I'm looking for a DVD Authoring Tool that can do certain things

[imkira3]

The tool must support multiple audio tracks, multiple subtitle tracks, have an option to disable subtitles in the menu, alter video bitrate, predict how big the VIDEO_TS folder will be, chapter support, preserve original audio channels and rename audio and subtitle tracks/using the original track name would also be acceptable.

Except for the last 2 options, DVD Flick could do all of this, it even had a menu I liked and wanted to continue using on my entire DVD collection. However, DVD Flick names audio tracks by language, and today I find myself crafting a DVD with 3 english tracks. Why do this? Well, one is stereo, another is Dolby Digital Plus and the third track is for digital theater systems, but in the DVD menu it only says "English" for all 3 tracks.

I need to add more information, make the names look more like this: English (Digital Theater Systems)

[cholla]

You might give AVStoDVD a try,
I have not used it's menu function much so I'm not sure if it will do what you want with the audio tracks.
Wort a try.

[geek gift]

is dolby digital plus, even going to be accepted by any dvd authoring program ? not sure if that's spec legal.

[imkira3]

is dolby digital plus, even going to be accepted by any dvd authoring program ? not sure if that's spec legal.

That's a good point, I might have to downgrade to 6.1. Oh well, it's still better than stereo, and I would still need to register at least 2 english options. 6.1 is still better than stereo.

EDIT: Looks like both options were 6-channel anyway, perhaps I can just drop the Dolby Digital Plus option then, assuming the Digital Theatre System option is supported. If not, I know Dolby Digital IS supported, so I can just convert the Dolby Digital Plus track to that, it might even be possible do do some sort of mux-like operation. I dunno, I never tried with individual audio channels. I know I could do it losslessly if I stored it as WAV, but what about without decompression? I suppose it would depend on whether a given audio format is a basic container or if some sort of lossy conversion is involved. I know MP3 is like that, lossy. Of course, I will still have to convert when I author the DVD, I just don't want to do it twice. Should be fine if the prog I choose can read and convert the audio format without losing channels, but now I realize my lack of knowledge on muxing audio channels losslessly I suppose I'll have to research that. Sounds a handy skill.

[geek gift]

will your dvd be a dvd-5 or a dvd -9 ?

it seems dvd flick does support dts. dts on a dvd is usually two bit rates.

768 kbits or 1509 kbits.

depending on the length of the video and the average bitrate used. a dts 1509 kbits track could be too large even if you use two channels. trade offs and decisions, as usual.

yes, if you can convert a format to separate wave files. you should be able to re-convert it to the format of your choice.

using this program might be a bit easier, if you use a gui for it. (i've never used the command line)

https://www.videohelp.com/software/eac3to

the software is eac3to. you should be able to put your video file in the program. or even just the dolby digital plus track by itself.

you should see some options to have the dolby digital track converted to a format you'd like.

example press "input file" to pick your video or audio track.

you should then see a listing of every codec in the file.

then go to the "track input and output format" section and make your choices.

i've never used the dolby digital plus with this program. but this should work.

[imkira3]

It's DVD-5, the movie is 3 hours but I already optimized the video track to save space. Depending on the environment I play it in I might need the 2-channel track, or I might need the 6-channel track, so I'll still need to be able to rename the audio tracks in the DVD Menu, I can't do that in DVD Flick. I just tried DVD Styler, but it had picture-based menu button highlight problems so I had to give up on that program too.

[geek gift]

2 or 3 audio tracks on a dvd-5 that's 3 hours of video is really pushing things.

especially if you're aiming to get dts on there.

anyway, being the weirdo that i am. when i do discs (and i haven't really done dvd in awhile) i never used menus. so i really can't help much there.

i do think the free version of dvd lab. should be able to do what you want. fingers crossed !

https://www.mediachance.com/dvdlab/index.html

free version is the last product listed on the page.

this *isn't* going to help you.

but for dvd i just used muxman. didn't try to do a menu. and all i needed was the video track, the audio track and the chapter list. and that was a dvd-r.

good luck with your project. and i hope my suggestion doesn't lead you to afar.

[geek gift]

what's your bitrate for the video part of your file ?

i tried doing a quick check on dvd bitrate calculator. and i got *almost* 1gb for a dts track at 768, for 3 hours of video.

you're video optimizing skills are surely elite to do this. and add ac-3 tracks too.

maybe, you have this under control. but just a warning, this could be a problematic situation.

[imkira3]

This is the command I use to optimize video I spent a long time working on it. Set threads to 0 and priority to high to increase performance, if you like. And first create a folder named "C" in the working directory before testing it. My command specifically focuses on those sections of the video that are harder to process and lowers the bitrate at those places more than other places. It's like a VBR equalizer, you ever try watching a 1080p video on a dual-core? It gets laggy, but only at certain points, usually during intense action scenes. This command makes 1080p video playable on a dual-core (barely) and 720p video playable on a single-core (barely) You would have almost no leftover CPU though, lol, but it works better than frame skipping. I wish I could test in 2k and 4k on a quad-core, but my TV isn't 2k.

for %f IN (*.mkv) DO start /b /low /wait ffmpeg -i "%f" -filter:v fps=23.976 -threads 1 -an -c:v libx264 -preset veryfast -tune film -b:v 1200k -maxrate 1500k -bufsize 2000k -x264-params "pass=1:stats=\\.\stats.log.temp" -f null NUL && ffmpeg -i "%f" -filter:v fps=23.976 -threads 1 -c:v libx264 -preset veryfast -tune film -b:v 1200k -maxrate 1500k -bufsize 2000k -x264-params "pass=2:stats=\\.\stats.log.temp" -c:a aac "C\%~nf.mkv"

