Book or web references on computer programming for DVDs?

[newbee51]

I'm an experienced computer programmer, and I'm looking for reference material -- either books or web sites -- that I can study to learn the fundamentals of computer programming using movie-type DVDs for input and output.

I have very little experience in this area, which is why I'll have to start at the beginning. I've done some peripheral work with very basic programs reading and writing MPEG-1 and 2 streams, so I'm not starting completely from nothing, but I've got a great distance to go.

I've searched the web for such reference material and have found little that is both particularly relevant and general enough. I've seen all kinds of forum entries on little individual pieces of the puzzle, but nothing over-arching. The MPEG-2 standards documents are not at all what I need, nor are technical descriptions of DVD hardware technology (I'll only process DVD data once it's on hard disk); I need instead things like advice on how to read and write and process VOBs and IFOs and menus and subtitles and such from hard disk.

I suppose what I'm most interested in are references to code libraries and interfaces and such.

I'll be programming in a Windows XP/Vista environment, but I've never done much on the Windows platform, and none at all on XP or Vista. Now I want to start trying some DVD-element programming, and I want to know what people's opinions are on the easiest client programming environment and API and other related tools are.

What about programming environments? What books do you consider the best?

What are your opinions?

[borax]

Rather complicated task to start with...

I don't know an API for dvd related stuff (probably this exists, but is commercial).

Some general explanations can be found at dvd-replica (there you get also a good book for this stuff!).

For specific programming, look into the source code of dvdauthor (open source)

[newbee51]

Rather complicated task to start with...

I don't know an API for dvd related stuff (probably this exists, but is commercial).

Some general explanations can be found at dvd-replica (there you get also a good book for this stuff!).

For specific programming, look into the source code of dvdauthor (open source)

That's a fine response. Thank you! That dvd-replica site is ideal.