stripping extras with Big 3

[imd_man]

Hello!
I know that the Big 3 is for "real backups" of the entire disk. But what if I wanted to strip any extras while going through the guide...at what point should I get rid of them? Say I just wanted the movie and the menu for example...at what stage do I remove them? I ask because throughout the lengthy big 3 process, there are a few times when I can remove certain things, but then I lose the proper structure of the DVD. I would essentially just like to remove unwanted extras, keep movie and menu, and replace stripped extras with dummy files to maintain the disc structure. Any help or links/suggestions are greatly appreciated!

I know there are alternatives such as dvd-shrink, but I absolutely love the quality of the Big 3.

Thanks a lot! I love this forum! It is just awesome. You guys are always so helpful and it is just a great tool.

[RobertR]

Just untick all the VTSes and PGCs that you don't want in DoItFast4U. They will get replaced by dummy files (if needed). If you are removing whole titlesets than use TitleSetBlank on them. (just after DoItFast4U finishes -- i assume you have both 'Create VIDEO_TS...' options checked in Post-Processing menu of DIF4U -- after blanking VTSes force RA to recalculate bitrates)

[imd_man]

"If you are removing whole titlesets than use TitleSetBlank on them"

I'm sorry, I don't know what you mean.

And yes, I have "Create VIDEO_TS Using Unused VTS" and "Create VIDEO_TS From encrypted DVD" checked. Is that what you meant?

Thanks a lot for your prompt response! That's awesome.


And a second question if you don't mind. Say I remove the unwanted extras in DIF4U, then do I check everything in ReAuthorist when it comes to encoding? Cause then ReAuthorist SHOULD only show what I want to be encoded, right? And last but not least, after everything is encoded, do I just select "Author it" with the same VTSes/PGCs checked from the previous encoding step?

Sorry if my questions are poor, but there are just so many settings and the guide doesn't really go into detail when it comes to using the Big 3 for stripping extras...then again, that's not really what it's for :)

Thanks again.

[jel]

@ imd_man
Welcome to the Forums!

there are a few threads on this subject in this forum.
here is one from a few days ago:
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=69685

i personally do not strip extras from my back-ups. i use the 'big 3' method because IMHO it gives me the highest quality back-up of an ENTIRE dvd possible. if all i was interested in was the main movie, there are far more simple solutions avaliable (eg dvdshrink) that would give me a (relatively) high quality result. but that is not my aim.
after numerous incidents of stolen and non-returned dvds (and cds) i now make back-ups of all my personal 'media' and keep the originals safely stored away.
i also happen to like extras. i feel they make the whole dvd experience what it is and i dont want to have to go searching for the original when i feel like watching them....so i use the 'big 3' and i couldnt be happier with the results they give (which is why i also feel it is important to reward the developers of this software so they can continue their excellent work and to continue making my life easier :D )
that being said (sorry for the rant but this working day is going toooooooo slow) i dont see the point in keeping trailers to movies i have already seen or own, so....

*not the method i use (i find it more accurate to let DIF4U calculate bitrate as opposed to ReAuthorist)
1.select all vts/pgs you want to demux (wether you want to keep them or strip them) in DIF4U and process
2. in ReAuthorist deselect those vts/pgcs which you do not want to keep. hit 'autosize' and 'author it' and proceed as usual with encoding.
ReAuthorist will replace the deselected items with dummy files.
3. in scenarist you can keep the 'dummy files' that RA creates or replace them with a blank slide show (using black bitmap of the correct resolution) of minimum 10 frames (pal) or 12 frames (ntsc - i think this is right...never reauthored a ntsc dvd :rolleyes: ) or do the same with a slideshow using a 'this selection has been removed' bitmap (create your own or use trilights - avaliable from his site)
and compile.
4. ifoupdate ALL files that you selected originally in DIf4U and your done.

hope that helps
j

btw
you can find out about titlesetblanker in this thread
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=69448

[imd_man]

Hello Jel! Thank you so much for that reply! That's just awesome. That's exactly what I wanted to know. And thank you very much for the links to the other threads. My apologies for not finding those and reading them first. I do, however, appreciate the time you (and RobertR) took writing.

:D :D :D

Cheers!

[imd_man]

Oh and I have one more question :)
with respect to what you said Jel:
"not the method i use (i find it more accurate to let DIF4U calculate bitrate as opposed to ReAuthorist)"

Just out of curiosity, what do you do? In step form if possible :) I just want a flawless way to do these rips, using Big 3, with the option to remove certain things IF I wanted to.

