It was a close squeeze with the DD2.0 track. I think it was 8.04 gig. Nice bitrate, nonetheless though. Picture looked fabulous. Much better than the DVD. The DTS track would put it onto 2 discs, but the sound would be sweet!

Marc.

I'm not so much concerned with the DTS track as it being an official 5.1 track. They went back to the original elements (as opposed to it just being a remix). I liked it a lot and was highly impressed. Might have to do some work on it myself. :)

I had heard horror stories of how bad 1080i stuff looked with the player set to 720p, but on my Panny Plasma, it was really hard to tell the difference. Marc.What is the native resolution of your Panny? eg. If it is 720p then it may just mean that their is no visibally discernable difference between the Toshiba's and the Panny's 1080->720 downscaling.

What is the native resolution of your Panny? eg. If it is 720p then it may just mean that their is no visibally discernable difference between the Toshiba's and the Panny's 1080->720 downscaling.


It's a 50" so I think the native reslolution is 1368 x768. The scaler in it is great so that may account for what I'm seeing. I'll do some more comparisions and I just may leave the Toshiba A1 set to 720p from now on. I'll have to see what the 1080p mastered 'pre-recorded' stuff looks like at 720p. Thats where the problem may lie.

Wow, 1000th post in this thread, eh? It's really growing. Just like HD-DVD , bigger and better everyday! :D

Marc.

Hello guys,

Do we have any post on how to author HD disc for Blue Ray, Samsung? I gather it's not possible ,,,yet????

Hello guys,

Do we have any post on how to author HD disc for Blue Ray, Samsung? I gather it's not possible ,,,yet????

We had one report earlier of a successful burn for the Samsung, but nothing since. I've tried a few of Grandmaster's tests and so far have had no success with them.

Texmex, thanks again for your great utility. I was wondering if you were still working on a new rev that would incorporate more efficient 1088 patching for the whole file?

Texmex, thanks again for your great utility. I was wondering if you were still working on a new rev that would incorporate more efficient 1088 patching for the whole file?

Yes - I'm very close to getting a new revision out that "correctly" parses both transport and program streams (instead of reading every byte - ugh). Unfortunately, I'm buried in real work right now. Hopefully I'll have something out by the end of the weekend. The good news is that my Tosh finally arrived, so I can actually test discs myself. To give you an idea of just how busy I am at the moment: the Tosh has been sitting on the living room floor for 4 days, still sealed in the box...

texmex

We had one report earlier of a successful burn for the Samsung, but nothing since. I've tried a few of Grandmaster's tests and so far have had no success with them.
I recall reading a post in the BluRay forum that HD disks will not play unless they were encrypted (is the offical encryption called AACS?). They may have been talking about video on Blu-Ray disks, but I thought it was a bad sign.

Please forgive such a newbie question:

I'm re-encoding some of the quicktime files with TMPGenc to make them playable. Obviously I'm setting it to the following:

1920x1080
16x9 Display
non-interlace
high profile & high level

Now, which framerate should i use? 29.97 or 23.97?

The tests that I did had a smoother picture with 23.97 but I would assume that I'd have to use a 3:2 pulldown if i end up using it, no?

Hello guys,

Do we have any post on how to author HD disc for Blue Ray, Samsung? I gather it's not possible ,,,yet????

Actually the process for BD is identical to HDDVD. Simply drag the BDMV folder created by the MF5 into the Nero instead of HVDVD_TS and then you have a HD disk that will play in Samsung.
I posted a thread in BD software forum a few weeks ago that seemed to have generated little interest.
The reason is so obvious: very few AV enthusiasts would keep the Sammy player to make use of any of those disks, myself included. And those who do keep the Sammy probably care so little about spending an amount like $1000 that a home made BD disk would seem ridiculous for its effort involved.

For the record, I think I solved my stuttering playback problem. Don't use hdtv2mpeg to convert .ts to .mpg (or ulead apps for that matter). VideoRedo (save as function) is the only thing I can get to work. Others have said Womble works too.

For the record, I think I solved my stuttering playback problem. Don't use hdtv2mpeg to convert .ts to .mpg (or ulead apps for that matter). VideoRedo (save as function) is the only thing I can get to work. Others have said Womble works too.

Every time I try and use VideoReDo, it crashes.

I use a different program that totally escapes me at the moment.

Every time I try and use VideoReDo, it crashes.

I use a different program that totally escapes me at the moment.

I love VideoRedo but have had zero success getting files to load properly into MF5 with the MPEG2s it creates. Womble MPEG2VCR is the only program that works for me consistently.

Every time I try and use VideoReDo, it crashes.

I use a different program that totally escapes me at the moment.

Are you using the latest version of VideoReDo. This version did not work for me.

I use the previous version, which works fine for me. This version cannot join ts files. The latest version does join ts files, but the output gets garbled for me.

I'm at work so I don't remember the exact version numbers.

Are you using the latest version of VideoReDo. This version did not work for me.

I use the previous version, which works fine for me. This version cannot join ts files. The latest version does join ts files, but the output gets garbled for me.

I'm at work so I don't remember the exact version numbers.

Nope. Mine is older. It constantly asks me to upgrade.

Crashes every time I specify that I want to open a TS file. Others are fine.

I've read through most of this thread, but not all of it, so forgive me if this has already been answered:

Has anyone been able to author discs using Mac-compatible software? Has anyone used Final Cut Pro to make a quicktime file, then converted that quicktime file to another format and used a Mac-compatible burning program such as Roxio or DVD Studio Pro to make a DVD that the Toshiba will read in high definition?

This thread is absolutely the best.. I have been immersed in trying to duplicate what all of you "bleeding edgers" have accomplished so far. I have successfully captured using DVHS/converted to mpeg2 using womble/and authored using MF5 but the Burning to DVD has me in a quandry. Nero 7 (Just downloaded latest level) does not show the "Enable Xbox compatibility mode" in the Options pull-down. If I go ahead and continue, it seams to work fine until the end when several error messages appear and it fails. The messages are:

Internal Target Failure
Stopping Conversion
Unable to recover TOC
Could not perform end of Disc-at-once
Burn Process Failed

This happens at the very end of the burn.
I have tried 3 different captures with the same result.
Would this have anything to do with the unavailability of the Xbox message?
Any other ideas?

Thanks
Ed Betty

Ed, at first read it sounded to me like a bad burn, nothing else. Then I re-read the first two lines, and yeah, it might be possible the error is caused by the Xbox option being unavailable. Nero tries to convert files to DVD Video format if it deems the files incompatible. Those two lines seem to point in the direction that Nero gets all confused during the conversion stage and gives up.

Which version of Nero 7 are you using? Ultra, Premier or something else?

For the record, I think I solved my stuttering playback problem. Don't use hdtv2mpeg to convert .ts to .mpg (or ulead apps for that matter).
Yeah, it was mentioned earlier in this thread that H2M should not be used for .ts to mpeg conversion, as that feature doesn't work very well.

I'm using Ultra (Only one available for Trial download)..

Ed

I'm using Ultra as well. Hmmm. And you've selected the DVD-ROM (UDF) Compilation, not the DVD-Video Compilation?

Could it be possible that the Xbox compatibility mode option is not available in the Trial version?

OK.. Tried it one more time after I read the Burning Nero users guide and it definitely showed the Xbox verbiage in the pull down....and it was there!

I am getting old to have missed that...

Anyway ..all went well this time and I have my first successful HD-DVD!! (At least I think I do...I have to run down to BB and try it out before they close..!)

Thanks !
Ed

OK.. Tried it one more time after I read the Burning Nero users guide and it definitely showed the Xbox verbiage in the pull down....and it was there!

I am getting old to have missed that...

Anyway ..all went well this time and I have my first successful HD-DVD!! (At least I think I do...I have to run down to BB and try it out before they close..!)

Thanks !
Ed

Welcome, Ed. That was my introduction to this process - try it and run to Best Buy to see how it worked on their A1. After a week, I was hooked. It's been a blast ever since. Let us know how it worked.

BTW, my first efforts looked like failures until I found out that Best Buy had an incompatible audio receiver and I was getting all sorts of audio issues. They were very tolerant, though, of my experimentation, and the salespeople were supportive and interested. I eventually bought my A1 from them.

btw...i use MPEG Video Wizard to go from TS to MPEG2

So no one has tried it on a Mac yet?

I am having trouble getting .TS files with more than 1 stream to work.

I got a clip of the Grammy's from 3 years ago to work. It has 2.0 sound and only 1 a/v stream. I used Xmuxer and Virtual Dub Mod to create the mpeg from the .ts and MF5 to create the dvd files. Eric

btw...i use MPEG Video Wizard to go from TS to MPEG2

That's Womble, too, but with a much prettier interface. I bought it, but I've gotten so used to the simplicity of MPEG2VCR that I still use it.

So no one has tried it on a Mac yet?

Tried what? HD DVD authoring? *Posted on a MacBook Pro

videoredo v 2.2.1.445-jan 2006 vs10+ and fix 1088 with HDTV2MPEG2 works flawlessly here.

Actually the process for BD is identical to HDDVD. Simply drag the BDMV folder created by the MF5 into the Nero instead of HVDVD_TS and then you have a HD disk that will play in Samsung.
I posted a thread in BD software forum a few weeks ago that seemed to have generated little interest.
The reason is so obvious: very few AV enthusiasts would keep the Sammy player to make use of any of those disks, myself included. And those who do keep the Sammy probably care so little about spending an amount like $1000 that a home made BD disk would seem ridiculous for its effort involved.

I tried your method on my last Blu-Ray test image and it doesn't work according to Joe Clark :( What are you sticking into the VIDEO_TS folder?

I tried your method on my last Blu-Ray test image and it doesn't work according to Joe Clark :( What are you sticking into the VIDEO_TS folder?
I put the empty VOB file in the VIDEO_TS folder to activate the burn option and put the BDMV(instead of HVDVD_TS) folder generated by Ulead into the left panel of the nero burning rom(DVD Video type).
Grandmaster, do you have a BB nearby to test it on a Sammy player? I guess the burning an image onto the disk probably won't work.

No, I'm currently in Israel so no testing for me! I created a disk image in Nero using your technique and that simply didn't work when Joe tested it for me :( I put a .txt file renamed to VIDEO_TS.VOB and put it into the VIDEO_TS folder. The BDMV folder was put where you put it. Did you not burn the CERTIFICATE folder too?

burning the CERTIFICATE (which had nothing in it) or not didn't make any difference for me, so I left it out.

So does this work for you?

www.digitalfoundry.org/bluray.rar

Didn't work for Joe but I've created the ISO using Nero exactly as you did.

To reiterate, every BD DVD I've tried to make has not played correctly. Not at any bitrate, and not with 5 different brands of media. Every single one has played on HD DVD.

Can anyone report anything different?

By "not playing," I mean the disc loads, and program starts, but it just can't "keep up."

To reiterate, every BD DVD I've tried to make has not played correctly. Not at any bitrate, and not with 5 different brands of media. Every single one has played on HD DVD.

Can anyone report anything different?

By "not playing," I mean the disc loads, and program starts, but it just can't "keep up."

Sounds like GodobeHD has had some success. Maybe you should send your ISO to him, Grandmaster. I haven't even been able to get the disc to load on the Samsung at a local Best Buy. That's with three different types of media.

Tried what? HD DVD authoring? *Posted on a MacBook Pro

And what programs were you using? Because it seems like all the ones listed here generally are not available on a Mac.

And what programs were you using? Because it seems like all the ones listed here generally are not available on a Mac.

Mpeg Streamclip, Final Cut Studio (DVD Studio Pro 4 and Compressor)

What Mac do you have? I have a MacBook Pro and a G4 Tower. (and have owned a first gen Mac Mini, a G3 iBook, and a G4 iMac)

I have pretty much done things according to instructions but....having some problems. Even after converting from .ts to mpeg (with Womble), I then load the video into Ulead, (yes, I did untick convert video)but when I click burn, it looks like it would take a couple of hours to finish!! Is this normal???

