HI I'm having a bit of a struggle working out how to rework the presentation of a DVD a pal sent me. It's unprotected original stuff, so there are no copyright issues. I want to rip the DVD, replace his horrendous menus but keep the structure - the chapters and so forth - intact, then reburn as a new DVD. Basically sorting out the presentation. I'd start from scratch but the idiot deleted the original files and all we have are the two discs, one he burned for me and one he kept. I've tried converting with Xilisoft converter 3 then redoing with TMPGenc DVD author 3, but each time I get to the burning phase I hit a snag with GOP length. I'm sure this is a pretty simple process and I'm being a bit of a chimp, but I really have no clue what I'm doing wrong. Would someone mind talking me through the process please? EW
Another odd thing I noticed. When trying to convert the vobs to mpeg with Xilisoft, the file info reads mpeg2 video 720X480 29.97fps but when I import it into the coverter and try to set the conversions manually there is no way to get these identical settings and the default size reads 320X240 and the framerate 25 fps. I cannot adjust the framerate and the upper limit of size is 704X576. Does this matter? It seems like it should. What should I aim for? Am I even using the correct software? None of the help files offer me a clue and all the tutorials I have found so far just say "click this click that and go". When I tried that i got the GOP error and nothing I find can help me over copme this. I feel like my brains are leaking from my ears!! Please assist.
I'm not familiar with Xilisoft, but you can get an excellent MPEG encoder called HC for free: http://www.afterdawn.com/software/video_software/video_encoders/hc.cfm As to GOP length, the general rule is 2 GOPs per second. If it's PAL or NTSC from a film source you should set the GOP length to 12. For NTSC from a video source it should be 15. TMPGenc DVD Author should accept files with these GOP lengths.
By re-encoding to a lossy format like DV-AVI you'll lose quality from the original. How does that yield the best quality?
Xilisoft somehow wants to convert your NTSC DVD files to PAL VCD-resolution files and messes up with the GOP length. Check the configurations. There is no need for conversion nor re-encoding with HC, you'll still lose quality. All you need is TMPGEnc DVD Author. It's supposed to accept the original files and you can create the menu from there. I'm not sure if TMPGEnc DVD Author will transcode/re-encode these files or not so check the log. Otherwise, there's always other methods.
Wow. That's alot to take in. I was hoping to be able to do with with one of the apps I already had rather than going shopping again, but I'll give those a go too. I tried DVD remake Pro, but while that allows you to hide or disable menu items I could not find a way with it to construct my own. That was when I decided to redo the whole thing. To that end I thought TMPGenc DVD3 would give me the best no nonsense approach. It looks pretty simple and easy to configure, and with the capacity to make navigable menus using original atwork and sound represented what I considered a good option. However, I still have the problem of getting the footage from the original DVD off the disk and in a format TMPGenc will accept. It won't take vob files so they have to be converted. I tried DVD Shrink but that seems to just rip the DVD as is, and doesn't convert the files to mpeg that I can see. I went for Xilisoft Video converter because it offered straightforward conversion of multiple formats to multiple formats and has what I thought was an diot proof interface. Clearly it wasn't me proof. Xilisoft doesn't seem to want to allow like for like conversion, seeming to want to change the sizes and ratios to something else. When I finally thought I'd cracked it I got the GOP problem, but there's no way I can see to adjust GOP length in the conversion process. The DVD is in Pal format so there is no need for me to consider NTSC at all (nor do I want to). All I want to do, and it seems that there should be a relatively simple solution that frustratingly is eluding me, is take the actual film, with its chapters and structures if possible, and add to that menus of my design and choosing to create a new disc. I would like to preserve the integrity of the original in terms of sound and vision. I'm very new to the tech side of making DVDs and am undergoing something of a verticle learning curve. It's possible that I'm missing something both vital and obvious with all of these programs, and if I could be clued in somehow as to what I'm doing wrong that would be superb. If I'm not, and someone could point me to a simple to understand solution, I'd be grateful. I seem to have wasted a bundle on them already, and I'd rather not spend anymore on software that won't do what I want. Thanks EW
Didn't you say this before: I thought your DVD is NTSC. Well, no matter. Did you rip the DVD to HD before importing into TDA? Try that. TDA should be able to take in VOB files. My older version 1.6 takes in VOB files and is able to read in chapter info. Usually TDA should be enough. But if it's giving you trouble, you can just create a menu with some small sample video (not the whole movie). Then import the original DVD into DvdReMake Pro. Replace the TDA menu and export. Note that the DRMPro demo version only exports up to 15 sec of each block/segment for evaluation. The purchased version will export the whole thing. Here's a GUIDE to follow. In Step 3, substitute with the original button command in the menu when you first import the DVD.
Superb, thankyou very much. That made everything very clear. Once I looked again after reading your post I saw some really elementary mistakes I had made and was able to sort them out with a little thought. I worked through it and the disc turned out perfectly. I'm very grateful for your input. EW Did you rip the DVD to HD before importing into TDA? Try that. TDA should be able to take in VOB files. My older version 1.6 takes in VOB files and is able to read in chapter info. Usually TDA should be enough. But if it's giving you trouble, you can just create a menu with some small sample video (not the whole movie). Then import the original DVD into DvdReMake Pro. Replace the TDA menu and export. Note that the DRMPro demo version only exports up to 15 sec of each block/segment for evaluation. The purchased version will export the whole thing. Here's a GUIDE to follow. In Step 3, substitute with the original button command in the menu when you first import the DVD.[/quote]
hello I've been trying to do the same thing pretty much and thought I'd found all my answers here. I followed the instructions pretty closely I thought, ripping the files to hard drive and then using TMPGenc to make a new project, but when I try to do that for some reason the files are nearly 9 gb on the disc. If I simply burn the files as they are to disc using Nero they fit on a standard 4.5 with no problem but in TMPGenc they are twice the size. I don't get it! Am I doing something really stupid or is there some kind of conversion thingy I have to do first? Can anyone help please? Regards Tegs
