DVD Authoring program suggestions

[TheInformer]

Here's my situation:

I have converted an instructional swing dancing VHS tape to digital format and have it saved as one large MPEG2 file.

I want to be able to load the file into the DVD Authoring program and set up a series of menus. Each menu item would go to a specific point in the video, i.e. the menu item "teaching handstand flip" would jump to the handstand flip section of the video.

I would like to insert a still picture that could be clicked on for each menu item; motion menus are not needed here. I do not want the program to automatically use the first frame of the section as a menu item picture; I want to use a JPG image for the still picture.

I need to be able to have anywhere from 10-40 menu items.

When the user clicks on the menu item, I need it to jump to that spot and not to a spot 5 seconds before it (DVD Lab Pro does this to me).

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[daamon]

Hi TheInformer,

TMPGEnc DVD Author (TDA) will do exactly what you want.

There are other authoring tools that are free (TDA isn't, but it's not expensive), but I haven't used them so don't know if they'll meet your needs.

TDA is pretty intuitive and a good place to start if you're new to authoring - and it produces pretty fine looking results.

As you have one file - you'll end up with one item in the menu, and then you can select your chapter points relating to points in the video. These chapters would be available to select from the menu.

The picture for the chapter will default to the frame where that chapter starts, but this can be changed by clicking on it and selecting your desired JPG.

The max number of chapters is 99 - plenty for you.

Selecting chapter start points (in any authoring tool I believe) is restricted to only the "I" frames - there are no more than 15 frames in a group of pictures (GOP) in a PAL DVD, and 18 in an NTSC DVD - usually with one "I" frame at the beginning.

Given that there are 25 frames per second for PAL, and (nearly) 30 frames per second for NTSC, you should be able to get pretty close to where you want the chapter to start because you'll have (up to) two "I" frames per second of video.

Hope that helps.

[Abond]

You mention DVDLab Pro. It is interesting to know why you need another DVD authoring program?

[stillmars321]

I would also recommend TpPG DVDAuthor. It's so simple to learn and after that, it's a breeze.

[bugster]

When the user clicks on the menu item, I need it to jump to that spot and not to a spot 5 seconds before it (DVD Lab Pro does this to me).

If you can't achieve what you are trying to do with DVD-lab PRO, you must be doing something wrong. Remember, chapter points are always on I-frames, so you can't always jump to the exact frame you want. Admittedly I-frames should be no more than 18 frames apart in a DVD compliant video and thats not even 1 second, never mind 5, but you cannot have frame accurate chapters unless when you encode you set up the encoder to generate an I-frame exactly where you want your chapters. If this is your problem, swicthing to TDA or any other authoring package won't help.

[Abond]

Sorry, just realise what you mean with "DVDLab Pro does this for me".

[reboot]

Use "Frame accurate chapter indexing" in DLP.
Look for it.

[Heff]

I 2nd TMPGEnc DVD Author 1.6.

[reboot]

I 2nd TMPGEnc DVD Author 1.6.

As mentioned above:

Remember, chapter points are always on I-frames, so you can't always jump to the exact frame you want. Admittedly I-frames should be no more than 18 frames apart in a DVD compliant video and thats not even 1 second, never mind 5, but you cannot have frame accurate chapters unless when you encode you set up the encoder to generate an I-frame exactly where you want your chapters. If this is your problem, swicthing to TDA or any other authoring package won't help.

This is NOT going to help.

[daamon]

When the user clicks on the menu item, I need it to jump to that spot and not to a spot 5 seconds before it (DVD Lab Pro does this to me).

If you can't achieve what you are trying to do with DVD-lab PRO, you must be doing something wrong.

I went off on the "Try TDA to start with" philosophy, and I forgot to add words to the effect of what you correctly stated.

To clarify: DVDLab Pro will do exactly what you want TheInformer. I was inferring that you might find TDA easier to start with.

[trossin]

I've had good luck with Ulead's DVDMovieFactory 2. I tried 3 and now I see that they are on version 4. Version 2 cost me $40. I've been happy with it except that you can not have submenus except for chapter selection.

[GeorgeW]

I need to be able to have anywhere from 10-40 menu items.