I have pretty much done things according to instructions but....having some problems. Even after converting from .ts to mpeg (with Womble), I then load the video into Ulead, (yes, I did untick convert video)but when I click burn, it looks like it would take a couple of hours to finish!! Is this normal???
Untick convert video? Doesn't the button say "DON'T convert compliant..."? You should have a tick in that box.

Untick convert video? Doesn't the button say "DON'T convert compliant..."? You should have a tick in that box.

Sorry, I was going by memory. Yes, the "Don't convert compliant" box is ticked. I tried it with a small file size (about 1 gig) and after about 15 minutes, it was about 4% done. To me, it would seem like it was doing some kind of conversion.

Typically, how long should, say...a 4 gig .mpg take to burn/create in ulead??

Thanks a bunch btw.

Typically, how long should, say...a 4 gig .mpg take to burn/create in ulead??
Best case scenario: approx. one minute to create a disc image. ~8 minutes to burn the image at 8x speed.

However, I've bumped into MPEG2 files that appear to be 100% compliant with Ulead's requirements, and yet it takes several minutes from selecting the file in the "Add file" dialog window to being able to click "OK" in that same window. It will then take several minutes more for Ulead to parse the file and display the first frame. (In the Best case scenario this part of the process takes only a few seconds.) When this happens, it usually takes some 30-45 minutes to have the disc image done.

It definitely shouldn't take hours. That's a sign of Ulead re-compressing the file.

It definitely shouldn't take hours. That's a sign of Ulead re-compressing the file.

That is pretty much what I thought. I just don't know how to fix it. Most every .ts I have has been split into 100meg chunks with hdtv2mpeg. Since I am joining 100meg .ts chunks in dos, then using womble, I would think all should be ok. I do think I am using an older womble. Perhaps that's the problem??

I do think I am using an older womble. Perhaps that's the problem??
Can't say. I steer away from Womble products; they give me a rash.

Can't say. I steer away from Womble products; they give me a rash.

What do you use to convert .ts to .mpg? Videoredo?

To reiterate, every BD DVD I've tried to make has not played correctly. Not at any bitrate, and not with 5 different brands of media. Every single one has played on HD DVD.

Can anyone report anything different?

By "not playing," I mean the disc loads, and program starts, but it just can't "keep up."

The two disks I tried so far had the same issues. But I haven't spent more than half an hour on this BD thing. I assume there may be some tweakings people can do to make it play smooth, or Sammy is not capable of playing smooth video from a properly authored BD DVD.
Since I don't have a BD player I can't play with different settings without constant trips to BB. But the fact it played at all (though with stuterry videos) is good starting point and encouraging.
The problem is that without the players few people have any desire to make it a success. And Sony is not making things easier for us either. So far the BD movies won't play on a BD drive and BD disks authored on Sony BD drive won't play in Sammy BD player. What a mess.
I am just so glad this HDDVD process is working without a hitch.

What do you use to convert .ts to .mpg? Videoredo?
Yup, VideoReDo. Works perfect for me.

Yup, VideoReDo. Works perfect for me.

Maybe I will give VideoReDo a shot. Perhaps you can pm me your videoredo settings? Would be much appreciated.

D

Maybe I will give VideoReDo a shot. Perhaps you can pm me your videoredo settings? Would be much appreciated.

D

Most people here, I guess, have had a lot of luck with VideoRedo in this process. I love the program and would like to use it, but so far I don't think I've gotten a single MPEG created by VideoRedo to work for me. Make sure you get a trial version to see if it will work for you. I always have the incredibly long wait to load the MPEG in Movie Factory 5, and often it insists on re-encoding, if it works at all in the final stage. If it works for you, it has a much better interface than MPEG2VCR. I'd really prefer to use it.

Most of my main issues (non-VideoRedo related) came after I did a clean install of both Womble and Movie Factory 5. Most of the slow wait times just vanished after that (for Womble, not VideoRedo). There's the possibility that I have some conflicting programs on my systems that are causing problems, but as long as Womble works for me, I'm not going to worry about it.

Most people here, I guess, have had a lot of luck with VideoRedo in this process. I love the program and would like to use it, but so far I don't think I've gotten a single MPEG created by VideoRedo to work for me. Make sure you get a trial version to see if it will work for you. I always have the incredibly long wait to load the MPEG in Movie Factory 5, and often it insists on re-encoding, if it works at all in the final stage. If it works for you, it has a much better interface than MPEG2VCR. I'd really prefer to use it.

Most of my main issues (non-VideoRedo related) came after I did a clean install of both Womble and Movie Factory 5. Most of the slow wait times just vanished after that (for Womble, not VideoRedo). There's the possibility that I have some conflicting programs on my systems that are causing problems, but as long as Womble works for me, I'm not going to worry about it.

Well, I know I have an older version of womble. I do have that other womble program (Mpeg video wizard or something like that) on another machine. I should probably give that a shot first. So far, it seems most people are getting better results with Womble vs Videoredo and/or mpeg2hdtv.

Thanks for the info.

I still don't think we've gotten to the bottom of why some files work, why some files take longer. I think I've tried every version of Womble, VideoReDo, HDTVtoMPEG2 - sometimes works great, sometimes not.
I am convinced that it has something to do with 1088 files and none of the patching programs we've tried are working properly to MF5's satisfaction.

I am convinced that it has something to do with 1088 files and none of the patching programs we've tried are working properly to MF5's satisfaction.

Ok, this is a good start to the investigation. Is it only the 1088 files that MF5/VS10 'chokes' on? Or are others having problems with standard 1080i/720p files? I had VS10 choke on a 1088 file last night - it finished eventually, but every step up to the 'Burn' took 15-20 minutes. It would be helpful if people would report their experiences here and identify the streams that load quickly and those that don't. The more info the better - source, original resolution, workflow leading up to MF5/VS10+, etc. Hopefully we'll find a pattern and we can start comparing problem streams to good streams.

I'd really like to know exactly what these MPEG2 "repair" tools actually do. VideoRedo has QuickStreamFix; MPEG2VCR has GOP fixer; and of course there's MPEG2Repair (which only works on transport streams). Ideally it would be nice to find the right combination or develop our own 'scrubber' tool that spits out an MPEG stream that MF5/VS10+ likes.

texmex

I had VS10 choke on a 1088 file last night - it finished eventually, but every step up to the 'Burn' took 15-20 minutes.
That's exactly what I was talking about. It's bloody infuriating, having to wait a loong time just to click "OK".

I'm dead certain this happens with true-1080 files as well. I have yet to find a pattern to this. It would be wise to keep some sort of a journal and make notes. In fact, I'll start that right now.

I'll do that, too. Also, I use E* and MyHD, and all my files are either 1920x1080i or 1280x720p (no 1088). Some of these files choke MF5. I haven't found a pattern, either. I do have some files that won't work from my local OTA broadcasts of ABC (Desperate Housewives and Lost). I'd like to be able to get those to disc.

Shrek 2 (1920x1080) choked MF5. I used MPEG2Repair on it and it worked just fine. I did the same thing for Desperate Housewives and still couldn't get it to work. In the past I've run movies at 1920x1080 through MPEG2Repair and they still choked MF5.

Tell me how and I'll gladly upload some test files of the OTA stuff. Fortunately, most things now work for me, unlike when I started. Back then, I was lucky to get one movie in 20 to work without stalling the process. I did a reinstall of the full retail versions of both Movie Factory 5 and MPEG2VCR and things cleared up for me. Since then, I've had only a few failures, mostly my locat OTA ABC stuff.

Joe, I've learned that M2R does not catch all errors in the TS stream. It might have some bearing on the matter. Unfortunately I have no idea how to fix errors M2R can't find ;)

ok! hold it right there!!!!!! first, and most important here!!!
How can U extract "Star Wars Episode III" from your DVR?
I have that movie and "Troy" on my Comcast Motorola DVR, and there's no way for me to take that out that to my computer. I do have "Toy Story", but that movie was on ABC-HD.
So the "Million dollar question" is...how can U extract something that was on HBO to the PC?
Thanks a bunch!
PS: I just bought the Toschiba HD-DVD player, and I wanna see Star Wars in HD on a disc.

I do have some files that won't work from my local OTA broadcasts of ABC (Desperate Housewives and Lost). I'd like to be able to get those to disc.

Joe, my ABC recordings wouldn't load into texmex's tool either, but running through VideoRedo fixed them. You don't have to bother with the "QuickStreamFix", it fixes the stream during the process of outputting the edited transport stream out to a program stream. After it's done outputting the program stream it gives a little summary of how many audio or video sync errors it had to fix.

I haven't watched my burns all the through yet so I can say for sure if they work completely, but at least I could burn my 720p native on disc.

That reminds me: VRD's QuickStreamFix has never worked for me. Instead it makes a total pigswill of the stream. OK, so I've tried it less than 10 times, but that was enough :)

ok! hold it right there!!!!!! first, and most important here!!!
How can U extract "Star Wars Episode III" from your DVR?
I have that movie and "Troy" on my Comcast Motorola DVR, and there's no way for me to take that out that to my computer. I do have "Toy Story", but that movie was on ABC-HD.
So the "Million dollar question" is...how can U extract something that was on HBO to the PC?
Thanks a bunch!
PS: I just bought the Toschiba HD-DVD player, and I wanna see Star Wars in HD on a disc.

What most of us are doing is capturing the stream either with an OTA card like MyHD (PCI card for your computer that captures broadcast ATSC to the computer directly), or with the Nextcom R5000 mod for D*, E* and some cable company boxes. If you have it on a DVR, for now you are out of luck. See post #868 of this thread for a little more info and a guide on how this process works.

Joe, my ABC recordings wouldn't load into texmex's tool either, but running through VideoRedo fixed them. You don't have to bother with the "QuickStreamFix", it fixes the stream during the process of outputting the edited transport stream out to a program stream. After it's done outputting the program stream it gives a little summary of how many audio or video sync errors it had to fix.

I haven't watched my burns all the through yet so I can say for sure if they work completely, but at least I could burn my 720p native on disc.

I suspect this won't work for me because of my VideoRedo issues, but I'll give it a try.

ok! hold it right there!!!!!! first, and most important here!!!
How can U extract "Star Wars Episode III" from your DVR?
I have that movie and "Troy" on my Comcast Motorola DVR, and there's no way for me to take that out that to my computer. I do have "Toy Story", but that movie was on ABC-HD.
So the "Million dollar question" is...how can U extract something that was on HBO to the PC?
Thanks a bunch!
PS: I just bought the Toschiba HD-DVD player, and I wanna see Star Wars in HD on a disc.

PM me and I will tell you how to do it on your Mac.

I have a nextcom mod in a D* receiver. It works flawlessly except sometimes I have audio sync problems. David indicated that it is due to the D* transmissions. My two favorite programs are Rick Steves and Smart Travels and the sync problems can cause me not to watch the recording since a great part is their speaking. What software do you recommend if audio sync is the only issue as opposed to editing out commercials? I then take the ts files and convert them to Divx and play them back on the Avel unit. When there is no sync problems the pq etc is excellent. I assume that I have to monitor the process Thank you David

I have a nextcom mod in a D* receiver. It works flawlessly except sometimes I have audio sync problems. David indicated that it is due to the D* transmissions. My two favorite programs are Rick Steves and Smart Travels and the sync problems can cause me not to watch the recording since a great part is their speaking. What software do you recommend if audio sync is the only issue as opposed to editing out commercials? I then take the ts files and convert them to Divx and play them back on the Avel unit. When there is no sync problems the pq etc is excellent. I assume that I have to monitor the process Thank you David

I haven't done this, since I've had virtually no sync problems. I imagine you could use Ulead Video Studio 10, adjust the audio track and re-render (and thus re-encode) the file. It will take a lot longer than normal, since you're re-encoding. Someone who has experience with VS10 might be able to give you details on how to do this. (I could tell you how to do it in Adobe Premiere, but that wouldn't help.)

I haven't done this, since I've had virtually no sync problems. I imagine you could use Ulead Video Studio 10, adjust the audio track and re-render (and thus re-encode) the file.

