Finally! My guide on how to remove ANY Aspect Ratio or Language Start Menu!

[2COOL]

How to remove Aspect Ratio Menus! and Language Selection Start Menus too!
Courtesy of 2C:cool::cool:L

[1/4/2005]: New v3.0 HTML guide (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?threadid=87619) using only PgcEdit. Use this instead.

[Dec. 29, 2003]: Guide has been updated if a dummy menu is not available and also a registered MenuEdit guide on replacing menu VOB with a blank one.

[Jan. 22, 2004]: Steps 25 and 30 updated.

Tools I used
DVD Decrypter in File Mode
IFOedit 0.95/0.96
MenuEdit (Registered) or DVD Remake (Demo)
VobEdit 0.60
BlankVOB 0.0.3

Introduction

You know, I’ve done a lot of Aspect Ratio Menu bypassing and most my cheat sheets show different methods. I’m talking about the widescreen and fullscreen selection menu. Hopefully, this generic guide will fix all that. Also, some DVDS have a Language Selection Menu as a startup instead and it's the same concept as a Aspect Ratio Menu. This guide may seem long but I had to write extra detailed explanations here and there for newbies on the scene to understand what needs to be done. This guide can be used for NTSC and PAL DVDs.
_____________________________________________________
1. Where's your menus?

The first thing we need to know is where your menus reside at.

All menus will reside in two probable VOBs. They will be found in either your VIDEO_TS.VOB or a VTS_*_0.VOB. Normally, they should be in the same Titleset as your movie. So, if your movie is in VTS_01, then your menu VOB would be VTS_01_0.VOB. Then again, there are some cases in which the menus may not reside in the same movie Titleset. Most likely, it will be in another Titleset in which you can initially tell that it is by the size of its menu VOB. When you know which VOB contains your menus, then let’s go to next step.
_____________________________________________________
2. How does your Aspect Ratio Menu look like?

The easy way is to use the registered version of MenuEdit as it gives you the feature to preview the actual menu background. The unregistered version doesn’t so all you’ll see is a single-colored background. But, if you do have the registered version, then you can skip to the next step. Since you are still at this step, we need to document which button on your Aspect Ratio Menu (ARM) is your widescreen and fullscreen. Play your movie and when you get to the ARM, write down its description. For example, the fullscreen option is to the left and the widescreen is to the right. Or you can just draw squares to represent the buttons and placement and write WS (widescreen) or FS (fullscreen) inside of them if you want. This is what I usually do. Do whatever it takes to make it simpler for you.

+-------------------------------+
| |
| |
| +------+ +------+ |
| | | | | |
| | FS | | WS | |
| | | | | |
| +------+ +------+ |
| |
| |
+-------------------------------+

We just need to remember the layout as the unregistered version will only show the button placements but not the menu background. Got it? Good! :D
_____________________________________________________
3. Finding your Aspect Ratio Menu

Open up your menu VOB with MenuEdit. You should have found this out in step 1. MenuEdit will have a treeview with all of your VobIDs found. Click on “Expand” button to see CellIDs. To find out which one is your ARM, the most obvious way is that most ARMs contain only 2 buttons, one for widescreen and one for fullscreen. You should look for something like this.
CellID: # (2 buttons)
It’s rare if there’s a third button as it would’ve been a “Return to menu” button. But for now, think "2 buttons".;) With that in mind and your treeview is expanded, look for any instances of 2 buttons associated with a CellID. When you found one, click on “Edit button”. Just in case, there may be more than one Aspect Ratio Menu, so check all.
_____________________________________________________
4. If you have the registered version, you should see exactly what your menu looks like since you have background preview. If you have the unregistered version, compare the layout to what you got in step 2. If this is not the menu you are looking for then move on to the next CellID that has 2 buttons. When you find it, go to the next step.
_____________________________________________________
5. Vob-Id and Cell-Id

Congratulations! You found it! Now, write down the associated VobID that this CellID fell under. We’ll need this important info later on. ;)
VobID # : _____ , CellID #: _____
_____________________________________________________
6. Finding a Dummy (blank) Menu

While you're still in the treeview, let's look for a dummy menu.

Note 1: This step is optional if you have a registered version of MenuEdit since it can replace cells with blank ones.

Below is an example menu that has no buttons.
CellID: # (0 buttons)
Hopefully, there’s one in the same VobID. If not, look in another VobID. The reason for this is that we need to replace your Cell that has the Aspect Ratio Menu clip with a dummy menu, which is exactly a blank clip. Write down the VobID # and CellID # of this dummy menu too. This is very important.
VobID # : _____ , CellID #: _____
Just because a menu has zero buttons doesn't really mean it's a total blank. It could be a FBI warning, movie rating, or even a commmentary. Anyways, if you need to really see which menu is really a blank, open menu's IFO with DVD Shrink and view the menus. When you do find one, write down the Menu # so that you can also use this data in step 11.
PGC-Menu_#: _______
If per chance you don’t have a dummy menu, that’s okay. I’ll explain later with workarounds. Basically, we want to eventually replace your Aspect Ratio Menu with a blank. ;)
_____________________________________________________
7. If you look below, you’ll see a Buttons section with a mini vertical scrollbar. Click on the scrollbar to have the associated button in preview window highlighted. Now, are you doing widescreen or fullscreen? Have that button highlighted and click on “Edit button”.
_____________________________________________________
8. Getting the Hex Value

[ Jan 26, 2004]: The unregistered version of MenuEdit does not have the option to preview your button's command. I do have an unposted html guide to assist you with this if you need it to continue unto next step. This step is for registered version only.

[Feb 2, 2004]: The DvdReMake free Demo can now help you with finding what your hex values are for your menu button commands. Here's a link (http://www.dimadsoft.com/dvdremake/). DvdReMake was also created by Dimad, author of MenuEdit. ;) Just right click on Menu button in question and choose "Edit..." and then "..." button to see hex value.

