PgcEdit 0.6.0 [Archive] - Page 2

r0lZ

15th July 2005, 11:02

@r0lZ

Past versions of PgcEdit used to have the "Verify number of streams" dialog pop up when accessing a Title PGC. Now, I have to manually do it. It would be great if you had the option to check after loading since the user wouldn't know about any unneeded streams if the macro isn't executed.

I just found in my 7 seconds DVD had extras phantom streams after DVD Shrink's analysis. I went back to PgcEdit to correct them using the macro.The stream verification is still automatic for a specific domain when you enter the Domain Streams Attributes dialog. It has never been automatic when you select a PGC in the domain.
I can add a call to the global "Fix Number of Streams" macro when a DVD is loaded, but do you really wants so? If, for some reason, you don't want to fix the streams numbers, the warning will popup everytime the DVD is loaded or reloaded. That may be tedious, no?

[EDIT:] The "Fix number of streams" macro is now launched automatically when a DVD is opened (but not when the DVD is reopened), in a new 'quiet' mode, without interactive feedback. If some discrepancies are found, the user is prompted to fix them, and if the dialog is accepted, the standard "Fix Number of Streams" macro is launched.

2COOL

15th July 2005, 11:08

A simple dialog saying that possible unused streams have been detected. It would be hell if the the macro decided to correct every VTS that has a stream problem. Speaking for myself, I can live with another pop-up dialog after loading.

Again, as I mentioned previously, a macro for error scans. I don't mind if I have to manually execute it.

r0lZ

15th July 2005, 11:12

I just had a brainstorm! How about a macro that scans the DVD for IFO errors and logging it out?It's on my TODO list for a while, but it's really not easy. There are so many possible errors!
Also, you can use the Philips DVD-Video Verifier (http://www.licensing.philips.com/services/lover/documents1048.html)!
(BTW, I've just found the Philips DVD+RW verifier (http://www.licensing.philips.com/ordering/soft/documents1047.html).)

Well, I will check if it's easy to modify the original "Fix number of streams" macro to report the problems in a single requester.

2COOL

15th July 2005, 11:23

BTW, why is the Tcl calculator under View menu? Shouldn't be in Tools or File? Just an observation.

r0lZ

15th July 2005, 11:46

Well, I have to revamp the whole menus. With the time, I have added so many functions, that the menus are now a little bit saturated.
I want to group the functions in sub-menus, with everything related to menu PGCs, for example, in a specific submenu, and general features like the DVD-Text name in another one, etc...

Originally, I've put the Tcl Calculator option in the view menu because it's an independant window, that you may show or hide. Also, as this function is not directly related to the edition of the DVD, it's not a normal Utility or Macro.

2COOL

15th July 2005, 11:50

Excuse me for the barrage of request but I have one more.

There are times that I have ripped my VIDEO_TS folder to a root folder on my hard drive. Can you implement a feature to create a AUDIO_TS folder too? Also, there are cases that the files are in a root folder and not within a VIDEO_TS.

r0lZ

15th July 2005, 12:24

The AUDIO_TS and VIDEO_TS folders are created automatically, if needed, when you open the Burn GUI. You don't need to burn the DVD: just call the burn function and close the window.

Excuse me for the barrage of request but I have one more.It's not the best moment for complex feature requests. I am in holidays! :cool:

2COOL

15th July 2005, 12:29

The AUDIO_TS and VIDEO_TS folders are created automatically, if needed, when you open the Burn GUI. You don't need to burn the DVD: just call the burn function and close the window. Problem is, I use ImgTool Classic out of habit.

It's not the best moment for complex feature requests. I am in holidays! :) Thanks for the heads up! You have a great break! You certainly need it. :)

r0lZ

15th July 2005, 12:37

Problem is, I use ImgTool Classic out of habit.It's not a problem: just enter the burn function in PgcEdit before, and don't forget to remove the backups.

Thanks for the heads up! You have a great break! You certainly need it. :)Yes. Now, the sun is hot here! I will come back to PgcEdit when the weather will be bad again. In Belgium, it's frequent! :mad:

2COOL

15th July 2005, 12:48

In Belgium, it's frequent! So, do you call them "Belguim waffles", even while you're there or just plain "waffles?" :p

Reminds of a quote from "The Rundown" on Brazil nuts during the bar scene.

