PgcEdit 0.5.1 beta (with the Menu Buttons Editor)

[r0lZ]

[EDIT: PgcEdit v7.0 has been released. See this thread (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=110310).]


PgcEdit 0.5.1 beta 1 is available, with, at last, the menu buttons editor (and a couple bugfixes).

As with all betas, it can be downloaded only via my homepage at VideoHelp (http://www.videohelp.com/~r0lZ/pgcedit/), in the "All versions" directory.

The menu editor has not been tested at all under Linux and Mac. However, it should work.

If you find a bug related to the menu editor, please report it here.

[jeanl]

eeeehaaaa!
jeanl

[jeanl]

r0lZ,

First of all, THANK YOU! and congrats on the menu editor. It's absolutely fantastic (like schwartzenegger would say). I should have expected no less from you, but I"m really amazed: it looks like you left nothing behind. I'm not a pro with menus, but it looks to me like you can edit every possible aspect of menus, including the color schemes! The possibilities are endless!!! I'm amazed!

I also need to report what I think is a small bug.
- open the menu editor, and set the force action button after 1 second,
- click OK then click Edit again. All good.
- click OK then click Edit again. The force action after is now -1 seconds.
Of course, this had to be the first thing I checked ;)

The same thing happens on the 2 DVDs I tried....
Jeanl

[r0lZ]

Thanks, jeanl.

Yes, the 1 is changed to -1 the second time you enter the editor. Strange! Thanks for the bug repport.

[EDIT:] Stupid bug fixed!

[ShawnFumo]

Just a quick question, since I'm not totally sure how the DVD specs work for this. If you had two subpictures muxed into the video, would the latest beta of PgcEdit actually be able to create a button from that? Or does that have to be encoded as a button from the start? I just ask because I've been wanting to do Buttons Over Video, but I don't think any of the free authoring tools support it yet, but of course you can mux in regular subpictures. I'm guessing it probably isn't possible, but just wanted to make sure. :)

Shawn

[r0lZ]

Good question. Honnestly, I don't know the answer!
PgcEdit do not scan the VOBs for subpics. You may probably mux a subpic stream, and then use the menu editor to create a new button around the visible part of the subpic, but you will have to guess where the subpic is positionned on screen. Note that I have never tested this method.

It is also possible to create transparent or translucent menu buttons without any subpic at all. Note that if there are no subpic streams defined in the IFOs, PgcEdit will create one stream definition automatically in the current PGC and in the domain streams attributes section, but will not create a new stream in the VOB.

[jsoto]

@r0lZ,
A big thank you.

jsoto

[blutach]

r0lZ - How can we say thank you enough?

Hope your paypal is still working!

Regards

[r0lZ]

Thanks for the thanks, guys!

[blutach]

@r0lZ

If I have previously hidden a button and wish to reinstate it, how can I change the width back to its regular size?

How does one change the x value?

These also apply with the New Button command.

Regards

[jeanl]

you have to select one of the groups, not "all". Then the x slider is enabled.
jeanl

[blutach]

Of course! What an idiot I am

Regards

[blutach]

@r0lZ - the export / import feature makes copying buttons between menu cells an absolute breeze! However, when exporting and importing buttons, at first it appears the buttons's location and size info (x, y, height, width) is kept. However, on reopening the menu or just looking in the menu viewer, these settings don't seem to have "taken". Is this intended?

One suggestion - can we also have a box next to the x, y, height, width sliders, so a value can be manually input? This would be particularly useful for menu design, when you have done the first button's position and want to position the others relative to it. Maybe also a "nudge" slider with the keyboard direction keys for small adjustments (to the pixel).

Also, when we double click on a menu button in the menu viewer, it would be nice if it brought up the editor dialogue box (without having to push the Edit button). What do you think?

Regards

[DMagic1]

Very nice.
I just had a project that could have used this.
Will it be able to add buttons soon?

[blutach]

It already does that. Ctrl-M to bring up the relevant menu. Press Edit --> Button --> New Button

Regards

[jeanl]

It's scary, it does everything! :)
jeanl

[blutach]

It sure does - it just made me a nice plate of scrambled eggs! :D

Regards

[M7S]

A long wait is over, but it was for sure worth it!