You’ll have a Buttons info window pop up. What we need to get is the button’s hex command. This is what is executed when you press this button during movie play. Click on the […] button. Write down this hex value. It should be a 16 alphanumeric value. Don’t do any typos! ;) By the way, those are all 0’s (zeros). Cancel out and exit out of MenuEdit.
Fullscreen Hex: ________________________

Widescreen Hex: ________________________
_____________________________________________________
9. Now, we need to go to the Titleset IFO that contained your menu VOB. Should be easy as you know about it in step 1. Open IFO in IFOedit.
_____________________________________________________
10. What's your Menu #?

If you're dealing with a VTS_*_0.IFO then go to VTS Overview and scroll all the way down to the bottom and you’ll see your Language Menu Units (LMU) section.
If it’s the VIDEO_TS.IFO, then go to VMG Overview and scroll down to bottom to LMU.

Remember your VobID that you got in step 5? Well, for my example, my VobID is 15 and what I need to know is what menu that VobId is associated with. So, in my example below, that would be Menu 6. Write your Menu # down. You’ll be jumping to this PGC-Menu_# in the next step.
PGC-Menu_#: _______

Language Menu Unit 1: [English]
Menu 1: [Root-Menu] (entry PGC)(Programs: 4) (Cells: 4) (uses VOB-IDs: 1,2,3,4)
Menu 2: [Audio Menu] (entry PGC)(Programs: 2) (Cells: 2) (uses VOB-IDs: 5,6)
Menu 3: [entry only] (Programs: 6) (Cells: 5) (uses VOB-IDs: 11,12,13,14,4)
Menu 4: [entry only] (Programs: 0) (Cells: 0)
Menu 5: [entry only] (Programs: 22)(Cells: 5) (uses VOB-IDs:7,8,9,10,4)
Menu 6: [entry only] (Programs: 1) (Cells: 1) (uses VOB-IDs: 15)
Menu 7: [entry only] (Programs: 2) (Cells: 2) (uses VOB-IDs: 6,16) _____________________________________________________
11. Inserting a new Cell Command

If you are in a VTS, then go to / VTSM_PGCI_UT / PGC-Menu_# / PGC Command Table.
If VIDEO_TS, then go to / VMGM_PGCI_UT / PGC-Menu_# / PGC Command Table.

NOTE: Prior to doing any edits, it is highly recommended that you backup/save your IFOs and BUPs to another folder in case you mess up in editing. If you do run into errors, you can just copy the original IFOs and BUPs back over your badly edited ones and get VTS Sectors.

We need to add a new Cell Command in the PGC Command Table so right click on Pre Command #1 and select “Add CellCommand”. If you want to read up on what are Cell Commands and their uses, read here (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&postid=370485#post370485).

You might experience some problems as IfoEdit has some issues with inserting new bytes into your IFO. Here’s the scenarios that I have experienced with other DVDs and the actions taken.
A. If IfoEdit successfully creates a new Cell Command and your Program_1: Entry Cell Number is still “1” then go to Step 12

B. If IfoEdit or Windows gives an error message and IfoEdit abruptly closes, reopen IFO and try inserting new cell command again. If successful, you'll see a new Cell Command at the end with a “NOP” and your Program_1: Entry Cell Number still remains at “1”. If this is what you have, then go to Step 12 . If not and IfoEdit is still persistent on abruptly closing on you then start performing Scenario C.

C. If IfoEdit refuses to add a new Cell Command, then increment the “Number of Cell Commands” by 1. Perform the following steps.
What we are going to do next is to mock strip our Menu VobIDs, which means strip but keep everything. This is to correct the byte sectors. You will also need to create a new empty subfolder which will be your destination directory for your new IFO & BUP. Name it anything you want. For me, I just simply name the folder as “A”.

a. Click on Menu Extras button and browse to that new destination folder.
b. Click OK.
c. In Stream List window, click on “Check All” button. We need to keep everything! Click on “Strip it” button and process will start. If you want to process to speed up, drag the process window below your task bar. This is an IfoEdit trick.
d. When done, close IfoEdit.
e. Drag/cut the new files over and replace the original ones in your source folder.
f. Open any IFO in Ifoedit and click “Get VTS Sectors” button. Press Ok/Yes for any following messages.
g. Go back to your PGC Command Table to check and you should now have Scenario A. Go to next step.
_____________________________________________________
12. This would be a good time to save your IFO and BUP. ;)
_____________________________________________________
13. Hex-Editing

Your new Cell Command is showing a “NOP” so we need to hexedit that to the same hex value you got in step 8. To do so, double-left click on line and your HexEdit Module will pop up.
_____________________________________________________
14. Uncheck Address and Ascii on right so that you see only the hex bytes you need to edit.
_____________________________________________________
15. Click on the first left byte in the module and type in EXACTLY as you wrote down in step 8.
_____________________________________________________
16. Press OK when done.
_____________________________________________________
17. IfoEdit does not refresh the screen for your new values so as a personal trick, click on “Show Reserved Values” down left. Do so now.
_____________________________________________________
18. Scroll back down to your edited Cell Command and confirm.
_____________________________________________________
19. Now scroll down to Cell Playback section.
_____________________________________________________
20. Remember the CellID # you got in step 5? This ID # refers to the cell in this section. For example, if you wrote down a “4” then go to Cell_4.
_____________________________________________________

Continued on next post...

[2COOL]

21. Editing the Cell Playback values

Look at example below. The ones in RED are the only values we'll need to change. To edit any of these values, just double left click and enter.