NOTE: I usually leave the audio alone, since shrinking the video track makes a much bigger difference in space saved. I'll usually just change it to AAC, but I might have to do more this time. So, in it's current state this command will optimize video only. That's because I originally created this command to optimize my movie backups, I have an 8TB hard drive, I got rid of my discs a long time ago, but sometimes it's good to bring a movie to a friends house. I REALLY want to do that with the new 2024 dub of "The Count of Monte Cristo" though I had to combine tracks from 3 discs to make that one, I took the 1080p video track from one and combined it with audio tracks from 2 other discs. Now I have 4 dubbed languages for it, the full MKV version has 6 audio tracks lol cause why not? I even got subs for those languages too. Kinda pointless including those tracks in the burn though. Anyway, why re-burn it, right? Well, the only 1080p disc had no english lol, so FML right?

[geek gift]

you've really thought this out.

you've got nerves of steel, even attempting 1080p on a dual core !

and i'd tap out if i had to deal with a command line...

but as is often the problem. dealing with discs is a lot more problematic. than dealing with files.

aac audio is not going to be allowed on a dvd disc. but you could always lower the dolby bitrate. i don't know if going lower than 192 kbits, is going to work on all dvd players.

and i don't know how well that bitrate would work for six channel track either.

'The Count of Monte Cristo' another classic film i should watch.

and it's pretty cool that you have friends that are interested in a film like this.

so much now, is just focused on current blockbusters.


ok and you know i'd have to ask. since all the tracks you're putting on disc are english. why not do one multi channel tack and let the player or whatever down mix to two channels ?

this might not be ideal for you. but 3 hours of video, on a dvd-r might not be ideal either.

"Well, the only 1080p disc had no english"

things like that happen all the time. arrrgh...

guess it licensing issues etc.

[imkira3]

It's because it was a French film, but in this case that's good! It's a French film of a French book, and unlike the American adaptions they took the time to be faithful to the story this time. I used to love the American adaptions, but now I see how much they cut out... Anyway, combining tracks and downmixing is one option I guess, but the stereo track is small enough, I might as well include it. And besides, I still want more power over the DVD menu. In this case I'll probably include just 2 tracks, "English (Stereo)" and "English (Surround Sound)", that's one instance where I can't simply call both tracks "English". Another is when I include both a full english sub and a english sub for the non-english parts, sometimes I do both. Either way, I would need to rename an audio or subtitle track, so I better figure this out I guess.

aac audio is not going to be allowed on a dvd disc. but you could always lower the dolby bitrate. i don't know if going lower than 192 kbits, is going to work on all dvd players.

I didn't specify an audio bitrate in my command, so ffmpeg preserved the original audio bitrate and channels. And like I said, these tracks will still be converted again by the DVD Authoring program, whichever one I choose.

you've got nerves of steel, even attempting 1080p on a dual core !

That's why it's in x264, not x265 the videos are a bit bigger, sure, but that's because they aren't as heavily compressed, makes sense right? Less CPU is required to decode them. With the right bitrate, and paying special attention to the high-processing sections, it's very possible. Basically, you just need to equalize CPU usage. I already keep Process Explorer open at all times for the CPU indicator so figuring all this out was simple. What's more, you don't even need a special video card or GPU! Though if you have one you can definitely take some of the load off, perhaps with Direct3D or OpenGL.

[DOMNG]

I’ve run into the same problem with DVD Flick—it’s great, but the audio track naming is too limited. I ended up switching to DVD Styler since it lets me rename tracks manually and still keeps a custom menu. Not perfect, but it works!

[imkira3]

I’ve run into the same problem with DVD Flick—it’s great, but the audio track naming is too limited. I ended up switching to DVD Styler since it lets me rename tracks manually and still keeps a custom menu. Not perfect, but it works!

Yeah I tried that, unfortunately I couldn't figure out how to make a menu with a subtitle selection or audio selection screen, perhaps the Windows version of the program is too limited? Either way, I had trouble finding helpful information or a proper how-to on menu configuration that includes more than a select track and play all function I suppose I could try asking about that here, but asking an AI might be faster. After I finish working on this batch script I'll try it, and I'll try the DVD Flick menu edit thing too, and I'll mention what happened here.

There isn't enough information out there on authoring a proper DVD, and doing so in a fast and efficient manner. I like DVD Flicks interface a lot more than I like DVD Stylers. DVD Flick has a simple elegance to it's interface, like apple, but it can also do complex tasks, like android. DVD Styler on the other hand, you might need a tutorial just to use it properly.

EDIT: As you can see, when I said the word menu followed by the word edit, the forum jscript automatically added a link to a program that might be able to do exactly what I mentioned, isn't that funny? I'll try that program first looks like it has a simple elegance to it, probably one of those portable mini-programs that take up like no space and CPU. I have a favourites folder for programs like that.

[cholla]

@ imkira3,
I'm trying to do what you want with DVDStyler.
It has been a long time since I worked with DVDStyler.
I believe I have the Languages working correctly but not the Subtitles.
If I can get a Menu working with both Audio & Subtitles I will post some sort of "How to".

As you probably know DVDStyler is a complicated program.
Much of the information on the Internet is either "Not enough information" or written poorly.
Some of it just does not work . Maybe it did for the one posting but it did not for me.

[davexnet]

@cholla, @imkira3, I think this is the basic functionality; but I'm a novice at DVD navigation myself -
The subs show up at 10 seconds. One will say SUB 1 and the other will say SUB 2.
Also two different audio tracks, first the original, the other a song by Tears For Fears ...