question of "deank"

[deank]

How do you process such files?
What does mediainfo/mkvinfo show when parsing such file?
What is 'default duration' and of what?

Dean

[setarip_old]

@deank

It's probably simplest if I quote a poster at another forum (regarding this exact topic):i found the error. i was right! it's MAKEMKV.
it doesn't write the correct header-information
(duration-time/framerate) into the MKV-file.
but first read on...

i have done following test:

* extract VC-1 stream from MKV using mkvextract from mkvtoolnix

DONE
mkvextract gave me following error:
Error: Track 1 with the CodecID 'V_MS/VFW/FOURCC'
is missing the "default duration" element and
cannot be extracted.

i used tsMuxeR_1.8.4(b) to extract the vc1-stream from MKV


* try to play produced file and see if it plays

DONE
doesn't play. media player and vlc can't play the pure vc1-stream.


* create brand new MKV from VC1 video file using mkvmerge

DONE


* see if it still has a problem

DONE
the new created MKV works perfectly! without any choppy playback

i checked both files with mkvinfo and ta-daaa:

MKVMERGE CREATED MKV@MKVINFO:
| + Codec ID: V_MS/VFW/FOURCC
| + Codec decode all: 1
| + CodecPrivate, length 77 (FourCC: WVC1, 0x31435657)
| + Default duration: 41.708ms (23.976 fps for a video track)

MAKEMKV CREATED MKV@MKVINFO:
| + Codec ID: V_MS/VFW/FOURCC
| + CodecPrivate, length 77 (FourCC: WVC1, 0x31435657)

Default duration is missing in the MAKEMKV-MKV-file!!!

[deank]

So that means that demuxing vc-1 with tsmuxer and muxing it back to m2ts should work fine.

[setarip_old]

So that means that demuxing vc-1 with tsmuxer and muxing it back to m2ts should work fine.The quote seems to indicate that it's required to use "MKVMerge" (NOT "tsMuxeR") to successfully/properly remux back to .MKV - and then use "tsMuxer" to convert to .M2TS...

[deank]

Right, it's not that hard to be done... Do you have a sample anyway?

[turbojet]

Thanks for this.

A few bugs that I've found are:
- When splitting, subs don't display on the second BD (display times aren't reset to start from 00:00:00 ?)
- When splitting, second BD has the same chapter points as the full file, so chapter points are incorrect
- When splitting, second BD doesn't show video in powerDVD but it does in MPC-HC
- AVCHD directory is always removed even though most players need to see this directory to play.

A not so optimal fix for the splitting issues is to split with mkvmerge first then mux each mkv with tsmuxer, it takes about twice as long though.

[deank]

I did tests and subs did show on both first and second part.

PowerDVD is not a software I'll ever test with as it shows it's not a match for AVCHD/BD standards at all.

What do you mean by "AVCHD" directory is removed?

Playing second volume is as having 1st M2TS removed and starting from the second. Subtitles are incorporated before the split, chapters - too. Second part should display time AFTER the split point.

If your movie is 2hrs and the split is @ 1:20h, the second will start at 1:20h (REW before 1:20 will show black screen).

Did you test on a stand-alone-player?

[zoner]

- When splitting, subs don't display on the second BD (display times aren't reset to start from 00:00:00 ?)

I already used this great tool on a few BDs i own. and both discs show subs after splitting
about chapter i didnt check.

[turbojet]

Oh instead of AVCHD directory I mean AUXDATA directory.

I tried the subs in MPC-HC and PowerDVD 8, the first part worked fine.

In powerDVD the second part has the full length runtime. Seeking to after split time also doesn't show video. I know it's not a great player and they keep breaking more and more AVCHD/BD stuff with every version. But it is a popular player so I don't think it can really be ignored at least not v7 and v8 but I might look into getting arcsoft TMT one of these days.

I don't have a standalone player here but I will test on Panasonic BD30 next time I go there.

[turbojet]

According to suprip and BDSup2Sub the sub timings of part 2 are correct, I wonder why they aren't showing.