The menueditor is just wonderful.

Thank you r0lZ!!

[r0lZ]

Originally posted by blutach
@r0lZ - the export / import feature makes copying buttons between menu cells an absolute breeze! However, when exporting and importing buttons, at first it appears the buttons's location and size info (x, y, height, width) is kept. However, on reopening the menu or just looking in the menu viewer, these settings don't seem to have "taken". Is this intended? No! It should be a bug. Will see...

[EDIT:] OK. Another stupid bug fixed.
Note that if you import the menu button parameters in All Groups mode, the values of the disabled sliders are not imported! (But the current values are always exported, including the disabled sliders in All Groups mode.)

One suggestion - can we also have a box next to the x, y, height, width sliders, so a value can be manually input? This would be particularly useful for menu design, when you have done the first button's position and want to position the others relative to it. Maybe also a "nudge" slider with the keyboard direction keys for small adjustments (to the pixel). Difficult to add an input box. I need to verify the values so that the upper left corner is really to the left and up of the oposite corner, and that the position + width is not too much. Easy to do with sliders, but not with input boxes. However, I'll see what I can do. Maybe I can add some copy/paste buttons?

You can already make small adjustments by clicking in the 'through', white part of the sliders. One click increase/decrease the value by 1, and a long click moves the slider slowly.

The cursor keys are already used to select the adjacent buttons, relative to the current button. Handy to test if the adjacent links are setupped correctly. (Same in the viewer.)

Also, when we double click on a menu button in the menu viewer, it would be nice if it brought up the editor dialogue box (without having to push the Edit button). What do you think? Right. It was my intention to do that, but I forgot. Will be in the next release.

[EDIT:] Done. You'll have to use the right button. Double-clicking with the left button doesn't work for technical reasons.

Also, if you doesn't have already noted: the command button in the viewer is a shortcut to edit the command without having to go in the editor.

If I have previously hidden a button and wish to reinstate it, how can I change the width back to its regular size?
How does one change the x value?
These also apply with the New Button command. As jeanl explained, you have to select another group. It is only possible to edit the X or Y direction in Group All mode if the same value is shared by all groups. But I may add a computation of the correct values for all groups in the future.
Note that the X, Y, width and height values are not changed in All Groups mode if you doesn't move the sliders. This is to allow different values in several groups. So, use the position sliders in All Groups mode with care.

[blutach]

Thanks r0lZ - I'll try that and await the next version with the "fixes".

Regards

[iliketowatch]

In Linux, this happens with both PgcEdit 0.5.0 and 0.5.1 beta 1; 0.4.9 works fine.

When I run pgcedit, there is no window but it takes about 95% CPU and memory (Athlon XP 1800+, 1G RAM) and it really loads the system:
load average: 11.66, 9.42, 6.96

If I let it run to completion I get this in /var/log/messages:
kernel: __alloc_pages: 0-order allocation failed (gfp=0x1d2/0)

Any ideas?

[r0lZ]

Hum! I have a new PC, and my Linux partition is not yet installed. I'll see that soon. Thanks for the bug report.

[r0lZ]

@iliketowatch and all Linux users

Problem fixed. See here (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&postid=626061#post626061) for the explanation.

[r0lZ]

- Fixes the two bugs in the menu editor reported by jeanl and blutach.
- Allow to right click on a button in the viewer to go in the editor.
- Fixes the bug starting PgcEdit 0.5 standalone on Linux platforms.

[Tobii]

I have a small problem with a menu.

The structure of the menu:

Program 1, Cell 1: VOB ID 6 ,Cell ID 1 (0 buttons)
Program 2, Cell 2: VOB ID 6 ,Cell ID 2 (5 buttons)
Program 3, Cell 3: VOB ID 6 ,Cell ID 3 (5 buttons)
Program 4, Cell 4: VOB ID 6 ,Cell ID 4 (6 buttons)
Program 5, Cell 5: VOB ID 6 ,Cell ID 5 (0 buttons)
Program 6, Cell 6: VOB ID 6 ,Cell ID 6 (0 buttons)
Program 7, Cell 7: VOB ID 6 ,Cell ID 7 (0 buttons)

If I delete the second button in the Program 2 and indicate the third button as forced selection, I cannot delete the same button into Program 3 and 4.
PgcEdit then freezes. Any ideas?