We're in Brazil. We just call them nuts.

r0lZ

15th July 2005, 13:41

Well, in Belgium, we call them "gaufres de Bruxelles" (Brussels Waffles), or "gaufres de Liège", etc... There are tons of variants. I don't know which is the one you call Belgian waffle...
Same with chocolade, beer, and many other specialities...

blutach

15th July 2005, 13:42

OK - doomer's problem is solveable. If doomer wants to, he can perhaps start the disk at the menu by tracing through the title to the main menu and then executing the macro. That would work for sure.

Regards

blutach

15th July 2005, 13:45

Bug report: Trace mode. Pressing the next arrow when in the last cell of a menu PGC gets an "end of table" error (fix with IfoEdit is offered).

Regards

blutach

15th July 2005, 13:50

Easy feature request when you return de vacation: When you do macro fix number of streams, is there a way to say "yes to all"?

Regards

doomer2

15th July 2005, 16:39

For example, suppose you want to jump directly to the main movie. If there is a comparison somewhere in the pre-commands to set the audio and subpic according to the value of a GPRM, these lines must be executed, or the audio/subpic setup will always be the one you selected when running the macro, regardless of what you may have requested in the Audio/Subtitle menus.

I don't think that's true. The only time the commands the macro inserts in the title PGC get run are when the "key" register has been set to the right value by the Firstplay chain. If someone goes to the menus and changes the streams, that code block won't be executed again, because the "key" gprm is no longer the "special" value.

Also, this method requires that the target PGC is a PGC with video, while my method is also suitable to jump to a dummy PGC.

That is a reasonable exception, and one I hadn't considered.

To use the macro in this case, try this: set the breakpoint on the menu PGC that is called just before your target (the one with the RSM command). If it is in the same VTS than the real target, that should work.

Actually, this brings up another issue with RSM. Since RSM's don't specify the title they refer to, of course they don't show up in the "go to calling command" info window. May I suggest that it would be nice if the "go to calling command" display checked to see if the current selection is a title PGC, and if so, also included any RSM's in the current VTS, and included them in that window with a different color and at the end of the list, with a note that says something like "possible branch source"?

Or you may use jeanl's guide, or 2COOL's Jump2PGC helper, and do the job manually.

Actually, I had already done it manually, just figured I'd report the issue, since I guessed the start by RSM wasn't too common, and you may not have seen it yet.

I will not change the macro, as it works well most of the time, and doing what you suggest requires many changes. Sorry.
But I will have a look at this RSM problem. Maybe I can do something...
That would be great. Thanks.

One other thing, and I'm not sure if it's in the current version still. If all the PGC's are used and you run the "jump to pgc on insert" macro, it doesn't give you any feedback as to why it didn't do anything. It just silently exits.

r0lZ

15th July 2005, 16:53

I don't think that's true. The only time the commands the macro inserts in the title PGC get run are when the "key" register has been set to the right value by the Firstplay chain. If someone goes to the menus and changes the streams, that code block won't be executed again, because the "key" gprm is no longer the "special" value.You're right! :o

Actually, this brings up another issue with RSM. Since RSM's don't specify the title they refer to, of course they don't show up in the "go to calling command" info window. May I suggest that it would be nice if the "go to calling command" display checked to see if the current selection is a title PGC, and if so, also included any RSM's in the current VTS, and included them in that window with a different color and at the end of the list, with a note that says something like "possible branch source"?Hum, perhaps, if I don't have many things to modify.

Actually, I had already done it manually, just figured I'd report the issue, since I guessed the start by RSM wasn't too common, and you may not have seen it yet.No, I know this authoring trick. This is why the macro jumps to the last visited title before jumping to the target menu. This way, you have a return point defined for the RSM command and the resume buttons of the remote.

