confused with spruce up

[mickandthebadboyz]

have just followed "dvd to dvd-r" by taran i have finished the encoding process and cant go any further
i have looked and experimented with spruceup to no avail
can any one help ?
i am looking for just the main movie no frills or menus
has anyone a step by step to achieve the same

cheers MICK

[Tivo Homer]

I don't know if this is exactly what you are looking for, and I've probably over simplified this, but here goes.

1. Use a Software DVD player to figure out what is the main movie file on your DVD.
2. Extract the file using a DVD Ripper such as Smart Ripper.
3. Use NERO to burn a DVD, select files ripped to your hard drive, burn it and away you go.

Here is a good guide with a bit more detail that might help. http://www.riphelp.com/articles/dvdripping.html

Good Luck.

Tivo Homer

[mickandthebadboyz]

thanks for the reply
the movie is the usual suspects dual layer dvd
i have done the first stages and now have my M2V and WAV files
however when i import them to spruce i got picture only in the simulate mode and it does not let me author them
it is probably something simple
cheers mick

[eatin sammiches for lunch]

ok first thing to remember spruce-up supports ac3 audio streams they just cant be played back within the simulation mode of spruce up IF U HAVE THE TRIAL VERSION.

so dont convert your audio to wav keep it as a ac3 file..YOU WILL SAVE ALOT OF SPACE!!!!!!

i dont know what your doing wrong so i'm going to give you step by step directions.


ok i assume u have a dvd compliant video stream and a audio stream (ac3, wav)
***MAKE SURE THAT THE AUDIO AND VIDEO FILES HAVE THE SAME NAME AND ARE IN THE SAME FOLDER (example: movie.wav & movie.m2v)


ok start up spruce up

- towards the top left you see 3 icons:

- a notebook with a picture (represents the background page)
-a button (represents the buttons page)
-a piece of film (represents the movies page)

1. select the film icon to go to the movies page
-within the blue box right click with your mouse and select add media asset and load up you video file

-now spruce up will process your video stream and then process and add your audio stream ( IF THE AUDIO AND VIDEO DONT HAVE THE SAME NAME THE AUDIO WILL NOT BE LOADED ONCE THE VIDEO HAS FINISHED)

2. (optional) Make chapters

-double click the movie box that is now loaded in spruce
-use the slider to pick a chapter spot then click the flag icon to select the chapter point.
-once finished close the chapter edit box

3. Import the movie
-click and the movie display box at the top and drag it to the small black square box at the bottom.
- now your movie box should be at the botton and to the right of it the same black box from before

4. Simulate
- hit the simulate button at the bottom then hit the play button in the bar located mid screen
- your movie should play also you should be able to forward it through the chapters you selected

5. export
-click the export button at the bottom
-select the export properties that u like,
i always select Output To: Title set , then i burn with prassi primoDVD (or u can use Nero) but theres others options like disc image , etc that u can use.

keep a note of your destination folder path so you know where your files are.


also befor u burn your dvd movie files take a look at this page and scroll down to : FIXING THE ASPECT RATIO


http://www.dvd2dvdr.com/Normal%20tv.htm


ALSO, I created a page where you can download new buttons and backgrounds for use with spruce up menu creations

check it out here:

http://www.geocities.com/eatin_sammiches/sprucecreations.html


hope this will help ya
enjoy

[mickandthebadboyz]

thanks for taking the time to reply in such detail
your guide does seem simplier to follower than others
however i had found my problem prior to reading your reply
as you highlighted to do , i was not putting my audio in a correctly named file( "movie.wav")
but when i tried this i then found as i only had a trial version i only had "two exports", which i had used.
i then got hold of dvd maestro and was successful at the first attempt
it seems much more straightforward
also am i the only one who just wants the movies ie no frills,extras,menus etc.
all the guides are very comprehensive and detailed ,which is great if you want all this,but even more time consuming if you dont. is there any simlified guides availible
once again thanks a million for the help
cheers mick 8)

[mickandthebadboyz]

sorry ,also is there any where to buy spruce
cheers mick

[mickandthebadboyz]

basically i got a copy of dvd maestro and it worked a treat
much easier than spruce

cheers mick