Well, back to VideoRedo again - you can adjust audio sync in VideoRedo (Tools -> Adjust Audio Synchronization), but I'm not sure how well it works. It won't re-render the video, so it will essentially only take as long as a file copy. You can download a free trial and give it a shot. I've used the re-sync feature a few times, but haven't tried burning any of the resulting files to HD-DVD yet. Let us know if you find a solution that works...

texmex

For anyone who has used a Mac, would iDVD work for authoring the discs once I've made them into HD DVD MPEG 2 files on Compressor? Just curious if anyone has gotten this to work.

Well, back to VideoRedo again - you can adjust audio sync in VideoRedo (Tools -> Adjust Audio Synchronization), but I'm not sure how well it works. It won't re-render the video, so it will essentially only take as long as a file copy. You can download a free trial and give it a shot. I've used the re-sync feature a few times, but haven't tried burning any of the resulting files to HD-DVD yet. Let us know if you find a solution that works...

texmex

Wow! I never used that feature in VideoRedo. It's range of adjustment is 1000 ms in each direction. That would handle even severe lip sync issues. It makes it even more attractive as an MPEG editor for this process. Again, I wish I could use it.

How about this - I take a few seconds from a clip I know works in Movie Factory 5 after being processed in Womble and run it through VideoRedo. Could you take a look at both clips and maybe get an idea as to why one goes through cleanly and the other stalls the process?

BTW, I'm using the latest version of VideoRedo.

Hi guys,

A few days ago, I posted problem with the A1 could not read when the layer is changing from layer 1 to layer 2. I was blaming it on the memorex + R DL. Today, I upgrade the firmware. Ta da..same disk the play back is perfect.

Guess next time I might have to report it to Toshiba.

Is there any thread devoted specificly to the A1.

Hi guys,

A few days ago, I posted problem with the A1 could not read when the layer is changing from layer 1 to layer 2. I was blaming it on the memorex + R DL. Today, I upgrade the firmware. Ta da..same disk the play back is perfect.

Guess next time I might have to report it to Toshiba.

Is there any thread devoted specificly to the A1.

There are several. Look at the stickies at the top of the section for A1 specific ones.

I wanted to let everyone know that Alan Gouger says when we're ready this thread will become a sticky at the top of the HD DVD Software section. I'd really prefer to have something more definitive in the guide about the conversion of D* streams (1088 to 1080), but we can make changes when needed. The new thread will be where people are asked to post on this topic from that point on.

So, please post here soon with any changes, corrections, additions you'd like to see made to the guide (post #868) and I'll include them. I know this thread has become a valuable resource for me and many others. And for every poster, there are probably several others who are profiting from the work everyone here is doing.

Please excuse my ignorance, but what's special about the Ulead software? I have a Sony HDV camcorder and have just started capturing my .m2t files over iLink using Vegas 6. I haven't tried to burn a DVD yet to test because I only have the Sony suite and a copy of Ulead VS SE DV v5 that I just received with my firewire PC card. Only VS 6 or higher is eligible for the upgrade discount, so I haven't picked up VS v10+ yet. I will, if necessary, but before I do, I wanted to check here first and see if (1) VS v5 might work or if (2) I can use the Sony Suite/Vegas instead (for more than capture).

The guide provides an excellent "how to" document which I can follow just fine. What it and this thread don't provide (or it's not obvious to me or I missed the post) is the "why" of the matter. I don't fully understand why the Toshiba plays the mpeg content on DVD as HD or why the Ulead software is key to this process.

Any answers/help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Steve

Steve,

Ulead is crucial to the process, because it can author HD DVD discs -- for both HD DVD and DVD-R/+R media. I'm not very familiar with Vegas, but I believe it doesn't offer HD DVD authoring.

I wanted to let everyone know that Alan Gouger says when we're ready this thread will become a sticky at the top of the HD DVD Software section.
Brilliant! This is the ideal sort of thread to be a sticky and it deserves the honor!

I'd really prefer to have something more definitive in the guide about the conversion of D* streams (1088 to 1080), but we can make changes when needed.


Joe: Here's my updated workflow for converting D* 1088i captures to 1080i and creating custom HD DVDs. Thanks to pteittinen for making us aware of HDTVtoMPEG2 version 89. Since I started using version 89 I've had 100% success converting my D* 1280x1088i captures to custom HD DVDs.

Here is the work flow:

1) Use HDTVtoMPEG2 v 1.11.89 (available here (http://www.videohelp.com/tools?tool=HDTVtoMPEG2)) to edit your captured file and to remove null packets from the captured 1280x1088i file and to convert the ts stream from 1088i to 1080i (have H2M keep the file in ts format; click on the colored ball on the upper left portion of the HDTVtoMPEG2 dialog box and then click on "configure" to ensure that the "convert to 1080i" option is checked)-this method obviates the need for separate processing of 1088i files to 1080i utilizing either Balazers fix1088 utility or texmex's HDPatch utility.

2) Edit the resulting 1080i file in Womble MPEG-VCR v 3.14...output the file(s) as MPEG 2 program stream.

3) Load files into either MF5 or VS10 (I confirmed that this process works with both) and create the HD DVD folder on disk.

4) Burn the HD DVD folder to single or dual layer DVD +R disks as described earlier in this thread.

My software/equipment:

HP Pavilion 2.5 GHz P4
RCA DTC-100 D* HD receiver with Nextcom R5000-HD USB modification
LG GSA-2164D dual layer external burner
HDTVtoMPEG2 version 1.11.89
Ulead DVD Movie Factory v 5.0.0189
Nero v 6.6.1.4
Womble MPEG-VCR v 3.14 (12/2005)
Toshiba HD-A1 HD DVD player (firmware version 1.2)

Joe: Here's my updated workflow for converting D* 1088i captures to 1080i and creating custom HD DVDs. Thanks to pteittinen for making us aware of HDTVtoMPEG2 version 89. Since I started using version 89 I've had 100% success converting my D* 1280x1088i captures to custom HD DVDs.

Here is the work flow:

1) Use HDTVtoMPEG2 v 1.11.89 (available here (http://www.videohelp.com/tools?tool=HDTVtoMPEG2)) to edit your captured file and to remove null packets from the captured 1280x1088i file and to convert the ts stream from 1088i to 1080i (have H2M keep the file in ts format; click on the colored ball on the upper left portion of the HDTVtoMPEG2 dialog box and then click on "configure" to ensure that the "convert to 1080i" option is checked)-this method obviates the need for separate processing of 1088i files to 1080i utilizing either Balazers fix1088 utility or texmex's HDPatch utility.

2) Edit the resulting 1080i file in Womble MPEG-VCR v 3.14...output the file(s) as MPEG 2 program stream.

3) Load files into either MF5 or VS10 (I confirmed that this process works with both) and create the HD DVD folder on disk.

4) Burn the HD DVD folder to single or dual layer DVD +R disks as described earlier in this thread.

My software/equipment:

HP Pavilion 2.5 GHz P4
RCA DTC-100 D* HD receiver with Nextcom R5000-HD USB modification
LG GSA-2164D dual layer external burner
HDTVtoMPEG2 version 1.11.89
Ulead DVD Movie Factory v 5.0.0189
Nero v 6.6.1.4
Womble MPEG-VCR v 3.14 (12/2005)
Toshiba HD-A1 HD DVD player (firmware version 1.2)

Thanks, Rick. That's exactly what I was looking for. I'll update the guide and start a new thread with the guide at the top. Alan will take it from there to make it a sticky.

Thanks, Rick. That's exactly what I was looking for. I'll update the guide and start a new thread with the guide at the top. Alan will take it from there to make it a sticky.

Just want to point out that Rick's process will work for people pulling transport streams from D*, but for those with hacked HR10's the process will be a little different due to the fact that the extracted streams are programs streams. Editing can be done in Womble, VideoRedo, or perhaps even TyTool. Rather than using H2M, it's necessary to use either DVDPatcher or HDPatch (new release coming tonight) to convert headers to 1080. Feed to MF5/VS10+ as usual.

texmex

Hello all,

I have a star wars attack of the clone, that has been on my hard drive for a while, it's already in 1280 x 1080i , I beleve, I recorded it from cable box, I no longer have that set up. It will not load onto VS 10 +, it just cause the program to hang, any suggestion? It's the only file that behaves this way. All the other records are from nextcom r 5000 and has no problem converting to hd dvd.

Just want to point out that Rick's process will work for people pulling transport streams from D*, but for those with hacked HR10's the process will be a little different due to the fact that the extracted streams are programs streams. Editing can be done in Womble, VideoRedo, or perhaps even TyTool. Rather than using H2M, it's necessary to use either DVDPatcher or HDPatch (new release coming tonight) to convert headers to 1080. Feed to MF5/VS10+ as usual.

texmex


Texmex,

Thanks for the update, I'm one of the HR10 users who has been waiting for your updated code. Very excited!

Also I'm using MF5 and have had no luck with AC3 5.1 streams being included in the HD-DVD images. Does any have any words of wisdom on what will work? Preferably someone who has actually completed a working HD-DVD with AC3 5.1 audio.

Thanks,

MB1010

Just want to point out that Rick's process will work for people pulling transport streams from D*, but for those with hacked HR10's the process will be a little different due to the fact that the extracted streams are programs streams. Editing can be done in Womble, VideoRedo, or perhaps even TyTool. Rather than using H2M, it's necessary to use either DVDPatcher or HDPatch (new release coming tonight) to convert headers to 1080. Feed to MF5/VS10+ as usual.

texmex

texmex,

When the new version of HDPatch is ready, please post it here so I can include the latest link in the guide. Is this one going to handle the parsing of 1088 files faster?

Also I'm using MF5 and have had no luck with AC3 5.1 streams being included in the HD-DVD images. Does any have any words of wisdom on what will work? Preferably someone who has actually completed a working HD-DVD with AC3 5.1 audio.

There are conflicting reports about MF5 and 5.1 - some are able to author with the 5.1 intact, others report MF5 downconverting the 5.1 to 2.0. AC3 5.1 is not a listed feature in MF5, while it is in VS10+, so ULead might have pulled 5.1 support from MF5 to boost sales of VS10+ (just a theory, no proof). I'm using VS10+, so others using MF5 will have to chime in here on their 5.1 experiences. When commenting, it would be very helpful to include the version number of MF5/VS10+ in your post.

texmex

texmex,

When the new version of HDPatch is ready, please post it here so I can include the latest link in the guide. Is this one going to handle the parsing of 1088 files faster?

Will do Joe. Any yes, the 1088 parsing will be significantly faster and more stable in this version (well, I hope so anyway).

How about this - I take a few seconds from a clip I know works in Movie Factory 5 after being processed in Womble and run it through VideoRedo. Could you take a look at both clips and maybe get an idea as to why one goes through cleanly and the other stalls the process?

BTW, I'm using the latest version of VideoRedo.

Hey Joe - I'd be glad to take a look. Let me get HDPatch out tonight, then I'll work on a finding a good place to upload samples, then we can start digging deeper into these common issues.

texmex

Hello all,
I have a star wars attack of the clone, that has been on my hard drive for a while, it's already in 1280 x 1080i , I beleve, I recorded it from cable box, I no longer have that set up. It will not load onto VS 10 +, it just cause the program to hang, any suggestion? It's the only file that behaves this way. All the other records are from nextcom r 5000 and has no problem converting to hd dvd.
Give it time and it will probably load. Some low bitrate shows of mine take an hour or more to load.

There are conflicting reports about MF5 and 5.1 - some are able to author with the 5.1 intact, others report MF5 downconverting the 5.1 to 2.0. AC3 5.1 is not a listed feature in MF5, while it is in VS10+, so ULead might have pulled 5.1 support from MF5 to boost sales of VS10+ (just a theory, no proof). I'm using VS10+, so others using MF5 will have to chime in here on their 5.1 experiences. When commenting, it would be very helpful to include the version number of MF5/VS10+ in your post.

texmex

Thanks for the quick feedback!

So with using VS10+ you have successfully transferred 5.1 audio into your HD-DVD projects? What I would like to know is if it truly works with VS10+ before i drop the c-note on a license. MF5 was a freebie.

Which leads to another puzzle, Womble DVD finally upgraded to 5.1 support with it latest version, but it is hit and miss with finding the 5.1 stream info in files I get off of the HR10. The streams are definitely in the files because I can stream them through my HTPC with 5.1, but if i load the same file into Womble it says it's just a MPEG-2 audio stream, not AC3 5.1.

