How to merge 2 DVD Audio disks (ISOs)?

[shutz]

I have a related but slightly different situation:

I have the ISOs for two separate DVD-Audio discs. Both are less than 2GB, so I should easily be able to merge the two onto one single DVD-R.

Problem is, there's nothing in the VIDEO_TS folders for either disc, since they're DVD-A (all the data is in the AUDIO_TS folders instead.) This means that many of the tools mentioned in this thread won't work.

I would also like to preserve the menus, only adding one initial menu to select which one of the two discs to play.

And, like most people here, I'd rather use a free tool (or a usable trialware / shareware tool... in this case, I don't mind if it adds a watermark to that initial menu, for instance.)

I do own a licence to TMPGenc DVD Author 1.6 and TMPGenc 3.0 Xpress, if it makes a difference.

[mats.hogberg]

Different enough to be entitled to its own thread. My rule is:
If your post is not a reply to a post already in the thread - start a new thread.
I've split this out for you.

/Mats

[shutz]

Sorry to bump this, but I still haven't found a proper solution.

Really, all I need is something that will take the data from both DVD-As and merge them into one DVD-A with a simple (can be text-only, or one static image, I don't care) menu that lets me choose which album I want to play, and then it just shows the menu from that disc, intact and unmodified.

[AlanHK]

Sorry to bump this, but I still haven't found a proper solution.

Probably because hardly anyone makes DVDAs.
I never have. Google finds some tools:
http://home.comcast.net/~adobeman/DVDAGUI/
http://www.i-hack.org/computer/other-components/how-to-make-a-rip-of-a-dvd-a-disc.html

And to extract the files from ISOs, you can use WinISO or DaemonTools.

[jman98]

Reality check - it is IMPOSSIBLE to do what you want with free tools.

What you need to do:
1) Rip the DVD. You'll need programs such as
DVDAExplorer
DVDARipper
PPCMRipper

NONE of these programs are easily available. The author was forced to remove them from places where they could be easily downloaded. You'll have to check P2P networks and perhaps even Usenet to get them.

2) Once you have extracted your audio, you will have to have some kind of DVD Audio authoring program. A couple of years ago, I heard about a free one, but I don't remember the name and it didn't do menus. It was very primitive. These are all programs you have to buy, but a person clever enough to do what #1 requires might also be able to, ahem, "work around" this issue.

3) You will most likely to have to remake all menus. I suppose it might be possible to reuse the menus from the original discs, but it's one of those "If you have to ask how to do it, you won't be able to do it" kind of things. I don't make menus on any of my DVDs, so I can't help you there.
I have no idea at all how you would extract the original menus, although a person who really understands the subject well might be able to do so.

[MOVIEGEEK]

As was mentioned most of the free DVD-Audio programs are now gone.I dabbled with Adobeman's program a few years ago but I never could get a DVD to work.Here a a few pay programs:
discwelder :basic DVD-Audio authoring
discwelder steel :author DVD-Audio with menus
discwelder chrome :advanced authoring so you can make DVD-Video/DVD-Audio hybrids.

[AlanHK]

If I understand this correctly: http://www.discwelder.com/pdfs/dvdAudioWhitepaper.pdf, DVDA is an uncompressed format.

Ripping and converting the original audio to high rate AC3 should give a good result.

GuiforDVDAuthor can create what it calls "Audio Titlesets" that let you select a batch of AC3 (or MP2 or Wave) and it will make a simple menu and create a DVD video set. The overhead for the "video" is very low, it's a single video frame muxed with the original soundtrack.

[MOVIEGEEK]

If I understand this correctly: http://www.discwelder.com/pdfs/dvdAudioWhitepaper.pdf, DVDA is an uncompressed format.

Ripping and converting the original audio to high rate AC3 should give a good result.

GuiforDVDAuthor can create what it calls "Audio Titlesets" that let you select a batch of AC3 (or MP2 or Wave) and it will make a simple menu and create a DVD video set. The overhead for the "video" is very low, it's a single video frame muxed with the original soundtrack.

The problem is there are no freeware tools that allow you to rip and convert DVD-Audio files to LPCM or whatever.
GUIforDVDAuthor can only author DVD-Video,the OP wants to author a DVD-Audio disc.
OP here's another freeware program: http://dvd-audio.sourceforge.net/howto.shtml