Guide: How to burn ISO images with PgcEdit ensuring 32k gaps between IFOs and BUPs

[r0lZ]

New PgcEdit guide, courtesy of Blutach:

How to burn ISO images with PgcEdit, ensuring 32k gaps between IFOs and BUPs. (http://www.videohelp.com/~r0lZ/pgcedit/third_party/blutach/Burning%20With%20PgcEdit.htm)
Mirror (http://home.tiscali.be/debie.roland/pgcedit/third_party/blutach/Burning%20with%20PgcEdit.htm).

[jeanl]

Excellent guide, blutach :)
I am now convinced.
PgcEdit (with ImgTools and DVDDecrypter) has become the state-of-the-art burning tool! Kudos to you guys!
Jeanl

[blutach]

Kudos to rolz you mean.

[r0lZ]

... and to Kujo, and to the guys who translated mkisofs to Windoze, and to LIGHTNING UK!

[LARRYB]

Man, you guys must be some kinda DVD gru's. Now for the layman (me), I downloaded all the programs listed on the Pcgedit's webpage. Installed the software and WOW I'm impressed, but really confused now. I thought it was going to be a 1 click program "Wham Bam, burn it man" program.

I could probly struggle through it but reading about the program, it dosent say that it will SHRINK the program to fit a DVD-R disk. It will do lots of stuff but I could not find where it would tell me the compression percentage needed to fit on a single layer DVD.

Did I overlook something?

Do I still need DVD shrink? It also appears I will need Dycrypter also.

Larry Barnes

[blutach]

Larry,

PgcEdit is not a shrinking program - although it can blank out whole titlesets (eg extras) and menu VOBs (eg warnings, promos), reducing the size of the project considerably.

VobBlanker can blank and cut the movie as you like it.

But if it is still too big, you will need either:

1. A transcoding program - like DVD Shrink - to reduce it to a single DVDR; or

2. Split the disk into 2 DVDRs

PgcEdit's new burn function is designed to take a finished project, which can already fit onto a DVDR and burn it in the least risky manner.

As a final thought, yes, you should use DVD Decrypter to decrypt your DVDs and then open them in DVD Shrink using the Open Files command (Ctrl-O). DVD Shrink simply cannot decrypt the new arccos system, and since Shrink's development is over, it never will be able to.

Hope this helps.

Regards

[LARRYB]

I reliazed that Pgcedit was not the program that I and everyone would really like to have. A trully 1 click program from start to burn.

I have ben pulling my hair out over the past 2 weeks when using dycrypter and DVD shrink. I have intermittent problems using the DVD shrink. The probelm is I can authorize the project after I dycrypt the program to my hd, when it come time to burn full back up the program quits responding and freezes. My only option at this point is to shut down the computer, restart, remove both dycrypeter and dvd shrink from my computer, restart CPU, install both programs again and 50% of the time the DVD shrink will compress the program and burn it.

If I try to shut down the DVD shrink during a lock-up, I get program not responding "end now", "cancel".

I have closed all unneeded programs before running dycrypt and shrink.

I was sorry to read that DVD shrink will not be getting anymore attention from the author of the program.

Do you know a another shrink program on the web?

Larry Barnes

[blutach]

There are lots, but before ditching DVD Shrink you might want to visit their FAQs and forums.

See http://forum.digital-digest.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=44931

Regards

[techniquefreak]

Hi Rolz excellent guide and thanks a lot.
Maybe I'm missing the obvious here but could I burn the image created with pgcedit and msikofs (and 32k option checked of course) with Nero if I prefer to do so? The reason I ask is I'm quite happy with Nero but would of course like to maximize compatibility with standalones on burned discs ...

Thanks in advance

[r0lZ]

I think so. Nero doesn't respect the 32K gaps if you burn the DVD files directly. But it should burn an ISO image without modifying it. However, I'm not sure Nero is better than DVD Decrypyer for the compatibility with standalones.

BTW, the thanks must go to blutach. He writed the guide, not me.

[LARRYB]

I had experienced several lock-up issues when using DVD shrink and Nero v6.0. The problem was traced back to Nero V6.0+. After removing all nero software from my computer the DVD shrink wold work just fine. Then it struck me, DVD Shrink defaults to Nero software for the burning of the DVD. After confirming that DVD shrink was working fine, I installed Nero back on my computer system. I made sure that DVD Shrink was set up to use Nero as it's default burner. First time trying it my system locked up during the DVD shrink Backup files. I then switched the Nero default swith to OFF. Again trying to backup disk files my system locked up.
My last attempt was I again uninstalled all Nero software. Launced DVD shrink and everything work great. I had the cd/dvd sotware that came with my Compaq called Sonic, record now. I was able to burn the DVD's using this software and have been for about 2 weeks now.

