Can't Jump After Burning DVD

[analytalica]

(I'm new here, so please bear with me)

EDIT: I believe the correct term is "seek" not "jump". I am having issues seeking to a location on the DVD.

I'm trying to create a custom DVD using DVDStyler. I read online that it's a better idea to encode the files themselves and then use copy stream in the authoring software, which I have done. The video files' MediaInfo can be found here:

Format : MPEG-PS
File size : 626 MiB
Duration : 22mn 0s
Overall bit rate mode : Variable
Overall bit rate : 3 974 Kbps

Video
ID : 224 (0xE0)
Format : MPEG Video
Format version : Version 2
Format profile : Main@Main
Format settings, BVOP : No
Format settings, Matrix : Default
Duration : 22mn 0s
Bit rate mode : Variable
Bit rate : 3 703 Kbps
Width : 720 pixels
Height : 480 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate : 29.970 fps
Standard : NTSC
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Compression mode : Lossy
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.358
Stream size : 583 MiB (93%)

Audio
ID : 189 (0xBD)-128 (0x80)
Format : AC-3
Format/Info : Audio Coding 3
Mode extension : CM (complete main)
Muxing mode : DVD-Video
Duration : 22mn 0s
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 192 Kbps
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Channel positions : Front: L R
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Bit depth : 16 bits
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 30.2 MiB (5%)

I put them into DVDStyler using the proper options (NTSC, 16:9, 720x480) and used Copy for all the files. The DVD was finished in a few minutes.

I mounted the DVD and everything works as expected, except I can't seem to jump anywhere in my videos. When I let DVDStyler do the encoding for me, it still let me jump to some place in the timeline. With this one, it just jumps back to the beginning and can only be played from beginning to the end (there are no chapters).

When I play back the original source files myself, I can jump around. But not on the DVD. How do I fix this?

[Baldrick]

How do you convert to dvd mpeg2? Which software? Maybe wrong mpeg2 settings.

[analytalica]

I used Xilisoft video converter. Lame, I know, but it got the job done and I didn't want to spend time looking for another option. The original files were H.264 mp4s and I used a custom mpeg-2 profile. The thing that baffles me most is that the files the converters spit out work great and can seek, but not after Dvdstyler transfers them to DVD (using Copy stream)

[jman98]

analytalica - A man goes to the doctor. He says "Doc it hurts every time I bang my head against the wall. What should I do?" The doctor says "Stop banging your head against the wall!"
Think about it...

Maybe you need something like ConvertXtoDVD.

[analytalica]

I tried ConvertXtoDVD, but I it feels really cramped and I don't know how to set up custom menus and things like that.

On a side note, what mpeg2 settings should I be aiming for when it comes to DVDs? (b-frames, etc)

[Baldrick]

Use a better mpeg2 encoder like avstodvd. It can convert to mpeg2 mpg that you can use ing dvd styler.

[analytalica]

Hey, sorry about the multiple threads thing. I've been using MediaCoder instead to get my mpeg2 dvd compliant files (I followed a few guides on the MediaCoder forums about what settings to use for DVD authoring).

I'm still facing the same problem though. Skipping isn't possible and chapters don't seem to be working/generated. (my other thread) Additionally, regardless of how I tell DVDStyler to handle the menu audio, I get this poor-sounding 64kbps clip (copy or convert again to AC3 48)

Edit: I forgot to mention that I tried AVStoDVD. My audio was horribly out of sync and the videos were blurry :/

[Baldrick]

And maybe time to try another authoring tool. DVD Styler is still a bit buggy. But if you want free authorings tools you are kinda limited, like guifordvdauthor.

Or get DVD-lab pro!

[analytalica]

UPDATE -- 5 months later:

It turns out DVDStyler will add chapter markings only if you encode the video stream, and will not if you choose copy stream.

So what I did was convert my files externally (via MediaCoder) to DVD compliant MPEG-2 files, import them into DVDStyler, then choose encode to MPEG-2 again inside DVDStyler for every track. It suffers some quality loss, but significantly less than having DVDStyler encode a non-DVD compliant file (.mp4 for example). It is also a relatively fast process (300-600 fps) which makes me believe it might not be re-encoding at all, which is even better.

Pop the DVDs into any player and chapters, as well as seeking/jumping work perfectly.

[braselectron]

analytalica -

A man goes to the doctor. He says "Doc it hurts every time I bang my head against the wall. What should I do?"

The doctor says "Stop banging your head against the wall!"

Think about it...

Maybe you need something like ....

After 3 days trying to get DVDStyler to work, and after reading many forums, blogs, discussion lists, I read you quote, and I saw the "light".

I must say, you are a wise person. Your quote opened my eyes to many other facets of life.

Namaste.

AVStoDVD works very well with Win7x64. I was able to finally burn my Xivd to DVD with two subtitles and two audio streams. The "Styler" tool is acceptable, the chapters finally worked. Overall, all working perfect!

I will also make a donation to AVStoDVD author, as a reward his great work.

[Hoser Rob]

... DVD Styler is still a bit buggy...!

That's an understatement. It's crap.

I haven't burned a dvd for a while but the only half decent dvd encoder/author I ever tried was avstodvd. And I didn't really think it was that great either. But it was the best of a sorry lot. Just remember to always force 2 pass vbr encoding for reliable results.

As I said, I haven't burned a dvd for a while. I only know one other person who's done it in ages. When you consider the cost of all those dvds and storage, plus the time it takes to encode them, frankly I'd suggest planning for a tv/monitor you can just plug your computer into. Unless you have a very powerful computer you'll be spending at least as much time encoding and burning as you will actually watching video.

[_MrC_]

AVStoDVD works very well with Win7x64. I was able to finally burn my Xivd to DVD with two subtitles and two audio streams. The "Styler" tool is acceptable, the chapters finally worked. Overall, all working perfect!

I will also make a donation to AVStoDVD author, as a reward his great work.

Thanks! A happy user is always a great pleasure.

BTW keep in mind that AVStoDVD has grown mainly thanks to the many suggestions, bugs reports and critics collected in these years of development. Therefore, feel free to give your "soft" contribution too!



Bye