How To author an Episodic Disc w/Menu?

[Enginebuilder]

Hello folks, I sure hope you can help.
I have been studiously researching, and have not been able to figure out how to use the programs I have to get this to work.

Here's the situation:
I have captured a number of episodes of a TV show, and would now like to put them on DVD so I don't have them taking up space on my HD. Unfortunately, before I knew that it was bad, I captured them in Divx (.Avi) format using the Plextor Convertx Capture box. I have converted all of these .avi files to DVD Compliant mpeg2 using MPEG Video Wizard - DVD. (the same program I used to edit out the commercials) Now I have all 24 of these episodes taking up an enormous amount of space on my HD, and would like to put them onto a standard DVD-R, with a menu to select which episode to play, or the option to play all, one after the other.

To this end, I have purchased Womble MPEG Video Wizard, and have also borrowed a friends copy of DVDLab Pro (v1.6).
When I transfer the video files to Womble, it authors a DVD with one movie; all the episodes run consecutively, with no way to select which one to play.

I have no idea how to use DVDLab; the thing makes me cringe everytime I run it. I have fiddled with it, but as my friend cannot find his manual for it, and isn't really familiar with it either, we can't get it to do what I need- I'm POSITIVE this program can do it, we just don't have a clue how to use it.

I also have Nero 8 Ultra; but it doesn't seem to support episodic discs either, or I simply cannot figure it out.

I would greatly appreciate any help that you could give.

[lordsmurf]

I don't like DVD-Lab, it has a dodgy workflow and it has quirks/problems.
Nero is crap, it's not an option, it will mess up your files.

SVCD2DVD is a good cheap authoring option.
TDA is another.
I currently use Ulead DVD Workshop 2.
I've used DVDit! PE 2.5 (only that version, no others) too.

There are guides for these too.

[lgewirtz]

I use convert my avi files using the WinAVI Video Converter. I click on the DVD button and add all my avi files. The key is to choose "One DVD, Separate Titles" in the Output Mode field. This creates the format of the DVD in separate episodes so that when I use Nero Express 6 to burn the DVD(s), there's a menu with separate episodes.

I'd love to know how to add more to the menu - like the title and number of the episodes.

[guns1inger]

I like DVD Lab Pro because it doesn't have a proscribed workflow, which means you can use it in manner that suits you, not what a programmer thought was best. However this means taking the time to learn how it works, not just jumping and hoping to get what you want.

If you just want quick results, FAVC. Simple text menus, great encoder.

If you want more complex menus, then use FAVC to encode, then use GUIForDVDAuthor to create menus for the output.

That said, if you are capturing to Divx to begin with, then you are only going to lower the quality again by re-encoding. Buy a Divx capable player, put 12 - 24 episodes to a disc, and save yourself the time and trouble.

[RowMan]

TDA does this quite simply. You just add each episode as a separate track. The menu it automatically creates (which you can customize with your own graphics if you wish) will allow you to play each episode individually or play them all consecutively with a "Play All" button. This was my first authoring software. It's pretty simple to operate and I learned a lot from it. I still use it today for less complicated projects.

[Enginebuilder]

Thanks for all the responses;
I originally captured episodes of both House, MD and the Showtime Show Dexter using Divx compression to save space on my HTPC. I know now that this was a mistake- one I will not repeat from now on; I've purchased a different TV Capture Card, and it should be here tomorrow (its an NVIDIA XFX Low Profile card)

I downloaded a trial version of the program TMPGEnc DVD Author 3 With Divx Authoring; so far this program does everything I want it to do- its putting 6 episodes onto a DVD, allows me to create a DVD menu with a background image and audio, and allows me to have the option of playing all episodes consecutively, or on an individual basis. It has a VERY intuitive interface; from start to finish, I created the menu and had everything ready to encode in about 35 minutes.

Does encoding always take so long? I figured with Divx format video and MP3 Audio, it wouldn't take long at all to re-configure the video. (making a .Divx Ultra DVD) It ran for almost 7 hours or 80% before it claimed it ran out of space?! (I have +10gb free in the output directory; and the output size is supposed to be only 3.8GB.. I think the problem may have been the 'working directory' which was by default C:\Documents and Settings\Application Data\Pegasys\TMPGenc DVD Author\... I only have 4GB free on my system drive, so I changed this to another drive, and will re-attempt the encoding process overnight.

As my HTPC will be taking over DVD Playing duties, I don't foresee a problem in making these .Divx DVD's, but I would REALLY like to get them encoded to a DVD for use in a regular DVD player. I will be sure to check out the programs mentioned above.

[guns1inger]

If you make them Divx DVDs then you seem to face two problems

1. Divx Authoring always seems to re-encode the video, so you will take a quality hit

2. You can only use the Divx Player if you want to use the menus etc.

If you already have some form of HTPC with a reasonable interface then you gain nothing by creating extra menus etc for your Divx files, especially if you lose a generation to re-encoding.

[Enginebuilder]

Well while the output isn't fantastic (some text is pixelated, some black scenes appear purple w/ more noticeable pixelation) at least the audio is in sync; after reading the millions of threads on audio sync problems, I am satisfied.

Only one problem, and I'm sure it has something to do with how I setup TDA3- Whenever I jump to an episode, it plays the rest of them too, rather than jump back to the menu.
I'll re-open the project file, and see if I can find a setting that needs to be changed, and get back to you.

My HTPC is currently in pieces (still waiting on a processor and power supply) so I can't comment on compatibility just yet; do you know if there is a plugin to accept .divx ultra dvd's for MCE? I'd rather not jump out of MCE just to load a DVD..

[RowMan]

Be sure that the episodes have been added as separate tracks and not all in one track. That was my first bit of confusion with TDA when I started using this software.

Also, there is a setting for what you want a track to do after it has been played. Choose "go to menu" (or something to that effect). Regardless of that setting, the Play All button will still do what it's supposed to do.

[Enginebuilder]

Well, that was it- I had all the episodes loaded into one track; created separate tracks for each, re-made the menu, and all is good; except I no longer have a 'play all' button. I set the menu up to have a "top menu" only- is this why? I seemed as if giving each track its own title menu was too cluttered for what I'm trying to do.

I can live without a "play all" button; but it would be nice.. I can't seem to create new buttons?

[RowMan]

I use TDA Version 1.5.34.89 and my menu display settings include:

Only Main Menu

Only Track Menu

Main Menu and Track Menu

I choose "Only Main Menu" and the menu will list the tracks and include a "Play All" button.

Not sure what is changed in TDA 3.