Burning a new DVD using VOBs from two different DVDs

[icetorch]

I have two home-recorded DVDs that are not well ordered. I want to take some VOBs from each and create a new well ordered DVD. Points to note:

* I want to do this all on my PC, using freebie software
* I've checked, and my target VOBs will all fit onto a single layer DVD
* I want to keep the original VOBs as they are - they do not need to be edited, chapterised, or anything else
* I want to retain the original quality - I've heard of DVDShrink, but I understand it shrinks the quality too

Obviously a DVD needs ".IFO" files too, and I've found ifoedit and created some - but I will not attempt to burn a disc until I know a bit more theory.

Here's something I've read:

"A correct file order is as follows:


VIDEO_TS.IFO VIDEO_TS.VOB VIDEO_TS.BUP VTS_01_0.IFO VTS_01_0.VOB VTS_01_1.VOB VTS_01_2.VOB VTS_01_0.BUP VTS_02_0.IFO VTS_02_0.VOB VTS_02_1.VOB VTS_02_0.BUP

To produce a disk that will work in a DVD player you have to make sure the files are physically in the correct order on the written disk. If you just write a disk as you would a data disk, it almost certainly won't play in a DVD player but may play on a computer. The reason for this is quite simple. When you insert a disk into a DVD player it scans the first few sectors looking for the file "VIDEO_TS.IFO". This file contains a list of sector offsets to find the title sets on the DVD. Unfortunately, alphabetically the file "VIDEO_TS.BUP" comes first and therefore most DVD writer software will burn this file first if they are writting a plain data disk. If the DVD player can't find the IFO file or finds another file first it generally gives up. A computer DVD player on the other hand understands the file system on the disk and can therefore find any file it wants with out having to know the offset values. It is also important that the VOB files are in the correct order as a DVD player just plays the data it finds, ignoring file boundaries, until it reaches the end."

My question is, which freebie software will successfully transform my assembled VOBs plus IFOs plus BUPs into a perfect DVD that will play on a DVD player, not just a PC, without making the error above of copying my files in alphabetical order? The piece I took that from suggested using commands in the command prompt to prevent this, but I don't want to have to use the command prompt in this day and age.

[Arfur Teacake]

Usually when you reply to threads like these you get a lot of ifs,buts and maybes responses- or if it works without a hitch- silence, and tumbleweed blows across the thread.

Oh well! here goes try this

DVDStyler - Free DVD Authoring Application

[icetorch]

Thanks. Oh, I always reply, Arfur. If I like it, I'll let you know - if I don't, you're TOAST! Or should that be "toasted teacake"?

[rjd0309]

Well done, Arfur, you beat me to it. I too, would recommend DVD Styler.

1. Rip the desired individual titles using DVDFab in 'Main Movie' mode.
2, Author new dvd (including making new menus) using DVD Styler, as Arfur has recommended.
3. Burn using 'ImgBurn', the absolute best burning application.

All free.

[icetorch]

Thanks for that!

[icetorch]

Here are some thoughts. I tried the trial version of DVD Fab to see what it would generate. I just played some of the VOBs on my PC, and some of the video had the DVDFab logo imprinted at the top right of the screen. That's trials for you, I suppose. However, I think that DVD Fab is really only necessary for ripping encrypted stuff, but I'm just looking at my TV recordings here. I've no doubt DVDFab will come in handy at some point, so thank you, rjd0309.

Anyway, there's no real need to do any ripping, as DVD Styler can copy directly from the DVD's folders. At first DVD Styler fell over when I tried to copy chapters from my home-made DVDs in my PC DVD drive. I noticed that there are usually two subfolders in a DVD: AUDIO_TS (which is usually empty!) and VIDEO_TS. Well, my home-made DVDs (recorded in a Panasonic) just have a VIDEO_TS, for some reason. On a hunch, I copied my own DVD from the PC DVD drive on to my PC hard disc (with just a cut and paste) and added an empty AUDIO_TS folder myself. I then got DVD Styler to look at the copied folders, and bingo, it allowed me to pick the desired VOBs (chapters/titles) and off it went!

I should warn you of another initial mistake I made. Rather than burn the disc *straightaway* thru DVD Styler, I chose the "just generate" option (under "Burn") so I could check the VOBs (play them thru VLC). This used masses of memory and DVD Styler hung. Trying again, I noticed the "preview" checkbox is automatically checked when you choose "Burn", so you have to uncheck it, and THEN select "just generate". The two other options are "create ISO image" (so you end up with a single file that can be burned straight to disc, raher than the folders of VOBs and IFOs, etc.), and "burn". So I tried "create ISO image" and that worked fine as well, running pretty quickly.

Now, rjd0309 advised using imgburn to burn the disc, rather than DVD Styler. Well, I've used imgburn before and had no problems with it, so I just did a straight burn this time using DVD Styler, and the resulting DVD worked fine both in Panny DVD recorder and on my PC.

