DVD9 to 2 DVD5 - basic questions (was: Looking for a little help or references...)

[Meuzzin]

Hi people,

I'm looking to fill in a couple holes in my very basic knowledge of DVD9 to DVD5. I want to create my own menus and such. Copying just the movie portion of a DVD to a DVD+/-R is no problem.

So I went through both Begginer and Novice guides here on Doom9. There is one little thing I don't understand. "Preparing Sources".

Throughout most of the guides it mentions this. What I need is a definition of these "sources".

Example: I rip down the .ifo, .vob's etc. I now have my Audio_ts and Video_ts folders. I've done this using DVD Shrink or DVD Decryptor.

I figured that would be my "sources". But the guides seem to be referring to a single file as a source. Are they encoding the VOB's into an AVI or MPeg form? Doesn't doing that mess up the quality of the DVD if I'm trying to keep it in it's origional form?

All I want is simple menu functions.

I.E. I split the movie ***** into 2 parts so I could keep the quality perfect. I want to make a simple menu on each part to sift through chapters etc. If there's an easier way to do this, then by all means let me know:)

Thanks

[trapvector]

Hi Meuzzin. "Sources" refers to video clips such as mpegs or avis.
(Someone correct me if any of my information is off)
What you want to do is take a 9gb dvd movie and put it on 2 4.7 dvd discs each with a menu and chapters, if I understand correctly.
A good program to use is TMPGEnc DVD Author. It is not free, but it is reasonable.
But you can't import VOBS or IFOS, you have to import MPEGS into this program.

[Meuzzin]

Thanks for the reply...

I'll check into that software. But even still, how should I go about joining the VOB's and Audio tracks into one file, without losing any quality? Which would allow me to use these programs, right? That's where I'm lost, or am I totally missing something obvious?

Thanks again.

[trapvector]

Try using vobsplit 2.6 available on Doom9 download section to cut the vob in half so that it is under 4.7gb (I think you would have to alter the setting for vob file size in DVD Decrypter to get it to output only one VOB) You're not missing anything obvious-I'm kinda in the dark on this too because I don't separate my backups onto two discs. It seems to me like the way to go is to chop the DVD in half, then decrypt each half, then reauthor each half. Someone feel free to jump in with more specific instructions:)

[Meuzzin]

Well...

I've found a decent way to split the DVD. Use DVD Decryptor to rip it in File mode - then use DVDFab to split it. Easily done.

But I still don't get the whole "Transcoding, Encoding, Demuxing" jive.

[trapvector]

I still don't understand a lot of the jargon either. I am clueless as far as XVID and MPEG4 go. For me it helps to identify the end result I want to achieve, and then try to identify which terminology applies to getting there, and then reading the appropriate guides and threads. Were you able to achieve your end result?

[Meuzzin]

Aside from no menu's, I did.

Gonna have to keep reading and hope something clicks.

But if anyone can whip up a little easier to understand pre-guide to the DVD Lab guide, that'd be great:)

[killingspree]

"preparing sources"
well usually, when doom9 mentions this, he's talking about audio and video files, being readily prepared to comply with the dvd specs!

in other words, this means, that you will have at least 1 m2v file (containing the video in mpeg2 format, in a correct resolution, with the correct size and the correct framerate) aswell as a compliant audio file. The audio file can varie slightly in format. you can chose either pcm audio - being uncompressed therefore largest but best quality (for stereo at least), ac3 - or Dolby Digital audio up to 5.1 channels, dts - the noch up from ac3 - higher bitrate sound, or last but not least, mpa! mpeg audio. which is mpeg audio layer 2 - so mp2 NOT mp3!!

Those files can then be imported into any DVD authoring App so you can create the necessary file structure to be able to play the disk on a standalone! after authoring and compiling the project you will either end up with a couple of vob, ifo and bup files, or with a ready - to burn iso file (dvd image).

hope this makes things a little more clear!
steVe
edit: oh, almost forgot: please use a descriptive title next time!

[Meuzzin]

Thanks alot...

You narrowed it down for me alot. But, you failed to mention *how* you get those 2 files from a DVD. That's what I can't figure out. I mean, I *can* figure it out, but I don't understand how to keep the quality of the origional DVD intact. Like, for instance, using DVD2AVI. It compresses it and whatever else. That removes the origional quality, right?

The question is: How do I get a .m2v, and a .AC3 (or whatever audio I want) file from a DVD. That's where the hole in my "very basic knowledge" is.

Edit: This is precisely what I'm looking for: "xxxxxxx will accept DVD compliant MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 video files, and MPEG-1 layer 2 (commonly known as mp2) and AC3 files (including 5.1 channel AC3) as video files."

So, how do I turn the VOB's I rip off of a DVD into an MPEG-2 video file? Or am I totally going about this the wrong way?

Thanks alot for the reply:) And I will be sure to be more descriptive in my titles:)

Thanks again.

[killingspree]

ok here we go again :)
you can get the m2v and ac3/mpa/2 files by enabling stream demuxing in DVDdecrypter. you know vobs are quite a bit like avis - just a container. the m2v is the elementary video stream and as you know there can be a couple of audio and subtitle streams...
www.doom9.org/dvddec.htm for details :)

Edit: This is precisely what I'm looking for: "xxxxxxx will accept DVD compliant MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 video files, and MPEG-1 layer 2 (commonly known as mp2) and AC3 files (including 5.1 channel AC3) as video files."
Well, basically any DVD authoring program! starting with dvdlab, tmpeg DVD author and ending with scenarist NT or DVD Maestro. here's (http://www.doom9.org/mpg/dvdauthoring.htm) a lineup of some common dvd authoring programs and their capabilities!

hth
steVe