One other thing, and I'm not sure if it's in the current version still. If all the PGC's are used and you run the "jump to pgc on insert" macro, it doesn't give you any feedback as to why it didn't do anything. It just silently exits.Are you sure? I think I have added a dialog box at every possible exit points. But I must verify...
Also, note that if all GPRMs are used, the macro uses all GPRMs together to check if the disk was just inserted: they are all at 0. (This method has been discovered by 2COOL.)

doomer2

15th July 2005, 17:34

Are you sure? I think I have added a dialog box at every possible exit points. But I must verify...
Also, note that if all GPRMs are used, the macro uses all GPRMs together to check if the disk was just inserted: they are all at 0. (This method has been discovered by 2COOL.)
I must have been using an older version when I noticed this. I just checked and it doesn't appear to happen in 0.5.7, so please disregard. Thanks.

doomer2

15th July 2005, 17:47

Since I seem to be on a posting frenzy, I'll note another issue I've had.

Would it be possible to change the window that scans for BOV's so that Abort and Scan aren't the same button at different times? I normally run with the scan automatic on DVD load, and then abort it if I know it isn't necessary. But sometimes I find that by the time I click Abort, it has just changed to Scan, and I start another scan when I really didn't want to do a scan at all.

Maybe that could be changed so that the Pause button was the one that changed to do another scan? And maybe also have the close button not be unclickable during a scan, but stays active and does an abort and close with the one button. I think that would be even better.

r0lZ

15th July 2005, 18:44

Will see that... a rainy day.

[EDIT:] You can Abort and close the window by clicking twice on the close button in the window's titlebar. This way, it is not possible to restart the scan.
Also, note that if the scan has finished his job when you click on the scan button, nothing happens, since all title domain checkboxes are now deselected.

2COOL

17th July 2005, 21:33

@jeanl and r0lZ

It seems I have a problem with viewing menu buttons. I was working on a DVD menu with 23 buttons. Button 1 takes up the entire screen and I can't visually see the layouts of the other underlying 22 buttons, not even if I use the image skip buttons. I can't click on buttons 2 to 22 if I can't see them.

Anyways, if I use the "button skip" button the associated buttons will start to appear one by one. If I use the Edit button, all buttons are now showing, which is the way it suppose to be. In Edit mode, I can do whatever I want with my buttons.

Using MenuEdit to also view this menu, it properly displays all the buttons. Unfortunately for MenuEdit, I can't select the buttons 2 to 22 since button 1 is taking up the entire screen on the foreground. Also, can't I selectively delete buttons 22 to 22 since the delete button is disable for each. Of course, this is another thread for MenuEdit's problem but I thought to first mention it here during my testing.

To sum up what I'm talking about, why can't I preview all my buttons like it supposed to display like in Edit mode, minus the link arrows?

r0lZ

18th July 2005, 10:09

Technical answer:
You can't see all buttons because in the viewer, the buttons are displayed using Tcl/Tk buttons. A button is not transparent. The current button is always displayed after the other ones, so that it appear on top.

This method has some advantages: the current button is always clickable, and when you click on it, you have a 'button pressed' feedback, and it's easy to program.
And a disadvantage: a button entierly covered by another one is not visible and not clickable. This is why you can select the current button with the button selection arrows. Remember also that you can select an adjacent button of the current button with the arrow keys on the keyboard.

On the other hand, in the editor, I use rectangles to draw the button outlines. Rectangles are transparent, so you can see all outlines. But you cannot click on a rectangle. You have to select the current button with the slider. I did that this way because real buttons are slow to redraw (and it was difficult to move/resize them), and rectangles are more precise in terms of position (it is not possible to create a button of only 1 pixel wide, for example.)

Of course, it should be better to draw the buttons in the viewer with rectangles as well, but if I do that, I will need to add a routine called when the user clicks somewhere in the display window to check if the mouse pointer is currently over a rectangle, and select that button to make it current, or, if there are several buttons under the cursor, display a popup menu to choose by button number. Maybe also add something to simulate the 'button pressed' feedback.
A relatively big work for a small advantage. Maybe later...

2COOL

19th July 2005, 22:02

r0lZ

19th July 2005, 22:50

With what was mentioned here (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=688698#post688698) about cell flags and cell commands, is it feasible to have a macro to check cells following cells with commands and automate a correction for its proper flag setting?I don't have all necessary informations in the IFOs. To do that efficiently, I need to analyze the VOBs as well.
Maybe I'll add a basic check for the points highlighted in blue below:

The first cell needs "seamless" (bit 3, value 8) =0 and "STC discontinuity" (bit 1, value 2) =1.
Any cell following a cell with a cell command needs "seamless" =0 but "STC discontinuity" may be either value.