Actually while writing this I thought of something... Is the header info that you are fixing with your program carrying the audio type info as well? If so is this something you could add a switch or selection so that programs will see the AC3 5.1 audio correctly.

Thanks again,

mb101

Steve,

Ulead is crucial to the process, because it can author HD DVD discs -- for both HD DVD and DVD-R/+R media. I'm not very familiar with Vegas, but I believe it doesn't offer HD DVD authoring.

Thanks. I'm not sure about Vegas 6 myself and need to spend more time with it. It looks it will import my HDV tapes and other formats including importing, as well as, rendering and exporting H.264 video to all common frame rates including NTSC, PAL, 24p, Apple iPod video, AVC/Mpeg-4 for PSP, etc. It will also export HDV back to tape. I guess I'll just have to play around with it and figure out what it can and can't do.

In the meantime, I'll try loading VS v5 and see if it will work. If not, I'll get VS v10+ and just use it.

A new version of HDPatch is pretty much ready, but I haven't had time to test it and don't want to throw it out here untested (look for it sometime tomorrow). 1088 patching speed is much improved, but still not where I'd like it to be. Now that I have a better handle on the MPEG specs, I'll probably code part of the next release (after this one) into a low level library to speed things up. As a reminder, there are several alternatives to using HDPatch for patching 1088 streams: fix1088 or HDTV2MPEG for transport streams, DVDPatcher for program streams.

So with using VS10+ you have successfully transferred 5.1 audio into your HD-DVD projects?
Yes, several times.

Actually while writing this I thought of something... Is the header info that you are fixing with your program carrying the audio type info as well? If so is this something you could add a switch or selection so that programs will see the AC3 5.1 audio correctly.

Thanks again,

mb101

Right direction, monkeyboy1010. Need manipulation with headers not only for mpeg2 but also with ac3 5.1 too. And one more thought: Use the AC3 filter (http://www.free-codecs.com/download/AC3_Filter.htm) and play with adjustment.

With VS10+ can I author an HD-DVD using MPEG-4 and 5.1 audio?

My HD DVD detect the disc is CD, and can't paly image
i use MF5 create HDDVD_TS folder
the files have

HV000I01.BUP
HV000I01.IFO
HV001M02.EVO
HV001I01.BUP
HV001I01.IFO
HV001T01.EVO

Then open Nero 6 create new DVDvideo
drop a empty VIDEO_TS.VOB into red VIDEO_TS
drop HDDVD_TS and HV**** files into this DVDvideo

so the DVDvideo disc has three folder
VIDEO_TS
HDDVD_TS
AUDIO_TS

Nero completes burn the files, then i put in my Toshiba's HDDVD player
Why can't play the image ? and it detect the disc is CD.

What wrong with me ? Please kindly advise ? Thank you :confused:

With VS10+ can I author an HD-DVD using MPEG-4 and 5.1 audio?
No. Both Ulead apps accept MPEG-2 (1440x1080 and 1920x1080) only. That said, you can open a bunch of other file formats, but Ulead then converts (re-compresses) the file, which leads to less than optimal results. It can also take a heck of a long time.

My HD DVD detect the disc is CD, and can't paly image
i use MF5 create HDDVD_TS folder
Something's definitely gone wrong with either the authoring or the burning, if the Tosh sees the disc as a CD.

I suggest you try the alternative method I mentioned earlier: select DVD-ROM (UDF) compilation, enable Xbox Compatibility Mode and drop the HDDVD_TS directory into the root of the compilation, then burn.

I understand it reads MPEG-2 TS files, but can it convert these to MPEG-4 files for HD-DVD. This should, hopefully, allow for better compression.

I understand it reads MPEG-2 TS files, but can it convert these to MPEG-4 files for HD-DVD. This should, hopefully, allow for better compression.
Nope. Ulead re-encodes files to MPEG-2, so no matter what you can get it to open, the resulting HD DVD disc contains MPEG-2.

Also, as a default, Ulead prefers Program Streams. Some folks have successfully given it Transport Streams, but Ulead converts them into Program Streams.

My HD DVD detect the disc is CD, and can't paly image
i use MF5 create HDDVD_TS folder
the files have

HV000I01.BUP
HV000I01.IFO
HV001M02.EVO
HV001I01.BUP
HV001I01.IFO
HV001T01.EVO

Then open Nero 6 create new DVDvideo
drop a empty VIDEO_TS.VOB into red VIDEO_TS
drop HDDVD_TS and HV**** files into this DVDvideo

so the DVDvideo disc has three folder
VIDEO_TS
HDDVD_TS
AUDIO_TS

Nero completes burn the files, then i put in my Toshiba's HDDVD player
Why can't play the image ? and it detect the disc is CD.

What wrong with me ? Please kindly advise ? Thank you :confused:

I had the same problem. Then I discovered that only Nero with versions higher than 6.3 will burn the HD DVDs correctly (at least in my case). Is your Nero 6.0 or 6.3 higher?

So with using VS10+ you have successfully transferred 5.1 audio into your HD-DVD projects? What I would like to know is if it truly works with VS10+ before i drop the c-note on a license. MF5 was a freebie.

I have both. The HD-DVD parts seems to be the same in both. I get 5.1 audio with both apps, if the source includes it. MF5 is WAY easier to use. I had to actually go to the manual to find out how to do hd-dvds in VS10+. I only use MF5 now.

FWIW, MF5 doesn't like 25hz content. Wants to convert it to 60hz.

Wow, thanks everyone for this amazing thread so far! I have been following the thread for a while now and I finally got my Hd-A1 yesterday afternoon. And last night I successfully burned my first HD-DVD with 1080i material. So, my next quest was to burn 720p material (gotta get some Lost on HD-DVD!).

The burning process and patching process (thanks texmex for the patch utility!) went well for the HD-DVD. When viewing the final DVD on the HD-A1, everything was perfect for about the first 10 minutes or so, then I started losing audio sync by a slight amount. Not that bad, but enough to notice. I have searched the thread for audio sync issues and I see it's been discussed particularly with 720p sources. I see some people suggested using VideoReDo instead of Womble to convert to a program stream. Is this the answer? Or is there another solution for the audio sync issue?

Something's definitely gone wrong with either the authoring or the burning, if the Tosh sees the disc as a CD.

I suggest you try the alternative method I mentioned earlier: select DVD-ROM (UDF) compilation, enable Xbox Compatibility Mode and drop the HDDVD_TS directory into the root of the compilation, then burn.


Thanks pteittinen
i try your method , but my HD DVD still detect CD.
i used VideoReDo Plus and MF5 authoring my HDDVD files

I had the same problem. Then I discovered that only Nero with versions higher than 6.3 will burn the HD DVDs correctly (at least in my case). Is your Nero 6.0 or 6.3 higher?


My nero version is 6.6.1.4, is it enough ?

Hey guys,

Thanks for all of the great information so far! Quick question, I'm using mpeg video wizard to convert my ts files to an mpeg program stream. The files input smoothly into ulead, but the resulting hd disc has some issues. At the ts join points, there is pixelization and scene break up at the scene changes where one ts file would be transitioning to the next. Running through videoredo does not create this issue, but the resulting mpeg stream takes forever to recognize and process via ulead. Any ideas what might be causing the frame corruption at ts change point? Mpeg2repair doesn't indicate any issues, although mpeg video wizard indicates some gop size issues (not sure if these are valid on an HD mpeg2 stream?)

Any ideas?

Thanks,

Adam

Thanks pteittinen
i try your method , but my HD DVD still detect CD.
i used VideoReDo Plus and MF5 authoring my HDDVD files
My nero version is 6.6.1.4, is it enough ?
I am using the same version (6.6.1.4) and it works fine for me. Perhaps it is the media. What are you using?

When viewing the final DVD on the HD-A1, everything was perfect for about the first 10 minutes or so, then I started losing audio sync by a slight amount.

Did you cut out the ads? MPEG doesn't edit very well sometime and audio synch is often the result. One of the nice things about VideoReDo is that you can use it to adjust the audio synch.

Is HDTVtoMPEG2 ok to use in converting .ts files into mpg files for use with ULead movie Factory? Or does one need to buy the other software just to convert .ts files

Is HDTVtoMPEG2 ok to use in converting .ts files into mpg files for use with ULead movie Factory? Or does one need to buy the other software just to convert .ts files
No and yes/no, depending on which application you want to use for the conversion.

H2M is ok for combining TS files but Not for converting the to PS streams (mpg). You'll need video redo or womble for that.

Ok, here are my results thus far. Strange but good. I cannot use Video Redo, only Womble will make working streams for me. Anything done with VR basically crashed MF. So far, I have only made single layer but want to experiment with a few DL just for ha ha's. Strange thing though. With regards to 1088 streams, I recently attempted to convert a stream (of a recent tape dump I made) of The Rundown. I capped it from cable yet the stream reads as a 1088. Any ideas??

How is the latest HDpatch with patching the full stream? Faster?

Use the latest Hdtv2Mpeg to convert those to 1080i. FYI, I'm using VR ver. 2.2.1.445 Jan 8 '06

I capped it from cable yet the stream reads as a 1088. Any ideas??

How is the latest HDpatch with patching the full stream? Faster?

I haven't posted the latest HDPatch yet, and even when I do DVDPatcher is still faster. You can download it here: DVDPatcher (http://www.wincesoft.de/html/dvdpatcher.html) . Once you've converted to program stream (*.mpg), launch DVDPatcher and open your file. Here are the settings:
Bitrate: choose custom and set it to the value matching "MPEG2 Info" above (something like 15000000)
AspectRatio: Presumably you'll leave this at 16:9
HorizontalSize: choose "Custom" and set it to the correct size from "MPEG2 Info" (should be 1920, 1440 or 1280).
VerticalSize: choose "Custom" and set it to 1080
Framerate: leave this set to 29.97
Patch: Entire File

At some point, either before or after you hit "Patch Now", you'll get a warning about changing VerticalSize. It will ask "Do you know what you do?" - click "Yes". You may then need to hit "Patch Now" again. Verify your values then click "Start". Now it will warn you that you're changing VerticalSize and asks "Abort Patch?" - click "No". Patching will commence.

DVDPatcher is very fast, which is why I haven't released the HDPatch update yet (I'm jealous and trying to match the speed). Let me know if you have any problems.

texmex

p.s. Joe - you may want to stash this post as it may find a place somewhere in the guide as an alternative to HDPatch.

Use the latest Hdtv2Mpeg to convert those to 1080i. FYI, I'm using VR ver. 2.2.1.445 Jan 8 '06

Not sure off hand which version of VR I have but....I do think it's an older version. I'll have to check hdtv2mpeg as well but with both programs, I have been unable to create a compliant stream for MF5. Womble has been working flawlessly but I do like other options and I like hdtv2mpeg and use it a lot.

I haven't posted the latest HDPatch yet, and even when I do DVDPatcher is still faster. You can download it here: DVDPatcher (http://www.wincesoft.de/html/dvdpatcher.html) . Once you've converted to program stream (*.mpg), launch DVDPatcher and open your file. Here are the settings:
Bitrate: choose custom and set it to the value matching "MPEG2 Info" above (something like 15000000)
AspectRatio: Presumably you'll leave this at 16:9
HorizontalSize: choose "Custom" and set it to the correct size from "MPEG2 Info" (should be 1920, 1440 or 1280).
VerticalSize: choose "Custom" and set it to 1080
Framerate: leave this set to 29.97
Patch: Entire File

At some point, either before or after you hit "Patch Now", you'll get a warning about changing VerticalSize. It will ask "Do you know what you do?" - click "Yes". You may then need to hit "Patch Now" again. Verify your values then click "Start". Now it will warn you that you're changing VerticalSize and asks "Abort Patch?" - click "No". Patching will commence.

DVDPatcher is very fast, which is why I haven't released the HDPatch update yet (I'm jealous and trying to match the speed). Let me know if you have any problems.

texmex

p.s. Joe - you may want to stash this post as it may find a place somewhere in the guide as an alternative to HDPatch.


