Creating 4k UHD Blu-Ray Discs (With Menu) With (Almost) Free Software

[DreckSoft]

Prequel
This guide has been tested with a Panasonic DP-UB824 ONLY. Panasonic players are known to be picky so hopefully it will work in other players too. A huge issue was EAC3 playback. Newer versions of tsMuxeR did not create any playable result. The issue has been found and fixed. However, pure EAC3 like used in streaming is not Blu-Ray compliant. Most UHD players should also support streaming or USB / network playback and therefore be able to handle such audio of at least bitstream it to your receiver / soundbar. If you have a completely unsupported audio format (like AAC), you MUST convert it to get a playable result. The same of course goes for unsupported UHD video formats like AV1. And no, this will not work even if your player theoretically knows the format because the playlist and clipinfo simply have no values specified for those formats.

Software Needed
• BDEdit (>=0.54, Donation Version)
• MediaInfo
• MKVToolnix
• MultiAVCHD
• tsMuxeR (GIT/Nightly Build, 2023-03-25 or newer)
• Video Converter of your choice

Instructions
1. Convert your (HEVC) UHD video file to AVC 1080p. You MUST include all streams you want to have in you final disc and they MUST be in the same order for both versions (1080p and UHD). Some video converters remove some streams. In that case re-multiplex with MKVToolnix after conversion.
Note: Your 4k source file must be UHD BD compliant to work. Especially it must be HEVC and must not be cropped (full 3840x2160 resolution). Otherwise you need to fix this (by re-encoding) first.
Note: The video quality of the 1080p file is not that important. Just remember that the thumbnails for the menus are created from this file.
Note: The audio format must also be (UHD) Blu-Ray compliant. Pure EAC3 usually works but something completely different like AAC or also MP2 (that could be included on DVDs) won’t.
2. Create your Blu-Ray in MultiAVCHD with the 1080p AVC files. There are many tutorials for MultiAVCHD. This will not be covered here.
3. Multiplex your UHD files with tsMuxeR. Remember to put the streams in the correct order. MultiAVCHD sometimes messes up the subtitle order if you add external subtitles, so double check. The file number can be set in the “Blu-Ray” tab. Default is to create 00000.m2ts. Change the number accordingly. “Force BD-ROM V3 format” should be set automatically on HEVC videos.
Note: tsMuxeR uses different settings for subtitles. The default settings result in small subs. You likely want to adapt this. MultiAVCHD uses: Trebuchet MS, size 45, bold, 2 pixels border and 45 pixels offset from the bottom. I suggest increasing the font size even more for UHD.

[Attachment 70331 - Click to enlarge]
4. Copy the resulting M2TS file from the STREAM directory to the STREAM directory of your MultiAVCHD Blu-Ray. Copy the CLPI file from the CLIPINF directory to the CLIPINF of your MultiAVCHD Blu-Ray. Replace existing files. Do NOT copy the playlist!
5. Open BDEdit and load the MultiAVCHD Blu-Ray folder. Go to options and convert to version 3.00.

[Attachment 70332 - Click to enlarge]
6. For each replaced stream open the playlist and set the video parameters so that they match the actual file. Use MediaInfo to get the details.

[Attachment 70333 - Click to enlarge]

[Attachment 70334 - Click to enlarge]
7. Check the PIDs for audio and subtitles. I had to adjust the subtitle PIDs from 120x to 12Ax. Also use MediaInfo here to check the PIDs.

[Attachment 70335 - Click to enlarge]
8. Don’t forget to click “Save” on the lower left for each Playlist!
9. Copy the directories CLIPINF and PLAYLIST into the BACKUP directory and replace all files / directories. You may delete the .backup files first.
10. Check the result in PowerDVD or any other software player. However, PowerDVD seems to be very picky and crashes often, so it is good for testing.
11. Burn to BD-R (or BD-RE first) and re-test in your standalone player.
Note: 4k UHD Blu-Rays usually use a different physical format then regular Blu-Rays. This allows for a higher capacity and bitrate. Those are not available for sale as BD-R with the exception of crazy expensive BD-XL 100GB and 128GB. However, those seem to have playback issues in most players beyond the second layer. I just use “normal” BD25 or BD50 discs. As long as the bitrate does not exceed the specification for those formats, they SHOULD play fine.

