Recommended dvd authoring software with manually chapter function...

[Conrad007]

Hello,

could somebody recommend me a good conversion / authoring tool with capability of adding chapters manually? I have a few .avi files and I want to make a dvd in which each .avi would be a dvd - title, but I would also like to manually split each of these titles in chapters... I don't need a tool which will give "ultra high" image quality of the final dvd, knowing that the source .avi are also not perfect, but the tool should make a good compromise between quality and speed.

Thank you very much in advance for your advice!

Conrad

[guns1inger]

You don't "split" a file into chapter when authoring. You video remains as a single title, and markers are added to indicate where chapters begin. This is a common mis-understanding, but one worth clearing up as can radically alter the playback experience for the viewer.

You can manually add chapters using tmpgenc DVD author (I believe), DVD Lab Pro, DVD Architect Studio, Encore, DVD Workshop 2 and most likely with DVD Styler or GUIForDVDAuthor

[classfour]

I can speak for TDA, Dvd Lab Pro DVD Movie Factory & DVD Workshop - all will add chapters at the point you set.

[thymej]

I use DVDStyler for my basic DVD stuff. I have it set to auto add chapter marks every 5 mins. Once they are added, you can always just go back and manually edit the chapters if you dont want them at 5 min marks.

[Conrad007]

Thank you very much for all your answers.
I have purchased TMPGEnc Authoring Works 4 and I'm very pleased with it, it's doing the job very well and quickly.
I would recommend it every time!

Conrad

[wisny]

I'm not sure if the OP question is the same as my question, but it sounds similar.


I do not yet have a DVD program. I am brand new to burning DVDs, so it has to be fairly simple to figure out. Doesn't have to be five minutes simple, I can spend time learning it, but I have to be able to learn it on my own. I'll be buying or downloading freeware of what I need. I'll probably be getting a version of VideoReDo, b/c I have a TiVo, and want to eventually be able to burn DVDs of shows from TiVo Desktop.


But for now, I'm archiving VHS tapes. I'd like to be able to copy two or three exercise tapes onto one DVD, and have each tape be a separate title (simple, I understand how to do that). But then, I'd like to make a selectable submenu w/ thumbnails for each tape, and be able to jump to specific segments of the workout. I'm told that VideoRedo doesn't allow you to make selectable submenus, only selectable top-level title menus. So, is there a program that I could get, in addition to VideoRedo, that will allow me make not just a selectable title, but a selectable submenu of chapters within each title?

Is there a program that will allow me to make thumbnail selectable submenu's that will either play all, or play an individual segment, that appears after you select one of the titles in the initial title menu?

[usually_quiet]

I'm not sure if the OP question is the same as my question, but it sounds similar.


I do not yet have a DVD program. I am brand new to burning DVDs, so it has to be fairly simple to figure out. Doesn't have to be five minutes simple, I can spend time learning it, but I have to be able to learn it on my own. I'll be buying or downloading freeware of what I need. I'll probably be getting a version of VideoReDo, b/c I have a TiVo, and want to eventually be able to burn DVDs of shows from TiVo Desktop.


But for now, I'm archiving VHS tapes. I'd like to be able to copy two or three exercise tapes onto one DVD, and have each tape be a separate title (simple, I understand how to do that). But then, I'd like to make a selectable submenu w/ thumbnails for each tape, and be able to jump to specific segments of the workout. I'm told that VideoRedo doesn't allow you to make selectable submenus, only selectable top-level title menus. So, is there a program that I could get, in addition to VideoRedo, that will allow me make not just a selectable title, but a selectable submenu of chapters within each title?

Is there a program that will allow me to make thumbnail selectable submenu's that will either play all, or play an individual segment, that appears after you select one of the titles in the initial title menu?

I think that GUIfordvdauthor/GUIforMuxman can do what you want. (Actually, now that I think about it, I did author a DVD with multiple chapter menus and still thumbnails myself.) It is probably the most flexible free DVD authoring tool, but there is a learning curve.

[wisny]

I think that GUIfordvdauthor/GUIforMuxman can do what you want. (Actually, now that I think about it, I did author a DVD with multiple chapter menus and still thumbnails myself.) It is probably the most flexible free DVD authoring tool, but there is a learning curve.

Thankyou so much, usually_quiet. I will check that out

[classfour]

Were you dealing with ONLY tivo files, VideoReDo is by far the fastest at creating a DVD from those. You can also use Direct Show Dump to convert, another program to author. The menus in VideoReDo are pathetic, but the conversion from 480x480 to 720x480 are spot on, with excellent speed. If I use VideoReDo on tivo files, I usually create the DVD folder without a menu or chapters, and end up authoring in TDA.

At $70 for the pro version, not a cheap tool, and you can use DSD to change the tivo to mpg2 files to use in TDA.

