Convert dvd with pcm to ac3, keeping menus

[cafu]

Hi

I have an episode dvd wich has only pcm audio and I want to convert the pcm to ac3 and then run it through shrink while keeping the menus.

Ive read this guide https://forum.videohelp.com/viewtopic.php?t=234240
However it looks like its outdated and doesnt keep the menus.

Anyone know an "easy" way to do this?

Thanks in advance

[manono]

Hi-

Yes, it is outdated now, although the workflow is the same.

Step 1. The same. Decrypt to the hard drive.
Step 2. Demux using PGCDemux.
Step 3. Aften with a GUI is a better free solution these days. If you have a commercial AC3 encoder, such as SoftEncode, then it's the same.
Step 4. Multiplexing. Muxman is a better quality free authoring app. Load the M2V, the AC3 audio, the SUP subtitles (if any), and the chapters (the celltimes.txt into File->Import Chapters). Give it a destination and "Start". It may seem to freeze or quit on you while processing, but it's still plugging away. It'll pop up with a message when done.
Step 5. Stick it into the DVD, keeping the menus. Here's it's way different and more simple nowadays. Open the original DVD - the one with LPCM audio - in VobBlanker. Highlight an episode (or all of them if in a single VTS) so it shows in the lower window. Highlight it in the lower window and hit the "Replace" button along the right. Scroll to your newly authored DVD with AC3 audio. Answer "Yes" to the message about changed audio attributes. Give it a destination and "Process".

Since yours is an episodic DVD, you'll have to do everything for each episode. You can process in VobBlanker all the episodes at once, though. This keeps the menus and anything else that might have been in the original DVD.

Anyone know an "easy" way to do this?

Doing it is easy in principle, but does take some work. If you think you can just drag and drop your new AC3 audio into the DVD, then think again.

[cafu]

Thanks a lot for the quick and detailed reply.

Yeah I was hoping there was some 1-click app that could do this (would be a great app btw), but I guess I will have to try the hard way, maybe ill learn something

Thanks again.