IFOEdit Vs IFOUpdate

[SuprIndoCapmYodaWill]

Sorry if the subject title is misleading, but I really don't know anyhting about IFOUpdate at all and would like to find out what it's all about. I certainly don't intend for this to be a "which is better" thread - moreso just an exchange of ideas regarding both programs' capabilities.

I regard myself as knowing enough about IFOEdit to be able to do the basic things, such as DVD previews, reauthoring DVDs with custom streams/titles/languages, Get VTS sectors and so forth. I learnt how to backup DVDs using IFOEdit, well before the time of DVDShrink and DVD2One. I know a tiny bit of modding JumpTo commands also.

I've noticed lately that people are talking about IFOUpdate. Can anyone offer suggestions regarding the features of and when to use IFOUpdate instead of IFOEdit, or are they pretty much the same ?

[adam]

They are not the same at all. IFOUPdate really has only two purposes. Its main purposes is to, well update IFO's. Say you want to backup a DVD by re-endcoding the movie, but want to keep all the other functions of the DVD the same. So after encoding and authoring to new vobs, you can just drag and drop these vobs into your original VIDEO_TS dir. But if you try to play the DVD now it won't work, since the vobs are different. So you run IFOUpdate to update the original ifo's with the information from your authored ones. Now the DVD will play correctly.

Other then that the only other use for IFOUpdate is for analyzing the structure of the DVD. It has a great graphical display option that lists all cells in their proper order. This can help you immensely by authoring in adjusted cell mode. Basically, the DVD may be very complicated with mulitple cells repeated all over the place. Normally if you wanted to retain the disk's structure you'd have to reauthor each of these individual parts. You'd often have to rip the vobs into the individual cells and recreate everything. Instead, you can simply put the cells in the order they are stored and then use the adjusted cell mode in IFOUpdate. It will modify the ifo's to point to all these cells accordingly. It makes even the most complex reauthoring jobs trivial.

[SuprIndoCapmYodaWill]

Thanks Adam. I have a question:

Say you want to backup a DVD by re-endcoding the movie, but want to keep all the other functions of the DVD the same. So after encoding and authoring to new vobs, you can just drag and drop these vobs into your original VIDEO_TS dir. But if you try to play the DVD now it won't work, since the vobs are different. So you run IFOUpdate to update the original ifo's with the information from your authored ones. Now the DVD will play correctly.

Doesn't "Get VTS sectors" in IFOEdit do this also ?

[adam]

No. Get VTS Sectors does update links, but I don't believe it will do so completely intelligently like IFOUpdate will. For instance, "Get VTS Sectors" is still performed by IFOUpdate by default. It does this in addition to its normal updating. IFOUpdate makes changes per the other IFO that is created when you author that titleset.

Get VTS Sectors is probably fine for a single PGC DVD. But when you've got multiple PGCs and reused cells get VTS Sectors alone won't cut it. You'll get all kinds of weird anomolies in your navigation.

[SuprIndoCapmYodaWill]

Cool

Thanks Adam.

I'll have a play with it I think.

[pg55555]

adam

After reading your very informed answers about IFOUpdate, I've just started wondering if it could be used, in combination with Shrink, to eliminate multiangles while keeping menus:

1) Use Shrink in Re-Author to generate a single angle video, with the extras.
2) Copy to the same output directory the menus VTS files.
3) Use IFOUpdate to modify the IFO files.

Would in this way have working menues and just one angle?

I want to have a video that can then be processed with DVD-Rebuilder.

Pablo

[adam]

I think that should work but I don't think its necessary. I don't use DVD-Rebuilder, I do it manually with Doitfast, CCE, and then I author in Scenarist. But DVD-Rebuilder just automates this so it should work about the same. So, in Doitfast4u all you have to do is choose the angle you want and author normally. You don't have to actually remove the angle, DVD Decryptor will just only rip that one angle.

If you really had the need to remove the angle from the existing vobs before processing, I'd use IFOEdit. It has an option to strip angles.

[pg55555]

I do not know so much, neither have the money, to use the BIG3 method.

I use DVD-Rebuilder because it allows to automate the process and avoid meddling with the menus. But id do not process multiangles, yet.
I used IFOEdit a couple of times to strip angles, and it worked. But in the case of Star Wars Episode IV, after processing with RB I'm getting stutter video in my standalone. This seems to be a consequence of preprocessing+RB+the standalone combination.

So I would like to try an alternate pre-procesing method to see if it works.

Thanks for your advice.

[adam]

DVD-Rebuilder can be used to automate the "Big 3." I thought this was what you were doing. If you are just using it for transcoding then I suppose you'd have to strip the angles first. I don't know, I've never used the program. If you are keeping the menu's then DVD Shrink won't work to do this. You can't remove things except by using the Reauthor mode to rebuild the disk, but then menu's won't work.

If DVD-Rebuilder does not allow you only select the angle you want, and have it play correctly, then I'd just stick to IFOedit.

BTW: The Big 3 method doesn't require that you do anything to the menus. Those vobs stay in the VIDEO_TS directory while you downsize everything else. The only difference between your method and mine is that I have to demux and remux any asset I compress, while yours stay multiplexed the entire time.