Cell_1: Cell type (Angle) 2
Type normal
Block type normal
seamless playback linked in PCI: no
interleaved: no
STC discontinuity: yes
seamless angle linked in DSI: no
Cell_1: Cell restricted? 0
restricted: no
Cell_1: still time (seconds, 0xFF = Infinite) 255
Cell_1: command Nr (0 = no command) 0
Cell_1: playback time (BCD) 216
playback time (hh:mm:ss.frame) 00:00:00.18 / 30 fps
Cell_1: entry point sector 96
Cell_1: first ILVU VOBU end sector 0
Cell_1: start sector of last VOBU 169
Cell_1: last sector of this cell 250

We're just going to work on the first 2 values.

Details:
-------
OLD > Cell_1: still time (seconds, 0xFF = Infinite) 255
NEW > Cell_1: still time (seconds, 0xFF = Infinite) 0
Your Aspect Ratio Menu is actually a still menu and all still menus are set to Infinite time. Change 255 to 0 (zero)
Cell_1: command Nr (0 = no command) 0
Remember the new Cell Command you created? Get the number of that command and enter it here.
_____________________________________________________
22. Save your IFO and BUP
_____________________________________________________
23. Click on DVD play button. At this point, we are going to test that your Aspect Ratio Menu just plays through into the next title. Don’t worry if you see the menu for a few seconds. If the next title plays, then this is what we want. Then the next thing we need to do is replace the Aspect Ratio menu with a blank VOB or cell.
_____________________________________________________
24. There are three options for you to choose. Select which ones applies to you and jump to step given.

If you have a registered MenuEdit, go to Step 25.
If you found a dummy menu in Step 6, go to Step 26. (quickest method)
If you didn’t find a dummy menu and you don’t have a registered MenuEdit, go to Step 30
_____________________________________________________
25. With Registered MenuEdit
First, we need a single blank VOB. We can now create our own VOBs using a free tool called BlankVOB (http://www.iespana.es/jsoto/tools/blank_exe.zip), courtesy of jsoto.

For this step use Blank VOB to create a new single VOB with VOB ID 1 and Cell ID 1. MenuEdit will retain the original VOB and Cell ID when replacing.

a. Open up your menu VOB with MenuEdit
b. Go to the CellID that contained your Aspect Ratio Menu and select it. Hint: You found it in Step 5.
c. Click on “Replace” button.
d. Click on […].
e. Click Open.
f. In your “Files of type:”, select “VOB Files(*.vob)” and browse to where your VTS_0x_1.VOB is at. When done, click Open.
g. Select CellID and click OK. You can preview if you want and it should be nothing more than a blank clip.
h. Press OK twice.
i. Exit MenuEdit.
j. Open the IFO that is associated with your menu with IfoEdit.
k. We'll need to correct the IFO so perform Steps 11a to 11f.
l. Go to Step 31.
_____________________________________________________
26. You have a Dummy Menu to use

We'll be editing the last four values.

Cell_1: playback time (BCD) 216
playback time (hh:mm:ss.frame) 00:00:00.18 / 30 fps
Cell_1: entry point sector 96
Cell_1: start sector of last VOBU 169
Cell_1: last sector of this cell 250
Remember way back in Step 6 where I had you find a dummy menu? By now, you should know how to find out the menu that is associated with that VobID and the location of your cell. To refresh your memory, read steps 10 and 20. Well anyways, the values we need above from that dummy menu will also be used for your Aspect Ratio Menu’s cell. Write those values down.

For example, if I've done the changes above, I should have something like below.

Cell_1: playback time (BCD) 448 (* From a dummy menu)
playback time (hh:mm:ss.frame) 00:00:01.00 / 30 fps
Cell_1: entry point sector 2980 (* From a dummy menu)
Cell_1: first ILVU VOBU end sector 0
Cell_1: start sector of last VOBU 2986 (* From a dummy menu)
Cell_1: last sector of this cell 2991 (* From a dummy menu)

_____________________________________________________
27. Save your IFO and BUP
_____________________________________________________
28. Click on "Get VTS Sectors" button. Click Yes/OK for any following messages.
_____________________________________________________
29. Go to step 31
_____________________________________________________
30. No Dummy Menu found and with a non-registered MenuEdit

We need to insert a blank VOB into your menu VOB. This is what you'll do.

a. Create a new empty folder and drag your menu VOB into this folder.
b. Rename it as VTS_01_001.VOB regardless, Even if you're working with a VIDEO_TS.VOB.
c. Open up your menu’s IFO and go to / VTSM_C_ADT (VTS_*_0.IFO) or VMGM_C_ADT (VIDEO_TS.IFO). Double click on “Number of VOBs in VTSM_VOBS” by increment by one. Click OK to set. Write this new value down.

NEW> Number of VOBs in VTSM_VOBS:_______ (VTS_*_0.IFO)

or

NEW> Number of VOBs (VOB ID's) in VMGM_VOBS:______ (VIDEO_TS.IFO)

d. Go back to PGC-Menu in VTSM_PGCI_UT/VMGM_PGCI_UT. You wrote this down in Step 10 if you forgot. Scroll down to the end to “Cell Position in VOB” section. Remember your CellID? Well, we need to change the VobID to reflect a new VobID. Double click and change that to the value you got in previous Step c and the CellID as "1". So if my Aspect Ratio was in Cell_4 then this is my new value.