[deank]

I'll leave auxdata untouched. And those programs I wrote (popBD/multiAVCHD) are to be used in hardware players. I simply don't see what sense does it make to convert files to AVCHD and play them on a computer when you can simply PLAY them without any changes and conversions.

[turbojet]

Not all BD players like AUXDATA either so there really needs to be an option.
Every retail BD I've played on my computer works like it should, shouldn't we strive to match this when encoding?

[deank]

Yes, "BD", not AVCHD. And the time put in BD production is more than 3 minutes processin' someones MKV file, don't you agree.

And about AUXDATA... it is a standard... you asked me to remove the folder because of SAMSUNG players... Too many different versions of applying BD and AVCHD standard. AVCHD doesn't have such folder.

[turbojet]

Technically these are BD's it's outputting but I'm not going to discuss that again, to sum it up AVCHD uses an AVCHD folder in root, 8.3 naming, doesn't allow video bitrates above 15 MB\s and doesn't allow DTS.

I asked for an option to remove the folder, default is it keeps it. You are right AVCHD doesn't have that folder.

[deank]

I'll add those as options. I just find myself stranded between a lot of projects (@work) and I still try to find time for the pleasure-ones :)

[turbojet]

I understand, no rush.

[turbojet]

I've gotten this error on 2 different m2ts file inputs (both have h.264, multiple sups and original chapters) 1 has AC3 other has DTS.

(RT) Floating point division by zero - Line 23 (It's line 21 if original chapters is unchecked)

It seems to happen right after mediainfo. They both work ok in tsmuxer.

[deank]

You probably meant MKV not m2ts, right?

[deank]

Updated links to version 0.2.

Added ISO creation with imgburn and option to keep/remove AUXDATA.
The destination for .iso file is input mkv folder/drive.

http://multiavchd.deanbg.com/popbd.jpg

You can download the exe only from the first post.

[deank]

I just added option for keeping/removing subtitles from MKV files as it seems sometimes tsmuxer has problems with such streams and gives error:

"52.7% complete
Can't convert source text to UTF-16. Invalid chars sequence. "

and then stops.

So, just download the .exe.

[deank]

Also (as requested) a drop-down with split sizes for DVD5/DVD9/BD25/No split/Custom split size is added.

[turbojet]

I meant m2ts but maybe it's not intended to input m2ts files?

Thanks for the new version.

[deank]

Right. It is for MKV ONLY.

[deank]

Version 0.3:

* Added support for MPEG/MPG/M2TS/MTS/TS files
* Support for external chapters
* Support for external audio tracks for mpeg/ts/m2ts

If using MPEG input, audio has to be AC3 (not MPEG1/2) as no conversion is supported for audio streams.
The same is for other video types - their audio streams have to be AC3/DTS/LPCM.

:) Almost all requests are now fulfilled.

[deank]

Exe update only:

you can now leave TARGET and TEMP fields empty. Input filename/path will be used for both.

movie-test.mkv:

Target will be: popBD_movie-test\

Temp will be: popBD_TEMP_movie-test\

[turbojet]

Thanks but must it be prefixed with popBD?

Also I see 'Keep MKV embeded SRT/SSA subtitles' but it keeps SUP from M2TS too from my tests. Wouldn't 'Keep embbeded SRT/SSA/SUP subtitles' make more sense?

[deank]

I'll remove popBD prefix.. and embedded SUP is never removed, so I'd rather have it this way, as its primary purpose is to avoid problems with utf8/16 subtitles in mkvs. Download the exe again.

[turbojet]

Oh I see, I understand now.

[Killerattacks]

OK, a question by a newbie here. I want to burn a 1080p .mkv file with .ssa soft-subtitles to DVD. To my knowledge the video needs to be reencoded, so that the soft-subs get hardcoded. Because AFAIK the ps3 doesn't accept any kind of softsubs for AVCHD-DVD, but as I already said my knowledge is limited.

