Question on adding chapters after the fact....

[PTBassMan]

I have a dvd that was made from a vhs tape (i think). It's decent quality anyway. Problem is there are no chapters (it's a concert dvd so can't skip to next song, etc...). Can I go back now and add chapters then re-burn it??? Thanks

[borax]

Yes you can. It depends on the effort you want to spend, or your specific knowledge/requirements what is the best program to use. pgcedit can add chapters to your existing structure, but no chapter menu. If you want 'real' reauthoring, all authoring programs are able to set/create chapter marks, most of them will also allow you to create chapter menus.

[PTBassMan]

I don't care if I have a menu right now. As lond as I can just chapter skip with my remote

[PTBassMan]

Been looking at pgcedit tutorials, but can't find one quite like I want. When I put my dvd in, a single screen comes up with a logo and says press enter to play. That is the extent of the menu. I don't want to add to the menu, just put chapter breaks in between songs (it's a concert dvd)

[Baldrick]

tmpgenc dvd author, add dvd video and select the videooo_ts. add chapters. reauthor. burn. happy. done.

but if you want a free solution learn pgcedit.

[jimmalenko]

Or demux with VOBEdit then reauthor with IFOEdit.

Rip to your hard drive with DVDDecrypter, setting file-splitting to None. Then follow the instructions here:
https://www.videohelp.com/guides.php?guideid=723#723

This provides you with an opportunity to designate chapter points in a text file and won't do anything about Menus.

[PTBassMan]

Then follow the instructions here:
https://www.videohelp.com/guides.php?guideid=723#723

Not sure exactly which guide here I need.

[PTBassMan]

OOPS! I'm bad. I misinterpreted the guide at this location. Sorry

[PTBassMan]

WOW! worked great.....almost. Got all the chapter points in and can jump forward and back. Only thing that happened was, the screen that came up at the begining when you inserted the disk that had the bands logo and had "Press Enter to Play", no longer comes up. It goes straigt into the movie. No big deal, but would like to know how to fix that.

[jimmalenko]

The method I described makes the DVD autoplay on insert.

[mikiem]

Lot of stuff in the DVD's ifo files is set when you create your DVD layout. Editing ifo files after the fact can be done, but it has a bit of a learning curve. Creating new ifo files means recreating your DVD layout, which you've done, but in re-creating that layout, you eliminated any first play or menu items. If you want to add that stuff back in, need to recreate it again.

[PTBassMan]

I know it's a learning curve, but where should I start?

[dimad]

It can be easliy done with DvdReMake. Take a look at this guide: http://www.dimadsoft.com/dvdremakepro/ht_insert_chapter.php

[mikiem]

"I know it's a learning curve, but where should I start?"

I guess the easiest way to approach a prog. like pgcedit is to think of it like you would Word -- it's a powerful editor, only instead of editing documents you're editing the inner workings of a DVD. Word has a huge number of features, options, controls, tools, & not everyone is an expert, knows how to use every feature. Most folks don't need to. Same goes for a prog. like Pgcedit.

IMO what makes it seem so difficult is the structure used on DVDs, particularly when that structure is sometimes screwed up on purpose. It's something you're probably not used to seeing, it's designed for DVD players, not people, and, everything known about DVDs is a result of reverse engineering -- can't just pick up a copy of ifo editing for dummies. :P

So to get to your question, how to get started, my opinion is to start by reading (or skimming thru) some of the guides linked to the Pgcedit site https://www.videohelp.com/~r0lZ/pgcedit/index.html . That will give you a feel for how others have/are using it, and a pretty good intro into the way ifo files are written.

And I expect that very soon someone will post a guide that answers your orig. question: How to add chapters? My understanding is that video in a DVD is split into 1 or more cells, chapters mark or point to individual cells, but not every cell starting point is used as a chapter. The new version of Vobblanker (out today) solves the 1st requirement, creating new cells, splitting existing cells, & says to use Pgcedit to create the actual pointers.

Since it's apparently a known process, and a new capability, knowing how great the community is I'd watch for an explicit guide fairly soon.