Cell_4: has VOB ID 5
Cell_4: has Cell ID 1
e. Save IFO and BUP. Close IfoEdit.
f. Now that you know what your VOB and Cell ID is, you can know use this information when creating your new VOB. Get BlankVOB from step 25. Rename this output VOB as VTS_01_002.VOB to go along with your other file VTS_01_001.VOB. So now you should have these files in your folder.
VTS_01_001.VOB
VTS_01_002.VOB
g. Open up VTS_01_001.VOB with VobEdit.
h. Go topside left corner and click on Edit / Join CellVob files.
i. Click Save.
j. When processing window is gone, exit VobEdit.
k. In your folder, you'll find a new created file, VTS_01_1.VOB. Rename this back as your original menu VOB. For example, VTS_01_1.VOB would be renamed as VTS_01_0.VOB.
l. Drag only this new menu VOB back into your main folder. If you had a replace confirmation, you didn’t do something right. You shouldn’t have a menu VOB in your original folder since we dragged it out into your new folder in step a.
m. Open the IFO that's associated with your menu in IfoEdit.
n. We'll need to correct the IFO so perform Steps 11a to 11f.
o. Go to next step.
_____________________________________________________
31. Play to test. Use IfoEdit and PowerDVD/WinDVD, if you have it. You should now have your movie of choice playing. Test by pressing Play first and also test for playing a chapter in your selection menu initially for any aspect ratio menus. Some DVDs may have 2 aspect ratio menus and you might have missed it.
_____________________________________________________
32. All you need to do now is get rid of the other unwanted movie version. If it’s in a single PGC Titleset, use this guide (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=60533) to help you or use TitleSet Blanker. If not, use this guide (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=60788)

Note: By now, there are other free alternatives for blanking: VobBlanker, TitleSet Blanker, PGCedit, etc.

[MackemX]

yep, it's a good method and I've also got a very similar method (no guide tho :() after doing some testing early this week, as a question on the DVDStripper forum got me thinking

this method will work with any start up menu such as audio selection, menu language selection etc

it gets harder to do if these selections are after the main menu as I've also played around with that. Saying that though, it's not impossible, it just incolves a lot more command modding but the time to find the method is as I'm real busy with other things at the minute ;)

I'm sure you will work it out 2COOL and your guide is EXCOOLENT work as usual :D

[2COOL]

@MackemX

Originally posted by MackemX
this method will work with any start up menu such as audio selection, menu language selection etc

it gets harder to do if these selections are after the main menu as I've also played around with that. Saying that though, it's not impossible, it just incolves a lot more command modding but the time to find the method is as I'm real busy with other things at the minute ;)
Personally and to the best of knowledge, I've yet still to encounter a DVD that has a language selection as a start menu. Most of the uncommon start menu I get is the Previews/Main Menu option menu. Those are easy to bypass.

@all

Does anyone have a recommendation for a NTSC DVD that has start menu as mentioned above? I would like to check it out if it's commonly available. ;)

[Barker]

Thank you 2cool, your guides are very easy to comprehend to a newbie like me and the step by step helps me learn as I go along (I start to recognize past steps as being the same). Its helped me a lot, and I havent tried this one yet, but Ive used your previous ones, and I'm sure that this one will contribute to my learning cycle on dvd authoring.

Again,
Thank You

Barker

[MackemX]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by 2COOL
[B]@MackemX
I don't think they are that common, though I've had a few Region 3's that do have them. I think that's why they are cheaper as they have more languages on them due to the market they cater for. XXX was one but I don't buy Region 3 anymore for this exact reason as they sacrifice extras etc aswell as have the extra startup menu's

there's a few Region 1/2 Disney's that have them too. It's amazing you haven't come across one :eek:, but I'm sure you will soon ;)

Hope you had a good New Year ;)

[Trahald]

excellent guide, 2cool!... definately laid out well and lots of details.. very easy to follow. saved me alot of time :goodpost:

[geffroman]

THANKS AGAIN FOR THIS GREAT GUIDE...

Now that I can make the settings without the guide it takes less than 2 minutes to bypass the Aspect Menu on these multi Cell Menu VOB-IDs.

So far I have used this guide for: (Region 1)

Cherish (more complicated - no blank Cell IDs, but guide still walks you through it using downloadable DONOR Cell IDs)
Eight Crazy Nights
Freaky Friday
Gigli
GO
Human Nature
I Capture the Castle
Storytelling(this one has 4 movie versions on the aspect ratio menu but it can't beat the GUIDE - Success again!)
The Five Senses
The Medallion


All done in a minute or two and all working flawlessly.

Regards... Jeff

Recent additions in red

[2COOL]

Originally posted by w00kiee
excellent guide, 2cool!... definately laid out well and lots of details.. very easy to follow. saved me alot of time :goodpost: Thanks w00kiee! I'm glad the guide had communicated well. Out of curiousity, what DVD were you working on?

[2COOL]

Originally posted by geffroman
THANKS AGAIN FOR THIS GREAT GUIDE...

Now that I can make the settings without the guide it takes less than a minute to bypass the Aspect Menu on these multi Cell Menu VOB-IDs.

So far I have used this guide for:

Eight Crazy Nights
Freaky Friday
I Capture the Castle
The Medallion

All done in a minute or two and all working flawlessly.

Regards... Jeff That's music to my ears!:D Thanks! I hope to also hear from other people on what regional DVDs has worked for them using this guide too.

[pilotsnipes]

The Italian Job region 2 with the Paramount 90th Anniversary logo on it (must be a new release of an old film) has a language selection as it's startup.


Well at least it USED to have one.....


(Thanks 2COOL).

[2COOL]

Originally posted by pilotsnipes
Well at least it USED to have one..... :D :D :D

[2COOL]

Just did Freddy vs Jason Region 1 Disc 1. It seems there was an intro clip of the aspect ratio menu also in this DVD. Since MenuEdit doesn't play motion menus, you wouldn't have seen it. The images of Widescreen and fullscreen buttons were displayed at the end of intro clip. I used DVD2AVI to view the menu VOBs and get my VOB ID Cell ID for the Aspect Ratio Menu Intro clip.