Thanks to Pel9 for providing a new version of BDEdit with the ability to covert files to the UHD V3 format and to jcdr428 from the tsMuxeR developer team for his patience and help in figuring out the EAC3 muxing issue in the open source version.

PDF Version: https://forum.videohelp.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=70336&d=1681334782

[DreckSoft]

Yes

[DreckSoft]

The attached script to change the PGS sub PIDs requires MPLS2JSON from BDTools. Place the EXE in the same folder as the script. It is recommended to place the UHD folder in a subfolder of the script. The script requires Cygwin installed (MinGW should also work) and is only a dirty hack. Make sure to double-check the result.

[dmuch66]

Hello, it would be very kind if someone could give me a little tip. I did everything according to the instructions. Now when I start my Blu-ray with Power DVD, which I have with Multi AVC HD Author. And click on the changed 4k arrow, it shows me the correct resolution and the correct playing time of my little clip in the info at the top right. But it doesn't start. It just stands there. Do you have a little tip for this? That would be really nice.

[Sebarino]

Interesting and rather convoluted way to get there (I truly mean no offense by it), but why go through all that when BD Rebuilder has all the stuff you need included in it. About two years ago I was able to author a 4K Blu-ray with HDR footage I exported out of Final Cut Pro X to a Prores file, then encoded in Handbrake still on my Mac setting all the flags that were needed, then sent the file over the LAN to my PC, loaded it in BD Rebuilder, and then created the 4K Blu-ray, obviously to a BD-R 50 because UHD BD-Rs don't exist, and neither do UHD burners (although maybe in Japan, they seem to have the stuff that we will all see ten years later), but as far as I know, they don't exist. I mean, we know that they are BD-XL 66 or 100, but if anyone saw an actual 4K Blu-ray burner and blank discs, feel free to correct me.

But that disc played on all my players, an Oppo UDP-203, a Panasonic UB820, and a Sony X700 and an X800 (I may be wrong on the model numbers).

I did other tests too, but I would say that if you can export from your NLE any lossless or at least very high quality file that Handbrake can load fine, then it's all down to four programs, NLE of your choice, Handbrake, BD Rebuilder and ImgBurn.

Now, I would like if NLEs could export HEVC files ready to throw into BD Rebuilder, especially DaVinci Resolve. I've been doing some tests but I keep running into A/V sync problems and search is just impossible, despite setting the keyframes to every 48. But it's been a while since I read what all the different encoding parameters are for, so I need to refresh my memory on that.

[dmuch66]

Thank you for your answer. But maybe we're talking past each other. I have about 50 UHD HEVC 3840x2160 files and would like to put them in a Blu-ray menu where I can select them individually. This works great with AVCHD, but this program only works with Blu-ray files and not with 4K files. Now with these instructions it says that you can exchange the files. This is not about 1 single film but about several film clips in 4K HDR with Dolby Atmos, so that you can select them individually in a simple menu. Thank you very much for your answer anyway! Perhaps someone else has a tip for me. Thank you in advance

[Sebarino]

Thank you for your answer. But maybe we're talking past each other. I have about 50 UHD HEVC 3840x2160 files and would like to put them in a Blu-ray menu where I can select them individually. This works great with AVCHD, but this program only works with Blu-ray files and not with 4K files. Now with these instructions it says that you can exchange the files. This is not about 1 single film but about several film clips in 4K HDR with Dolby Atmos, so that you can select them individually in a simple menu. Thank you very much for your answer anyway! Perhaps someone else has a tip for me. Thank you in advance

Oh, OK. I honestly didn't read the whole thing because I didn't have the time, but I can tell you one thing. BD Rebuilder has the ability to create menus where you can select and play the different files you import. Now, it's not a menu like you would create with Affinity Photo with all the bells and whistles, but the background is whatever jpg you put in there, so you can create something as nice as you want in A Photo or PS or similar.