I believe there is a 36-button limit per menu, so you won't be able to get all 40 on one menu (if that's what you are expecting).

[daamon]

I need to be able to have anywhere from 10-40 menu items.

I believe there is a 36-button limit per menu, so you won't be able to get all 40 on one menu (if that's what you are expecting).

That might be a limitation of some software, but I believe that the actual DVD spec allows for up to 99 titles, each containing up to 99 chapters.

I've seen this quoted by a number of individuals in these forums, as well as in this document.

[GeorgeW]

I didn't mean for the entire dvd, I meant number of items PER MENU. I wasn't sure if the OP wanted to have 40 chapters on one menu...

[daamon]

Even so - I still think that 99 items is the max. Here's my logic:

Each title has a main menu, with chapters listed within that menu. Each page of chapters contains a sensible number of chapters per page.

Based on the info I gave above, there are a max of 99 titles (and hence 99 menu items) allowed. Each title (and hence menu item) can have a max of 99 chapters within it.

So, assuming a sensible number of 6 chapters per page, you could have 17 pages within a menu item - 16 with 6 chapters, and the final one with 3.

So, I reckon 40 chapter points, over a number of pages within the title's menu, will be OK. Unless, of course, the software limits this.

[GeorgeW]

Hey, I'm not arguing about how many chapters he can have. I just wanted to point out that you can't have more than 36 on ONE MENU. Do you understand that???

Believe me, I know you can have alot more than 40 chapters by just setting up multiple menus. I just wanted to mention there is a PER MENU limit.

The wording wasn't clear to me if he wanted 40 items on ONE MENU. OK?

[daamon]

OK, George - Chill. I wasn't attacking you.

It just strikes me that TheInformer, having one MPEG2 file, would have one title (and so be one item on the menu) and would then be able to have up to 99 chapters, appearing over a number of pages.

So, I guess I got baffled as to why you said he could only have 36 items on a menu when, to me, he'd only need one. I took it as you talking about the Title Menu as opposed to the Chapter Selections (or, Chapter Menu, if you prefer).

The max being 36 items per Chapter Selection Menu is fine, but it'd be horribly cramped IMO. But useful to know I guess...

Maybe it's just a terminology thing. Either way, I'm sure he'll figure out and be OK.

[GeorgeW]

ok, I think I see where you are coming from -- using something like TDA. Although I don't use TDA, I'll assume it gives you a TITLE menu, and then selecting the title from the menu goes to the underlying chapter menus for that title.

Where I am coming from is using an authoring package that does not limit you to that structured approach. In other words, you can put as many links (up to 36) on one menu (don't forget to account for navigation links). You don't even need a Title menu (if you don't want one). You don't even have to link to chapters if you want to use "Playlists" instead.

Just a difference in authoring preferences I guess...

[daamon]

Just a difference in authoring preferences I guess...

Ah, all is clear now. I agree - different tools, different approaches. And the same words meaning different things to different people.

And that's just the same language!

What do you use?

[GeorgeW]

DVD LabPro when I need alot of control over playback order (of titles and chapters), as well as special "conditional" navigational commands.

For projects that aren't as complicated, I like to use DVD Workshop 2.0 and DVD MovieFactory 4.0DC. DWS2 gives you advanced features (subtitles and multiple audio tracks. title playlists, etc...), while DMF4 is extremely user friendly,and has a nice set of templates (it also has a suite of other disc-related tools).

[Bjs]

As you can see I get cranky when you people start naming programs , and avoid something , like how about FREEWARE .

The answer is Pgcedit ...

As there are no guides on how to use it , just pm me and I'll give you my user id in yahoo , and I can send you my guide on using pcgedit to create a dvd movie with menu's and how to add and connect multiple titles .

This guide explains the full basics of compilation dvds , created by me and no one else .

All you need do after creating the dvd is play it back prior to burning it ..

A trick too :

Calculate the total video files you want to include on the dvd , if you are using the 4.7's , then to be compatable across the board , you should not build a dvd containing greater than 4.1 gig of files (vobs) , this ensures anyones dvd player will have no problems with it .

