Editing DVD-R

[fmb2000]

I have a dvd writer which i record TV programs with. I would like to edit the recording to get rid of the adverts and put menus on etc.

Can anybody suggest a piece of software that will allow me to do that.

Even better if i do not need to convert all the files to another format edit it and then covert them all back

[spooky2k]

well, to do that, you'd need several pieces of software:
1- to rip the recorded programs from the DVD to the PC
2- To convert the recorded program to .avi (when editing, use .avi - less quality loss, and quicker encoding)
(YOU MAY BE ABLE TO FIND A PROGRAM TO DO THE ABOVE 2 POINTS IN ONE)
3 - Once all editing is done, a program to convert to .mpeg - i'd recommend TMPEnc Pro.
4 - A program to compile your own DVD in (make menu's etc and put ur progrmas in) - I'd recommend DVD Architect 2.0, or if that looks a little complex at first, have a go with the 1.0 version, it has a little less functionality, but is made with common sense. THen when ur used to that, have a go at 2.0 (only small differences, like u can add menu transitions etc)
5 - A program to burn it to DVD.

For 'step 5'', i have a technique i can recommend to you. If you use DVD lab, or any other DVD software for step 4, tell the program your using a dual layer DVD (8.5GB), as opposed to single layer (4.7GB). This way, u can use the program in step 4 to compile a dual layer DVD, which you can then compress in 'DVD Shrink'. It yields MUCH MUCH better results thnan encoding everything so that it fits to a DVD5 (single layer).

Hope this helped.
Spooky2k/Dan

[fmb2000]

Thanx for that.

I will have a go and see how long it takes (good few hours i would have thought).

[freebird73717]

I don't know if i fully agree with that advice. If the video you have is already on a dvd-r then converting it to avi for editing and reconversion will lead to a quality loss. I would suggest to rip the dvd to the hard drive with a program like dvddecrypter. Then I would load up the vob files in a program like mpegvcr to cut out commercials...ect. Mpegvcr offers fram accurate cuts and little to no quality loss and no need for reencoding. After you have made your edits just save the file as a new mpeg. Then you can use that mpeg in the authoring program of your choice...I like dvdauthorgui (free but there is a steep learning curve) and ulead dvd movie factory. You can make menus with both. Using this method will be fairly quick and require no reencoding of the video (which would lead to a quality loss).

[FulciLives]

You can do everything you want with just TMPGEnc DVD Author. You can import your DVD disc into it and do editing and create a menu and chapters etc.

The only "hitch" is that you can only edit on I frames and I frames only happen about once every 15 frames or so.

If you want to edit anywhere you want then you can use MPEG-VCR by Womble Multimedia then you can use any DVD authoring program to make a new DVD.

Try using DVD-RW or DVD+RW in your recorder that way you can use the disc several times over. I would suggest if you use one of those formats you use regular DVD video mode and not VR mode.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[alanparrott]

Mpegvcr offers fram accurate cuts and little to no quality loss and no need for reencoding. After you have made your edits just save the file as a new mpeg. Then you can use that mpeg in the authoring program of your choice...I like dvdauthorgui (free but there is a steep learning curve)

Freebird, could you help here. I have been taking VRO files from DVD RAM editing in MPEG-VCR, authoring in TMPG DVD Author (trial) and burning. My needs are basic and I think I would like to use dvdauthorgui instead of buying TMPG Author, but how do I get dvdauthorgui to read the MPEG-VCR MPG files?

Regards

Alan

[freebird73717]

Mpegvcr offers fram accurate cuts and little to no quality loss and no need for reencoding. After you have made your edits just save the file as a new mpeg. Then you can use that mpeg in the authoring program of your choice...I like dvdauthorgui (free but there is a steep learning curve)

Freebird, could you help here. I have been taking VRO files from DVD RAM editing in MPEG-VCR, authoring in TMPG DVD Author (trial) and burning. My needs are basic and I think I would like to use dvdauthorgui instead of buying TMPG Author, but how do I get dvdauthorgui to read the MPEG-VCR MPG files?

Regards

Alan

You have to demux to the elemantary streams m2v and mp2 or mpa. You can do this with mpegvcr. Just click the button that says demultiplex. Then just open dvdauthor gui and chose add title select your m2v file and then your mp2 or mpa file and your done!

[midnightsun]

just a minor thing (so that Alan doesn't get confused there)... If your files are off a dvd recorder, the audio stream will most likely be dolby 2.0 with .ac3 extension. I think that when you demultiplex with mpeg-vcr it will add an .mpa extension to the audio stream by default, regardless of the actual format. This should cause no problem as the authoring software should be able to understand that what you're trying to import is not an .mpa but an .ac3. In any case it wouldn't hurt to manually change the extension to .ac3 in mpeg-vcr to prevent any possible incompatibility that may arise.

[alanparrott]

when you demultiplex with mpeg-vcr it will add an .mpa extension to the audio stream by default

Thanks guys

I had thought that and when you click on 'browse' it only shows AC3 so I changed it there.

Not sure if this is the right place so feel free to redirect me if so but I have a couple of issues.

The output from DVDAuthorGUI seems to be a 30 minute VOB and others? Is this normal?

I have tried to put in chapters which seem OK but it appears to ignore them on output. Also I seem to get more lipsync problems than with TMPG Author.

With MPEG-VCR I normally edit and save to .MPG which is OK but I think this means I still have to do this to get a file to demux, as the origianal remains uncut.

Help appreciated.

Alan

[midnightsun]

you mean that the length it reports is 30minutes when in fact is much longer than that?

This happens almost all the time when you record with a dvd recorder and cut out some bits or save more files in the same session. It's because the temporal sequence of the file is not correct anymore, for example:

you have a commercial break from 0:15:00 to 0:18:00 and you cut it out on the recorder. For simplicity sake assume that is the only thing you cut and that the recording is 2:00:00 long. Now after you've cut out the commercial you're left with a 1:57:00-long recording, but most likely the authoring applications will tell you that it's 2:00:00 long. Ths happens because the recorder hasn't changed a bit of info, called temporal sequence, which is found at the beginning of every GOP, and the frame after the cut is not read as 0:15:00:01 but as 0:18:00:01 instead!

So to make the story short, you have to fix this in some way or another, and since you have mpeg-vcr you're on the good path, all you have to do is go to tools, mpeg gop fixer and choose fix gop time code and audio pts errors (you may want to run the test, which is the option at the top before you actually go modify the file, or alternatively, you could make a copy of the file to work on and keep the original safe). This should fix your file length problem.

PS: another nasty thing about cutting commercials on the recorder is that you could potentially lose audio-video synchronization.

[freebird73717]

The output from DVDAuthorGUI seems to be a 30 minute VOB and others? Is this normal?

I have tried to put in chapters which seem OK but it appears to ignore them on output. Also I seem to get more lipsync problems than with TMPG Author.

With MPEG-VCR I normally edit and save to .MPG which is OK but I think this means I still have to do this to get a file to demux, as the origianal remains uncut.

Help appreciated.

Alan

Is the mpeg file you saved in mpeg-vcr correctly in sync? If it is not in sync to begin with then you can multiplex the two audio and video files together in mpeg-vcr and adjust the audio sync there. If the mpeg You saved in mpeg-vcr is okay and dosen't have sync problems then the problem is elsewhere (mabee something caused by authoring)