Thanks a bunch for the info Tex!! I already downloaded DVDpatcher this past weekend. I didn't have luck with the one file I tried but maybe I converted the .ts before I converted to an mpeg. don't remember. I will give it a go again in the next few days. So far, I am VERY impressed with the quality of these "home made" discs on the Toshiba.

General question. I understand DL discs are hit and miss. Can somebody who has created/burnt a LOT of discs (preferably DL discs) please post on this? I have a LOT of movies that would fit on dual layer!!

Thanks,
Darrin

A little off topic but informative.

Introduction to HD DVD Authoring (http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/dnwmt/html/introduction_to_hd_dvd_authoring__codz.asp)

I understand DL discs are hit and miss. Can somebody who has created/burnt a LOT of discs (preferably DL discs) please post on this?
It's quite simple really.

1) Use Grade A media from reputable companies such as Verbatim and Maxell.
2) Never ever burn at higher speed than the media is specced for, even if the burner supports higher speeds.
3) Use a good DVD burner, such as the NEC 35xx series. Other good ones: BenQ 1640/1650/1655 and Pioneer DVR-111/A11.

If you absolutely need to use Grade B media, a good DVD burner is quite simply essential. With Grade A media you can get good results with less-than-brilliant DVD burners.

Did you cut out the ads? MPEG doesn't edit very well sometime and audio synch is often the result. One of the nice things about VideoReDo is that you can use it to adjust the audio synch.

I did cut out the adds. I did redo my .ts to program stream using VideoRedo and it seemed to clear up the audio problems in the first DVD I tried. Then I tried another and the audio sync started getting off by about 25 minutes in. It got pretty bad by about 35 minutes, so for the heck of it I paused the movie then un-paused it. The audio sync'd back up! IS this a normal occurence?

Jumping into this thread a bit late here so sorry if I missed this already...

texmex, I have some HD-DVD compliant VC-1 streams that if you are interested I could share with you to see if you could "find" a way to make MF5 or VS10 mux without re-encoding. Supposedly, the ULead muxing engine can already accept VC-1 files, but I have been unable to make it work. I don't even care if menus are part of the equation, as I would just like to be able to take these streams and mux them into the HD-DVD structure. It seems to me that it may be possible to trick MF or VS by using dummy assets and then relinking upon build, sort of like what you got working for 720p MPEG-2, right? Or maybe this wouldn't work due to different formats?

Anyway, let me know if I can be of any help.

It's quite simple really.

1) Use Grade A media from reputable companies such as Verbatim and Maxell.
2) Never ever burn at higher speed than the media is specced for, even if the burner supports higher speeds.
3) Use a good DVD burner, such as the NEC 35xx series. Other good ones: BenQ 1640/1650/1655 and Pioneer DVR-111/A11.

If you absolutely need to use Grade B media, a good DVD burner is quite simply essential. With Grade A media you can get good results with less-than-brilliant DVD burners.

Something like this would be good for a FAQ section of the guide. I'll go over some past posts and see what I can find.

I did cut out the adds. I did redo my .ts to program stream using VideoRedo and it seemed to clear up the audio problems in the first DVD I tried. Then I tried another and the audio sync started getting off by about 25 minutes in. It got pretty bad by about 35 minutes, so for the heck of it I paused the movie then un-paused it. The audio sync'd back up! IS this a normal occurence?

It happens to me once in a while, on the HD-A1 and on other DVD players. My first Sony DVD player back in 97 would lose sync even on comercial DVDs. Try playing the edited mpeg file on your computer and see if it keeps in sync (you need watching to start before your first edit point at the beginning - since most TV shows have an add near the beginning this means you cannot skip too much).

Cutting ads from a MPEG file can (will) cause audio sync problems. Pausing and re-starting allows the player to re-sync the two streams. Sometimes it works so that you get both audio and video back in sync - but not always. Sometimes pausing and re-starting actually causes sync problems - you need to backup a few frames and try again.

Because of problems like this, I usually leave the ads in the program - except for football games where it doesn't really matter if the audio is off a slight amount.

VideoReDo allows you to manually change the timing of the audio so you can manually fix sync problems. But this can get very involved because the timing needs to change at each edit point. There are also programs like VirtuaDub that allow you to edit the audio stream.

Also note that a lot of times audio sync problems are part of the HD transmission. In the final game of the World Series a few years ago the audio was at least half a second behind the video for the first inning. It was horrible - Johnny Damon was on his way to first base before you heard the crack of the bat hitting the ball.

A couple of tidbits from today's testing:

1) Elecard's MPEG player (http://www.elecard.com/products/products-pc/consumer/mpeg-player/) claims to play HD DVDs. Well, it doesn't. It plays EVO files like some other apps do, i.e. it won't recognize DD5.1 audio so EVO plays without sound. The app won't play a HD DVD-on-DVD either.

2) I had shot some footage with my Sanyo HD1 in highest quality HD mode, i.e. MPEG4 ASP 1280x720/29.97 @ 9mbit/s. Audio on the files is MPEG AAC 48/16 @ 128kbit/s. Ulead MF5 won't show the files in Add Files dialog, but VS10+ supports them without problems.

I brought a 6-minute clip into VS10+. In Project Settings I customized MPEG Settings, and selected output format to 2-pass 1920x1080, and switched Frame Type to Frame-based instead of Upper Field First. I also selected MPEG Audio as the output audio format. Then I left VS10 to do its thing, i.e. use its internal MPEG2 encoder to re-encode this 1280x720 content. The task took some 90 minutes. I played the resulting EVO with Elecard MPEG player; it played with sound and the app reported the stream as non-interlaced. Image quality actually looked quite good; I guess 2 passes makes a difference.

I burned the folder onto a DVD+R disc and placed it in my XA-1. Got no audio out of the SPDIF, but video played quite well. I noticed a few glitches, where a single frame froze on screen for perhaps half a second, but that might've just as well been in the EVO file. Unfortunately I accidentally deleted the folder, so I can't verify that right now.

currently I record HD programs using r5000 and take the ts file and use hdtv2mpeg and end up with a 1080i file which is smaller than the original ts file. Since most all the programs do not have commercials during the program , my only interest is cutting the beginning and ends and correct any sync problems. questions 1. what is the easiest program to edit only the front and the back? 2. Do I have to monitor the rest of the program for sync problems? Last night I recorded the Dinner Game which is almost two hours and the new file was 40% smaller after I ran it through hdtv2mpeg. Is that normal?
I then take that HD file and convert to a divx file and burn a dvd which I play on my avel linksplayer2 without many problems. I tried womble and it was a challenge to my pea brain. I tried the same dvd on my oppo and it did not play as I expected. If the editing process is going to in any way effect a sync I would rather not do any editing which is only a few minutes on the front or back. Thanks

flabingo, do you have a Tosh HD DVD player?

Does HDTV2MPEG automagically remove null packets or is there a hidden setting to do this?

flabingo,
I've never had a sync problem after cutting a few minutes from the beginning of a MPEG video. Obviously, cutting from the end id OK too.

HDTV2MPEG always removes null packets, which may be why your videos are 40% smaller.

From your post it is not clear if you've got a HD DVD player. If you do, Divx (AVI?) is not a supported codec on the Toshiba. I believe that MPEG is the only codec supported by MF5 for HD DVD at this point.

Thanks for your response. What program to you recommend for cutting the front and the back? I do not have a Toshiba. I am using the Avel Linksplayer which does work with HD divx files. At the present time I do not have a HDMI device so I depend on component for my main TV. I have read that the upscaling using the Toshiba requires a HDMI port. The Linksplayer requires a great deal of management since the firmware version changes the upscaling capability.

HDTV2MPEG is good for cutting beginning and end - but I use VideoReDo. Upscaling on the Toshiba only requires HDMI if the disk is copy protected - disks you create yourself are upscaled rather well.

I'd like to get your thoughts on some bumps in the road I have had in my quest to get footage shot on my Z1 to play on HD DVD.

Issue #1 - Ok I took a m2t file and renamed it .mpeg (or should it be mpg?) It converted fine in MF5, but under project settings you can adjust the bitrate, which I did to 25mbps. Can you do that? The default is much lower as I remember.

Issue #2 - Then I opened Nero 7, chose DVD-UDF, but under that tab there was no option or drop-down for "enable x-box"...just automatic or manual settings. No problem burning.

Went to Best Buy and it did not play in the Toshiba. So what's your best guess as to why it didn't play, #1 or #2, or something I have missed.

Or could it be the disc (Philips DVD +R) ?

I'm pretty close. Thanks in advance.

steve

Issue #2 - Then I opened Nero 7, chose DVD-UDF, but under that tab there was no option or drop-down for "enable x-box"...just automatic or manual settings. No problem burning.

Went to Best Buy and it did not play in the Toshiba. So what's your best guess as to why it didn't play, #1 or #2, or something I have missed.


My guess is #2 is your problem. On Nero 6.6.14, the option for UDF type is on the UDF tab. The default UDF is version 1.02, and the TOSH seems to need 1.5 or greater. It could be the media, but you need to get the UDF working before the media can be blamed.

ok, burned again & no luck. On the UDF tab under manual setting I see "UDF partitiion type" with the drop-down options of "physical partition", "virtual partition" and "sparable partition", and "File system version" with drop-down options of 1.02 to 2.60. Any ideas?

(Nero 7)

ok, burned again & no luck. On the UDF tab under manual setting I see "UDF partitiion type" with the drop-down options of "physical partition", "virtual partition" and "sparable partition", and "File system version" with drop-down options of 1.02 to 2.60. Any ideas?

(Nero 7)
The in version 6.6 the Options drop down has Automatic, Manual Settinga, something else, and XBox Compat. on the bottom. If you cannot find it in Version 7, use the other method of creating the disk given in the guide.

SteveMitchel
I had the exact same problem with the enable xbox selection not appearing as a choice in Nero 7.. and that is why your HD-DVD is not working. For whatever reason after a couple of tries and a re-boot, the xbox selection appeared and I have been getting good HD-DVD's ever since.

Ed Betty

I will try a re-boot and let u know. On the UDF tab, should I leave it automatic or manual settings. If manual, what file system?

steve

I got REALLY excited when I saw that authoring HD-DVD capable DVD+-R's was possible.

After reading this thread over and over I have successfuly burned 3 movies and a couple demo disks.

HDTVtoMPEG - I use this for 1088 correction and "splicing" the ts files.

VideoReDo - I use this to sync audio issues and convert the TS files to Ulead capable MPG streams.

Ulead DVD Movie Factory 5.0.0001 - Use this to create HD-DVD ISO's

Nero 7 Ultra Edition - Use to burn to DVD-R/DVD+R and DVD+R DL

WOW!

I have The Incredibles, Event Horizon and Sin City working beautifully. All with 5.1 DD as well (the trick is to match the Audio Bitrates with the project settings in Ulead DMF 5)

I also threw a couple trailers for HDNET Nothing but trailers and they look outstanding as well.

This HD-A1 was worth every penny. :cool:

the trick is to match the Audio Bitrates with the project settings in Ulead DMF 5

I tried this in Visual Studio 10 but it does not work: the 5.1 AC-3 track that is in the source is not copied to the resulting HD-DVD. It's really frustrating ! Is there anybody who has any idea what I can do to solve this?

Is there a FAQ for how to do this?

I have access to VS10+, VideoRedo and Movie Factory 5 - but could use some help.

Thanks

[QUOTE=Hyrax] HDTV2MPEG always removes null packets, which may be why your videos are 40% smaller. QUOTE]

That is a bit misleading. You actually have to "TICK" nulls if you want them stripped. It does not do it automatically.

I tried this in Visual Studio 10 but it does not work: the 5.1 AC-3 track that is in the source is not copied to the resulting HD-DVD. It's really frustrating ! Is there anybody who has any idea what I can do to solve this?

I was having trouble with that as well, you need to check encoder settings, on the second tab make sure it's set to AC3 5.1. I can't say why this works, as your not encoding anything, but once I had that setting in place the 5.1 would transfer.

Hope that helps

HDTV2MPEG always removes null packets, which may be why your videos are 40% smaller.

That is a bit misleading. You actually have to "TICK" nulls if you want them stripped. It does not do it automatically.