VOB ID 17 - Cell ID 1 is the Aspect Ratio Menu intro
VOB ID 18 - Cell ID 1 is the aspect ratio menu

So if you use Step 25 (With Registered MenuEdit), replace these Cells with your blank VOB.

If you use Step 30d, change the following Cells in the "Cell Position of VOB section" of PGC-Menus mentioned below. You should have gotten a Blank VOB with VOB ID 27 Cell ID 1. This is from your step 30c which you suppose to have a new "Number of VOBs in VTSM_VOBS" of 27.

VTS_01_0.IFO / VTSM_PGCI_UT / PGC-Menu_1 (Root Menu) / Cell Position of VOB / Cell_4 VOB ID
VTS_01_0.IFO / VTSM_PGCI_UT / PGC-Menu_3 (Angle Menu) / Cell Position of VOB / Cell_1 VOB ID

Change VOB IDs of Cells above to 27 in Step 30f.

[Digifreak]

Thanks 2Cool, but the link for the blank VOBs is not working:

http://www.deano.dsl.pipex.com/backup/vobid/complete/complete.htm

Do you have another source?

[2COOL]

We can now create our own NTSC and PAL VOBs using a free tool called BlankVOB, courtesy of Doom9 user jsoto. It's pretty easy to figure out. Here it is.

BlankVob.exe (http://www.iespana.es/jsoto/tools/blank_exe.zip)
Sources (http://www.iespana.es/jsoto/tools/blank_src.zip)

Guide has been updated.

For a blank VOB in this guide, use BlankVOB to create a single VOB with the VOB and Cell ID you got in Step 30d. ;) Also, used for Step 25.

[geffroman]

Is there any advantage to creating a blank VOB with this new tool versus just using the blank we got from MakemX?

[2COOL]

No, but his link is down so I'm providing another alternative. ;) Well. actually that tool does more as it can create a a custom VOB with different VOB and Cell Id which might be useful to my other guide on partial PGC title stripping.

[Zevs]

Im trying to remove the widescreen/fullscreen menu on Freaky Friday and Freddy vs Jason. (thanks for this exellent guide 2cool, and also a lot of your other guides, ive found a lot of them very helpful!)Ok, i just cant get past step 8: getting the hex value. I open up my unregistered version of menuedit, click on the widescreen button, edit, and [...] but get this error massage: unregistered version of menuedit cant modify commands. (think ive tried every possible button in menuedit without getting those hex numbers)
as this error message is not a part of this guide, i really dont know what to do.

I would also really like to know if there is another way getting the hex values besides menuedit

thanks

[geffroman]

Originally posted by Zevs
Im trying to remove the widescreen/fullscreen menu on Freaky Friday and Freddy vs Jason. (thanks for this exellent guide 2cool, and also a lot of your other guides, ive found a lot of them very helpful!)Ok, i just cant get past step 8: getting the hex value. I open up my unregistered version of menuedit, click on the widescreen button, edit, and [...] but get this error massage: unregistered version of menuedit cant modify commands. (think ive tried every possible button in menuedit without getting those hex numbers)
as this error message is not a part of this guide, i really dont know what to do.

I would also really like to know if there is another way getting the hex values besides menuedit

thanks

Well spend the $14 dollars and register the program you cheap skate... :)

I am just kidding with you... BUT it is well worth the money... Once you have the registered version you will understand why you spent the bucks... I cannot image how I got along so long without it...

[2COOL]

Originally posted by Zevs
Ok, i just cant get past step 8: getting the hex value. I open up my unregistered version of menuedit, click on the widescreen button, edit, and [...] but get this error massage: unregistered version of menuedit cant modify commands. My apologies Zevs, I have the registered version and I didn't double confirm that the editing command option was not available in unregistered version. There is another way using VobEdit to find the button commands so sometime this weekend, I'll try to come up with a guide.

[2COOL]

Originally posted by Zevs
I would also really like to know if there is another way getting the hex values besides menueditI've completed a guide on how to do it during the weekend. I made the decision to make it a html guide as I felt pictures were needed for me to better communicate it. This guide is only an alternative for Step 8 and it will help people who cannot obtain the registered version of MenuEdit.


Unfortunately, I don't have the ability to host it. Maybe somebody can help me one this. For the meantime, if anyone wants it, I can send it to you. It can fit on a floppy if I zip it. ;)

Just PM me your e-mail address.

[Eki]

I'm having some problems with your guide. The DVD is Blade2 region 2 and it has language selection menu. All buttons have same command: (Link subset) LinkTailPGC [20 01 00 00 00 00 000d ]. :confused: Don't know if this matters at all but all menus are similar. All buttons have this same command. If you have any ideas please let me know.

thanks

[geffroman]

Originally posted by 2COOL
I've completed a guide on how to do it during the weekend. I made the decision to make it a html guide as I felt pictures were needed for me to better communicate it. This guide is only an alternative for Step 8 and it will help people who cannot obtain the registered version of MenuEdit.


Unfortunately, I don't have the ability to host it. Maybe somebody can help me one this. For the meantime, if anyone wants it, I can send it to you. It can fit on a floppy if I zip it. ;)

Just PM me your e-mail address.

No problem... Just email me the stuff and I'll put it up for you...

Regards... Jeff

[2COOL]

Originally posted by Eki
I'm having some problems with your guide. The DVD is Blade2 region 2 and it has language selection menu. All buttons have same command: (Link subset) LinkTailPGC [20 01 00 00 00 00 000d ]. :confused: Don't know if this matters at all but all menus are similar. All buttons have this same command. Hmmm...It's strange that you only have LinkTailPGC commands for all your buttons. They should be all different. I need more information. Here's what you can do. Run your DVD through DVD Shrink. In your file tree-view window on the left, find your language menu in question and get its VTS # and menu #. Then open up that VTS_# in IfoEdit and go to VTSM_PGCI_UT / PGC-Menu_# / PGC Command Table. I want to see what's in your PGC Command Table. Can you post just this part using the Copy2Clipboard button? Thanks!

