Stuttering playback of DVDs on VLC media player

[gastrof]

I'm using some DVDs that were made in a very complex way. They have eight different language tracks you can choose from, and any printed words onscreen (including the title of the DVDs and different sections of the material on them) are also in each of the 8 languages. Depending on what language you choose at the start of playback, you'll hear the audio and see the onscreen printing in that language.

The problem is, any time they flash printed words on the screen, every DVD player I've tried displays the "alternate scenes to choose from" icon on the TV screen. It's distracting and annoying.

If I play the DVDs on my computer using VLC, the icon doesn't appear (thankfully)....

...but the VLC player chokes up and stutters (and sometimes skips a few seconds) as the lettering is about to appear.

Windows Media Player does NOT have the stuttering problem at such points.

Windows Media Player also does not have the ability to RECORD the DVD playback to my hard drive. (This is an important factor. I'd hoped to use VLC to create a "no annoying icon" version of the DVDs.)

Can you think of any reason why the VLC player stutters and chokes at such points, but Windows Media Player does not? (VLC stutters at those points in the playback whether I'm trying to record or not.)

The WMP playback is so smooth with these odd discs, but VLC is having a real problem with them. I wish that wasn't so, especially since I wanted to get a decent copy of the material for playback. (Educational purposes.)

If anyone can think of anything that might help, or a player like VLC that wouldn't have this problem but would also record...

Thanks.

[jman98]

Have you considered the very real possibility that
made in a complex way = made incorrectly
?

I know that educational material is sometimes copy protected in unusual ways. I cannot rule this out as the true source of the problem. Or as I said earlier that it is made incorrectly and by some stroke of luck WMP is OK with it.

WMP is a complete piece of crap. Your post is basically something like telling us that when you drive your Yugo it works fine but your Mercedes won't start, so what's wrong with your Mercedes. Without being able to see the DVD or get more information about it, we're just reduced to wild ass guessing. And the fact that WMP works means nothing except, lucky you, you found a disc that it actually plays correctly. I've seen WMP refuse to play non-protected WMV made with Microsoft's own tools, that's how big a piece of crap it is.

Finally, your plan to use VLC to record this DVD is about as flawed a plan as I've ever seen proposed around here. I am just speechless that after 8 years of membership and 70 posts (granted not a lot, but still you have been somewhat active) that you seemingly have no idea on how to rip DVDs. You desperately need to look at our Guides section on DVD ripping, which is a much better plan than what you propose.

[gastrof]

...your plan to use VLC to record this DVD is about as flawed a plan as I've ever seen proposed around here. I am just speechless that after 8 years of membership and 70 posts (granted not a lot, but still you have been somewhat active) that you seemingly have no idea on how to rip DVDs. You desperately need to look at our Guides section on DVD ripping, which is a much better plan than what you propose.

Because the DVDs use some complex method of combining the different language tracks and the onscreen lettering in all those languages, it's not possible to just rip them.

I could do that easily, and have.

How amusing that you ignored the problem I described, and essentially called me ignorant/stupid, despite my description of the problem.

Any ripping of the DVD produces a digital duplicate of the original...including the hiccups. If I use a disc image to create a new DVD, it'll play out in exactly the same way the original did, which IS WHAT I DO NOT WANT.

As already mentioned, I'm trying to avoid the stupid little "there are multiple versions of this scene" icon showing up, and so far the icon has shown up on each and every stand-alone DVD player I've used.

It doesn't show up in any of the computer-based players I've tried.

I'm trying to record the English language playback on the computer, because it doesn't produce the icon, and will be a "clean" English version of the DVD.

Problem is, VLC can't handle the playback and any recording I make using VLC is flawed in a whole new way.

I've even created a disc image on the hard drive and tried using VLC to play THAT back, only the stuttering is exactly the same as if VLC were working with a physical DVD.

I've tried playing the DVD thru Windows Media Player and Media Player Classic, and using the screen recorder in aTubeCatcher.

It recorded the audio. The video was totally blank, which anyone who's ever tried to do even a still capture off WMP knows can happen.

Hmmm...

I guess I could try turning down the performance setting on WMP. That's allowed still captures before. If the current version of WMP allows that control to be turned down to its lowest setting, maybe video recording can be done as well?

I'll let you guys know.

As for jman...

Dude, you really didn't think out what my problem was here, or consider what I might have already tried. Putting it bluntly, you shouldn't assume stupidity on other people's part, and should try for a little more respect and kindness.

Other people have brains too, and we come here to help each other. Not to be insulted for asking for help.

Please give that some thought.

[Steve(MS)]

jman is right about one thing WMP is a piece of crap, actually he's fairly right about everything he stated, that aside, if you are really bent on trying to capture while you play, you can get either fraps or Dxtory and capture screen.
If you want to try another free method, you can try potplayer, it will record while it plays something.
You need to have a computer that has enough power to do any of this sort of stuff and there is a good chance it won't work out too good.

Your best bet though is to find a way to rip the disc and get the contents you want.

[gastrof]

...Your best bet though is to find a way to rip the disc and get the contents you want.

Oh come on, Steve!

I told you guys I already ripped the disc.

The audio info is part of the video files, as is the alternate versions of the onscreen lettering. (The audio folder is EMPTY.)

There's no way to just extract the English version of each. All the variations are somehow woven into each VOB file in a complex way where the English elements CAN'T (by any means I can see) be isolated.

The only way seems to be isolating the English version by setting it for English at the start of playback, and then recording the playback.

I will look into the methods you suggested earlier, tho', and for those suggestions I'm grateful. Thank you.

[Steve(MS)]

Sent you a PM, download PgcDemux and see if you can demux all streams.
If it can then mux english audio and video back together.

AUDIO_TS folder is almost always empty....

[jman98]

gastrof - The fact that YOU cannot do a job does NOT mean that NOBODY can do it. Think about that. And I call bs that you supposedly told us that you ripped the disc. Only your 2nd post talked about that. We can't read minds you know. And don't send me PMs where you cut and paste your post in this thread.

1) You've provided no details on what you used to rip. Some ripping programs are flawed. And I explained to you that the DVD may be specially protected in ways that your ripper does not understand or it may simply be badly made.
2) You don't just want a copy of the disc, you want a copy with very specific things pulled out of it.
3) The fact that YOU have been unable to achieve your goal in software via ripping has led you to conclude that the task is impossible. It may in fact be impossible given your restrictive requirements, but the fact that YOU can't do it is not yet proof that nobody else can do it.
4) Given number 3, you have hit on an alternate plan that has failed and you seem unwilling to consider alternatives that might work as they conflict with your preconceptions that there is only one way to do what you want.

I have a question for you - if you're as much of a genius as you think you are, why are you asking for help at all? You're not providing a strong case that it's worth our time to help you, but a couple of our members have infinite patience for people with closed minds so maybe you will get lucky and one of them will join this thread.

[loster]

Just FYI I don't think VLC supports DVD multiangle.