Darrin -
Perhaps I've an older version, because I don't see the place to 'tick' Nulls, and my version does remove null packets. I must admit I stopped using H2 years ago when I bought VideoReDo.

Hi monkeyboy,

I did change the encoder settings on the 2nd tab, but it does not help a bit. Just to be sure that we are talking about the same thing, here's what I do:
1) Select 'Movie Wizard'
2) 'Insert Video' and select my source file (otherwise I can not go to the next screen).
3) Click 'Next'
4) Click again 'Next'
5) Click 'Create Disc'
6) Select Untitled video and delete it using 'X' button.
7) Change disk mode to HD-DVD using pull-down in left-bottom corner.
8) Click 'Add video files' and select my source again.
9) Disable 'Create menu'
10) Click 'Next'
11) Click again 'Next'

Now I can click 'Project settings' button (below diskmode pulldown) to check 'MPEG properties for file conversion'. Ofcourse I enabled 'Do not convert compliant MPEG files', so no conversion is done (checked that). To be sure I have changed the audio settings to 'Dolby Digital Audio, 48KHz, 3/2(L,C,R,SL,SR)'. However this does not 100% match the input soundtrack, which is 3/2.1 (with LFE), but there is no way to select that mode.
Any ideas?

Darrin -
Perhaps I've an older version, because I don't see the place to 'tick' Nulls, and my version does remove null packets. I must admit I stopped using H2 years ago when I bought VideoReDo.

That is true, I forgot that older versions didn't give you that option. I still use and love the program personally.

Can anyone recommend a reliable source for DL media which will read in the HD-DVD player?

SteveMitchel
I had the exact same problem with the enable xbox selection not appearing as a choice in Nero 7.. and that is why your HD-DVD is not working. For whatever reason after a couple of tries and a re-boot, the xbox selection appeared and I have been getting good HD-DVD's ever since.

Ed Betty

Well, I re-booted, even uninstalled and re-installed and the x-box option is not there. When I try to play from the Toshiba (I'm wearin' the Best Buy guys out) I get the message "the disc is not a DVD format".

I am completely stumped. Nero wants $1.29 a minute for tech support. Screw that, they already have my money.

Summary:

rendered a m2t file from Sony Vegas, then renamed it with a .mpg extension. Dropped that into MF5 where I got a message saying it could not edit and "would you like to pre-process it?" Which it did. On the project settings, I bumped up the bitrate to 25,000,000, made sure the non-compliant video box was checked. Saved it to the HV DVD folder.

Then opened Nero Burning ROM, selected DVD-UDF, on the UDF tab there's 2 settings, automatic & manual. I used manual, and selected UDF file system 2.5, and "physical partition". (The other choices were virtual and sparable). I even tried technique #2 by placing the dummy .vob file (do I drop it on the main window, or the DVD icon?). Then burned 'em, using Fujifilm DVD-R's.

FOR THE MAC CROWD:

I dropped the m2v and aiff file in DVD SP4, burned away, and got a long error message which traced back to some issues with iDVD RW tools, so there's some more work for me there.

I got nothin'! Somebody hep me!

steve

Can't you just burn to dvd-r with Ulead or did they take that part out along with the ISO option?

According to the workflow from a few pages back, you have to use Nero. I'm kinda new to this process.

Anyone?

I tried this in Visual Studio 10 but it does not work: the 5.1 AC-3 track that is in the source is not copied to the resulting HD-DVD. It's really frustrating ! Is there anybody who has any idea what I can do to solve this?

I also noticed that on my Ulead Help-->About screen there is a serial number for the Ulead DVD Movie Factory 5 as well as a seperate serial for Dolby Digital 5.1 1.0

Maybe different licensing for Dolby Digital is affecting the ability to encode DD?

Just a thought. :(

Can anyone recommend a reliable source for DL media which will read in the HD-DVD player?

I stick wih Verbatim DVD+R Dual Layer and I don't burn faster than 4x

Haven't had one issue with Nero 7. :cool:

I stick wih Verbatim DVD+R Dual Layer and I don't burn faster than 4x

Haven't had one issue with Nero 7. :cool:

I thought the Toshiba only played DVD-R. At least thats what the specs say.

Why would VS10+ ALWAYS insist upon re-encoding a file?

I have given the same exact file to MF5 and it does not need to re-encode it.

Any ideas?

I thought the Toshiba only played DVD-R. At least thats what the specs say.

Mine reads DVD+R and DVD-R as well as DVD+R DL just fine (Firmware 1.3)

Hi monkeyboy,

I did change the encoder settings on the 2nd tab, but it does not help a bit. Just to be sure that we are talking about the same thing, here's what I do:
1) Select 'Movie Wizard'
2) 'Insert Video' and select my source file (otherwise I can not go to the next screen).
3) Click 'Next'
4) Click again 'Next'
5) Click 'Create Disc'
6) Select Untitled video and delete it using 'X' button.
7) Change disk mode to HD-DVD using pull-down in left-bottom corner.
8) Click 'Add video files' and select my source again.
9) Disable 'Create menu'
10) Click 'Next'
11) Click again 'Next'

Now I can click 'Project settings' button (below diskmode pulldown) to check 'MPEG properties for file conversion'. Ofcourse I enabled 'Do not convert compliant MPEG files', so no conversion is done (checked that). To be sure I have changed the audio settings to 'Dolby Digital Audio, 48KHz, 3/2(L,C,R,SL,SR)'. However this does not 100% match the input soundtrack, which is 3/2.1 (with LFE), but there is no way to select that mode.
Any ideas?

I can outline my process, if that helps

1. Get my source MPG from TYTool with edits in place
2. Run the MPG through DVDPatcher to fix the 1088 thing
3. Start VS10+, select from the Tools menu, Create A Disc
4. Set the project to HD-DVD
5. Check the MPEG Encoder settings that I mentioned before
6. add chapters, and burn to HDD Folder
7. Burn with Nero 7.X as DVD-UDF with Xbox compatible settings

fantastic way to archive my Deadwood collection

hope that helps

Can anyone outline the process for a Macintosh using Final Cut Pro, Compressor, and DVD Studio Pro 3? Thanks.

Can anyone outline the process for a Macintosh using Final Cut Pro, Compressor, and DVD Studio Pro 3? Thanks.

what are your source files? I would also download Mpeg Streamclip for preping the files.

Well, theoretically, it's as follows:

Export from FCP using Compressor. Choose the HD DVD preset which makes a m2v video file and aiff audio file. Make their destination your desktop.

Then open DVD Studio Pro. Drop the video track on your timeline, then your audio track. Burn!

If you get an error message saying "formatting failed", try a different disc. That worked for me.

I'm over to BB in the morning to see if it works. Like I said, theoretically.

steve

I've been ripping footage directly from my HD camcorder. It records in HDV. I then use Compressor to turn it into an HD-DVD MPEG 2 clip and output to Quicktime so that DVD Studio Pro will read it. I'm sure I'm doing a million things wrong.

Edit: I just downloaded Mpeg Streamclip and it said that HDV camera owners should capture their video using Dvhscap, which is no longer available to download from Apple's website. Great.

I've been ripping footage directly from my HD camcorder. It records in HDV. I then use Compressor to turn it into an HD-DVD MPEG 2 clip and output to Quicktime so that DVD Studio Pro will read it. I'm sure I'm doing a million things wrong.

Edit: I just downloaded Mpeg Streamclip and it said that HDV camera owners should capture their video using Dvhscap, which is no longer available to download from Apple's website. Great.

you need the Apple firewire SDK 22

it includes DVHScap and lots of other good tools

So has anyone figured out a way to burn with x264 or is that still impossible?

you need the Apple firewire SDK 22

it includes DVHScap and lots of other good tools

Thanks. Downloading now.

I ordered two books off of Amazon. One is the Apple Pro Training Series book on Final Cut Pro HD, and the other is a third-party book on DVD Studio Pro 4. Hopefully between those two I'll be able to figure this stuff out (among other things).

I can outline my process, if that helps

1. Get my source MPG from TYTool with edits in place
2. Run the MPG through DVDPatcher to fix the 1088 thing
3. Start VS10+, select from the Tools menu, Create A Disc
4. Set the project to HD-DVD
5. Check the MPEG Encoder settings that I mentioned before
6. add chapters, and burn to HDD Folder
7. Burn with Nero 7.X as DVD-UDF with Xbox compatible settings

fantastic way to archive my Deadwood collection

hope that helps

Well, essentially we do exactly the same, but no matter what I try, I do not get the 5.1 AC-3 track in the HD-DVD. My version number reads 10.0.0110.0 Plus. Maybe you have a different one? With MovieFactory it also makes a big difference with what version you work.

Can you please post the IFO files of a working disk with 5.1 sound? I have an idea what might be the problem, but need a working reference to check it. Thanks in advance!

Well, essentially we do exactly the same, but no matter what I try, I do not get the 5.1 AC-3 track in the HD-DVD. My version number reads 10.0.0110.0 Plus. Maybe you have a different one? With MovieFactory it also makes a big difference with what version you work.

Can you please post the IFO files of a working disk with 5.1 sound? I have an idea what might be the problem, but need a working reference to check it. Thanks in advance!

Here you go ...

Also...should it be saying "converting video of the title" when i start to author with ulead? This process is taking me about 45 minutes for some discs.

Almost all of my material is 1080p (quicktime trailers). is this re-encoding it?

I checked the IFO files (thanks for posting them!), but do not see any difference on the locations that I suspected. Very weird. Does your disk also display 'Dolby D+' as soundtrack type when you press the 'display' button? My surround decoder says the signal is Dolby Digital, but with PCM mode. I never saw this before, normally the channel mode is display (f.i. 3/2.1). I checked the stream with VobEdit and the 5.1 track is there, but with substream type 0xC0 instead of the 'normal' 0x80. The only conclusion I can draw at this moment is that somehow the Toshiba sends an incompatible Dolby Digital signal on the SPDIF output.

I checked the IFO files (thanks for posting them!), but do not see any difference on the locations that I suspected. Very weird. Does your disk also display 'Dolby D+' as soundtrack type when you press the 'display' button? My surround decoder says the signal is Dolby Digital, but with PCM mode. I never saw this before, normally the channel mode is display (f.i. 3/2.1). I checked the stream with VobEdit and the 5.1 track is there, but with substream type 0xC0 instead of the 'normal' 0x80. The only conclusion I can draw at this moment is that somehow the Toshiba sends an incompatible Dolby Digital signal on the SPDIF output.

I'm using the analoge output, I haven't tried the optical output.

Looking at the display on the Toshiba, it should say MULTI and not 2-CH. The first attempts I made that failed displayed 2-CH.

Hey, guys,

I am back up (mostly) after being hit by the storms that struck St. Louis and parts of Illinois last week. I was without power and AC for three days. Next week, I schedule a whole house electical backup system install. I'm not going through that again.

Anyway, texmex, what's the progress on HDPatch? Soon as I catch up, I want to get the guide up in a new thread.

Looking at the display on the Toshiba, it should say MULTI and not 2-CH. The first attempts I made that failed displayed 2-CH.
I did not mean the display on the Toshiba, I meant OSD when you press the 'display' button on the remote. What type of soundtrack does it indicate on your working 5.1 disks?

I checked the IFO files (thanks for posting them!), but do not see any difference on the locations that I suspected. Very weird. Does your disk also display 'Dolby D+' as soundtrack type when you press the 'display' button? My surround decoder says the signal is Dolby Digital, but with PCM mode. I never saw this before, normally the channel mode is display (f.i. 3/2.1). I checked the stream with VobEdit and the 5.1 track is there, but with substream type 0xC0 instead of the 'normal' 0x80. The only conclusion I can draw at this moment is that somehow the Toshiba sends an incompatible Dolby Digital signal on the SPDIF output.

My discs dont work 5.1 over SPDIF either and also display Dolby+ on the OSD. Do you think the difference in the ID could be causing the problem?

I did not mean the display on the Toshiba, I meant OSD when you press the 'display' button on the remote. What type of soundtrack does it indicate on your working 5.1 disks?

