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  1. Member
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    Hi. I really need some help with TMPGEnc DVD Author, please.

    I'm trying to edit a recording of a television program. The two goals are to get rid of the commercials, but also to keep closed captioning. I'm trying to convert from a DVD structure (VOBs, IFOs, etc.) to another DVD structure.

    But DVD Author is not helping me at all. Version 3 edits perfectly, but does not keep closed captioning. Version 1 keeps closed captioning (or so I was informed), but does not edit well at all because it can only cut at 'I' frames (- which would force me to either sacrifice frames from the TV show or allow frames from the commercials, in certain edit places).

    Is there a version of TMPGEnc DVD Author that can do both tasks equally well?

    Thanks a million.
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  2. Member
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    Have you confirmed that the closed captions are truly gone by playing back an authored DVD with your TV's closed captions turned on? Software players are not a reliable test for the presence of closed captioning. Some popular software players can't display closed captions, and the rest can only display them under certain conditions.

    If closed captions are truly gone and you can't get an answer for TDA, there are other pay and free mpeg editors that can do frame accurate cuts to remove commercials while preserving closed captions. While all these mpeg editors re-encode a few frames around the cuts, and closed captions appearing there will be lost, there are rarely any closed captions for the program near commercials. Womble's editors will work, as will videoredo. So does Cuttermaran, which is free, but the video and audio to be edited must be demultiplexed first, and it must be set to encoding mode to do frame-accurate cuts.

    If closed captions appear on the TV, but you can't turn them on using a software player that is capable of displaying them, do the following to correct the problem:

    1. Run IFOEdit.
    2. Click the "Open" button, select the VIDEO_TS folder for the authored DVD stored on your HDD
    3. Select VIDEO_TS.IFO and click the open button
    4. Double-click on the first video listed under a titleset. There will be a black filmstrip icon beside it.
    5. Check both boxes under "CC for Line 21" (in the upper-right corner of the dialog box)
    6. Click the "OK" button
    7. When you have done the same for every video title shown, click the "Save" button
    8. Open all the IFOs for the other menus and titles using IFOEdit, and repeat Steps 4-7. You only need to change the ones that pertain to a title. The menus themselves contain video, but it isn't necessary to change the CC flags for those.
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  3. Member
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    Hi.

    Thanks a million for your reply! It's surely going to help me.

    I can tell you that the DVD Recorder definitely keeps the closed captioning, because playing back an authored DVD-RW (with the original - not edited - footage) displays the CCs.

    However, after editing out the commercials by using TMPGEnc DVD Author 3, and authoring a DVD-R (to include the edited material), the closed captions are gone.

    So, it's not a problem of IFO editing, I believe.

    I mentioned PowerDVD and NVE because, you see, I used to use NeroVision 3, and the material edited with Nero's software always showed closed captioning when the authored DVD was played back on a regular DVD player (connected to a regular TV), even though there was no way to activate the CC when using PowerDVD.
    I had hoped that the same with happen with TDA3, but the CCs just do not pop up anywhere.

    I will acquire VideoReDo and hope it does a good job. (Aside from the closed captioning issue, I hope it maintains the original quality of the recording.) Thank you again for the suggestion.

    Cheers!
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  4. Member
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    VideoReDo has a free trial, so it won't cost anything to see if you like it. The video quality for anything you care about won't be affected when there is only a minimal amount of re-encoding around the cuts, and the only editing done is to remove commercials.

    The closed captioning is part of the mpeg2 user data. It seems strange that TDA 3 strips it without giving users the the option to leave them intact, and without re-encoding. I wish I had thought to check to see what TMPGEnc MPEG Editor does with them when I tried it a few weeks ago.
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    Hi.

    I did try VideoReDo first (because I remembered trying it a couple of years back, when it didn't have "TV Suite" in its name). I think I stopped using it then because the files it made were larger in size than those made by NVE.
    However, this new version of VideoReDo TV Suite (3.1.something, I think) is not good at all and full of bugs.

    I tried to edit a movie by using the right arrow on the keyboard and the movie cursor goes about a quarter of the way inside the video file even though the top window (that shows the current frame) indicates that only a few seconds have passed. But, if I press the left arrow, trying to move back a frame, the picture completely changes, putting me inside the movie.
    I'm not sure if I explained everything properly, but, in a nutshell, I think this version of VideoReDo does not see or does not show me properly where to cut.
    (I tried to select both 'Frame Accurate' and 'GOP Accurate' in the 'Options' menu, but that didn't help.)

    Maybe I'll check the Womble programs you mentioned.

    I don't know about TMPGEnc MPEG Editor, but I assure you that DVD Author 3 leaves out the CCs. I even searched their forums, and one guy clearly states there that, if you want to keep closed captioning, you have to use version 1.6. I did try that, but version 1.6 can only cut at I-frames, which is not accurate at all when you want to cut the commercials.