[Eki]

Here it is: :)

PGC Command Table:
Number of Pre Commands 12
Number of Post Commands 24
Number of Cell Commands 0
Size of Command table in bytes 295
1.Pre Command NOP
2.Pre Command NOP
3.Pre Command NOP
4.Pre Command NOP
5.Pre Command Set GPreg<0> mov GPreg<5>
6.Pre Command If GPreg<0> != (cmp-val)<0><' then Goto line# 8
7.Pre Command Set GPreg<0> mov (set-val)<1>
8.Pre Command Set GPreg<0> and (set-val)<63>
9.Pre Command Set GPreg<0> mul (set-val)<1024>
10.Pre Command NOP
11.Pre Command Set GPreg<3> mov (set-val)<1>
12.Pre Command (SetHL_BTNN) Set Button Nr: GPreg<0>
1.Post Command Set GPreg<3> mov (set-val)<0>
2.Post Command Set GPreg<0> mov SPreg<highlighted button number (HL_BTNN)>
3.Post Command Set GPreg<0> div (set-val)<1024>
4.Post Command If GPreg<0> != (cmp-val)<1><' then Goto line# 8
5.Post Command (SetSTN) Set Audio Stream: 0 Subpicture Stream: 2(On)
6.Post Command (LinkPGCN) Link PGC 110
7.Post Command NOP
8.Post Command If GPreg<0> != (cmp-val)<2><' then Goto line# 12
9.Post Command (SetSTN) Set Audio Stream: 0 Subpicture Stream: 3(On)
10.Post Command (LinkPGCN) Link PGC 111
11.Post Command NOP
12.Post Command If GPreg<0> != (cmp-val)<3><' then Goto line# 16
13.Post Command (SetSTN) Set Audio Stream: 0 Subpicture Stream: 0(On)
14.Post Command (LinkPGCN) Link PGC 108
15.Post Command NOP
16.Post Command If GPreg<0> != (cmp-val)<4><' then Goto line# 20
17.Post Command (SetSTN) Set Audio Stream: 0 Subpicture Stream: 1(On)
18.Post Command (LinkPGCN) Link PGC 109
19.Post Command NOP
20.Post Command If GPreg<0> != (cmp-val)<5><' then Goto line# 24
21.Post Command (SetSTN) Set Audio Stream: 0 Subpicture Stream: 4(On)
22.Post Command (LinkPGCN) Link PGC 112
23.Post Command NOP
24.Post Command NOP

[Eki]

I found out simple way to bypass that menu. Adjusted cell playback time from infinite to 0. Used vobedit to change force select button number from 0 to 5. Only thing that bothers me is that buttons are still there and I can't replace it with blank cell. Maybe there is a better way to do this? I tried to change some GP register values but couldn't get desired results.:stupid:

[2COOL]

Originally posted by Eki
I found out simple way to bypass that menu. Adjusted cell playback time from infinite to 0. Used vobedit to change force select button number from 0 to 5. Only thing that bothers me is that buttons are still there and I can't replace it with blank cell. Maybe there is a better way to do this? I tried to change some GP register values but couldn't get desired results.:stupid: So you are saying that you can still see your Language selection menu when you set your still time to 0. It's actually passing this menu into the next clip?

If so, did you try using MenuEdit to replace that cell if you have the registered version?

[Eki]

Tested my project on standalone player and menu is not visible there so it is just with WinDVD. I don't have a registered version of Menuedit. Wouldn't replacing the cell with blank remove all buttons also? How can you force select button if there are none?
What do you think about that command table I posted earlier? I didn't understand how GPreg<0> value is computed.
:stupid:

[Zevs]

Hi 2cool.

Thanks for the exellent guide on the hex values with Vobedit.
Ive tried to remove the aspect ratio menu on Freaky Friday and Freddy vs Jason both NTSC, and it worked just fine without any problems at all.

Thanks a lot!

[2COOL]

Originally posted by Eki
Wouldn't replacing the cell with blank remove all buttons also? Most of the time when you select any button in your menu, it navigates to your Post Commands via the LinkTailPGC command. If the clip were to play, blank or not, the DVD is still analyzing the GPRegs in the Post commands and dictating which menu to go to upon certain values found in the Gpregs. The buttons would be gone and the much needed Gpreg or SPreg settings in the buttons are gone too. So to have DVD Structure intact, I had Cell Commands created for the blank cells with the same buttons commands.

How can you force select button if there are none?Current MenuEdit doesn't have this feature but I suggested to Dimad about doing it as it is possible since I did it in VobEdit. Unfortunately, that required manual changing and if you have alot Nav Packs in the VOB to be changed, it gets bothersome.

What do you think about that command table I posted earlier? I didn't understand how GPreg<0> value is computed.I do understand it but I would take along time trying to break it down for you command by command. Obviously, the value of GPreg<0> does play a big part in determining what PGC to go to. I don't have your DVD but I'm assuming PGCs (or in this case PGC-Menus) 108, 109, 110, 111, and 112 are your menus after selecting you start menu. Sorry, I'm mentally drained right now to write the breakdowns.

[2COOL]

Originally posted by Zevs
Hi 2cool.

Thanks for the exellent guide on the hex values with Vobedit.
Ive tried to remove the aspect ratio menu on Freaky Friday and Freddy vs Jason both NTSC, and it worked just fine without any problems at all.

Thanks a lot! Thanks to you too for the feedback on my add-on guide. :D I'm glad it worked out for you. I know you had to do extra time with this guide but if you can obtain the registered version of MenuEdit, it'll make the guide's time that much shorter.