[DMagic1]

Maybe someone can help with this. I've wondered this even from using MenuEdit in the past. Which is better, to delete a button or to hide it?
Does it matter? I've looked at the changes made when doing each. It seems like both ways would work well.

[jeanl]

Originally posted by DMagic1
Maybe someone can help with this. I've wondered this even from using MenuEdit in the past. Which is better, to delete a button or to hide it?
Does it matter? I've looked at the changes made when doing each. It seems like both ways would work well.
Hiding provides an easy "undo" mechanism... But other than that i don't see any difference... Except some programs will behave differently depending on whether there is a button (like MenuShrink and vobblanker I think) or not (they're not smart enough to see the button is "hidden").
jeanl

[M7S]

Isn't there a posibility that the wrong button gets highlighted if you delete buttons?

[jeanl]

I see what you mean. Yes, if the button you're deleting isn't the last one, and you're not updating the highlighting commands, then you're right, there's a possiblity the wrong button will be highlighted. I guess it all depends on what "deleting" means! I haven't checked what PgcEdit does, but I'm guessing trying to readjust all the highlight commands would be very hard... This would indicate that it's better to hide, right? (although then, there's a possibility that no highlight will show if the hidden button is supposed to be highlighted)...
jeanl

[r0lZ]

Deleting a button is dangerous, even if it's the last one.
If a command highlights the deleted button before entering the menu, the player may hang.
And if the deleted button is not the last one and there are post commands doind specific actions based of the SPRM 8 value, the jump may occur at the wrong place. This is certainly the case when the same command is assigned to all buttons (most often the command is LinkTailPGC.)

It is normally safe to delete a button if you force the highlighted button to a non-deleted one, and if the commands of the remaining buttons are direct jumps to different PGCs.

Of course, you may safely delete a button created with the New Button function.


In the other hand, hiding a button is always safe, but if a SetHL_BTN highlights an hidden button, it will be selected by default, and nothing will be visible. This is why there are 3 choices to replace the command of the hidden button.

- Keep original command: if you press enter on the deleted button, the original command will be executed. This will probably lead to blanked material, or to a killed PGC.

- Jump to non deleted button: restarts the cell, but this time, a non-hidden button will be selected by default.

- NOP: Nothing happens. The menu continues normally. You have to use the cursors to highlight a non-deleted button.

It is possible to force the highlighted button to a non-hidden one with the Force Highlight parameter. But the same button will always be selected by default, regardless of the value of SPRM 8.

[r0lZ]

@Tobi
Please send me your IFOs and the menu VOB with at least the three cells with buttons.
I need also a description of what you did, step by step.
Thanks.

[M7S]

When I try to hide a button in Group 2 with PgcEdit that was already hidden with MenuEdit (Demo) in Group 1, PgcEdit freezes.

If I choose a command different commands for group 1 and 2 and then click on all, the command of the prevously chosen group is set for both groups. Is this behaivour intended?

I tried to make a BOV in the mainmovie with the subpictures that already existed, just to check if it was posible. I wasn't able to see the highlight. I checked the navpack with vobedit and saw that the "highlight endtime" was -1, could this be why it doesn't work, or does highlight endtime -1 mean eternal highlight?

Regards,
M7S

[blutach]

Re: Deleting/Hiding

In some players, I have found that a NOP hangs the player! I think the best is hide and (auto-activated) jump to non-deleted button. This way if that button is highlighted via a HL button pre-command, it simply jumps nicely to the next.

Alternatively, not hiding the button at all and replacing the command with LinkTopCell, button (next unhidden one) - which is the command for jump to non-deleted button - works real well and saves you the pain of reinstating the button later, if you need to.