[wisny]

Were you dealing with ONLY tivo files, VideoReDo is by far the fastest at creating a DVD from those. You can also use Direct Show Dump to convert, another program to author. The menus in VideoReDo are pathetic, but the conversion from 480x480 to 720x480 are spot on, with excellent speed. If I use VideoReDo on tivo files, I usually create the DVD folder without a menu or chapters, and end up authoring in TDA.

At $70 for the pro version, not a cheap tool, and you can use DSD to change the tivo to mpg2 files to use in TDA.

Thanks, classfour . I haven't had a chance yet to download an authoring program to check it out, but I will check out this one, along with usually_quiet 's recommendations.

[wisny]

I think that GUIfordvdauthor/GUIforMuxman can do what you want. (Actually, now that I think about it, I did author a DVD with multiple chapter menus and still thumbnails myself.) It is probably the most flexible free DVD authoring tool, but there is a learning curve.

Were you dealing with ONLY tivo files, VideoReDo is by far the fastest at creating a DVD from those. You can also use Direct Show Dump to convert, another program to author. The menus in VideoReDo are pathetic, but the conversion from 480x480 to 720x480 are spot on, with excellent speed. If I use VideoReDo on tivo files, I usually create the DVD folder without a menu or chapters, and end up authoring in TDA.

At $70 for the pro version, not a cheap tool, and you can use DSD to change the tivo to mpg2 files to use in TDA.

Thanks, classfour . I haven't had a chance yet to download an authoring program to check it out, but I will check out this one, along with usually_quiet 's recommendations.

usually_quiet and classfour , I meant to ask, do these programs mentioned ( GUIfordvdauthor / GUIforMuxman and TDA ) re-encode video? I thought I read somewhere that re-encoding can degrade the output quality.

Would I use these programs just to make menus for already encoded video files? Or would I use these programs to encode and make the output discs? Thx so much ...


edited to ask: Is GUIforMuxman this link https://www.videohelp.com/tools/Muxman , or is it just another name for GUIfordvdauthor ?

[usually_quiet]

usually_quiet and classfour , I meant to ask, do these programs mentioned ( GUIfordvdauthor / GUIforMuxman and TDA ) re-encode video? I thought I read somewhere that re-encoding can degrade the output quality.

Would I use these programs just to make menus for already encoded video files? Or would I use these programs to encode and make the output discs? Thx so much ...


edited to ask: Is GUIforMuxman this link https://www.videohelp.com/tools/Muxman , or is it just another name for GUIfordvdauthor ?

GUIfordvdauthor and GUIformuxman are the same program. The software provides a choice of authoring engines, dvdauthor or muxman, but the saved project files are specific to the authoring engine. They can't be converted in order to use one authoring engine instead of the other.

dvdauthor was the only option for a while, and those who had created project files that use it can continue to use dvdauthor so as not to have to re-do their projects. However, in most cases, muxman is the better choice for new projects.

GUIfordvdauthor/GUIformuxman doesn't re-encode video. It just makes menus and creates the necessary files for a playable DVD. It requires DVD compliant video and audio, and is best used with elementary/demultiplexed audio and video sources. For subtitles, you can use either .srt or .sup files.

TDA has been replaced by TMPGEnc Authoring Works. It can either be set up not to re-encode DVD-compliant video and audio, or does not re-encode DVD-compliant video and audio by default, I'm not sure which. It has been some time since I tried it.

[dessieclive]

would just like to add that , VideoReDo does not support avi

[wisny]

GUIfordvdauthor and GUIformuxman are the same program. The software provides a choice of authoring engines, dvdauthor or muxman, but the saved project files are specific to the authoring engine. They can't be converted in order to use one authoring engine instead of the other.

dvdauthor was the only option for a while, and those who had created project files that use it can continue to use dvdauthor so as not to have to re-do their projects. However, in most cases, muxman is the better choice for new projects.

GUIfordvdauthor/GUIformuxman doesn't re-encode video. It just makes menus and creates the necessary files for a playable DVD. It requires DVD compliant video and audio, and is best used with elementary/demultiplexed audio and video sources. For subtitles, you can use either .srt or .sup files.

TDA has been replaced by TMPGEnc Authoring Works. It can either be set up not to re-encode DVD-compliant video and audio, or does not re-encode DVD-compliant video and audio by default, I'm not sure which. It has been some time since I tried it.

Thankyou again, usually_quiet . In the time since I last posted, I found out that the software that comes bundled with the Ion Video2PC gadget (that I picked up for $20 online) makes exactly the menu structure I wanted. I can put three titles on a DVD, each with a selectable thumbnail, and when you select one of the titles, each will have selectable thumbails for chapters in each title. Bad news, the software makes the chapters on its own, you can't make your own chapters. Worse, the software will let you 'edit' ie trim the video shorter, but you can't burn the trimmed version. You can only burn the original version.

I haven't had a chance to get to trying the recommended programs, it's next on my list. Again, I appreciate the help

[wisny]

would just like to add that , VideoReDo does not support avi

Thankyou, dessieclive