I have upgraded the Nero software using the Nero's downloadable upgrades so I should have the latest and greates Nero version. Some reason there is somethink that it dosent like about my Compaq system running Windows XP, home.

I hope this helps other having troubles with Nero.

Larry Barnes

[blutach]

@techniquefreak

Even Nero can burn an ISO without screwing it up.

But why bother? PgcEdit/mkisofs/DVD Decrypter is a one-click, set and forget solution and is costless.

Nero causes more trouble than it's worth.

Regards

[r0lZ]

BTW, Sonic's Record Now should be able to burn the DVD files directly and respect the 32K gaps. I have tested Stopm's Record Now Max, and it works fine.

[techniquefreak]

OK thanks anyway for your replies. Will try and follow the recordnow route for now.

@r0lZ - allright I realize now that it's blutach who wrote the guide but then thanks for a great program then ;)

@LARRYB have you tried emailing Nero support for further problem-solving - it might help - was thinking of doing the same think about the 32k issue in burning DVD-video files ...

Kind regards

Hansen

[blueboyec]

I beleive if you have Nero and recordnow both installed they conflick with each other?

[2COOL]

Originally posted by blueboyec
I beleive if you have Nero and recordnow both installed they conflick with each other? I confidentially assume that r0lZ has both on the same PC and he reported no errors. This could throw that theory out.

[r0lZ]

I have Stomp's Record Now Max trial and Nero. I have not tested Sonic's RecordNow.

[robot1]

Originally posted by r0lZ
BTW, Sonic's Record Now should be able to burn the DVD files directly and respect the 32K gaps. I have tested Stopm's Record Now Max, and it works fine. Thanks for the option in PGCEdit and for the guide.
Is there a simple way to check the correctness of the output of other burning programs?

[r0lZ]

It's not really easy.
The simplest way I've found is to create a verry small DVD, without VIDEO_TS.VOB. (For example, a DVD with only one title with one still frame.)
Then, use the burner to create an ISO.
Open the ISO image in an hexadecimal editor, and search for "DVDVIDEO-VMG". Note the address of the first occurence. Search again, and note the address of the second occurence.
The difference between the two addresses must be 32K (32768 bytes) plus the actual size of the VIDEO_TS.IFO file.
If it's less, then your burner doesn't respect the 32K gaps.

In this case, it is also useful to verify the VTS Sectors pointers with IfoEdit. If they are equal to thoses in the original files, then the burner is really bad: it writes files not compatible with standalones. If the pointers are equel to the values saved by PgcEdit with the 32K Gap option off (or with IfoEdit's Get VTS Sectors), then the burner removes properly the 32K gaps.
The VTS Sector to verify is in the VMGM_MAT, at offset 0x0000000c (Last Sector of VMG). There are also changes in the TT_SRPTI tables (all TTUs starting bytes).
Another way to test is to burn a RW, and check it on your standalone.

[linx05]

So, the steps you could take to decrypt a dvd then burn it to a dvd is as follows:


Decrypt it using DVD Decryptor
Leave at least 32k of space between IFO and BUP
Burn to DVD


Is the 32k step necessary? Should it be added to the steps you should take to rip a dvd? Are there any cons to doing it?

Thankyou

- Aaron

[blutach]

Hi linx5

Generally, if you are not going to process the DVD at all (e.g. decrypt then write to DL), then the DVD will usually have enough junk on it to make every VTS as well as VMG large enough to have at least a 32k space between the IFO and the BUP.

You will often see those Spruce Technologies menus (or just blank ones), for example, that are never accessed. This not only is a nice advertisement for the authoring house but also "fills the gaps".

Now, if you blank titlesets, unreferenced menus or both, or "reauthor" a DVD with any of the popular transcoders, these 32k gaps will not be there anymore.

So the final thing to do with PgcEdit it to put them back again. PgcEdit does this with its own Get VTS Sectors routine, after which you can conveniently burn from the PgcEdit interface, while honouring the new sectors (most other burning progs will do a Get VTS Sectors again, negating PgcEdit's routine).

Hope this helps.

Regards

[erdoke]

I did a search for my problem and was surprised that this thread is fresh but nobody has similar issues.

PGCEdit 0.5.1
ImgTool Classic 0.91.4
DVD Decrypter 3.5.4.0 (for burning the image)

A couple of days ago I checked this 32k gap option in PGCEdit and since then all the movies I've burned don't play in my SONY standalone. I went back to the standard method, movie plays fine.
Any reasons that only I have such an issue?
To correct this is it enough to rip the movie and Save it in PGCEdit to perform a standard Get VTS Sectors?