BTW: r0lZ - is there an easy "unhide" function in PgcEdit's button editor?

Regards

[blutach]

@r0lZ - When blanking a whole titleset, the audio and subs are kept in the domain stream attributes. This seems weird since the titles in that VTST have only a NAVPack and 4 frames of video.

As well, PgcEdit offers to "correct" the number of streams back to what they were before blanking.

http://img225.exs.cx/img225/6823/untitled8ei.png (http://www.imageshack.us)

I think it needs to be the other way round - to delete any audio and subtitles in the stream attibutes.

Your thoughts?

Regards

[r0lZ]

Originally posted by blutach
Re: Deleting/Hiding

In some players, I have found that a NOP hangs the player! I think the best is hide and (auto-activated) jump to non-deleted button. This way if that button is highlighted via a HL button pre-command, it simply jumps nicely to the next.

Alternatively, not hiding the button at all and replacing the command with LinkTopCell, button (next unhidden one) - which is the command for jump to non-deleted button - works real well and saves you the pain of reinstating the button later, if you need to.

BTW: r0lZ - is there an easy "unhide" function in PgcEdit's button editor?

Regards NOP hangs on some players? Strange. I've seen many commercial DVDs with BOVs with NOP commands, for 'White Rabbit' like navigation.

Unfortunately, Auto Activate doesn't work for the button that is highlighted automatically when entering the menu. You have to manually select a button to trigger the auto activation.

No, there are no unhide facility. I doesn't have a place to store a backup of the deleted informations. The simplest way to revert to the old menu is to open the PgcEdit_backup in another instance of PgcEdit, export the button definition to disk, and import it back.
You may also systematically export the whole menu before doing any edit, as a backup.
Note that the exported file is an ASCII file, and therefore may be edited with a text editor. You may, for example, remove the definitions of the buttons you don't want to import, and leave only the definitions of the buttons you want to unhide.

[blutach]

Thanks for that info r0lZ.

Yes, my old SONY hung on a NOP (can you believe it?).

So, if auto-activate doesn't work, and we want the button to highlight, then can we force activation somehow?

Regards

[r0lZ]

Originally posted by blutach
Thanks for that info r0lZ.

Yes, my old SONY hung on a NOP (can you believe it?).

So, if auto-activate doesn't work, and we want the button to highlight, then can we force activation somehow?

Regards No. You may force auto activation by changing the Force Action button number and Force Action Button after N seconds, but these settings are global, and not programmable. You will therefore always automatically select the same (hidden) button when the delay is over.
But you may safely change the Force Select Button number. With that setup, you can force a non-hidden button to be highlighted when entering the menu. Drawback: the same button will always be selected when entering the menu, regardless of the value of SPRM 8. In many DVDs, when you return to a menu, the last selected button (or the next one) is automatically selected. If you force the Select button, you will loose this 'intelligence'.

Unfortunately, there is no good way to be sure that an hidden button is never selected. :(

[r0lZ]

Originally posted by blutach
@r0lZ - When blanking a whole titleset, the audio and subs are kept in the domain stream attributes. This seems weird since the titles in that VTST have only a NAVPack and 4 frames of video.

As well, PgcEdit offers to "correct" the number of streams back to what they were before blanking.

I think it needs to be the other way round - to delete any audio and subtitles in the stream attibutes.

Your thoughts?

Regards
There is indeed a problem discovered by jsoto:
Suppose that a DVD is authored with the same number of audio and subpic streams, with the same language codes, in each VTS. The SetSTN may be used only once, because when you go to another VTS, the same setup is still valid.
But if you have blanked a VTS, and removed the streams, the default audio and subpic streams will be automatically resetted to the default values by the player. When you return to a non-blanked PGC, the streams assignments will therefore no longer be the right ones.

So, although a little bit inconsistant, it is safer to leave the streams definitions as they were originally. This is why I don't change the subpics attributes in the blanked PGCs.
I agree that removing the streams definitions in the VTSI_MAT and VMG_VTS_ATRT tables while leaving the streams assignments in the PGCs is obviously inconsistant. I think I will remove the code that resets the streams numbers to 0 in the global tables after a blank out.

