re-authoring by adding chapters

[coeng73]

A have a friend had received a DVD of his wedding containing no chapters and no menus. I was able to rip the DVD to my hard drive. I just need to know what application I could use to add chapter points and a menu display to select these chapters.

I have experience using DVD Workshop, but this was when I was working with MPEG files generated by Premiere for home video editing. Here my starting point is the contents of the VIDEO_TS folder (VOBs, IFOs, etc).

Can I still use DVD Workshop? If not, is there a free program out there that can do this?

Do I have to convert to a different format first?

[yoda313]

Hello,
You could use tmpgenc (30 day mpeg 2 free limit) to demultiplex the .m2v and .ac3 from the vobs. Then make a mpeg from them.

Or use the free trial of tmpgenc dvd author to work directly from the vobs.

Kevin

[coeng73]

thanks yoda313,


i actually purchased tmpgenc a while back. i'll use that as my last option. i really want to try out TDA. will it allow me to create menus as well?

anyone else have any other suggestions?

[yoda313]

i really want to try out TDA. will it allow me to create menus as well?

Hello,
Yes. That's one of the main pluses for tda. It can put pictures or video in the background and can make thumbnail chapter menus. You can put up to 6 chapters on a page.

Kevin

[jimmalenko]

You can put up to 6 chapters on a page.

You can easily change this to put anywhere up to about 24 chapters (I think?) to a page if you wish. Change this in the menu options.

[coeng73]

what limitations does the free trial of TDA have?

what it the cost to purchase?

[jimmalenko]

what limitations does the free trial of TDA have?

what it the cost to purchase?

TMPGEnc DVD Author

Don't you love automatic tool linking ?

[coeng73]

I started playing with TDA last night.

My initial evaluation of the program is that the program is almost too good to be true. It's as if it was custom designed for what I want it to do for me for the task at hand (to rip a non-chaptered, non-menued DVD, give it life, and burn it)

I had no problem getting it to find the files in the ripped VIDEO_TS folder. I was able to set chapter points but there seemed to be a learning curve involved because of the language barrier (or maybe it was just very late last night and I had a problem making logical deductions). It seems like you cannot change chapter thumbnails though.

Eventually gave up trying to create the menu system. Bigger learning curve involved here. Noticed a guide this morning on this site, so I will check it out to see if it helps. If not, I'll be sure to post again.

Being that the program is very applicable to what I want it to do (by chance), what else can it do? I normally use Premiere to edit my home videos and create the audio and video files which I import into DVD Workshop for my chapter and menu editing and burn. I like DVD Workshop because of the flexibility in menu design, background music, etc. Can TDA do all this to? At first glance, it seemed like it doesn't, but I could be wrong.

[jimmalenko]

It seems like you cannot change chapter thumbnails though.

Try double-clicking on the thumbnail you wish to change. You should be able to select any frame from the movie or import your own graphic in.

I like DVD Workshop because of the flexibility in menu design, background music, etc. Can TDA do all this to? At first glance, it seemed like it doesn't, but I could be wrong.

Can do. Like any program, there is a learning curve. Once you are familiar with it you'll be OK.

[coeng73]

Worked with TDA last night to design custom menus. Could not figure out how to add background music to menu screens. After some research, realized that AC-3 codec probably needed to enable this. Is this correct?

With that being said, I don't understand how my resulting burned video had any audio at all. The menu had no music, but each chapter (when selected) had audio. What purpose does the AC-3 codec serve then other then to add background music? The DVD that I ripped (and eventually reauthored) had VOB files which I assume are muxed mpeg-2 and AC-3 audio tracks. Is it because of this that I have audio on my DVD playback?

BTW...where can I find a tuturial on the contents of a VIDEO_TS folder? I'd really like to understand how IFOs, BUPs, and VOBs tie together.

[yoda313]

Hello,
Go to www.dvdtalk.com and check out the dvd fag (dvd demystified I think it's called). It's got a ton of stuff in it.

Also, go to your local library and there are several books on dvds. I forgot the title but there is a whole book dedicated to the structure of dvds. I read it (most of it) and its very comprehensive. It gives the vob structure and the limit for titles (99) and much more.

Kevin

[yoda313]

Hello,
Me again. Just a quick note. Ifo are the files that tie the vobs together as far as I can tell (I believe it stands for "information"). The bups are nothing more than "backup" files for the ifo files I believe. This is an extremely simplified definition from what I've read over the years but it's a place to start .
Kevin

[coeng73]

Thanks for the info on the VIDEO_TS folder.
What about my TDA question though? Do you have any idea?

[jimmalenko]

Worked with TDA last night to design custom menus. Could not figure out how to add background music to menu screens. After some research, realized that AC-3 codec probably needed to enable this. Is this correct?

To get music, you need to mux your background image with audio using something like TMPGEnc Plus (make an MPEG-2 file out of it). I can't remember whether you can only use AC3 if you have the AC3 authoring plugin on whether you can only use PCM (WAV) fullstop. Might be an idea to use WAV to be on the safe side.

With that being said, I don't understand how my resulting burned video had any audio at all. The menu had no music, but each chapter (when selected) had audio. What purpose does the AC-3 codec serve then other then to add background music? The DVD that I ripped (and eventually reauthored) had VOB files which I assume are muxed mpeg-2 and AC-3 audio tracks. Is it because of this that I have audio on my DVD playback?

As above. AFAIK TMPGEnc DVD Author cannot author AC3 audio without the AC3 plugin, so chances are your audio was not AC3 in the main movie.

BTW...where can I find a tuturial on the contents of a VIDEO_TS folder? I'd really like to understand how IFOs, BUPs, and VOBs tie together.

Try What is DVD (top left), or the RTFM link in my signature.

[coeng73]

Thanks again for all the info. Really, you guys have helped me out a lot.
I'll try out the TMPGEnc Plus to mux an audio track with an image. Never knew you could do that.