DVD Styler is very simple - I thought the help would be massive, but there are only 3 or so steps if you are a beginner, which I am - meaning I just wanted a bog simple menu that showed me my titles so I could pick one and play, or else "select all". If you are a power user, there is a forum and also a pdf online to show you how to get the most out of it. You can add and customise extra buttons and menus and do all sorts of stuff that I don't want to and mostly don't understand anyway. The menu navigation and titles are done for you by default, but you can change them - all you have to do is choose a background image (from about half a dozen) for the menu screen. So it's as simple or complex as you want it to be, and it's free too.

I bet you were worried I was going to come back and carbonise your currants, Mr Teacake, but I've got to know and learn a very handy app today, so I'm buttering you up instead (with my terrible puns). But seriously, a big thank you for that. (Yes, I'm not impressed either by people who don't give feedback).

[rjd0309]

Rather than thinking of a dvd in terms of VOBs, it is more useful to think of a dvd as a hierarchy of titles, menus, and titlesets.

Firstly, I would recommend that you download the DVDStyler Guide (http://www.dvdstyler.org/docs/dvd_styler_guide.pdf), and especially the DVDStyler Operator Manual (http://dvdstyler.sourceforge.net/doc...ylerManual.pdf). Read the DVDStyler Operator Manual from cover to cover. It has a great deal of useful information regarding the organization of a dvd into titles, menus, titlesets, and video manager.

A title can span multiple VOBs, and can begin in the middle of a VOB and end in the middle of another VOB. Rather than thnking in terms of VOBs, it is more correct to think in terms of titles that happen to be contained within one or more VOBs. This is where DVDFab is useful -- operating in MainMovie mode, it can make a clean copy of a title (with its own VOBs and IFO file) on your hard drive, even if the title originally began/ended in the middle of VOBs on your original dvd.

Once you have read the DVDStyler manuals, you will find that DVDStyler is much more capable than might first appear. One thing to remember - add your titles and blank menus first, before you do anything else. After that, you will see that DVDStyler will make available the appropriate navigation commands. For example, you might want to press a menu button which causes a "jump to title 2", but you can't seem to find the "jump to title 2" command. That's because you have not yet added "title 2" to your titleset. Once you actually add the title (so that DVDStyler is made aware that you have a "title 2") then DVDStyler will make the appropriate "jump" commands available.

There are many burning applications. However, when you send a copy to a friend, and discover that the dvd won't play on their system, you will end up spending a great deal of time sorting out how to make a proper burn. This is where you will come to appreciate ImgBurn. You will want to burn at the slowest supported speed for your media type, as that gives the greatest reliability. I would also take advantage of ImgBurn's IFO 32K-boundary feature when creating your ISO file, as this prevents a disc imperfection from wiping out both copies of the IFO/BUP files.

Good luck!

[icetorch]

Rather than thinking of a dvd in terms of VOBs, it is more useful to think of a dvd as a hierarchy of titles, menus, and titlesets. A title can span multiple VOBs, and can begin in the middle of a VOB and end in the middle of another VOB. Rather than thinking in terms of VOBs, it is more correct to think in terms of titles that happen to be contained within one or more VOBs. This is where DVDFab is useful -- operating in MainMovie mode, it can make a clean copy of a title (with its own VOBs and IFO file) on your hard drive, even if the title originally began/ended in the middle of VOBs on your original dvd.

Nice exposition. I'd pre-edited my TV recordings into "chapters" on my Panny (Panasonic) before burning the original DVD and made each one a title, so I knew that they would correspond to individual VOBs. That's why I referred just to VOBs. My Panny has a nice feature where you can create any conceptual title or titles from one or more chapters, and you can then burn the titles to disc. Creating a title on the Panny does not physically change anything on my Panny hard disc recordings (or chapters) - it just points to the chapters I want, in the order I want them. The titles then appear at menu level, when burnt to DVD, and the Panny chapters are not apparent - UNLESS you press SKIP when you are playing the DVD, then it skips thru the DVD from chapter to chapter (just as I edited them on my Panny). My Panny is wonderfully intuitive.

[icetorch]

There are many burning applications. However, when you send a copy to a friend, and discover that the dvd won't play on their system, you will end up spending a great deal of time sorting out how to make a proper burn. This is where you will come to appreciate ImgBurn. You will want to burn at the slowest supported speed for your media type, as that gives the greatest reliability. I would also take advantage of ImgBurn's IFO 32K-boundary feature when creating your ISO file, as this prevents a disc imperfection from wiping out both copies of the IFO/BUP files.

Never had the problem of a non-playing copy, but it's worth bearing in mind your advice of which apps are best, given that you are a power user. I found your advice about using different apps for ripping, authoring and burning useful, as it also conceptualises the 3 basic steps you are going thru.