    Talk to you later.
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    I must admit I never tried the editing/authoring suites from either VideoReDo or Womble. I only tried the plain editors. VideoReDo, was OK, but I liked Womble's editors better, particularly MPEG Video Wizard.
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  7. Banned
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    Originally Posted by jeanpave
    Version 3 edits perfectly, but does not keep closed captioning. Version 1 keeps closed captioning (or so I was informed)
    Just for the record:
    I haven't use v.3, but I have been trying out v.1.2 - 1.6 and I can definitly tell you it does NOT keep CC as soon as you do any cutting/editing. quite opposite - it strips all vertical blanking info completely... Yes, it retains the CC under one condition: if it absolutely doesn't touch/don't do any work on video stream (but then what's the point to use it, right? To add 2nd audio track only?)

    It was my main gripe with TDA 1.x and main reason why I never use it (because other than that it was very useful tool IMHO).
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    To Usually_Quiet:

    Hi again.

    Well, if you want more information about VideoReDo TV Suite, I can tell you that it may edit a pure MPG file just fine, but if you add a VOB it cannot offer an accurate timeline to use for editing (even if you use the option to open a DVD).

    I am going to give a try to Womble MPEG Video Wizard DVD. If this one doesn't work, either, I guess I have to give up the idea of keeping closed captioning.


    To DereX888:

    Hi. Thanks for the information.

    On the official TMPGEnc forums, somebody has posted a thread in which he says that version 1.6.34.89 keeps the closed captioning.
    I don't know how true that is yet, because that program cannot cut at any frame inside the file, and therefore is not an accurate editor.
    But I guess I have to try it now, and I'll post my conclusion, for argument's sake.

    I'm curious myself now, as a matter of fact, about who is right.
    (And I'm really disappointed in the way in which TMPGEnc programmers just think they can discard the vertical blanking without any sort of warning or care...)
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  9. Member
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    If you don't like Womble's authoring features, but like it as an editor, try doing the editing using the MPEG Video Wizard version that does not include authoring, import the resulting files into TDA, and use it only for authoring. That shouldn't pose much inconvenience. If the files are not edited by TDA the CCs may be preserved.

    Early on, I tried TSUNAMI MPEG DVD Author, which was the retail edition of an early version of TDA. I didn't like it for editing and tried VideoReDo and both Womble Editors. (At the time VideoReDo and Womble didn't offer authoring suites.) Closed captions were left intact in files TSUNAMI MPEG DVD Author did not edit, though it didn't set the proper flags in the IFOs.
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  10. Banned
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    Quick update on TDA & CC

    I have "dusted off" my old TDA 1.6 and did few quick tests.
    My conclusion is somewhat confusing.

    VHS -> standalone recorder, DVD-RW in VR mode, Samsung
    TDA-edited video burnt to DVD-Video *retains* CC

    Same VHS -> same recorder, DVD-RW in DVD-Video mode
    TDA-edited video burnt to DVD-Video *retains* CC

    Same VHS -> same recorder, DVD-R in DVD-Video mode
    TDA-edited video burnt to DVD-Video *retains* CC

    Same VHS -> standalone recorder, DVD+RW in VR mode, old Philips recorder
    TDA-edited video burnt to DVD-Video *no longer has* CC

    TV broadcast (OTA) -> standalone recorder, DVD-RW in VR mode, Samsung
    TDA-edited video burnt to DVD-Video *no longer has* CC

    TV broadcast (OTA) -> standalone recorder, DVD+RW in VR mode, Philips
    TDA-edited video burnt to DVD-Video *no longer has* CC

    TV broadcast (OTA) -> standalone recorder, DVD+RW in VR mode, City
    TDA-edited video burnt to DVD-Video *retains* CC

    /edit
    TDA is v.1.6.34.89
    Philips is old DVD-R985 model (+R/+RW only)
    Samsung is ~4-5yrs old model (-R/-RW/-RAM) (inside my cabinet between other pieces, too much trouble to dig it out and check exact model # on the back)
    City is model 8001 ~2yrs old standalone multiwriter (+/-/RAM/CD) (City is asian branding, IIRC Magnavox or Daytek is US branding)
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  11. @jeanpave

    It is my experience that none of the Tsunami products retain closed captions. I verified this with their customer service. So I use Videoredo for editing. It retains CC.

    It is also my experience that the type of connection you have to your TV affects CC. HDMI and Component connections do not pass CC data to the TV therefore they cannot be displayed. Composite and SVideo connections do pass CC and they will be displayed if the TV has the capability.

    I record OTA HD programs using a Hauppage HD950 USB Tuner. The recordings are edited in Videoredo. After editing I use CCExtractor to extract the closed captions as an SRT file. Then I use ConvertXtoDVD to author a DVD. If the SRT file is named the same as the MPG file ConvertX will automatically include it as a subtitle in the authored DVD. Subtitles will play via any type of connection to your TV so you don't have to worry about what type you have.

    I don't have any experience editing DVD VOBs in Videoredo but if you have problems you might consider using VOB2MPG to convert the VOBs to MPGs.
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