What Software for Creating MPEG-2 File Menu?

[Djard]

It seems that I'm always looking for features in software that don't exist, like buying a program that will...

(1) let me create a menu for an MPEG-2 video clip, just like I can do with DVDLab Pro for VOBs (too bad DVDLab won't export files as MPEG)

(2) compress the MPEG raw file (like DVD Shrink can do with a VOB)

(3) edit the stream rate, so that the final product plays back about 10% faster than the original recording.

I know that to achieve the latter (3), I could use a screen capture app, but what about the audio? Even Snagit can't grab the audio part .

Does anybody know of a program that has these features or can advise me how I might be go about accomplishing my objective?

[mats.hogberg]

2) Can be done with ReJig
1) Is wrong from start to end. VOBs don't have menus. Video DVD have menus (that are made of VOB that is made of mpg). Basically, media files don't have menus, but media disc formats do. The (most notable, at least) exception is the DivX format.
3) No idea, but it's been discussed in another thread today. If you'd settle for accelerated mpg playback on your computer, you can change the framerate with DVDPatcher to achieve this effect.

/Mats

[manono]

Hi-

1. I've never heard of menus for MPGs, only for DVDs. Maybe there is such a thing, beyond just a list of them on a DVD in the player.
2. Any MPEG-2 encoder can compress an MPEG. I don't believe anything will transcode an MPEG like Shrink can, but why would you want to if you care about quality?
3. I think that DGPulldown can set the framerate when done The audio would also have to be stretched. BeSweet, among others, can do that.

Edit: Mats says ReJig can transcode the MPEG. Good.

Edit: Mats says DVDPatcher can set the framerate also. I hadn't thought of that.

[Nelson37]

#1 would depend on what playback device you are using, and why you would need a menu for a single clip? What do you want the menu to do, and is this on a PC or a DVD player?

As for #3, WTF would you want to do this for, using Fast Forward won't work???

[Djard]

Thanks for the kind responses.

A friend in Australia requested flamenco guitar lessons from me; so I want to compile a collection of video clips of the various techniques, which he could select from a menu.

Rather than mail him a bunch of VOB, IFO and BUP files each time, I'd like to send compilations in single *.mpeg files, compressed to reduce download time. I suppose I can pass up undermining video quality with compression; since "www.SendThisFile.com" lets you transfer large files for free. But I really want the menu, like DVDLab offers for DVD. It seems absurd that I would need to create a DVD then look for software to convert everything back to *.mpg (Xilisoft?).

Since retiring from the music business and no longer practicing 8 hours/day, I can't demonstrate the sound effect of one partcular technique when played at full speed; so I thought I might fudge a bit as it is possible with analog audio--recording at a slightly slower speed to sound faster when played back at normal seed. SoundForge and n-Trak let you manipulate wav files in this manner, but is there anything or any trick to do the same with video?

Using my video camera to re-record a clip played on a PC, with Nero's ShowTime (v3.3) set to "1.5x Forward speed," shouldn't be my only option: I'd lose a lot of quality. I tried DGPulldown; but how do you take 29.97 fps and speed it up to, say, 33 fps then make it possible for others to play the clip on their media player, which by default demands conventional speed? I apologize if all this is really simple: the right hemisphere of my brain may have taken an extended vacation.

[guns1inger]

As previously pointed out, mpeg does not have menus, so if you want to have menus, DVD is the simplest option.

If you feel adventurous, you could convert everything to Divx using the latest version, and add menus to that with the latest version of TDA. These menus would be playable on a PC using the Divx Player, or on Divx Ultra certified players.

If you went down the DVD route, you could always use Imgburn to put the structure into an ISO file so you have a single file to send to him.

Video is different to audio in that is it a series of discreet images. You cannot easily add to or reduce the number of images without reducing the quality.

You might want to have a read of this

https://forum.videohelp.com/viewtopic.php?t=324053

and this

https://forum.videohelp.com/viewtopic.php?t=303037

to see if it helps

[Djard]

Man, there are a lot of bright folks at this site. I'll try the DivX route, since TMPGenc tools are reliable. Thanks for the recommendation, but I prefer DeepBurner to IMGburn because of the customizable autorun menu creator, in addition to the fast ISO option. Looks like I'll have to forgo the fudging of video speed to demonstrate that guitar technique. Deepburner (freeware) is rock solid, but figuring out the few simple steps it takes to create an autorun menu, which includes the ability to add URLs and e-mail, was a challenge: if anyone is interested in this gem of an app, I'll be happy to send them a foolproof user's guide for it that I put together. Just e-mail me (medfaith@yahoo.com). In the meantime I'll be wishing that someone will share how I might edit video to play back slightly faster than recorded, without the end user having to play it in fast forward mode.