[wmansir]

Hey 2COOL, Thanks for the guide. It worked like a charm.

You might want to mention in the guide to check for duplicate AR selection menus. I just did October Sky and it had two VOBIDs which contained the AR selection screen, one at VOBID 5 (PCG_Menu 7) and another at VOBID 17 (PCG_Menu 20). Of course I only did VOBID 5 and it didn't work until I did VOBID 17 too.

[2COOL]

Originally posted by wmansir
Hey 2COOL, Thanks for the guide. It worked like a charm.:D:

You might want to mention in the guide to check for duplicate AR selection menus. I just did October Sky and it had two VOBIDs which contained the AR selection screen, one at VOBID 5 (PCG_Menu 7) and another at VOBID 17 (PCG_Menu 20). Of course I only did VOBID 5 and it didn't work until I did VOBID 17 too. I did in Step 3. It's the last sentence.;)

"Just in case, there may be more than one Aspect Ratio Menu, so check all."

Thanks for pointing out the 2 VOBIds though for this DVD.:D

[wmansir]

Originally posted by 2COOL
:D:

[b]I did in Step 3. It's the last sentence.;)

"Just in case, there may be more than one Aspect Ratio Menu, so check all."

Thanks for pointing out the 2 VOBIds though for this DVD.:D

Doh! I should have mentioned I'm whacked out on cold medicine. I triple checked the guide and still missed it.

[2COOL]

Just tried out the free demo of DvdRemake. It seems you can now find out the hex commands without having the registered version of MenuEdit. Just right click on button in question and choose edit.

http://www.dimadsoft.com/dvdremake/

This is a better and quicker alternative to Step 8 if you don't have a registered MenuEdit.

[tluxon]

DVDremake is how I got the hex values and it's very simple and straightforward. It looks like it will be a very useful program. Any idea when it will be available for exporting DVDs?

Tim

[geffroman]

Originally posted by tluxon
DVDremake is how I got the hex values and it's very simple and straightforward. It looks like it will be a very useful program. Any idea when it will be available for exporting DVDs?

Tim

I am just wondering out loud... But one of the advantages of PAYING for Menuedit(which if you are using it you should IMO) is that you get full features. DVDReMake is FREE as a demo... but I would expect it to be a PAY FOR product when it's complete... I don't KNOW this, just seems to make sense considering the author's previous product offering...

I guess what I'm suggesting is that since you obviously NEED these features, why not pay for them...? Even FREE software authors kinda hope for donations if you use their stuff... I don't think Dimad intended for his Demo of DVDReMake to be a loop hole to getting additional PAY FOR MenuEdit features for FREE... I mean why should the author even develop additional products for us if we only use them to avoid paying for his last great offering...?

The only software author I know that doesn't take and hope for donations is DVDSHRINK and that's only because we were all really Beta Testers for NERO RECODE, the PAY FOR version... If InstantCopy had taken this approach their software would not be so buggy today...

I know I have gotten a little off topic here... 2Cool's awesome Guide is the point... Again... just my humble opinion...

[2COOL]

@tluxon

My question to you is...were you successful with using the guide on whatever DVD you were working on? I just like to hear some feedbacks.

[tluxon]

2COOL,

The guide looks great, but unfortunately my work and family commitments haven't given me time to pick up where I left off from when I asked you about step 13 on my thread on the Digital Video Forums last night (http://forum.digital-digest.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=32144). I should get a chance to try to continue Thursday or Friday. So far, I think your guide is great and is much more detailed than a lot of guides I've followed when learning other things of similar complexity. I was simply following your guide when I happened to use DVDReMake because you said it was a way to get the hex values if using an unregistered version of MenuEdit. At first glance of about 1 minute, it looked like DVDReMake was on its way to being a useful tool that could save a few steps.

geffroman,

Although I've authored a number of DVDs from my ReplayTV mpegs with applications that I've paid for, until last night I had never tried to back up a DVD. 2COOL referred me to this guide from Digital Video Forums when I asked how I could remove one of the aspect ratios from Toy Story 2 (last night my wife told me it no longer plays on our standalone). Based on my limited experience, it seems that there are at least several methods/tools for doing this type of thing, so I haven't had a chance to find out what would work best for what I hoped to accomplish. When I find a tool that's of value to me, I'm always happy to pay for it. But I want to add - there are tools in the public domain that I'd love to pay the author for but they don't even want to be paid. DVArchive for ReplayTVs is one of these. At the same time, I'm usually hesitant to throw money around for something I don't know if I'll ever use.

I've got to be honest with you - as great as 2COOL's guide is, it's certainly not that fast for someone to go through their first time (Toy Story 2 doesn't have any dummy menus and has 2 VOBs with AR menus, which both string the process out a bit), and I can't really say for sure if I'll use it. I'll know better when I've completed this first one. I like knowing how this stuff works, but I've got a lot of other hobbies and responsibilities and only 24 hours a day. If someone comes out with a single application that will allow lossless (or almost) backups in less time with less possible mess-ups, I'd probably rather put my money toward that. In the meantime, I thought I would give this a try.

Cheers,

Tim

[wmansir]

I ran into a slight problem with "The One" R1. But I don't think it was due to the guide. Everything went fine until the last step, replacing the still menu with a blank VOB. I used Menuedit full version to replace the cell with a blank one from 1_BLANK_CELL.VOB, that I downloaded in a pack from your other guide.

The problem was instead of a blank the screen flashing for a second I had a black background and in big red letters said "GOT SEAMLESS??", which after some deduction I figure was the subtitle (button over picture) from the previous cell or the next cell (it had several of these cells in the menu) since they appeared to be blank but had a big button in the middle about the size of the "GOT SEAMLESS??" text.

