Deletion of DVD Files: Is it safe?

[SoundScape]

Hi,

I have noticed that in DVDs I trancoded (using DVDShrink) or edited with PGCEdit, there are sometimes files that do nothing and would be better not to be present in the DVD. For example, I have edited a DVD in which all extras have been blanked out and replaced with a 10K blank VOB (using PGCEdit). Main movie is the first title (fortunately?). Therefore, is it possible in a situation like that to completely remove all these unecessary files (VOBs and IFOs) that will never be accessed by the player and then somehow edit the VIDEO_TS.IFO file (any appropriate software?) so that it does not refer to material that do not exist? An example:

Main movie is VTS_01_xx. Extras that have been blanked out could then be VTS_02_xx, VTS_03_xx...VTS_08_xx. You get the idea :) So, if we just keep main movie's files (and menus) and delete all the other titles will there be a problem or a non-compliant DVD that would essentially create lock-ups in a standalone player? I am not saying in PowerDVD cause it behaves much different than hardware players in my experience.

Another solution would be to follow a PGCEdit guide entitled "Adding Original Menus Back to a DVD Shrink Re-authored DVD" and do it the hard way, right? What if main movie is VTS_06_xx for example? Things get more complicated if we just delete extras that come before main movie, I guess :)

And one last case would be if main movie and some extras are kept. For example, we want to keep movie (VTS_01_xx), some extras (VTS_02_xx, VTS_03_xx) and delete all other extras (VTS_04_xx, VTS_05_xx). What about that?

I apologise once again for such a long post and too many questions...as always :) Feel free to answer some of them or not at all! Thanks in advance!

[Video Dude]

Don't delete them.

Even if they are blank (have no video), the ifo's may still contain commands that are executed. Since they are so small, keeping them will not degrade the quality of the other video on the disc.

[blutach]

It's only safe to remove them if you have already removed ALL calls/cross-references to them in the navigation commands (including menu buttons and BOV buttons), or if you haven't, then you have disabled the various menu buttons that call those VTSs (either directly or indirectly).

You can see this if you do a Calls Cross References in PgcEdit and every PGC (including menu PGCs) come up pink from VTS_02 down (actually, if the PGCs in VTS_02 down are only called by PGCs/buttons in those VTSs AND you have disabled any buttons in VTS_01/calls from VMGM, you would also be OK).

You will also need to reduce the number of titles in VMGM_MAT, VMG_PTT_SRPT and VMG_VTS_ATRT (as each of those 10k stubs in the titles domain will be associated with one or more titles).

It is possible that you have done this (in which case it is safe - I have done it myself), but the saving is hardly even finite!

In short, don't worry about them.

Regards

[CoNS]

Exactly! Don't worry about them, don't delete them, just leave them as they are...

They're only 10 KB each. Out of a total DVD size of almost 5 GB!!!

[blutach]

Hey CoNS - don't fall for DVD marketing speak! It's 4.37Gb ;)

Regards

[SoundScape]

Hey CoNS - don't fall for DVD marketing speak! It's 4.37Gb LOL!!! :D


Thanks to all for your reply. It's not that these files take up much space, I just want my DVD to look good! I have mentioned in another post that I am a perfectionist :D

blutach,

What do you mean by "reduce the number of titles in VMGM_MAT, VMG_PTT_SRPT and VMG_VTS_ATRT"? Just change the "Number of title sets" from, say, 8 to 1 if I want to keep only main movie? What if the latter is VTS_08_xx for example and all the unwanted extras come before it? Renaming from VTS_08_xx to VTS_01_xx wouldn't work right? Actually these questions have been asked in my first post, take a look at them if you have the time :)

What if main movie is VTS_06_xx for example? Things get more complicated if we just delete extras that come before main movie, I guess.

And one last case would be if main movie and some extras are kept. For example, we want to keep movie (VTS_01_xx), some extras (VTS_02_xx, VTS_03_xx) and delete all other extras (VTS_04_xx, VTS_05_xx). What about that?

Thanks in advance!

[SoundScape]

blutach,

While you are thinking "To answer or not to answer..." for my previous post, here's another question for you! :D

I've read your PGCEdit guide entitled "Adding Original Menus Back to a DVD Shrink Re-authored DVD" and I have a question for you. Please do not take the following as criticism; I just need to understand to which case this guide applies :) So, instead of following all these time-consuming steps you describe in order to get rid of the extras (correct me if I am wrong) and just be left with the main movie and menus, couldn’t we open the ripped DVD in PGCEdit, blank out all the extras and replace them by 10K VOBs, then fix the VM commands so that DVD doesn’t point to material that do not exist and finally use DVD Shrink to transcode it? Long question, isn’t it? :)

I would understand the advantage of using your guide if instead of using the original VIDEO_TS.IFO file, we imported the re-authored movie’s IFO which to my understanding wouldn’t contain any references to the removed extras.

I hope you understood my point. Your guide could be the answer to the question in my previous post, about deleting the extras VOBs and IFOs. Is it?

Thanks again in advance!

[blutach]

@soundscape

Let's take the situation where you described the flick being in VTS_06. The specs require there to be a VTS_01, so you must keep that (although not the VOBS) as well as VTS_06. If there were no links at all to VTS_02 through VTS_05, as well as VTS_07 and onwards, you can safely delete them.