[blutach]

re streams

Yes, I saw that thread started by jsoto about a month or so back. It just seems to me that there won't be much damage because when you return from a totally blanked titleset, and want to play a title in a non-blanked one, then you will naturally select a stream present in the non-blanked one.

I understand if, for example, you selected DTS, and then the DVD played the (blanked) DTS intro (in a different VTST) and returned that you might lose the selected stream, but in general, I have not seen this happen.

I actually like to have them removed in VTSI_MAT and VMG_VTS_ATRT. Maybe, for people like me, you could set an option to have them automatically removed?

Regards

[r0lZ]

maybe... ;)

[blutach]

r0lZ - never mind! I'd rather be safe than sorry and have decided that (at least for me) it doesn't matter that there are a few extra stripped streams present and looks "untidy".

Regards

[nwg]

r0lZ

I think your software is fantastic and especially like your new menu editor.

I do have a suggestion if you don't mind.

I often use PgcEdit to create an ISO and Decrypter to burn it. I noticed there isn't an option to use Decrypters test mode. I would like to tick Burn ISO image with Decrypter and then tick use Test mode and then burn automatically after a successful test write.

Is that possible?

Thanks.

[r0lZ]

Thanks, nwg :)

Unfortunately, it is not possible to set the test mode in PgcEdit, because there is no TEST option in the command line arguments of DVDDecrypter.
If you really want to do that, uncheck the Start Burn Immediately option in PgcEdit, and select the test mode manually in DVDDecrypter.

[r0lZ]

Originally posted by Tobii
If I delete the second button in the Program 2 and indicate the third button as forced selection, I cannot delete the same button into Program 3 and 4.
PgcEdit then freezes. Any ideas? OK. I've found the problem.
It is an infinite loop in the routine that fixes the adjacent buttons links after a delete or hide button.
It's fixed in beta 3.
Thanks for your help, Tobi.

[r0lZ]

Fixes the bug discovered by Tobi (see above), and a small problem with the Group radiobutton being highlighted in red after a Delete Button, even when the All Groups mode was current.

[Tobii]

I try it out just.
BTW, It has noticed which disc this was? The part is heavy to reauthoring.

How always...Thanks.

Edit: Am now ready, work without errors now. :)

[ukendt]

PgcEdit 0.5.1 beta 3 available
where?:rolleyes:
Never mind, found it as announced in post 1(I'm too old and getting blind :( )
(BTW great work, this proggy is going to kill many other commercial progs and has alredy valuable features to subs colours and so)

[blutach]

@r0lZ

Is it possible to skip a menu (eg Language Selection/Aspect Ratio) using the force select and force action functions?

I tried this - the forced select worked just fine, but the whole cell played first before the forced action. How would this go with a still menu of infinite time? Or would the idea be to reduce still time to 0?

Regards

[nwg]

Originally posted by r0lZ
Thanks, nwg :)

Unfortunately, it is not possible to set the test mode in PgcEdit, because there is no TEST option in the command line arguments of DVDDecrypter.
If you really want to do that, uncheck the Start Burn Immediately option in PgcEdit, and select the test mode manually in DVDDecrypter.

Thanks for the reply. I already do it the way you have said.

[r0lZ]

Originally posted by blutach
@r0lZ

Is it possible to skip a menu (eg Language Selection/Aspect Ratio) using the force select and force action functions?

I tried this - the forced select worked just fine, but the whole cell played first before the forced action. How would this go with a still menu of infinite time? Or would the idea be to reduce still time to 0?

Regards Yes, normally it's possible. You have to use the Force Action button, and the Force Action after... delay. The Force Select doesn't matter (although if the delay is not zero, it is better to see what button will be activated by default). The still time do not need to be changed.
The force action delay must be < total playback time (ie motion or audio length + still time)
If you want to skip the menu, the action delay should be set to 0.

Note that I have heard that in some cases, this doesn't work as expected. But all test I've made were conclusives, including with my Sony.