Need software for producing FILES (not DVDs) with menus

[lbeck02]

I've been producing DVDs and Blu-ray for decades and am proficient with Pinnacle Studio. I'm currently using PS-26 and can make DVDs. But these days most computers don't have optical drives.

I have several hundred DVDs of family and travel. My adult son recently asked for video of his childhood. I reminded him that I gave him several DVDs of him and his sister ranging from birth to early adulthood. Like most consumers he doesn’t have anything that can read DVDs.

My family/travel DVDs have menus. I’m hoping that I can remake the DVDs to files that I could place on a USB drive. To that end I’d appreciate recommendations for free or inexpensive software. PS-26 can make DVD menus (Video_TS or BDMV) and can import video with menus. And NERO can copy DVD and produce a file, but without menu navigation.

Suggestions on how to produce menued files from DVDs or inexpensive software to do that is appreciated.

[_Al_]

To keep menus, simply copy those DVD's:
You can create a folder on your USB-drive, name it or whatever name is good or represents that whole DVD.
Then copy the whole VIDEO_TS from your DVD to that folder.
Do that for as many DVD's as you can put into a USB-drive.

Tell the recipient that he can play it by MPC-HC player by dropping any VIDEO_TS onto the MPC-HC icon on his desktop's computer.
Try to name those folders in an alphabetical order, when that DVD was shot, example "2004-04 John Doe first birthday", so they line up chronologically.


It is always more comfortable to create a videos from those DVD's and copy them on USB drive, without menu, but that is more work for you. More comfortable for a recipient though. It can be played on any device.

[Sawyer]

Try to name those folders in an alphabetical order, when that DVD was shot, example "2004-04 John Doe first birthday", so they line up chronologically.

Since they are made from scratch and they will have menus, there could be just one big DVD with a menu that has dates and names for everything.
Size doesn't matter since they won't go on a DVD5 or DVD9.

[_Al_]

DvdReMake Pro used to merge DVD's and keep menus. Not sure how many DVD's it can merge.

[Cornucopia]

Your best option for a NON-DVD bunch of files with main menu(s) is probably html.


Scott

[Sawyer]

How would the playback works? I never heard of using HTML in authoring.

[poisondeathray]

How would the playback works? I never heard of using HTML in authoring.

People used to do it with obsolete flash - Encore could export a flash HTML file - basically a "web" version of the DVD project, and the video assets were flv or mp4. These can still work if you use an older browser and enable your security settings to run flash

Modern day examples with navigation
eg
https://dvd-rom.netlify.app/
https://github.com/padraigfl/dvd-menu
http://freesoftwaremagazine.com/articles/emulating_disk_menus_html5_and_chromium_lib_ray/

customized option - PGMX container
https://tmpgenc.pegasys-inc.com/en/product/tpxc.html

But how are you going to be playing it ? A laptop ? A portable player? Some of these options won't work on small device players - and you need more than a usb drive - you need something able to run a browser or PGMX software ,etc...

[Sawyer]

That is why I was asking, this works only in a browser, not in a standalone player.

[_Al_]

But VIDEO_TS is not guaranteed to be played in a standalone player as well. I doubt all play them. I used to have WDTV Live player which supported VIDEO_TS.

[Kakujitsu]

DVD-Shrink
ImgBurn
WinCDEmu
VLC-media-player

Use DVD-Shrink to make ISO files of the DVDs then simply use something like VLC to play the ISOs or, use WinCDEmu to emulate an optical drive from said ISOs and play the content with whatever player you want that is compatible with DVDs.

[Cornucopia]

How would the playback works? I never heard of using HTML in authoring.

That's not authoring (really), but you never asked that they be authored, nor that they be universally playable, or even playable in a settop player.

For computers, mobile devices, and even some embedded devices that are more general purpose, what I suggested is the easiest and most straightforward way to have files playable via menus.

You want authored, settop compatible? Make a standard DVD/BD. As mentioned, you might have luck with a player that accepts ISO discimages of actual DVDs or BDs, but I would say those are rare.

The previous post suggests using disc emulators, which is clever, but to be able to pull that off requires a more general purpose computing device. At which point, my method is easier to set up, and doesn't really require additional software be running on the end player (what general computing device DOESN'T already sport a browser?).


Scott