Oftentimes, the menus are in another VTS to the flick. This is quite frequent.

Check out this guide (http://ifoedit.wh.fr0zen.com/menuidiot.html).

Renaming titlesets isn't on - for this you need something like DVDRMP or TMPGenc DVD Author.

If you have reduced title sets and titles, those 3 tables need altering:

Byte 0x3e on VMGM_MAT - reduce number of titlesets to whatever you have
Byte 0x00 of VMG_PTT_SRPT - reduce to number of titles you actually have
Byte 0x00 of VMG_VST_ATRT - reduce to number of titlesets you actually have

I will answer your question about the menu guide in a separate post.

Regards

[blutach]

Originally posted by SoundScape
I've read your PGCEdit guide entitled "Adding Original Menus Back to a DVD Shrink Re-authored DVD" and I have a question for you. ... instead of following all these time-consuming steps you describe in order to get rid of the extras (correct me if I am wrong) and just be left with the main movie and menus, couldn’t we open the ripped DVD in PGCEdit, blank out all the extras and replace them by 10K VOBs, then fix the VM commands so that DVD doesn’t point to material that do not exist and finally use DVD Shrink to transcode it? The guide was originally targeted at DVD Shrink users who had reauthored their DVD only to decide they wanted to keep their menus.

I do believe a better way is to basically follow your suggestion, and, in fact, I am in the process of updating the guide, so ALL VTSs are kept and there is no need to muck around with the VM commands, looking for red/pink highlights. If all VTSs are kept and imported (even the blanked ones), the DVD's structural integrity is preserved.

However, advances with VobBlanker, PgcEdit and MenuShrink probably make this guide outdated, except for those it was originally intended for.

Nevertheless, I still use it occasionally, copying all domains in all VTSs and find it takes less than 5 minutes to do.

Regards

[SoundScape]

blutach,

Many thanks for your two posts, they made things much clearer now ;)

I am aware of the "Idiots" guide you pointed me to. I like to believe that you don't consider me to be one, right??? :D

Once again, your quick responses to my questions and the helpfulness of the former makes me feel proud to be a member of Doom9! I hope I will be able to help you in the future although I find that quite impossible! Take care :cool:

[blutach]

@soundscape - certainly not an idiot. It is a particularly good guide, although badly named IMHO.

We are all proud to be part of doom9!

Regards

[Surf]

ello Soundscape,

I tried reaching that perfection goal you're aiming for. This movie has 7 VTS-es and the main movie is on VTS-01es but the THX intro clip that I really really really like is on, you guessed it, VTS-07! So, I cloned another ready-to-burn backup onto the 2nd harddrive. I'm ever sooo brave with the copy of backup.:D By the way, I encourage all dvd-backup nuts to install a 2nd harddrive which you'll know of its usefulness. "If you can afford one of these(cups of coffee), you can afford the 2nd harddrive( or XYZ insurance)". Noooo, I'm not an insurance salesman. :D

Inside Windows Explorer, I highlighted and deleted all the VTS-es from 2-6. Then rename all the VTS-07-es to VTS-02-es.

Fire up IFOedit and loaded the VTS-TS-IFO and performed the GET VTS SECTOR routine, exited.

Got the folder loaded in PGCedit which tells me the THX clip is title 3, nice! Title 2 is a blank which in turn is part of VTS-01-es.

Found out the play buttons point to VTSM-1--8 and from there it's pointed to VMGM 20 which says to go to title 14!:D After making all necessary adjustments, pressed PGCedit's save button. PGCedit cautioned me about that I don't have 14 titles and offered to fixy for moi. How can anyone refuse r0lZ's help?

Tested with Shrink and Showtime, not a squeak of protest!

There you go, Milla, the fifth element, perfection!

The moral of the story is: As long as those blanked vts-es that trail behind the main movie vts are NOT referenced, you can safely delete them but requiring the dvd structure to be re-registered with IFOedit or PGCedit. Otherwise you'll get a "Target Not Found!!" and your software player shows Title 0 Chapter 0, the black screen looking at you looking at the black screen looking at you looking at....

[blutach]

@surf

Interesting experiment. What if there is a call to VTS_07 root menu from VMGM (or other now non-existent titles and VTSs in VMGM)? Did you check for any "pinks" in PgcEdit?

Regards

[Surf]

In this case, there wasn't any infraction so r0lZ didn't issue me a pink slip. :p

Remember VTS-07(the intro clip) has been renamed and registered as VTS-02.

I have to be ultra careful following the run with the trace mode!! Play button points to VTSM-1-8 which then points to VMGM 20 which says to go to the non-existent title 14 in VTS-07! All I had to do is change it to title 3(of the new VTS-02).

P.S. I have forgotten to mention that all links to the original VTS-02 to 06 have been re-routed or made sure that they are not called or I'll definitely get a pink slip.

[blutach]

Sounds like a lotta work to make the disk look neat and save a couple of hundred KB surf.

But, each to his own, I guess.

Regards

[Surf]

If you think I got nothing else better to do in spending about an hour to re-claim a few hundred kb...

I did this out of curiosity..