"seamless" can be set only if:
1) there is no discontinuity (ie "STC discontinuity" = 0)
2) the multiplex itself is seamless (check for first vobu audio pts < vobu_s_ptm)
3) the previous cell has no cell command
4) the cell is on the same layer as the previous

"STC discontinuity" will be set if:
1) new video sequence (every video sequence starts a new VobID, but not every new VobID is the start of a sequence) (check SCR)
2) the cell is not adjacent to the previous (check first sector equal to previous cell's last sector +1)

frank

20th July 2005, 17:31

When deleting the last Pgc (TTN) from a VTST with multi TTN then PgcEdit doesn't update the VTS_TMAPTI.
-> Number of VTS_TMAPs - unchanged
-> End byte of VTS_TMAPS - unchanged

As a result CloneDVD2 denies working. It displays an error message: Use a proper mastered DVD...

r0lZ

22nd July 2005, 09:27

Right.
I have fixed the problem now.

2COOL

2nd August 2005, 05:02

@r0lZ

Would it be possible to do this? I find I have to break out of my trace to access these menu buttons so how about having it on the preview window too?

http://img77.imageshack.us/img77/5382/screenhunter0086xr.gif (http://imageshack.us)

2COOL

2nd August 2005, 06:40

r0lZ

2nd August 2005, 11:18

@r0lZ

Would it be possible to do this? I find I have to break out of my trace to access these menu buttons so how about having it on the preview window too?
You can see the layout of the buttons if you enable the Info checkmark.

r0lZ

2nd August 2005, 11:22

Since we have an option to clear commands in PGC an domain, would we expect one in a future version on button commands also? Just a thought with no demands.

The reason for my question is that when trying to build a new DVD in PgcEdit, I'd like to start off a clean slate.Well, it's not possible to remove a button command, since a button must have a command. And it is useless to replace them with NOPs, as you will need to edit them anyway.
Also, note that if I do that, you will need to save all buttons when saving the DVD, even if you replace the new NOP by the original command again. Saving back all menu VOBs (and possibly also title VOBs with BOVs) is time consuming.

PALace

2nd August 2005, 17:27

Yes, apologies for the delay. Re Thanx, it is Blutach I must thank for a great help file, coherently written and well put together. Still...(Must there always be a still....) what about the subtitle colour box; no matter how much I try, I still can't work out what it means!! Thanks again. Keep up the good work

r0lZ

3rd August 2005, 00:36

A subpic can have a maximum of 4 colors. Most of the time, at least one of these colors is transparent.
The colors are not stored directly in the subpic stream of the VOB file. Instead, in the subpic stream, there are commands to assing indexes in a Color Lookup Table (CLUT), and transparency. In the other hand, the CLUT itself is stored in the IFO, for each PGC.
For example, if the main color of a subpic is assigned the index 0 (in the subpic stream), then the color that will be used is defined in the first position in the color table (of the IFO). In this case, the first color will probably be white.

You can edit the CLUT of any PGC with PgcEdit.
It is not currently possible to examine the VOB to know the indexes used by a subpic. So, you have to experiment, and play the DVD to know the result.
Example usage: on some DVDs, the subpics are yellow, with a black outline. Suppose you want to change them to white. Locate the yellow color in the CLUT, and change it to white.

Things are more complicated for the menu button highlights. In this case, the color indexes and transparencies stored in the subpic stream are used to display the part of the subpic that is outside the current button area (outside the rectangle you can see in the menu button viewer/editor). The color indexes and transparency levels of the selected and activated buttons are stored in the nav packs, also in the VOB. There are 3 schemes availables. Each button is assigned a specific scheme, which define the color indexes in the CLUT for the 4 colors and the 4 transparency levels for the selected and activated states of the button. The CLUT is the same as for regular subpics, stored in the PGC.
In PgcEdit, you can edit the selected and activated buttons colors and transparency levels in the color schemes editor of the menu editor.