[r0lZ]

Strange! My old Sony DVP-S725D plays these DVDs with gaps fine!

To perform a 'standard' Get VTS Sectors, you must turn off the option "When saving, leave at least 32K of space between IFO and BUP", and save the DVD.

I am interested to know if a DVD burned with PgcEdit but with the 32K gap option off will play fine on your Sony. Is it the 'standard method' you use now? Please let me know. Thanks.

[erdoke]

Yes I turned it off when I realized that my movies won't play on my standalone.
Ripped a non-working movie with DVD Decrypter in File mode, opened and saved it in PGCEdit (standard method), converted to ISO with ImgTool Classic, burned with DVD Decrypter and now it plays fine.
No more investigations with 32k gaps. ;)

[r0lZ]

OK. Thanks.

Note that burning the DVD directly with PgcEdit does exactly the same thing, with the 32K gap option OFF. It's just easier to do: the backup files are excluded automatically, the VIDEO_TS folder is created if needed, junk files in VIDEO_TS are not accepted, the DVD label is automatically derived from the DVD-TEXT General Name, or from the folder name...

ImgTools Classic is also a GUI frontend over mkisofs and DVDDecrypter, but it doesn't handle the backups and the 'alien' files, and you have to browse to your DVD folder, and enter the label manually.

[blutach]

This is strange erdoke. My SONY also plays them OK. But they are not all created equal. For you then the best choice is probably to ensure that you don't blank those "advertsing" menu files and so make sure that each VTS is 32k minimum.

Regards

[erdoke]

Originally posted by blutach
This is strange erdoke. My SONY also plays them OK. But they are not all created equal. For you then the best choice is probably to ensure that you don't blank those "advertsing" menu files and so make sure that each VTS is 32k minimum.


These were mainly movie only backups, so only one VTS and VMG.
I've never had problems with this setting OFF, it was just a try.
My SONY behaved like when a missed Get VTS sector disc was inserted. But in only one case I got a "Disc is dirty" error message. :confused:

[erdoke]

Originally posted by r0lZ
Note that burning the DVD directly with PgcEdit does exactly the same thing, with the 32K gap option OFF. It's just easier to do: the backup files are excluded automatically, the VIDEO_TS folder is created if needed, junk files in VIDEO_TS are not accepted, the DVD label is automatically derived from the DVD-TEXT General Name, or from the folder name...

ImgTools Classic is also a GUI frontend over mkisofs and DVDDecrypter, but it doesn't handle the backups and the 'alien' files, and you have to browse to your DVD folder, and enter the label manually.

I know that but it simply doesn't work for me. I get an error message when starting to build the image:

http://erdoke.uw.hu/Pix/PGCEditmkisofsError.png

All the file paths are shown at the Settings panel, same files that I use for everyday burning.

[r0lZ]

That's also strange!
Is your DVD located in "P:\Working" (ie, you should have a folder "P:\Working\VIDEO_TS") ?

[erdoke]

Exactly, I show P:\Working to ImgTool Classic and it makes the ISO without any problems. In PGCEdit the same mkisofs.exe is selected from ImgTool Classic folder so I also don't understand it.

[blutach]

@erdoke

Does not PgcEdit give you are warning if you don't have your stuff in a VIDEO_TS folder and offer to make them for you?

Regards

[r0lZ]

The error message "The system cannot find the path specified" means that a program is probably not installed correctly in PgcEdit's burn setup. Also, note that mkisofs.exe needs cygwin1.dll in the same directory to operate properly.

[erdoke]

Originally posted by blutach
Does not PgcEdit give you are warning if you don't have your stuff in a VIDEO_TS folder and offer to make them for you?


No, because it is in a VIDEO_TS folder already. WinDVD plays it only if it is in a VIDEO_TS folder so I keep all my movies that way on HD.

[erdoke]

Originally posted by r0lZ
The error message "The system cannot find the path specified" means that a program is probably not installed correctly in PgcEdit's burn setup. Also, note that mkisofs.exe needs cygwin1.dll in the same directory to operate properly.

No matter if a I point to the files again. Same error message. The mentioned dll is with mkisofs in the same folder.

[r0lZ]

Well, I've found a small problem in the PgcEdit's code that may cause the error. I'm not sure though.
What I do is to launch mkisofs first with the option to calculate the size of the final ISO. I use that to verify that the right files are burned, and that the mkisofs command line is coherent. Then, when that command returns, I launch it again without the size option, to create the ISO.
The error was in the first command line (missing quotes in a filename). This first command is probably not issued by ImgTool, so this may be why PgcEdit fails while ImgTools doesn't.
Please try v0.5.2, that will be available in a couple of days, and report here if the problem is solved. Thanks.