I ended up using the second method from the guide to point the selection cell to a dummy cell within the menu and that worked. The menu for this title was really messed up, a lot of extra cells, some cells had a dozen buttons in a corner that were "NOOP" and appeared to serve no function, and the IFO was a complete mess too.

[2COOL]

@tluxon

Originally posted by tluxon
(Toy Story 2 doesn't have any dummy menus and has 2 VOBs with AR menus, which both string the process out a bit Yes, the R1 version has both of it's widescreen and fullscreen versions with their own menus instead of sharing one. VTS_07_0.VOB is your fullscreen and VTS_08_0.VOB is your widescreen. Since you mentioned that you wanted widescreen, then you should be working with VTS_08_0.IFO.

[tluxon]

This is the first time I've used IFOedit and my very first attempt is on a DVD with duplicate menus in two VTS groups. It LOOKS like the implication here is that I don't even need any of the files in the VTS group of the aspect ratio I don't want to keep. Have I got that right?

For some reason, I went into this expecting that I needed to keep ALL the files and I would be doing something like replacing the files I don't want with "lite" ones of the same name and structure.

Thanks,

Tim

[2COOL]

Originally posted by tluxon
This is the first time I've used IFOedit and my very first attempt is on a DVD with duplicate menus in two VTS groups. It LOOKS like the implication here is that I don't even need any of the files in the VTS group of the aspect ratio I don't want to keep. Have I got that right?

For some reason, I went into this expecting that I needed to keep ALL the files and I would be doing something like replacing the files I don't want with "lite" ones of the same name and structure.To maintain a valid DVD structure with reallocation errors, it was my intention in the guide that the unwanted Titleset in question would be replaced with blanks instead of just deleting them.

[geffroman]

Originally posted by geffroman
THANKS AGAIN FOR THIS GREAT GUIDE...

Now that I can make the settings without the guide it takes less than 2 minutes to bypass the Aspect Menu on these multi Cell Menu VOB-IDs.

So far I have used this guide for: (Region 1)

Cherish (more complicated - no blank Cell IDs, but guide still walks you through it using downloadable DONOR Cell IDs)
Eight Crazy Nights
Freaky Friday
Gigli
GO
I Capture the Castle
Pieces of April
Secondhand Lions
Stuart Little 2
Storytelling(this one has 4 movie versions on the aspect ratio menu but it can't beat the GUIDE - Success again!)
The Five Senses
The Medallion


All done in a minute or two and all working flawlessly.

Regards... Jeff

Recent additions in red
I just wanted to add that even though this guide might look a lttle scary it IS NOT. 2C:):)L just gives you SO MUCH detail to help you STEP BY STEP that it looks like a lot on the surface. Once you do a couple of these you almost don't need the guide. It is truly a few steps and less than 2 minutes of actual hands on to make your DVD-R act as if there never was an aspect menu.

[2COOL]

@all

Originally posted by geffroman
I just wanted to add that even though this guide might look a lttle scary it IS NOT. 2C:):)L just gives you SO MUCH detail to help you STEP BY STEP that it looks like a lot on the surface.It has been personally brought to my attention in the past that some of my guides initially look intimidating, especially to newbies who have never used IfoEdit before. In the beginning when I started writing cheat sheets, I just gave the actions without any explanations and there were alot of inquiring minds asking on the WHYs of a certain step. That's why I started adding more detailed informative bits in hoping to educate people in a way that I could translate the very technical steps into something simpler and understandable. Of course, the more I wrote, the longer my guide became and the longer it became, the more it looked intimidating. Most people tend to quickly scan the whole guide at first and then draw their first impressions. I could've easily simplified my steps by just saying rip, edit, save, and burn in less than 100 words. By doing this though, I have been critisized in the past that I'm not allowing the person to fully learn the "whys" and that I'm just "spoon feeding" the lazy bums. For people writing guides, there's always that decision on how much details to include and it's hard to come to a clean compromise. If I wrote too little, I'll get to write more reply posts on detailed explanations and if I wrote too much, then I'll get more posts complaining about their IfoEditphobia.

I don't know about alot of you guys but I'm a "why" person. When I press a button, I want to know what happens and why it happens. ;) That's why a "guide" is called a guide. I want to guide you, not scare you but the decision is up to you. Just like in the movie, The Matrix...either you take the blue pill or you take the red pill.

[tluxon]

@2COOL

I, for one, really appreciate that you took the wordy approach. Believe it or not, it was my first look inside an IFO file and I had never read as much as an introduction to what was in one. Sure, it looked like a little more than it really is, but most things do when they're complete with explanations. I suppose you could have referenced a more detailed IFO explanation guide (if there is one) and provided a much leaner guide yourself, but by putting it all in one place you made it easier to ingest/digest only the parts most pertinent to your guide.

I'm hoping tonight I'll be able to pick up where I left off on Monday.

Thanks!

Tim

[geffroman]

Originally posted by 2COOL
@all

It has been personally brought to my attention in the past that some of my guides initially look intimidating, especially to newbies who have never used IfoEdit before.

I hope you know my post was a compliment... and an attempt to suggest to others that if they just take a few minutes to read the guide they will see how simple and easy you make the process...

Thanks again for all that you do for us... Jeff

[2COOL]

Originally posted by geffroman
I hope you know my post was a compliment... and an attempt to suggest to others that if they just take a few minutes to read the guide they will see how simple and easy you make the process... Of course! I was just piggybacking on your quote and adding my thoughts. ;)

[geffroman]

Originally posted by 2COOL
Of course! I was just piggybacking on your quote and adding my thoughts. ;)

Whew... I was worried you thought I was being critical instead of complimentary... Thanks...

[2COOL]

@tluxon

Originally posted by tluxon
I'm hoping tonight I'll be able to pick up where I left off on Monday.Any luck?