DVD menus

[steve1k]

Can anyone tell me what program to use to edit my DVDs that i have made on my pannasonic DMR-EX95VEBS

I want to be able to alter the menu and add chapters also cut out the adverts
some of this can be done on the recorder itself like cutting out the adverts but it only adds a title on the menu page and not a screen selection page.
you have to cut the title in to chapters manually before it is copyed to disk.

Just wondered if i could edit better on my computer

Could i use TMPG to do this if so is there a guide on how to use it

[steveryan]

TDA is ideal for you.

[steve1k]

Hi Steve

Do i need to convert the DVD i burnt on my Panny recorder first, if i do what do i have to convert it to can TMPG do this or do i need another program

[steveryan]

You should be able to load the discs your Panasonic recorded into TDA, then create a nice menu and Robert is your mothers brother.

[ZippyP.]

You should be able to load the discs your Panasonic recorded into TDA, then create a nice menu...

And you can use the "edit" function to cut out the commercials.

[usually_quiet]

I'll try to answer your questions based on my limited experience.

I want to be able to alter the menu…

You can only perform limited alterations on an existing menu, and the learning curve for doing that and creating a playable DVD is likely to be steeper than you want. You’d probably be better off to author (make menus, create chapters, and build the DVD structure.) and edit with one or two simple-to-use programs.

Just wondered if i could edit better on my computer…

Editing on a computer provides the opportunity for better control.

Could i use TMPG to do this … Do i need to convert the DVD i burnt on my Panny recorder first …

Panasonic records MPEG2 video and AC3 audio, which the free version of TMPG can’t edit directly. The pay version of TMPG handles MPEG2, but when I looked today, it appears that you still need to buy a separate plug-in for AC3. Also, TMPG doesn’t author. TDA is an authoring/editing program from the same company, and it’s the only authoring software I’ve used that I’d recommend to someone with no experience.

When I tried a prior version of TDA last year, its editor included both MPEG2 and AC3 support and it readily imported .VOB files for editing. I didn’t care for the editor in the old version because it could only cut on GOP’s, but maybe the editor is better in the current version of TDA. You can download the free TDA trial and find out if you like it before purchasing.

If you find you don’t like TDA’s editor, try VideoReDo or Womble MPEG-VCR. They too offer a free downloadable trial. I also liked Womble MPEG Video Wizard, although it is rather expensive when compared with the other two. It has a nice user interface and provides some special effects should you want them.

If you need a freeware solution Cuttermaran is a decent editor, although it only accepts demuxed sources (source split into separate video and audio files). Its normal editing mode, which only allows cutting on some frames, was OK most of the time. Cutting on any frame is possible with Cuttermaran, but I found it a little inconvenient because of re-encoding.

All of these editing programs can output mpeg files, which you’d import into your authoring program.

[lordsmurf]

Panasonic DVD recorders have fatal flaws in unstable AC3 that make editing on a computer a pain. Use Womble MPEG Video Wizard for the best results. Maybe VideoReDo, but I've not tried it for this. I do know TDA, TMPGEnc (MPEG TOOLS), Cuttermaran and MPEG-VCR will not work. You'd get sound sync and sound loss issues.

Again, use Womble MPEG Video Wizard.

[usually_quiet]

lordsmurf wrote:

Panasonic DVD recorders have fatal flaws in unstable AC3 that make editing on a computer a pain. Use Womble MPEG Video Wizard for the best results. Maybe VideoReDo, but I've not tried it for this. I do know TDA, TMPGEnc (MPEG TOOLS), Cuttermaran and MPEG-VCR will not work. You'd get sound sync and sound loss issues.

I respect your opinion bur I must disagree with you on this.

I have used VideoReDo, Cuttermaran and MPEG-VCR with recordings from my Pannisonic, and did not notice any sound loss or synch problems in the resulting output. VideoReDo often found errors in the files and eliminated some bad frames, but didn't tell me it was the sound per se. I have really crappy analog cable so I'm not going to point the finger at Panasonic for that problem.

Maybe its because you have high-end equipment or maybe you are just very exacting (which is fine), but I truly think that 90% of people watching the original Panny recordings vs the edits won't notice a difference, especially when played on the low end stuff that most of us own.

At any rate, since a lot of this is free to try, I say the OP should do so and decide for himself what he likes best.

[lordsmurf]

I'm not talking about quality, but AC3 errors that cause sounds to disappear or be off by several seconds.

You let a program cut out frames? That's unacceptable. There's nothing wrong with the video (well, not like that anyway), it's the corrupt audio that merely needs fixing.

This has nothing to do with source or anything else. It's the flawed error-filled AC3 files that are created by the recorder. In MPEG Video Wizard, you let the software re-encode the audio to a new MP2 audio layer, because the Panasonic Dolby is hosed.

The error is random, but everybody will, at some point, see it, if editing on a computer from these recorders. It's a seriously flaw.

And then TDA has it's own issues, so don't ever use it for editing. It too, eventually, will rear it's ugly head on sound issues, even to the most fervent disbeliever.

These are real errors. If you do a high volume of daily work, you'll see these things eventually, up to several times a month. It's a real pain in the butt.

[usually_quiet]

lordsmurf wrote:

I'm not talking about quality, but AC3 errors that cause sounds to disappear or be off by several seconds. .... The error is random, but everybody will, at some point, see it, if editing on a computer from these recorders. It's a seriously flaw.

I don't doubt you've experienced this, but I haven't heard the kind of sound errors you are describing yet after more than a year of resonably frequent use. So, I either I'm very lucky, or the problem is not only random but so infrequent that the average person might not be greatly troubled by it.

I decided not to buy VideoReDo because it seemed overly sensitive and I didn't care for the way it handled errors. It's not a terrible program though and I'd still recommend a trial, especially since it was updated since I tried it.

As far as source causing errors, I recently saw and heard the picture and sound break up badly while I watched the same show I was also recording. When I tried to edit later, Cuttermaran found GOP errors in that spot. Sometimes its much harder to see, but still causes difficulty for an editor. Also the video on certain channels is really noisy on a fairly regular basis. .. And that's why I say my crappy cable service is a problem that my poor DVD reorder can't be expected to overcome in every instance.