Dolby D+

Also...should it be saying "converting video of the title" when i start to author with ulead? This process is taking me about 45 minutes for some discs. Almost all of my material is 1080p (quicktime trailers). is this re-encoding it?
Yes.

FYI folks,

something which probably wasn't made clear earlier: If you select DVD-ROM (UDF) as the Compilation, you must select Xbox Compatibility Mode. All other settings in the UDF tab produce coasters, i.e. discs that won't play in the Tosh.

Yes.

Yeah. What a bitch. Ulead isn't liking the files once I patch them to 29.97 but they look good when I play back. Problem is...the disc is giving me errors if i try and fast-forward. And forget about trying to patch back to 24fps. Everything is zoomed then.

My discs dont work 5.1 over SPDIF either and also display Dolby+ on the OSD.
Good to hear ... well, I mean at least it is not my surround decoder that is the problem ...

Do you think the difference in the ID could be causing the problem?
Well, I did test this. I made a small program to patch all 0xC0 IDs to 0x80. The Apple dvd player did also play without sound, but after patching the EVO file it did play with sound. Unfortunately the Toshiba still does not play with sound. My guess is that VideoStudio (and MovieFactory) mistakenly labels the soundtrack as DD+. So besides the wrong substream ID, also the IFO file is wrongly labeled. This is confirmed by the info in the OSD. The problem is that I have no idea what the audio attributes mean in the IFO. Currently it is set to 0x1C, 0x04, 0xD4, which obviously means DD+ 5 channel (one of the 4s must indicate the number of channels, which must be increased by 1 as with the standard DVD IFO). I wish I had an IFO which identifies a DD track, then I could document the audio attributes and maybe fix this problem.

Mine says DD+ via display but my receiver shows DD 3/2 or 2/0. If it shows PCM then MF5 probably converted your file.

Here's an error i just got using the HD patch:

"index was outside the bounds of the array"

Any idea what this is!?!

Anyone else have the problem with VS10+ always wanting to re-encode the video file regardless of what you tell it?

Mine says DD+ via display but my receiver shows DD 3/2 or 2/0. If it shows PCM then MF5 probably converted your file.
No, that is not the case. I already checked that the 5.1 track is available in the EVO file. Also the Apple dvd player plays with sound after I changed the IDs from 0xC0 to 0x80. It is either a bug in the Toshiba or otherwise in MF5/VS10.

Here's an error i just got using the HD patch:



Any idea what this is!?!

It's probably a bad MPEG. I got this after I converted a 720P file with HDTV2MPEG but if I convert the same TS with Womble then HDPatch is happy.

Good to hear ... well, I mean at least it is not my surround decoder that is the problem ...


Well, I did test this. I made a small program to patch all 0xC0 IDs to 0x80. The Apple dvd player did also play without sound, but after patching the EVO file it did play with sound. Unfortunately the Toshiba still does not play with sound. My guess is that VideoStudio (and MovieFactory) mistakenly labels the soundtrack as DD+. So besides the wrong substream ID, also the IFO file is wrongly labeled. This is confirmed by the info in the OSD. The problem is that I have no idea what the audio attributes mean in the IFO. Currently it is set to 0x1C, 0x04, 0xD4, which obviously means DD+ 5 channel (one of the 4s must indicate the number of channels, which must be increased by 1 as with the standard DVD IFO). I wish I had an IFO which identifies a DD track, then I could document the audio attributes and maybe fix this problem.

Just to be clear my Preamp locks for a split second then goes silent for about a second and thenm attempts to relock... etc. If I set the Tosh to convert to PCM then the Stereo PCM that is sent down the SPDIF is OK.

I think this is more likely a bug with DVD MF as the Tosh can play Dolby Digital soundtracks on retail releases like Perfect Storm.

Maybe someone else (Texmex, Filmmixer, Amir?) understands what the possible values for the IFO attributes are?

Well, it took a while, but here's an updated release of HDPatch. Although the interface may look exactly the same, the parsing engine in this release is completely different. Where version 0.2 searched for headers byte by byte (SLOW), this release jumps through files reading headers only. I also discovered that the .NET file access routines I was using were loaded with overhead and got about a 4x speed gain by switching to lower level streams.

Testing:
I've tested HDPatch 0.3.01 and compared output files against fix1088 and DVDPatcher output - the resulting files are bit for bit identical. I authored HD-DVD discs on DVD-RW using VS10+ in 1080i (1088 originals), 720p. All 6 test DVDs worked flawlessly on the Tosh, including 5.1 audio.

What Is HDPatch Used For:
HDPatch can be used to solve two problems in the MF5/VS10+ HD-DVD workflow.
- 1088 files: many streams from various sources are encoded with a vertical resolution of 1088 (i.e. 1920x1088 or 1280x1088). MF5/VS10+ does not recognize this as a valid HD-DVD resolution and will attempt to re-encode these streams. HDPatch will modify the stream headers to correct the resolution, changing the 1088 to 1080. Once "patched", MF5/VS10+ should process the stream without re-encoding. And don't worry - you're not losing 8 pixels of video. Those extra 8 pixels are usually grey filler. To use this feature, open your stream in HDPatch, choose Fix1088 from the "Preset Menu", and click "Patch Stream".
- 720p files: MF5/VS10+ do not recognize 720p as a valid HD-DVD format. They will attempt to re-encode 720p files during the authoring process. In order to avoid this, you can use HDPatch to "prep" a 720p file for authoring. Open your 720p stream in HDPatch, choose "Preset->720p->Pre-Patch 720p...", then click "Patch Stream". Now process as usual in MF5/VS10+. Once you've generated the HDDVD folder, open the *.EVO file in HDPatch, choose "Preset->720p->Post-Patch EVO/IFO..." then click "Patch Stream". Your 720p HD-DVD is now ready to burn.
- General MPEG patching: HDPatch can also be used for general MPEG header patching. Maybe a file is incorrectly flagged as 4:3 when it is actually 16:9. HDPatch can be used to correct the headers in such a file.

Downloading HDPatch:
You must right-click on the link below and choose "Save Target As..." to dowload the app. Left clicking doesn't seem to work on these forums. As always, let me know if you have questions/comments/issues. Please PM bug reports to me rather than cluttering the thread.

texmex

Here's an error i just got using the HD patch:
Any idea what this is!?!

This was a bug in HDPatch 0.2. Try the latest release 0.3.01 (directly above) and let me know if you still have issues with that particular stream.

I've authored several HDV files (Sony HC1) to HD-DVD using VS10+ and audio dropouts are common with these discs, which others have reported here. In this particular case, I think the problem is due to the lack of support for MPEG audio in the HD-DVD spec (and the DVD spec for that matter). The HDV format uses 384kbps MPEG audio, and our current process retains this audio format on our discs. While many DVD players will play DVD's with MPEG audio, it is not a requirement in the DVD spec, and I'm assuming this is also true of HD-DVD. I took one of the "bad" streams, converted the audio to AC3 (using Sony Vegas), re-muxed with the original video and authored to HD-DVD in VS10+. This time the disc played flawlessly in the Tosh - video AND audio.

So, for those of you having audio issues on your HDV HD-DVD's, I recommend converting your audio to AC3 before authoring. Vegas works great, but if you're looking for something cheaper, try BeLight, which is open source and free. You'll need to demux, convert audio to AC3, then remux before authoring. If anyone is interested in more detailed instructions, let me know.

texmex

Is there anybody who can author a HD-DVD with AC-3 soundtrack with other manufacturers software than Uleads and post the IFO files? I need a way to check whether Ulead software marks the stream correctly in the IFO. It's pretty strange that the streams are displayed as DD+ in the OSD of the Toshiba. Thanks in advance!

Well, it took a while, but here's an updated release of HDPatch.
Nice work. Thank you, texmex.

Is there anybody who can author a HD-DVD with AC-3 soundtrack with other manufacturers software than Uleads and post the IFO files? I need a way to check whether Ulead software marks the stream correctly in the IFO. It's pretty strange that the streams are displayed as DD+ in the OSD of the Toshiba. Thanks in advance!

Actually, I don't think it's strange at all. I could be wrong, but I think that AC-3 (2.0 and 5.1 DD) is a subset of DD+. In other words, a valid AC-3 configuration is also valid in the DD+ spec. So when we put our custom HD-DVD in the player, it recognizes the disc as HD-DVD, and sees the audio as DD+, which is expected according to HD-DVD specs. That's my take on it anyway...

texmex

Why would VS10+ ALWAYS insist upon re-encoding a file?

I have given the same exact file to MF5 and it does not need to re-encode it.

Any ideas?

Do you have "Do not convert compliant MPEG..." checked in your project properties?

I could be wrong, but I think that AC-3 (2.0 and 5.1 DD) is a subset of DD+.
On Blu-Ray this might be true, because there a DD+ track needs to have a DD core (because a DD+ decoder is not mandatory in the player). On HD-DVD this is not the case. I do not have any commercial disks with a DD track, but maybe somebody else with such a disk can look what the OSD says when a DD track is played?

See also comment of Krobar in post 1174:
I think this is more likely a bug with DVD MF as the Tosh can play Dolby Digital soundtracks on retail releases like Perfect Storm.

Anyone else have the problem with VS10+ always wanting to re-encode the video file regardless of what you tell it?
My guess is you select the movie-clip either in the Movie wizard or in the movie editor. The trick is to select the movie-clip in the 'Create Disk' section.

On Blu-Ray this might be true, because there a DD+ track needs to have a DD core (because a DD+ decoder is not mandatory in the player). On HD-DVD this is not the case. I do not have any commercial disks with a DD track, but maybe somebody else with such a disk can look what the OSD says when a DD track is played?

See also comment of Krobar in post 1174:

Remind me what problem we're trying to solve here? Most of us are authoring HD-DVD disks with DD tracks and are not having any issues playing these disks on HD-DVD players. The OSD on the Tosh says DD+, but it's sending it downstream as DD - the blue light on my Sony receiver comes on every time. Are you having problems getting 5.1 DD to work in your setup? I know I should read back through the thread for the history on this, but can I just get the cliff notes please?

texmex

I may have found a way to use DVDShrink on those hi-def files that are just a bit too big to fit on a DL-DVD. The workflow is a little convoluted, but a short test clip I ran through worked perfectly. I'm going to try a full length test clip to prove the method and I'll post my results when it's complete.

I've always felt that DVDShrink did an EXCELLENT job of squeezing files down to fit on SL or DL disks and my hope is that it will allow us to squeeze some of these HD files down just enough without affecting PQ too much. We'll see...

texmex

I may have found a way to use DVDShrink on those hi-def files that are just a bit too big to fit on a DL-DVD. The workflow is a little convoluted, but a short test clip I ran through worked perfectly. I'm going to try a full length test clip to prove the method and I'll post my results when it's complete.

I've always felt that DVDShrink did an EXCELLENT job of squeezing files down to fit on SL or DL disks and my hope is that it will allow us to squeeze some of these HD files down just enough without affecting PQ too much. We'll see...

texmex

WOW! That would be very handy! Also thanks for all the hard work on HDpatch.

Remind me what problem we're trying to solve here?
The problem is that homebrew disks with 5.1 AC-3 track do not work correctly using the SPDIF output on the Toshiba. Although some people claim success, for me and Krobar it does not work. Somehow the DD signal does not seem 100% backward compatible. However, Krobar claims the DD track on Perfect Storm plays fine on his setup. So maybe incorrect labelling of the track in the IFO causes this problem ...

And by the way, it goes without saying that DVD2one outperforms Shrink in speed and quality ... but I might be biased ofcourse ...

The problem is that homebrew disks with 5.1 AC-3 track do not work correctly using the SPDIF output on the Toshiba.

I've had no problem with spidf or analog outs with ANY of my homebrews.

I may have found a way to use DVDShrink on those hi-def files that are just a bit too big to fit on a DL-DVD. The workflow is a little convoluted, but a short test clip I ran through worked perfectly. I'm going to try a full length test clip to prove the method and I'll post my results when it's complete.

I've always felt that DVDShrink did an EXCELLENT job of squeezing files down to fit on SL or DL disks and my hope is that it will allow us to squeeze some of these HD files down just enough without affecting PQ too much. We'll see...

texmex

I've always heard DVDshrink is crap. I'd love to hear what you find out!!