So I checked the "Keep MKV embedded SRT/SSA" subtitles option thinking that reencoding the subtitles into the videostream would be the result. After the process finished (only remuxing something, no reencoding) I opened the resulting 00001.m2ts with VLC and MPC HC, but as I suspected there are no subtitles.

What did I wrong?

EDIT

OK, I have a guess. When I open the original .mkv with mediainfo the log shows:
Text
ID : 3
Format : ASS
Codec ID : S_TEXT/ASS
Codec ID/Info : Advanced Sub Station Alpha
Language : English

So it's no.ssa, but .ass subtitle-stream. Doesn't change much for me as the user, because they are "just soft-subs" to me, but maybe they need to be handled in a different way by popBD? No idea.

[deank]

Subtitles are not hardcoded - they are in a separate stream in the m2ts file. You will see them once you play the DISC in your PS3 or when you play it with TMT or NeroSHowtime NOT VLC :)

Post back when you test it... just don't use regular players but your PS3 (with DVD disk or USB) or TotalMediaTheater or Nero Showtime or...


And SSA and ASS is one and the same: SubStation Alpha / Alpha SubStation.

[Killerattacks]

hey, you are right. That's really cool. But I have a little bit of trouble with that solution too. for example when the subtitle should be just "Text" it becomes "{/i1} Text {/0}" and other things like this. Or at another point the original subtitle is somewhat styled and has a different location and says "Text" but becomes unstyled and is at the default position (hey, that's fine with me) but all you can read is "{\fad(150".

[deank]

You have 3 options :)

1) To use external SRT subtitles
2) To use unstyled SSA/ASS subtitles
3) To send me the extracted SSA subtitles so I can fix popBD :)

[Killerattacks]

I have many files with styled subtitles so it would be a nice feature... at least for me ;)

Here's the link to the styled subtitles of the .mkv: Link (http://textsnip.com/e4afcb) (It's the complete .ass).

[dracore]

deank the work you are doing is awsome :)

thanks for these great tools and all the work you have put into it bud :thanks:

[deank]

I have many files with styled subtitles so it would be a nice feature... at least for me ;)

Here's the link to the styled subtitles of the .mkv: Link (http://textsnip.com/e4afcb) (It's the complete .ass).

Looking at those... i can probably implement bold/italic/underline, but i don't have time for such as:

{\bord4\3a&HFE&\1a&HFF&\t(0,940,\bord0,\1a&H00&,\3a&H00&\)\shad0\1c&HFEFEFE&\3c&HFEFEFE&\fs50\fnSemper\pos(636,296)}The End

it will simply show "The End"...

@dracore: :) thanks

[Killerattacks]

Your fast replies are awesome too.

And I'm perfectly fine with plain subtitles. I did a quick search and there seems to be a commandline tool "ssatosrt.exe" by the ripbot264 author. The result is a totally unstyled .srt file. Maybe it can be used by your program too, no idea.

[deank]

I use my own program code to convert ssa to srt and I'd rather keep most popular tags then stripping the ssa totally, so I'll check which tags I can translate from ssa to srt. I'll post back later.

[Killerattacks]

No 5 minutes without me posting new complaints ;) Playing the file (.mkv + unstyled .srt -> converted to AVCHD+menu) in showtime shows some strange behavior. If subtitles are 2 lines long they are not centered but at the left and a part is cut off.

[deank]

You can now redownload popBD.exe only (the link is in the first post)... Please let me know if it works with your SSA subtitles.

It should keep BOLD/ITALIC/UNDERLINE and remove all other tags.

About the SRT - use a tool to "break long lines" - such as SubtitleWorkshop or similar.

popBD/multiAVCHD are end-user programs and expect USERS to have prepared their files accordingly. I can implement a lot of things like fixing overlapping/correcting timing and tenths more - it is not the way thing should be done I think.

**

I also implemented those SSA fixes in multiAVCHD.

[turbojet]

deank did you notice my pm from a few days ago?

[deank]

Yes. Just give me few more days.