Thanks again!

[jel]

dont get me wrong, a LOT of people will tell you that RA will accurately predict your bitrates for you ... i have found on some titles though that isnt the case.
i prefer to use DIF4Us internal calculator (in the 'utilities' menu) - and what the program has set for the bitrates prior to any stripping and a bit of mathematics to work it out.
so the process is essentially the same except i only use RA to generate the script, then work out the final bitrate, then open DoCCE4U and 'load file list' and select the CCEData.txt that DiF4U created and modify the settings in DoCCE4U (and remove any unwanted jobs)
takes a bit more effort but i prefer the approach of only using RA for writing the script (also a good habit to get into for when you need/prefer to use SceneAid)
so the choice is up to you.
good luck
j

edit:
by the way you can find an excellent tutorial on using the calculator at trilights site
http://dvdguides.trilight.net/

[Eyes`Only]

i dont see the point in keeping trailers to movies i have already seen or own, so....
Well, in defense I have an excellent point to make. Many times have I had friends come over to hang out and they see my DVD collection and one of the popular questions they ask is, "Hmm.. that looks good, what's that one about?". At that point, instead of racking my brain to try to deliver my own rendition of the exciting storyline and catchy scenes in the movie, I simply go, "Well, let's put it in so you can watch the trailer and see for yourself!" Then we put the complete-copy DVDR in, and I show them the trailer, and they decide whether or not we're going to sit down and watch it or go out to the garage to play some billiards :D

[imd_man]

Hehe, good point Eyes`Only!

[SiliconSoul]

@Eyes`Only
that is what www.apple.com is for with quicktime movie trailers
:)

it would be nice if someone could compile all the important information threads into a thread that points to all of them... maybe even with tuturials on how to do each one :D

[jel]

@Eyes
dont get me wrong i keep the trailer to the movie on the disk, its all the trailers for 'other amazing titles coming soon to a theatre near you' stuff i get rid of.
@SiliconSoulit would be nice if someone could compile all the important information threads into a thread that points to all of them... maybe even with tuturials on how to do each one ummmm....are you offering :D
that would be a massive amount of work! and in all honesty (and i mean no offense in this) its what the 'search' button is for. if you read the guides avaliable (@ doom9 and elsewhere) and you run into any issues, you log on to the forum, run a search and if there are no answers you can find you post a question...

[Eyes`Only]

SiliconSoul: Don't know if you have noticed this yet, but the trailers on DVDs are WAAAAAAY better than the ones you'll get on Apple.com ;)

[imd_man]

www.movie-list.com is a really good link for trailers if anyone was curious.

Anyway, thanks to everyone for all their help on my question. Best to you.

[SiliconSoul]

Originally posted by jel
@SiliconSoul ummmm....are you offering :D
that would be a massive amount of work! and in all honesty (and i mean no offense in this) its what the 'search' button is for. if you read the guides avaliable (@ doom9 and elsewhere) and you run into any issues, you log on to the forum, run a search and if there are no answers you can find you post a question...

Its been hard finding some of the nfo. i might just start compiling it all and if time then make tutorials with wink (http://www.debugmode.com/wink/) so its easy to understand


SiliconSoul: Don't know if you have noticed this yet, but the trailers on DVDs are WAAAAAAY better than the ones you'll get on Apple.com
yeah they are better but u only see then for a min... not worth the space to me :p

[Raster]

@ Jel

" 4. ifoupdate ALL files that you selected originally in DIf4U and your done. "

You got me scratching my head over this.

Like you, I select "everything" in DIFFU and deselect anything I don't want in RE. After Authoring I only IFOUdate whats left in the 0/VIDEO_TS folder after moving over the VOB's and deleting the authored VIDEO_TS.VOB, VIDEO_TS.IFO and VIDEO_TS.BUP files.

I'm I correct?

[RobertR]

I'm not Jel but ;)
You actually update IFOs from VIDEO_TS (created by DIF4U)corresponding to those that were created by Scenarist in 0/VIDEO_TS.
(Original IFOs are those made by DIF4U while demuxing, authored IFOS are those made by Scenarist)

[Raster]

Thank you Robert

Oops, I explained that wrong. I do only update the originals in the VIDEO_TS (created by DIFFU)folder based on what was created in the 0/VIDEO_TS folder so I am doing this right. :D