As for the text, there's a nice amount of customization too. If you open the HIDDENOPTS.TXT file in the BD Rebuilder folder you extract from the zip, just by a quick look you have all this:

MENU_ACTIVE_COLOR=s	s = YELLOW/BLUE/GREEN/RED/PURPLE/WHITE, Color of active text in menu, default is GREEN
MENU_BACKDROP_AUTOSIZE=n n= 0/1 - 0=Off (default), if set to 1, the menu backdrop automatically sized to match items 
MENU_BACKDROP_OPACITY=n n = 0-255 - Opacity of the Quick-Menu backdrop 0=Transparent, 255=solid, default = 150
MENU_CUSTOM_COLOR=n	n = Custom RGB color.  Example: 0x40FF40 (hexadecimal: BBGGRR) or 4259632 (decimal)
MENU_FONT=s		s = Any legal font name supported on your computer. Font used for Quick menus. default=Arial
MENU_FONT_BOLD=n	n = 0/1 - 0=OFF (default) - if set to "1", then the selected menu font is set to boldface
MENU_FONT_ITALIC=n	n = 0/1 - 0=OFF (default) - if set to "1", then the selected menu font is set to italic
MENU_FORCE_QUICK=n	n = 0/1 - 0=OFF (default) - if set to "1", create Quick menu even for only one play item
MENU_HORIZONTAL=n	n = 0-1919 - Offset from left of 1080p screen for QP menu item selection area (16 items/page max)
MENU_INACTIVE_COLOR=s	s = YELLOW/BLUE/GREEN/RED/PURPLE/WHITE, Color of inactive text, defaults to subdued white
MENU_ITEMS_PAGE=n[,n...]n = Items for each page of a quick menu/import. 4 page example: MENU_ITEMS_PAGE=13,5,12,8
MENU_MAXITEMS=n		n = 2-64 - Maximum number of menu items per Quick-Menu page.  Default = 32
MENU_PAGE_ENABLE=n	n = 0/1 - 1=ON (default) - if set to "0", Menu Page number text will not be displayed
MENU_PREVNEXT_X=n	n = 0-1919 - 0=Automatic (default), X position for PREV/NEXT page menu button
MENU_PREVNEXT_Y=n	n = 0-1079 - 0=Automatic (default), Y position for PREV/NEXT page menu button
MENU_ROLLOVER=n		n = 0/1 - 0=OFF (default) Set to "1" = Quick-Menu: "up" on item #1 rolls to last and vise versa
MENU_TOP=n		n = 100-910 - Offset from top of 1080p screen for QP menu item selection area, default = 200
MENU_VERTICAL=n		n = 100-910 - Same as MENU_TOP - if both are used, MENU_TOP has priority

Then you have other options in the BDREBUILDER.INI file:

MENU_BACKGROUND=C:\Users\[username]\Portables\BD-RBV06212\BD_Rebuilder\misc\menuback.jpg
MENU_AUDIO=C:\Users\[username]\Portables\BD-RBV06212\BD_Rebuilder\tools\blankclip\blank.ac3
IMPORT_THRESHOLD=15
QUICK_PLAY_THRESHOLD=10
MENU_AUTO_BACKGROUND=1
MENU_AUTO_DVDAUDIO=1
MENU_PLAY_SEQUENTIAL=0
MENU_START_WITH_MENU=1

In case you're not familiar with BDRB, the options in the secret file are just lines you can copy and paste onto the BDREBUILDER.INI file, which is what it reads each time you start it.

This is a very versatile program, but its capabilities often go beyond what you just see in the preferences.

One thing I'm not totally sure is if it keeps Dolby Atmos intact. But I know if it did, one preference has to be enabled for sure, and that's the "Keep HD Audio for BD25/Alternate Intact"

Also, the encoding of your files might make the difference between playing or not, or playing but not being able to search. I mean, there's a lot more to 4K Blu-rays than just HEVC 2160p. I've been trying to create an MKV HEVC file that will import fine in to BD Rebuilder and create a 4K Blu-ray that will not just play, but fast forward and rewind, chapter search, just like a real 4K Blu-ray, and I know BDRB is capable of creating it because I did it years ago with footage of my puppy from Final Cut Pro X but exporting as a Prores 422 and ingesting that into Handbrake. So Handbrake creates files that are compliant enough with the 4K Blu-ray spec because the two I created back then play just fine.

But right now I'm testing encoding to HEVC from DaVinci Resolve, and BDRB imports the file and finishes creating the disc, but when I play it, it becomes increasingly out of sync, and chapter search or Rew/FF is impossible, it just causes the disc to stall.

So you can give it a try, but whether they will play or not depends on how close those files are to the 4K Blu-ray specs, which I can't seem to find anywhere. At least not the generic version that is all over the internet, but the detailed version with all the encoding parameters.