[erdoke]

Tried it with PgcEdit 0.5.2 b2 and indeed the error message changed:

http://erdoke.uw.hu/Pix/PgcEditISOcreationError052b2.png

[r0lZ]

Well. It's a little bit better. We know that it's a problem with the command line.
Still strange. I use also ImgTools Classic 0.91.4, without problem.
I will have a look again...

[r0lZ]

OK. erdoke found the problem.
ImgTool Classic was installed in a folder with non-standard characters in the name (a + sign).
This caused the call to the external executable mkisofs.exe to fail.

[erdoke]

Originally posted by r0lZ
OK. erdoke found the problem.
ImgTool Classic was installed in a folder with non-standard characters in the name (a + sign).
This caused the call to the external executable mkisofs.exe to fail.

In fact it was not a + sign, it was an "ó" converted to it by sg. :)
Thanks for the help again.

[r0lZ]

Originally posted by forkart
why don't you try magiciso. I use it to burn DVD. It's not free! And, IMHO, $29.95 for a frontend over another burner program, it's extremely expensive. If I understand correctly the homepage, it does exactly the same job as ImgTools, or the built-in burn function of PgcEdit, which are free.
Furthermore, it won't save you the job of the ISO creation process, and must write it to HD, too.

[erdoke]

Originally posted by forkart
[B]why don't you try magiciso. I use it to burn DVD.

I've tried MagicISO and came to a conclusion that it wasn't designed with DVD-Video in mind.

[linx05]

Hi linx5

Generally, if you are not going to process the DVD at all (e.g. decrypt then write to DL), then the DVD will usually have enough junk on it to make every VTS as well as VMG large enough to have at least a 32k space between the IFO and the BUP.

You will often see those Spruce Technologies menus (or just blank ones), for example, that are never accessed. This not only is a nice advertisement for the authoring house but also "fills the gaps".

Now, if you blank titlesets, unreferenced menus or both, or "reauthor" a DVD with any of the popular transcoders, these 32k gaps will not be there anymore.

So the final thing to do with PgcEdit it to put them back again. PgcEdit does this with its own Get VTS Sectors routine, after which you can conveniently burn from the PgcEdit interface, while honouring the new sectors (most other burning progs will do a Get VTS Sectors again, negating PgcEdit's routine).

Hope this helps.

Regards
So if I use Vob Blanker to blank out some ads on a DVD, I'll have to use pgcedit to put the 32k gaps back in. The same with MenuShrink?

[blutach]

MenuShrink leaves VTSs that are bigger than 32k. VobBlanker and PgcEdit oftentimes don't. The PgcEdit routine takes about 1 second to do. You just turn on the option and hit save.

Regards

[Fairhope]

I hesitate asking this question. I'm sure it is right in front of me, but I've been unable to find it.

I did the one time set up to allow PGCEdit to create the .iso and then burn with DVDDecrypter. I have since moved some of the files it uses - IMGTools and DVDDecrypter and changed out my burner.

Now I need to do the one time set up again, but can't find a way to access that portion. PGCEdit is giving me a warning that my burner drive is not recognized.

Can someone tell me how I can get back to the one time setup option in PGCEdit's burn function?

Thanks, Ty

[r0lZ]

It's a menu in the main Burn dialog, at the upper left corner of the window.

The warning may indicate that the drive letter of your burner has changed.

[Fairhope]

Thanks for your help.

Ty

[blutach]

Updated guide - http://www.digital-digest.com/~blutach/pgcedit_guide/burning_with_pgcedit/burning_with_pgcedit_v2.htm

Regards

[jamos]

Updated guide - http://www.digital-digest.com/~blutach/pgcedit_guide/burning_with_pgcedit/burning_with_pgcedit_v2.htm

Regards
Thanks Blue!

[windtrader]

@blutach

Should I be worried??

I've been burning DVD for a number of years and never heard of the 32K burning problem until seeing the reference in pgcedit. It seems you are not a big fan of Nero but I have been using the burn DVD-Video files function and never seem to have problems. I'd sure hate to think that nearly 1000 backed up discs are bad.

Is there any way to check the backuped media to see if the gap exists?

[setarip_old]

@windtrader

Hi!

There is a BIG difference between a POTENTIAL "problem" and a "problem".

I have a burned backup collection of the same magnitude as yours - and have never encountered a playback problem for lack of specific 32k gaps.

From what's previously been posted by the truly knowledgable programmers, such as "jsoto" and "r0lZ", if and only if a DVD gets physically damaged at the point of an .IFO, creating a 32k gap between the .IFO and its companion .BUP file will minimize the possibility of BOTH of these files being unreadable (thereby rendering the DVD unplayable)...