Author BD from DVD and mp4 file

[bfoddy]

Hoping someone can assist me. I'm trying to combine several DVD files and a mp4 slideshow file into a playable BD and am having nothing but problems.

I have home movies transferred to DVDs and a 35mm slide show converted to a mp4 video.

In my tests so far, I've focused on the mp4 slide show that was created with a 2-part process of Linux utilities:

Resize all slides to a common 1920x1080
1. convert "$file" -resize 1920x1080 -background black -compose Copy -gravity center -extent 1920x1080 -quality 100 $file

Encode to slide show
2. mencoder mf://*.jpg -mf w=1920:h=1080:fps=1/10:type=jpeg -ovc lavc -lavcopts vcodec=mpeg4 -ofps 30000/1001 -o output.mp4

This gives me a commonly playable mp4 with most tools. Now I am trying to encode this file to a BD compatible format and burn.

For this, I've tried several options including several ffmpeg tries, Handbrake to create a MPEG-4 AVC file that EasyBD will read. So far I've only been successful in converting to MPEG-2 that EasyBD will read and the resolution was horrible. Most times it gives Unknown Format error when attempting to provide 264AVC formats.

I've even tried DVDFab9, it seems to fail by only creating the menu structure and an empty STREAM directory and zero length file.

So I have the following tools at my disposal, both Windows 7 and Linux
fmpeg Linux v2.0.1
convert - the ImageMagick utility: Linux
mencoder 4.8.1 Linux
KDE K3B 2 on Linux (can write BD but I don't think it will create directory stucture).
Handbrake .9.9 Win
EasyBD Lite Windows
DVDFab9115 BluRay Creator Windows (registered)

The only 2 tools I've tried to actually create the BD directory structure is EasyBD and DVDFab.

I think the main problem is I'm not encoding the file type correctly and so EasyBD refuses to read it. Looking for Handbrake or ffmpeg options it will understand.

Once the MP4 file is done, then I'm hoping I can make small adjustments to the process for the ripped DVD files.

Thanks,
Brian

[Steve(MS)]

If it were commercial dvds you were wanting to put on a bd, I would say try MultiAVCHD or BDRebuilder.
BDRebuilder recently added the ability to rewrap dvds to the blu-ray structure with a basic menu.
MultiAVCHD might do what you want but I am unsure since it sounds like your files aren't exactly dvd compliant.
You could try and see....

Perhaps others can help you more with the technical aspects so I'll step aside.
Likely anyone to help you will want to know details from media info.
If your files sizes were dvd size...it might be better to leave them at that size and author to BD.

[bfoddy]

I have several sources of files, including several actual DVD disks, not commercial, but never-the-less I assume proper formatted. I haven't tried those yet.

Sounds like fundamentally, you're suggesting taking a different approach. I'm trying to figure the magic re-encode options to take any video format (that either Handbrake or ffmpeg understand) and create a BD compatible encoding. Sounds like you're suggesting use tools that have a narrower focus of just reformat an existing DVD into BD. The one mp4 file I have might have an easier time creating a DVD format first, then to BD. I'll look at these tools you suggest.

While I'd prefer to understand at a lower level what's going on, there is some appeal to your approach - especially giving the time and frustration I've experienced so far and the approaching Xmas deadline.

Thanks
Brian

[Kerry56]

MultiAVCHD is probably your best bet. Be patient using it.

I did a small project in Adobe Encore not too long ago, and used MeGUI as the encoding program for the video. The audio was already compliant to blu ray specs so I demuxed it earlier. I needed raw AVC files to input into Adobe, which is one option available in MeGUI that you won't find on many other programs that use X264.

Here is a screenshot of my encoding parameters that produced blu ray compatible files:

[bfoddy]

Looking at the features, I agree MultiAVCHD seems to be a good fit, I'll try it tonight.

[bfoddy]

Update. Thanks for the suggestions and product ideas. I looked long and hard at MultiAVCHD, it looked promising, and for being donation ware I found it much better than several of the junk-ware products (DVDFab) out there. I was about to settle on it then discovered for some reason it didn't pull the sound track to VHS content converted to DVD. The conversion was done on a set-top box, don't remember the brand, but the DVDs would play correctly in every DVD player I've seen, but MultiAVCHD couldn't find the audio; no errors and claimed it was finding AC3 audio, but not there.

So after spending countless hours of frustration with tools that all had there some flaw or another, I decided to go up the food chain a bit. You can quickly get into the expensive/profesional category (Adobe and like programs) so I kept searching and downloaded Corel VideoStudio 6 pro. After some frustrating installs that failed -- turns out some file/device was busy and a reboot fixed it -- the program is just short of wonderful. And a 30 day full functioning eval, and a very reasonably priced $60. Are there things I wish it would do, sure, but I found it to be very stable, able to handle every format I needed and many more, loads of editing and effects features, plenty of tutorials on line and YouTube, and the UI reasonably easy to learn.

Many thanks for the feedback.
Brian

[TreeTops]

But did it create a Blue ray disk from your DVD and MP4 files? AND did that disk play on a blue ray player? You weren't clear on that part.

[bfoddy]

If you are referring to MultiAVCHD? Let me explain more completely.

I had 3 different sources of media to combine and burn on a BD.
1. 35mm slides in jpg formats, digitized by some process professionally.
2. 8mm tapes (no sound) in 1 of 3 formats, AVI, DVD, and a few others
3. VHS tapes (with sound) transferred to DVD by a set-top box (brand unknown).

These three sources span 65 years of family photos, each technology along the way. The goal was to combine and organize each source into a single BD video disk that can be given as family gifts and played on a BD video player. The 35mm slides translated into a slide show. Turns out, I'll probably need 2-3 BD disks for everything, but manageable.

So each source had its unique challenges.
The 35mm slides were all different sizes and resolutions, so I had to use ImageMagic convert to resize them all to 1920x1080. Took a little research and man page digging, but that went fine. Then I thought I had to use ffmpeg to make them into a slideshow (mp4). Turns out MultiAVCHD was able to do that without this step, but that is where the mp4 files described above came in. MultiAVCHD did a basic job on this media, creating the BD formats, menus, etc. No complaints and the result played fine on a BD player.

The 8mm silent films were previously digitized, and the source was given to us in multiple formats. An AVI library, combined into some DVDs, and the original digitized format of avchd (these were unedited with sound of the projector, background talking / radio, etc, but better quality). MultiAVCHD took the AVIs and DVD formats of these files fine, and like the 35mm slides created a BD disk with menus, etc. But remember the source was without sound. Result played fine on the BD player.

The VHS tapes (digitized to DVD) of course contained sound. When trying a sample of these is where I encountered the problem of MultiAVCHD not pulling the sound correctly off the DVD files and incorporating into the resulting BD video; the result was dead silent.

So in all, it was able to do almost everything I originally wanted. But when I hit the silent DVDs, and after many days of frustration, is when I decided to look higher up the chain.

After seeing VideoStudio, besides accomplishing all the original requirements, the extra it was able to do with editing, image manipulations of 35mm slides that were either too dark or light, etc, in the end let me produce a much better product. Also, by picking this product I can provide the raw source and project files to family members so they can build on my work without having to start from scratch. Using a single program was a better solution than a mix-mash of freeware tools on Windows and Linux.

So in the end, as I saw what the program could do, my requirements grew into the program. Not that other solutions wouldn't have turned out well, but I'm happy where the project is heading now.

Brian