How to Create SVCDs from DVDs with forty-two and Toast

[rossgard]

Note: This updated version of my earlier procedure incorporates VCD Builder.

Learning how to copy a DVD to SVCDs can be difficult. Various tools must be used together, and the available documentation is sparse and seldom explains how the tools fit together.

This procedure explains how to use forty-two, vcdtoolsX, VCD Builder, and Roxio Toast Titanium to reliably produce standards-compliant SVCDs from a source DVD. If you find any errors, be they major concepts or simple typos, please let me know.

(Special thanks to exohw are in order for suggesting the use of VCD Builder.)

Ross



How to Create SVCDs from DVDs with forty-two, vcdtoolsX, VCD Builder, and Toast

This process produces SVCD discs from a DVD disc with Macintosh OS X by using a combination of freely available software tools and the commercial application Toast Titanium.

Important notes:

• This process produces SVCDs only. Do not attempt to use this process to create VCDs.
• This process will transfer only a single title track of the DVD to SVCD. Menus or additional features on the source DVD are not preserved.
• Because of the various ways DVD discs are designed and created, not all DVDs will work with this process.
• This process is intended as an aid to "fair use" back-up only. Please do not steal movies.

This process includes two procedures:

• Using forty-two to convert the main title track of a DVD to matched pairs of .bin and .cue files.
• Using a combination of vcdtoolsX, VCD Builder, and Toast Titanium to rip the MPEG2 streams from the bin files, create .img files from the MPEG2 streams, and burn the .img files to CD-R or CD-RW discs.

Note: Depending upon the CD-R drive used, you may be able use the freely available tool MissingMediaBurner to burn SVCDs directly from the .bin and .cue output files from forty-two without using vcdtoolsX, VCD Builder, or Toast. MissingMediaburner, however, apparently does not support many common DVD-R/CD-R drives, including many of the stock drives Apple Computer has included with Macintosh computers. Use of MissingMediaburner is beyond the scope of this document.


Requirements:

• A Macintosh with DVD reading and CD-R writing capabilities
• Macintosh OS X 10.2.3 or later, with the BSD subsystem installed
• forty-two, version 1.5 or later
• vcdtoolsX, version 1.1 or later
• VCD Builder, version 1.1.1 or later
• Roxio Toast Titanium, version 5.2 or later (This procedure may work with earlier versions of Toast.)
• Approximately 7 GB of available hard disk drive space for a 100-minute movie
• Blank 700MB/80-minute CD-R or CD-RW discs (Two discs are required for a typical feature film.)

To produce .bin files from a DVD disc:

Warning: This process can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days, depending upon the video quality settings chosen, the length of the video, and the speed of your Macintosh.


1. Start forty-two.


2. Insert your source DVD disc into your DVD drive.

Depending upon how your computer is configured, Apple's DVD Player software or other DVD software may start automatically. If so, quit this software.


3. Drag the DVD icon from the Desktop or a Finder window to the Drag DVD Here... well at the upper left corner of the forty-two window.

forty-two prescans your DVD.


4. Select SVCD from the Output Format list at the right side of the forty-two window.

Note: The default SVCD settings will produce SVCD discs of passable video quality containing the main content of most DVDs.

You can improve the video quality by changing the the encoding settings of forty-two, at the cost of larger output files, longer processing times, and reduced compatibility with standalone VCD and DVD players. Using settings other than the default produces an XSVCD, rather than a standards-compliant SVCD.

To improve the the video quality:
1. Select the Custom Rate check box.
2. Enter a larger number in Custom Rate field.
For example, entering 6000 will produce output closer to DVD quality.
3. Select the VBR check box
4. Move the VBR quality slider to the left to select a VBR quality less than 6.
The lower the VBR Quality value, the higher the quality of the video produced.

To capture content from a DVD whose main content is not on title 1 of the disc, click More, and enter the appropriate title number in the Title field.


5. Click Start to begin transcoding your DVD.

The Choose output folder window appears.


6. In the Choose output folder window, select the location where you want forty-two to save the .bin and .cue output files, and click Choose.

The Choose a name for the output file window appears.


7. In the Choose a name for the output file window, enter a name for your output files.

Do not include any spaces in the name for your output files.


8. Click OK.

The Choose a temp folder window appears.


9. In the Choose a temp folder window, select the location where you want forty-two to save its temporary working files, and click Choose.

The Choose a temp folder window closes, and forty-two begins creating .bin and .cue files from the DVD. forty-two displays a progress window throughout this process.

