reauthoring & editing DVD question

[rede]

I have 2 lord of the rings DVD's, the normal one (film on 1 disk) and the extended version (film split over 2 disks). Although the extended version has a lot of new scenes, it also misses out some of the scenes that were in the original film.

I would like to reauthor both versions and create one DVD that has all the scenes on it.

I am ok with the cut & edit of mpegs but I am not too good with authoring DVD's (I can make & burn basic DVD's)

I am not bothered for the extras on the new DVD but I would like to use one of the original menus just to make it look nice.

My Questions:

How do I edit & cut the VOB files? Do I need to convert back to MPEG2 and then edit them?
What are the best tools to use? (I have the full Nero 6 and all the TMPGEnc collction.)
Once I've made the final MPEG2 file, how do I import the original menu with just a play option? (I'll make my own chapters.)

If anyone could point me in the right direction I would be very greatful.

Thanks
Red

[guns1inger]

Complex project.

I would use a VOB or mpeg editor such as VideoRedo or mpeg-vcr for the edits. Might even get away with no re-encoding and no audio sync problems.

For authoring with the original menus you may have problems. It is possible with something like IFOEdit or VOBBlanker to replace existing video with new video, and to kill all the extras, however all the chapter stops will be wrong.

[rede]

Hi guns1inger,

Thanks for the help. I think I'll forego the menu thing and just make a simple one! I can always go back and reauthor once I've learned how to.

As far as the editing goes, I am going to have to re-encode so the final mpeg fits on one DVD. I am still looking for a good (hopefully free!) tool that will help me there.

Anyway, thanks again.

Red

[guns1inger]

You still want to avoid re-encoding too many times or at un-necessary points. If you use an mpeg editor to put your movies together without re-encoding, and author with this material, you know you are starting with the best quality source you can get.

Once you have the finished beast, I would strongly suggest using DVD Rebuilder with HCEnc (if you want a free solution) or CCE Basic if you can part with $60. This would be the best solution to getting it onto a DVD5. But you only want to do this once, at the end of the process.

An even better option would be to put the finished movie onto a DL blank instead.