[Disco Makberto]

Hi, Djard!

I think that Video Edit Magic can do what you are looking for, including adjustment for audio based on video or adjustment for video based on audio. However, I need to double check as I could be wrong, but I am sure it does something similar at least.

Feel free to E-mail me if if you want, and I will give you full information.

Best of luck,

Carlos Albert "Disco Mak"
discomakberto at megamixers dot co dot uk

P.S.: I am refering to speed modification, by the way.

[Djard]

Thanks...will do.

Gee, it would be nice if all the tools we need to edit video were available in one program. For editing photos, all I need is Paint Shop Pro (effortlessly raster, warp, clone, filter, etc., etc., etc.); but for editing video, I already have about 20 apps and still need more; and the most expensive apps are not superior to freeware.

What got me initially interested in re-authoring video was what I thought to be a simple task: I recorded an Australia Rules Football game from my TV onto DVD (struth! My team actually won a game!). OK, I thought, I'll just cut out all the commercials. Ha! Every video editor I have tried only lets you trim the beginning and end. I would need to treat the beginning of the first commercial as the end then repeat the process a hundred more times before looking for software to join all the DVD clips together, which is probably impossible because everything must firstly be demuxed, converted, and re-converted ad nauseum. It seems video technology, however sophisticated, is still in its nascient stage. I'm thinking such solutions are better addressed by hardware, not software...at least for now. Pioneeing is synonymous with hardship, but I must admit that it does feel good to overcome obstacles with all the neat tools to which one is introduced at this great site.

[guns1inger]

I use Womble Mpeg Wizard to cut out the ads from TV broadcasts. Takes about two minutes for a standard program (and about 20 minutes for an aussie rules game - a lot more work), then another three minutes to save the results without re-encoding.

I can do most things I need for video with less than 5 applications.

Vegas for editing, titles, motion menus for DVDs, slideshows etc.
Avisynth and Virtualdub for filtering and restoration
ProCoder for encoding DV to Mpeg-2
Aften for quick AC3 encodes (Vegas for 5.1 mixing and encoding)

Add to that DVD Lab pro for authoring, and photoshop for image editing, and I have everything I need.

Image editing is a lot simpler than video editing for a whole slew of reasons, including the range of sources, standards (and non-standards), and the fact that it is moving images, not a single image.

[Djard]

Thanks mate,

As I read yor response, I started making a new shopping list. I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of Womble.

Obviously having limited experience working with video, I must defer to your expertise; so pardon me if I appear to act as if I know more than I do, which is not much. Still, I'd like to ask why you choose Sony Vegas over DVDLab Pro for editing, etc. I tried Vegas once and found it to be painfully slow: it took about five hours for me to demux and compile the same movie that DVDLab processed in less than one hour. Maybe I'm overlooking something here. I read horror stories about unstable Pinnacle, and Premiere is said to be %!$$#! to learn to use. Is there another Vegas besides the one by Sony, and can the version of Vegas that you use process video faster than what I experienced? I'd be grateful for any advice.

[Disco Makberto]

Hi, there!

I wouldn't be too enthusiastic if an all-in-one sofware ever surfaces. Such a sofware would be too complicated, at least for me. An then, unless one uses such software on a constant basis, it would be too hard to memorize all the how-to's. I prefer to have separate softwares (within reason, of course) because dedicated sotwares are usually more user friendly than an all-in-one solution, and consequently, dedicated softwares are easier to deal with.

Of course, mileage may vary, and I have heard some people that say that the more features a software has, the better. Good for them!

Carlos Albert "Disco Mak"

[guns1inger]

Vegas is not an mpeg-2 editor. It can, but it decompresses to the timeline and recompresses the whole thing when you render. However if is much faster than you experienced, so either had an older version, or other things were in play. DLP should be able to demux a full movie in around 4 - 5 minutes, tops, so I suspect you have (or had) other issues. If you have just mpeg-2 (or predominantly) then Womble is a great choice.

[Djard]

Thanks. I can't find words to express my gratitude. This site is like subscribing to some pro video magazine, only better because the contributing folks have no financial interest in the products recommended, and to me the info is therefore so much more credible.