PgcEdit and DVD Shrink Remote Buttons question

[Chetwood]

I've been immensely relieved when I first learned that r0lZ implemented 2Cool's functions into a macro for PgcEdit so one could use the remote's title button to jump between eps on a re-authored DVDs without having to make all the adjustments manually in Ifoedit.

However, doing it in Ifoedit had one advantage: when watching the last ep of a DVD pressing the title button would exit instead of jumping to the first ep. Using the macro in PgcEdit enables one to loop through all eps which is not good. Here is why: most of my friends do own a cheap no-name (or do you say 'brandless'?) DVD player like Redstar 230G most of which use a Mediatek chipset which do miss some digits on their display. So when you playback a DVD all you see is:


12 00:00
| | |
| | |- seconds
| |
| |---- minutes
|
|------- chapters


as opposed to my player which displays:


01 12 0:00:00
| | | | |
| | | | |- seconds
| | | |
| | | |---- minutes
| | |
| | |------ hours
| |
| | -------- chapters
|
|------------ title sets


So if you jump between titlesets the display won't help you to see which titleset (read episode) you're currently watching. And since the title button function 'loops' through the eps, counting those episode jumps you already did gets a bit difficult especially as sometimes there's a lot of stuff happening on such an evening with friends so it's easy to forget which ep you stopped at last time as well as which position on the DVD you are at.

And since episode DVDs tend to start with summaries of previous eps they quite often start with the same scenes so it can take a while to realize which ep it is you're watching, which sometimes happens too late so you see some scenes of an ep you hadn't even watched before. Thus I'm in favour of not looping throught the titles.

Is there an easy way to manually change this behaviour in PgcEdit (and maybe get an additional option for the macro in the next version)?

[r0lZ]

The simple way is to open the PGC Editor for the last episode (just double click on it). Then change the number in the NextPGCN Link field to 0.
Now, you will not be able to skip the last chapter of the last episode, and the DVD will exit at the end.

If you want to be able to skip the last chapter of the last ep with the remote and you want the DVD to exit at this time, you will have to add a new chapter at the end of the episode with Jsoto's AddChapter.

Another, totally different method to identify for sure that the last episode has finished playing is to use the Import Title's Closing Clip macro on the last episode, and select a still frame of your choice (you have enough of them!) Use the option "Restart the DVD from the beginning (FP-PGC)". So, when you will press the Next Chapter button when the last chapter of the last ep is playing, you will see the still frame for some seconds, and then return to the first ep.

[2COOL]

Originally posted by Chetwood
So if you jump between titlesets the display won't help you to see which titleset (read episode) you're currently watching. And since the title button function 'loops' through the eps, counting those episode jumps you already did gets a bit difficult especially as sometimes there's a lot of stuff happening on such an evening with friends so it's easy to forget which ep you stopped at last time as well as which position on the DVD you are at. Ahhh...another perfect example for those who strictly do movie only backups on why it's sometimes good to have menus. I always prefer menus only for the scene selections. They not only make me jump to where I want to but also it tells me my scene title.

And since episode DVDs tend to start with summaries of previous eps they quite often start with the same scenes so it can take a while to realize which ep it is you're watching, which sometimes happens too late so you see some scenes of an ep you hadn't even watched before. Thus I'm in favour of not looping throught the titles.Being an advanced creative user, this is doable in my mind.

Say I have 4 episodes of an anime DVD and I want to re-author all 4 without menus. Prior to re-authoring I would get a image snapshot of each episode, preferably the part it shows the title. Remux each snapshot using step 2 method in this post (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&postid=576510#post576510). At the end, I should have 4 individual titlesets with these images.

So when reauthoring in DVD Shrink, I would put it in this way.

Episode 1 intro still
Episode 1
Episode 2 intro still
Episode 2
Episode 3 intro still
Episode 3
Episode 4 intro still
Episode 4

Each still would be configured to about 1 second of display so that associate Episode will play after.

Here's where it gets tricky, though PgcEdit's macro can use Title button to jump form Title to Title. It is possible to modify the FP PGC to get so that by pressing Title, you can jump from intro to intro instead.

Anyways, that's my 2 cents.

[Chetwood]

Originally posted by 2COOL
Ahhh...another perfect example for those who strictly do movie only backups on why it's sometimes good to have menus. I always prefer menus only for the scene selections. They not only make me jump to where I want to but also it tells me my scene title.


To each is own, IMO both stream and scene selection menus are the most pointless menus ever ;)


Remux each snapshot using step 2 method in this post (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&postid=576510#post576510).


I'm not sure I'm getting this, why would I need BlankVOB? I always do it by re-authoring ANY titleset in DVD Shrink, setting it to 10 secs duration and replacing it with my preferred still image.


Here's where it gets tricky, though PgcEdit's macro can use Title button to jump form Title to Title. It is possible to modify the FP PGC to get so that by pressing Title, you can jump from intro to intro instead.


That's an interesting idea! Can I apply it to this ifo (http://www.dvdshrink.info/Chetwood/PgcEdit_menuimport.php#import3) as a demo or would I have to generate a new set first which already has the title images?

[r0lZ]

[The link to the ifo above is broken.]

You may also author the still images separately, and add them to an existing eps compilation with the 'Import Title's Startup Clip' macro. However, you must be sure to have enough free space on the original compilation.
If you do that in the right order (ie Shrinh episodes, apply DVDShrink Remote Buttons Macros, add your custom menu, and finally Import startup clips), then the Next Chapter button will work as expected, without changes.

[Chetwood]

Originally posted by r0lZ
[The link to the ifo above is broken.]


Doh, I forgot it was context-sensitive. Should work now (http://www.dvdshrink.info/chetwood/PgcEdit_menuimport.php#import3).


If you do that in the right order (ie Shrinh episodes, apply DVDShrink Remote Buttons Macros, add your custom menu, and finally Import startup clips), then the Next Chapter button will work as expected, without changes.

Gonna try it after my next rip and get back to you. May take some time though...

[Chetwood]

I just did so but I skipped importing my own menu cause that's what the whole thing was about: re-author a DVD without ANY menu yet still adding the ep titles somehow.

So I used your 'Import Title's Intro Clip'-macro and it works fine, great job. However, what format do those still frames have to come in? I've used DVD Shrink to generate an unanimated title screenshot that lasts 10 seconds. I assume to be able to use a simple screenshot of whatever I would have to use 2Cool's method to convert a bmp?

[r0lZ]

Right. In fact, you may use anything you want, provided there is only one title in your imported VTS.
If you use a still frame without audio, you must provide a delay in the GUI.

[Chetwood]

Works fine so far except I cannot open such a re-authored DVD in DVD Shrink :(

[r0lZ]

Probably there is something wrong with the imported clip.
Try to open it in DVDShrink. If it doesn't work, reauthor your imported clip properly, and import it again in your final DVD.

I have just tested the Import Title's Intro Clip macro again, and opened the final DVD in DVDShrink without problem.