2COOL

3rd August 2005, 05:09

You can see the layout of the buttons if you enable the Info checkmark.I'm a little confused. :confused: I was talking about being in trace mode during the cell playing and trying to access my root menu button in DVD Play panel without breaking out of trace. What does the Info checkmark in preview dialog has to do with this?

r0lZ

3rd August 2005, 09:34

Oh, OK, I understand.
Unfortunately, as you know, the preview is a standalone program. I can't interact with it, except to launch it or examine the return code. It's therefore not easy to do what you want.
It should be better to write a Tcl/Tk extension to play the preview in a Tk widget. This way, the preview will be integrated in the main window, and controlled when needed. But it's not easy. Maybe later, if jeanl or someone else has some time to spend...

PALace

3rd August 2005, 16:13

Thanks for that info. That explains a lot. For instance, I saved what seemed to be a good CLUT setting but when I tried it with a different subtitle the subtitle was in a different colour even though the Colour Look Up Table was identical. You're right; it is complicated. But an interesting way of passing the time :->

r0lZ

5th August 2005, 14:40

Since the weather is not very good for now in Belgium :( , I have worked a little bit on PgcEdit. You can see the changes I've made in the [EDIT] messages in my previous posts in this thread, highlighted in green.
Version 0.6.1 will be available at the end of august, or at the beginning of september...

jidelite

5th August 2005, 22:08

r0lZ,
1st post here but been a long time lurker and user of your wonderful PgcEdit. I don't believe this has been mentioned but I'm using a cheapo monitor with a desktop resolution 800x600 to do my editing with PgcEdit 6.0. While in PGC Editor, I seem to have lost the right scroll bar - I didn't have this problem under PgcEdit 5.7. I have workarounds but wondering was this by design?

Thanks,
jidelite

r0lZ

5th August 2005, 23:30

Welcome th the forum, jidelite.

No, the scrollbar of the cell list should be present, even with a low-res monitor.
I have added recently the Angle column (labelled "A.") Of course, the window is now a little bit larger. It's probably the problem. I will try here...
Thanks for the report.

Cela

6th August 2005, 11:44

Imagine VTST Preview having an option to 'Insert a New Chapter Point' or to 'Remove an Existing Chapter Point'.

Wouldn't that be great? A top feature request?
Or do I miss something and it is already possible?

r0lZ

6th August 2005, 11:58

Unfortunately, it's not possible. A chapter point must begin at the beginning of a new VOB cell. PgcEdit is not a VOB editor.
Currently, to do that, you have to demux and remux the VOB, with a new entry in the celltimes.txt file.
But I know that jsoto has a project to add a function to cut a VOB cell in two parts in VobBlanker. When this function will be available, it will be possible to create a new chapter at that cut point. (Or maybe the ability to create the new chapter point will be included in VobBlanker as well?)
With PgcEdit, you can only assign chapter points to existing cells, with the PgcEditor.
Of course, you can already remove a chapter point with PgcEdit. But it's better to remove the Program: all chapters will be shifter down. Don't forget to remove the last chapter after that operation, or you will have a chapter pointing to nowhere.

r0lZ

10th August 2005, 12:28

Since the new beta is announced in many forums, I see no reason to keep it private.
So, here it is: download PgcEdit0.6.1 beta3 here (http://www.videohelp.com/~r0lZ/pgcedit/beta/).

Please note that the Utilities, Macros and Options menus have been completely revamped. The documentation is still for v0.6.0, so use the old stable version 0.6.0 if you need an accurate documentation.

If you want to use a new plugin, you should download it and copy the tcl file in the "plugins" folder. This folder is created automatically in the PgcEdit's install folder, when v0.6.1 is launched for the first time. If at least one plugin is installed, a new "Plugins" menu will be available.
Note that the Debug plugin is reserved for programmers. You really don't need it!

rcubed

13th August 2005, 05:20

rOIZ,

Let me say thanks for a very useful program. I have been using it to help me understand the structure of DVDs which I have found to be a "challenging" proposition. I'm beginning to understand the difficulties in writing software that deals with them.

