GUI For DVD Author - A Couple of Questions

[deadwing]

I do use this quite a lot now- especially when I've got compilation DVD's of
both PAL and NTSC to put together or I want to use non DVD-Video compliant
MPEG's. One thing I do miss is the ability to import an already authored DVD
into it. I know I could piece all of the VOB's together with VOBMERGE and
bring it in tht way, but it's a lot of messing and of course you lose all of
the chapter markers (Not good when you are importing a music recording where
you have the chapters at the song splits -especially when there is no audio
in GUI's graphic chapter tool). Has anyone found a way of importing already
authored into 'GUI....'???

Secondly - menus. I quite often just want a main menu, yet it always seems
to create a track menu for each bit of footage I add- is there a way I can
stop it doing that?

[borax]

You may extract the chapter markers with chaperextractor or ifoedit. No program (except dvdremake and similar) can 'import already authored' DVDs to just add/change a menu or something like this.
Concerning only main menu: If your DVD has only one type of video (i.e. not PAL and NTSC on one DVD), you can switch off the 'Use Titlesets' option. Otherwise at least a dummy menu (one pgc for each titleset) is required (not GfD specific, it is part of the DVD standard)

[deadwing]

You may extract the chapter markers with chaperextractor or ifoedit. No program (except dvdremake and similar) can 'import already authored' DVDs to just add/change a menu or something like this.
Concerning only main menu: If your DVD has only one type of video (i.e. not PAL and NTSC on one DVD), you can switch off the 'Use Titlesets' option. Otherwise at least a dummy menu (one pgc for each titleset) is required (not GfD specific, it is part of the DVD standard)

TMPGEnc DVD Author most certainly allows importation of already authored DVD's- either from a file on the hard drive or direct off the disc.

On menu creation TDA It also allows you to create a DVD without any menus at all. I don't want to do that, I just don't always want a menu for each titleset, just a main menu, and it seems strange why you can't just do that in GUI

[borax]

>TMPGEnc DVD Author most certainly allows importation of already authored DVD's
Ok. Then use it for this purpose. GfD was/is not intended for analyzing an already authored DVD.
DVDs without any menu are also possible with GfD. If you use MuxMan as authoring engine in GfD and just keep the titleset menus empty, these are not created on the final DVD compilation. Using dvdauthor a dummy menu is always created. Maybe I could avoid this now, but the effort would be very high (a lot of code would have to be changed) for just to save some bytes for the dummy menus.

[AlanHK]

On menu creation TDA It also allows you to create a DVD without any menus at all. I don't want to do that, I just don't always want a menu for each titleset, just a main menu, and it seems strange why you can't just do that in GUI

I use GfD for almost all my projects, but hardly ever have more than a single main menu listing the features. I know that stub titleset menus are created (with just a "back" button), but they don't display when you play it. I set chapter points, but leave the navigation to the remote button, not creating buttons on screen.

[deadwing]

>TMPGEnc DVD Author most certainly allows importation of already authored DVD's
Ok. Then use it for this purpose. GfD was/is not intended for analyzing an already authored DVD.

Why the antagonistic tone to your post? I simply asked if it (GUI..) could import pre-authored DVD, a simple 'No it can't' would have sufficed, wouldn't it? The fact is, I CAN'T use TDA when there are mixed PAL/NTSC compilations to be made and considering how much 'GUI..' does, I was suprprised it didn't have this feature.

If you use MuxMan as authoring engine in GfD and just keep the titleset menus empty, these are not created on the final DVD compilation. Using dvdauthor a dummy menu is always created. Maybe I could avoid this now, but the effort would be very high (a lot of code would have to be changed) for just to save some bytes for the dummy menus.

From that I assume you are either the author or something to do with the GUI project?

[borax]

Yes, I am the author of GfD. I have written this application for my own captured movies in the beginning. Sorry, I didn't intend to sound antagonistic.

[t0nee1]

And darn good proggie IMO , thanks borax!.....

[deadwing]

No problem- and it's a great tool too!! Now I know 100% it can't import re-authored DVD, I'll simply mege the vobs and copy the chapter marks across.