Joining AC3 & M2V and Chapters

[cbloss]

I have used CCE to encode the movie down to DVD-R size. I obviously have a .ac3 and .m2v file. I need to know how to join these files and how to keep the original chapter points after joining. I have checked out the guides but they didn't help me much on the chapter end.

[dpcpro]

You need to use an authoring program. I use DVDMaestro, simply take your .ac3 and .m2v and import as media assets. Drag them to the movie timeline and import chapter points or create them manually. To get chapters use chapter extracter (load up the original IFO, and then save using a DVDMaestro format). Doom9 has an authoring guide using DVDMaestro.

Good Luck.

dpcpro

[bretbowman]

Hopefully you have the original .vob files or the DVD to extract the chapters from using "chapter xtractor" or some other tool like that.

I agree that I'd use DVD Maestro to author. You'll only need your .ac3 audio, .mpv video, and get your chapters list (.chp file) and you'll be ready to go.

[Stampede]

Does authoring really offer any advantages to this type of setup?

Right now if I want to do a movie only release I think it's pretty easy to use IFOEdit, hit the VOB extras, and choose create new IFO files. There's a few more steps than that but this method is pretty easy and if it's still too big I can compress it further using any of the one click backup solutions. Of course this method doesn't work with all titles (e.g. Shrek has a little clip in the beginning that relies on the original IFO structure to block out displaying the alternate languages) but I think you'd have the same issue extracting the m2v.

I know authoring software lets you create your own menus and could be really great for putting together multiple TV episodes and such onto a single disc. But I've never experimented with any of the authoring packages and I have no idea (due to my inexperience) how it could help do movie-only discs better. Does this have to do with being able to use CCE to recompress the video? If so, does everyone pretty much use doitfast4u to set up the assets? Where does ifoupdate fit into all of this? Do you use ifoupdate only for multiangle stuff?

Sorry for my stupid questions in that last paragraph. I usually lurk a forum a good while before posting in it. I searched through the FAQ's on these things, tried examining most of the guides, and even searched on the various program author's web sites but never got a definitive answer. I think I'm right on some of this but I'm not completely sure I have a good handle on it all.

[rodlane]

I have an .m2v, an .ac3 and chapters, but no original files of Undercover Brother. I have joined them using IfoEdit 0.95, but it doesn't seem to play in my settop player. It works in PowerDVD.

I did not use the GET VTS Sectors option. Could this be my problem, or could it be a prblem with my DVD player? I have only one DVD-R left for the next 5 days, and would hate to waste it.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks...

[bretbowman]

I always "Get VTS..." because I have had several discs that I've burned that I forgot to do this and they will not play on my settop player.

I can't say for sure that is the problem, but if you forgot to get VTS sectors before burning, I'd bet that was the problem.