Having calculated the total , and project is bigger than 4.1 :

Use pgcdemux to demux each vob to a folder .
Then use ifodeit to remake the vob , this also makes the other files (ifo)
You can then use dvd shrink on the file (open dvd)

Also note : there is a version of ifoedit that can change the internals of the vobs id and cell id , this is a must have . Or you will have to do that the hard way , by using something like vobedit to change them , but no recomended right now because there can be hundreds of these that need to be updated .

Just open a vob with vobedit and look for cells in the left pane and you'll see what I mean , a real pain , but I am working on a script that automates vobedit .

Then you rename the vob to reflect its origin , that is it came from vts_07_09.vob , then rename the new one to reflect that , delete the original and place the new one where the old one was .

You will need to calculate in terms what each vob needs to be shrunken down by , and this is different to each user and what they are doing .

I'll look into this later and come up with a guide that reflects certain dvd project sizes and information regarding how many vobs are in each sample and there relative needs for dvdshrink in order to maintain each gets the same amount of compression .

there , I think that covers the subject well

Now to take over the planet

[daamon]

As you can see I get cranky when you people start naming programs , and avoid something , like how about FREEWARE .

The answer is Pgcedit ...

I've never used it, nor seen anyone recommending it to meet similar needs to that of the original poster. Therefore, I chose to comment on a tool that I do know. I'd suspect that this applies to most people...

As there are no guides on how to use it , just pm me and I'll give you my user id in yahoo , and I can send you my guide on using pcgedit to create a dvd movie with menu's and how to add and connect multiple titles .

You can submit guides to be listed on this site's catalogue.

This guide explains the full basics of compilation dvds , created by me and no one else .

Good work - It'll be a useful guide, if only it we readily available. See above...

[TheInformer]

First of all, let me say thank you to all the great folks that have replied to my original post!

Now to clarify.

When I used DVD Lab Pro to set a chapter point, I had (what I thought) was an I frame. When I played the finished DVD and clicked on a chapter, I was sent to a spot 5-7 seconds before the frame I had chosen. It wasn't a matter of a half second or so.

A question about TDA:

Are there any more templates for the program other than the 5 or 6 that come with it? Can I set up menues in a list type format, or more generally, is there a way to set up menu items wherever I want on the screen?

An idea for TDA:

When choosing where to start a chapter, are you forced to enter in the time index (such as 23:34:09), or can you just double click on the thumbnail of the frame you want the chapter point at?

Thanks in advance.

[daamon]

Now to clarify.

When I used DVD Lab Pro to set a chapter point, I had (what I thought) was an I frame. When I played the finished DVD and clicked on a chapter, I was sent to a spot 5-7 seconds before the frame I had chosen. It wasn't a matter of a half second or so.

Sounds odd - I've not used it, but I'd be very surprised if DVDLab Pro behaved liked that. I'd expect it to be able to set chapters at any "I" frame and work as expected.

Head over to the apps website - there's a forum there (or, at least, there was last time I looked). The answer may lie there...

Are there any more templates for the program other than the 5 or 6 that come with it?

I don't believe so - this is a common grumble from users.

Can I set up menues in a list type format, or more generally, is there a way to set up menu items wherever I want on the screen?

The templates are configurable to a degree... You need to "edit the menu template" (there's a button / menu option with words to that effect) and then you can adjust the layout of the items on the menu and sub menus.

When choosing where to start a chapter, are you forced to enter in the time index (such as 23:34:09), or can you just double click on the thumbnail of the frame you want the chapter point at?

You can select by the "I" frames thumbnail.

[jimmalenko]

In TDA, if you want a custom menu, select "custom" from the dropdown with the templates listed in it. Then you can choose from a myriad of different layouts.

Also, you can just select the thumbnail and click "add to chapter" instead of entering the time index, but you can only add frames that are I-frames.

[reboot]

When I used DVD Lab Pro to set a chapter point, I had (what I thought) was an I frame. When I played the finished DVD and clicked on a chapter, I was sent to a spot 5-7 seconds before the frame I had chosen. It wasn't a matter of a half second or so.

Did you try the frame indexing chapter option?