I have one question which is bothering me. In the last several versions of the virus signature files for McAfee Antivirus, the checker has been flagging the zip file and in the installed folders the PgcEdit.exe file and in the bin folder the pskill.exe file. The files are flagged as RemAdm-ProcLaunch. The help files on the McAfee site lists the following information:

*******************************************
Program Characteristics:
This detection is of application type for "potentially unwanted applications", it is not a virus.
It executes programs remotely on Windows NT, 2000 and XP systems to perform various tasks like:
launching interactive command-prompts,
remotely enabling tools like IpConfig,
executing processes on other systems.
This tool could be used maliciously.
Users who would like to check for the presence of this program on their system should run the command line scanner with the /PROGRAM switch. Please note that VirusScan 7 has an option, which enables users to detect this kind of program automatically.

**************************************************

Is this due to the normal way the program reacts with operating system (XP Pro in my case) and to be expected? My concern is for the potential for "malicious use". Any explanations or information you could provide would be appreciated. The current McAfee signature file I have is 4557.

Thanks again for a very cool and useful program.

rcubed

arsmori

13th August 2005, 05:25

r0lZ, is there an option to prevent the "Fix number of streams" macro from running at startup?
Like the menus rationalization so far, look cleaner and a bit more intuitive.

rOIZ,
I have one question which is bothering me. In the last several versions of the virus signature files for McAfee Antivirus, the checker has been flagging the zip file and in the installed folders the PgcEdit.exe file and in the bin folder the pskill.exe file.
I think McAfee is a bit anal here with that "potentially unwanted applications". Because a program is not 100% self contain and operating it's flagged evil? May I suggest you try avast! Home Edition (http://www.avast.com/) or AVG Free Edition (http://free.grisoft.com/), both have a smaller footprint, are more coherent than VS or Norton AV and best of all, free.

r0lZ

13th August 2005, 09:09

@rcubed
Welcome to the forum, and thanks for your kind words.

I don't know why McAfee flags these programs as potentially malicious.
Of course, as PgcEdit needs the Tcl/Tk libraries, it includes commands able to delete files, inspect the registry, launch processes, and so on. I use some of them, for example to remove the temporary files or to install/uninstall PgcEdit. But, IMHO, any exe program downloaded from the net is potentially dangerous. I see no reason to consider PgcEdit as more dangerous than other programs.

PSKill.exe is used to kill MKISOFS.exe, when the user aborts an ISO creation. PSKill.exe is a free utility I've downloaded at sysinternals.com (http://www.sysinternals.com/Utilities/PsKill.html), which is a serious company. It is true that it can kill a program remotely, but I don't use this feature. The equivalent program from Microsoft, Kill.exe, without remote access, doesn't work well under XP.

Personally, I use the free AVG antivirus (http://www.grisoft.com/doc/1), also under XP SP2, and it doesn't complain. I will try the McAfee free online virusscan, to see if it reports some warnings.

However, take care. As PgcEdit is open-source, it is possible to find some modified versions around. So, always download PgcEdit from my homepages, or from a site that you trust, like VideoHelp.com.
There is at least one illegal distribution of PgcEdit, wrapped in an installer by Lcsinchome.Com, that contains a real virus. See this post (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=683984#post683984) for more infos.

EDIT: I have just scanned my HDD with McAfee's FreeScan and with Trends Micro's HouseCall. No problem, nor warning.
So, either McAfee is somewhat perfectionist, or you have downloaded an infected copy of PgcEdit (but it's not probable).

r0lZ

13th August 2005, 09:19

r0lZ, is there an option to prevent the "Fix number of streams" macro from running at startup?No. But you can cancel the fix, if you want.
Anyway, I will add an option to turn this feature off.

Like the menus rationalization so far, look cleaner and a bit more intuitive.Yes, that was needed. With the time, I have added so many utilities and macros that the original menus were somewhat congested. Thanks for your comment.

rcubed

13th August 2005, 20:16

rOIZ,
Thank you very much for your reply. I had downloaded the files from your home web page. I had used on-demand scan to check the files, and unlike my standard scan options on demand has the "check for unwanted programs" flag set. Turning that flag off makes McAfee "less bitchy" and the files are no longer flagged.

Thanks for your time and timely response, I'll take a mea culpa for my oversite on the settings :stupid: . I'll check out the other antivirus programs.

I try to be very careful what and from where I download programs. After reading all the good words in the forums about PgcEdit I suspected it was McAfee being too agressive, but was curious as to why.

Again thanks for the program. I really enjoy usiing it. :thanks:

rcubed