The creation of the .bin and .cue files includes a variety of steps, including:

• Producing and displaying an approximately one-minute-long sample video at your selected quality settings, allowing you to quit the process and adjust your settings if you desire.
• Transferring the content of the DVD video track to your hard disk drive. (After the video has been transferred, the DVD disc is ejected. This is normal. The DVD is not needed for later steps of the process.)
• Encoding the video from the DVD into the proper format for use on an SVCD.
• Encoding the audio from the DVD into the proper format for use on an SVCD.
• Putting the audio and video together into the finished .bin and .cue files (a process known as muxing).

After creating the .bin and .cue files, forty-two displays a message indicating that the process is completed.


10. Select Quit from the forty-two menu.


Marching pairs of .bin and .cue files have been created in a folder named <your_output_name>-BurnWhatsInHere in the output folder selected in step 6.




To rip MPEG2 streams from the .bin files, create .img files, and burn the .img files to CD:

Warning: Do not include spaces in the names of files or folders created in this procedure.


1. Start vcdtoolsX.

The GNU vcdtoolsX window appears.


2. Click the vcdXrip button (the first of the four buttons in the GNU vcdtoolsX window).

The vcdXRip window appears.


3. Click bin file, select the first .bin file created by forty-two in the Open window that appears, and click Open.

The first file is named <your_ouput_name>-1.bin and is located in a folder named <your_output_name>-BurnWhatsInHere in the output folder selected in step 6 of the .bin creation procedure, above.


4. In the vcdXrip window, click Save to, select a folder to contain the output from vcdXrip, and click Open.


5. In the vcdXrip window, click Start to begin ripping the MPEG2 video stream from the selected .bin file.

Do not select the ignore /EXT/PSD_X.VCD or the dont rip mpeg streams options in the vcdXrip window.

The ripping process continues until the "barber-pole" progress bar stops moving.


6. When the progress bar stops moving, select Quit GNU vcdtoolsX from the GNU vcdtoolsX menu to quit vcdtoolsX.

vcdtoolsX has created an MPEG2 file called avseq01.mpg in a folder called <your_ouput_name>-1 in the folder selected in step 4.


7. Start VCD Builder.

Note: Toast Titanium must be installed on your computer to complete the VCD Builder portion of this procedure.


8. If the Create From Template window appears, click Close to close it.


9. Select New Empty Project from the Project menu.

An untitled window appears.


10. Drag the avseq01.mpg file created in step 5 from the Finder to the untitled window.

The video sequence in the file appears in the untitled window as a sequence with the number 1.


11. Click Burn SVCD in the upper right corner of the untitled window.

A Save as: sheet appears.


12. Select a name and location for the output files of VCD Helper, and click Save.

VCD Builder begins creating .img SVCD disc image files from the MPEG2 file.

After completing the .img files, VCD Builder automatically launches Toast Titanium and configures it to burn your SVCD disc.

Note: This procedure creates simple SVCD discs without menus. You can use VCD Builder to create complex VCDs and SVCDs that include interactive menus. For more information, refer to the Quick Start document and the online help that comes with VCD Builder.


13. After Toast Titanium automatically starts, click Record, insert a blank CD-R or CD-RW disc, and click Write Disc in the Record window.

Toast Titanium burns the .img files to the CD.


14. When the burning is finished, remove the completed SVCD disc from the drive.


15. Select Quit Toast Titanium from the Toast Titanium menu to quit Toast titanium.


16. Return to VCD Builder, click Close, select Quit VCD Builder from the VCD Builder menu, and click Don't Save to quit VCD Builder.


17. Repeat steps 1 through 16 for each .bin file created by forty-two in the .bin creation procedure , above.


The standards-compliant SVCD discs created by this procedure contain the entire contents of the selected track of the original DVD.


v1.10; 032603; ©2003 Ross Gard

[exohw]

EXCELLENT!!

Here's a quick note, it will save you some extra steps:

At step "6. When the progress bar stops moving, close the vcdXrip window."

You can simply drop the .mpg in VCD Builder and hit the "Burn VCD" button. VCD Builder will generate XA images and it will launch Toast in Multitrack mode, ready to burn, all in one go.

Just for your info...

[rossgard]

Thanks, exohw! Once again you come to my aid. Clearly I'm not as smart as I thought I was.

I've looked at VCD Builder, and it certainly appears to be a cleaner solution.

I'm looking at revising my procedure--but not tonight.

Thanks,

Ross

[rossgard]

exohw,

I've revised my procedure to incorporate VCD Builder, as you suggested. It definitely simplifies the process.

Thanks,
Ross