I've had no problem with spidf or analog outs with ANY of my homebrews.

Me either neither.

I've always heard DVDshrink is crap. I'd love to hear what you find out!!
Interesting; I've used it for years and find it very useful. Of course if you take a DL disk and shrink it onto 1 layer, you have to expect loss of PQ. However, if you squeeze 5GB down to 4.5 GB, it looks pretty much like the original.

Hi Texmex,

My problem with DD5.1 is only present with the SPDIF output (5.1 analogues, 2.0 analogue and PCM downconvert over SPDIF all work fine). I dont have Perfect Storm so have not tried DD5.1 from an official disc. DD+ Downconvert and Full Rate DTS from HD DVD work fine on my setup.

I saw reference to this problem from a few people earlier in the thread and just assumed it was a bug that everyone suffered from. "Do not convert complaint MPEG files" is ticked on my setup. I'm running Firmware 1.3 and the PrePro is an Integra RDC-7.1 (Onkyo).

And by the way, it goes without saying that DVD2one outperforms Shrink in speed and quality ... but I might be biased ofcourse ...
And DVD-Rebuilder beats everything when it comes to quality. Speed-wise... not so good :)

Anyway, my first reaction to Texmex's post was "Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!", done Family Guy style. Can't wait to hear details!

I may have found a way to use DVDShrink on those hi-def files that are just a bit too big to fit on a DL-DVD. The workflow is a little convoluted, but a short test clip I ran through worked perfectly. I'm going to try a full length test clip to prove the method and I'll post my results when it's complete.

I've always felt that DVDShrink did an EXCELLENT job of squeezing files down to fit on SL or DL disks and my hope is that it will allow us to squeeze some of these HD files down just enough without affecting PQ too much. We'll see...

texmex

texmex, you are my hero!

Still trying to recover from the midwest storms, but the guide should be up in the next day or so. I was working on my computer systems when they hit and I've had some wonky things to deal with since power came back up.

texmex, you are my hero!

Still trying to recover from the midwest storms, but the guide should be up in the next day or so. I was working on my computer systems when they hit and I've had some wonky things to deal with since power came back up.

I should actually have a guide for people that want to convert the quicktime files as well...if you guys are interested. I have to finalize tonight.

And DVD-Rebuilder beats everything when it comes to quality.
Doesn't DVD-Rebuilder not rely on another very expensive piece of software (CCE)?

Interesting; I've used it for years and find it very useful. Of course if you take a DL disk and shrink it onto 1 layer, you have to expect loss of PQ. However, if you squeeze 5GB down to 4.5 GB, it looks pretty much like the original.

I've always heard that it's encoder was crap.

Doesn't DVD-Rebuilder not rely on another very expensive piece of software (CCE)?
Yeah, it does. Won't change the fact that the quality beats Shrink etc. hands down :)

(BTW, there's a very cheap version of CCE on sale as well, so it doesn't have to be very expensive.)

Recently I downloaded Nero 7.2.3.2 and had some difficulty with the Xbox Compatible option on the UDF tab. Well, I found it.

On the Multi-session tab, click "no multi-session". This activates that option. Never saw a mention of this, so maybe this is something relative to the newer version and I'm passing the info along.

steve

Steve, well spotted. I never ever use Multi-session, so the thought of that affecting UDF options never occurred to me.

I've always heard that it's [Shrink32] encoder was crap.

Shrink32 doesn't encode. It transcodes. Which is basically lowering the bit rate. On my computer it takes about 12 minutes to transcode 8GB of data to fit on a single layer. If I wished to re-encode 8GB of video to fit on a single layer, I would indeed use a tool other than Shrink32. Sony Vegas does a pretty good job, but unfortunately takes 16 hours. And the results are only slightly better than what you get out of Shrink. CCE was too expensive for me to try, but I've heard it takes even longer for it to re-encode.

Basically, anything you use to take an already squeezed-to its-limit 8 GB MPEG file and cut its size in half will create a video with lower quality. What you really need to do is actually encode the video into a better (more efficient) format...VC1 for example.

The long and short of this is that I'll be thrilled if Texmex can get Shrink32 to transcode a 9.1 GB file so it will fit on a DL disk. I may try it with 12 GB files, but suspect the quality will be too poor.

I will be even more thrilled once we can encode our videos into VC1 to make them fit on a DL disk.

Ok, I was able to use DVDShrink to squeeze a 5039MB 1080i stream onto a SL DVD (4480MB). For you math majors out there, that's an 89% squeeze. The resulting disc played perfectly in the Tosh. I didn't watch the whole disk, but "visual" PQ was very near (if not equal) the source. I'm going to give a high level overview of the process while I attempt to simplify the workflow. Here's what you need to do:
- Prepare your stream for authoring (join, edit, etc.) then convert it to a VOB (VideoRedo can do this)
- Generate a standard DVD fileset from your VOB (DVDAuthor can do this)
- Use DVDShrink to Re-author your DVD fileset, compressing to DVD-9 (or DVD-5)
- Join the resulting VOB streams and save as MPG (VideoRedo can do this)
- HDPatch if necessary (1088 or 720p only)
- Author to HD-DVD using MF5/VS10+
- HDPatch EVO if necessary (720p only)
- Burn with Nero

I'm sure there are alternatives to the tools I've listed above. I already own VideoRedo - I"m sure there are other tools out there to convert a program stream to VOB and vice-versa. DVDAuthor is free, and ignores the fact that the stream is not DVD compliant. DVDShrink is free and also ignores the fact that the stream is not DVD compliant (this is very important). If anyone else is interested, I'll try to write a more detailed guide with links to these FREE tools (DVDAuthor, DVDShrink).

Note: for many of us our streams are already severely compressed. Using DVDShrink on a D* stream is not going to "ruin it". Let's face it - it wasn't all that great to begin with. If I had a pristine HD source to work with, this process may not deliver the goods, but at least it's out here as an option....

texmex

I'd definitely be interested in a more detailed guide! Thanks!

I know this has probably already been asked but how long until us lay people can encode in VC1? And then, I guess, the big question is finding an authoring software that will author with it.

I should actually have a guide for people that want to convert the quicktime files as well...if you guys are interested. I have to finalize tonight.

Great. A lot of people have expressed interest in doing that. We have several additions/changes to include. And I think a FAQ section still would be quite helpful. The info on changes in Nero 7 will be included, as well. I'll work on the guide tonight.

I know this has probably already been asked but how long until us lay people can encode in VC1? And then, I guess, the big question is finding an authoring software that will author with it.

Technically you can encode to VC1 right now - Microsoft just released Windows Media Encoder Studio Edition Beta 1. Input options are very limited (uncompressed AVI) and I've heard rumors of 24+ hour encodes on dual core processors, not to mention the lack of stability (to be expected in Beta 1). If you're interested:

WMESE Beta 1 (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/forpros/encoderse/default.aspx)

But you're right about the "big question" - I'm not sure what will be out there to author HD-DVD with VC1...

Downloading HDPatch:
You must right-click on the link below and choose "Save Target As..." to dowload the app. Left clicking doesn't seem to work on these forums. As always, let me know if you have questions/comments/issues. Please PM bug reports to me rather than cluttering the thread.

texmex

Much quicker!!! Thanks texmex!
And thanks for the guide Joseph,makes the process easy for even a knucklehead like me :D
Now I just need more content to burn ;)
Any hints on where to look,via PM would be appreciated :D

WMESE Beta 1 will not create compliant steams yet. It sounds as if it will in the final release though.

Beta 1 does not support exporting VC-1 Elementary Streams, and so does not support HD DVD or Blu-ray encoding. Elementary stream encoding will be supported in a future release.

Ok, I was able to use DVDShrink to squeeze a 5039MB 1080i stream onto a SL DVD (4480MB). ... Note: for many of us our streams are already severely compressed. Using DVDShrink on a D* stream is not going to "ruin it". Let's face it - it wasn't all that great to begin with. If I had a pristine HD source to work with, this process may not deliver the goods, but at least it's out here as an option....
texmex
You are brilliant!

I'm in the process of creating my first squeezed disk right now. You may not want to do this with a 14GB file, but it will be great with those files that almost fit on one disk.

WMESE Beta 1 will not create compliant steams yet. It sounds as if it will in the final release though. Without getting into specifics, it is doubtful that much of the current Beta code out there will be used for a final, if any, release. As it may have been noted, the Beta that is out there now is very buggy and certainly shouldn't be relied upon.

There are a number of features that have to be enabled to get the current code of any publicly released MS product up to date for HDDVD encoding. If it were just getting elementary streams, then that would be very simple as ASF is just a type of program stream and writing a demuxer for ASF takes about 5 minutes. I have some HDDVD and BD encodes that I am going to lend to texmex for him to see if there is any way to get the ULead products to work with it (maybe through the use of dummy tracks).

If anyone else is interested, I'll try to write a more detailed guide with links to these FREE tools (DVDAuthor, DVDShrink).
Please do! Thanks texmex, this is very good news as I have quite a few streams that are slightly too large to fit on a DL media.

Hi there,

I tried 2 different sources, both with VS10+ and MF5, the image is fine, my AV Receiver gets DD 5.1, but the sound is completely butchered.

Any help would be greatly appreciated... thx ! ;)

- Generate a standard DVD fileset from your VOB (DVDAuthor can do this)
- Use DVDShrink to Re-author your DVD fileset, compressing to DVD-9 (or DVD-5)


I found the program 'GUI for DVDAuthor' easier to use than DVDAuthor. However, it doesn't take VOB files as input. You just have to rename the VOB created in step 1 to have an MPG extension, and it works but...
1. While parsing the VOB file, there are a number of lines that refer to the resolution as being 720x480 (and an aspect ratio of 4:3). Don't know what this will do to the output.
2. There is a warning about trying to convert 2Ch audio to 6CH. Don't know what that will do to the output.
3.DVD shrink seems to choke if you give it more than 8 VOB files - it gives a warning and stops reading in the data. This seems to be a size issue - the 9th file would make the input larger than 8 GB.

I'm looking for work-arounds to the last issue.

1. While parsing the VOB file, there are a number of lines that refer to the resolution as being 720x480 (and an aspect ratio of 4:3). Don't know what this will do to the output.

Saw these as well, but my output was not affected. I believe that this is the resolution is puts in the IFO, but video sequence headers are not affected.

2. There is a warning about trying to convert 2Ch audio to 6CH. Don't know what that will do to the output.
3.DVD shrink seems to choke if you give it more than 8 VOB files - it gives a warning and stops reading in the data. This seems to be a size issue - the 9th file would make the input larger than 8 GB.

I don't remember seeing that audio warning. I'm about to run another test, so I'll look for it. I guess I should have run a large file rather than a DVD-5 test. I'm processing a ~10GB file now - I'll see if I can find a workaround.

Does anyone else have a problem with making chapter stops and/or skipping around between chapter stops on their authored HD DVD from Ulead? That's my current problem. Sometimes when I'm trying to put chapter stops in, the bar will snap back to the beginning and not let me put a chapter stop in. And on the test discs that actually work (somewhat), the machine will give me an error if i skip to other chapters.

3.DVD shrink seems to choke if you give it more than 8 VOB files - it gives a warning and stops reading in the data. This seems to be a size issue - the 9th file would make the input larger than 8 GB.

I'm looking for work-arounds to the last issue.

I think I found a work-around - I won't know for sure until DVDShrink finishes, but I did get it to open a 10GB fileset. That 9th file is illegal in the DVD world since DVD's max out on DL discs and therefore only require 8 vob's. So, the workaround is to combine all vob's above 7. For example, the project I'm shrinking right now had 10 vob's. You can combine from the command line:

> copy /b VTS_01_8.VOB + VTS_01_9.VOB + VTS_01_10.VOB TEMP
> rm VTS_01_8.VOB VTS_01_9.VOB VTS_01_10.VOB
> mv TEMP VTS_01_8.VOB

Now you should be able to open the title in DVDShrink. I'll post an update if/when I get a working disk in the Tosh.

texmex

I think I found a work-around - I won't know for sure until DVDShrink finishes, but I did get it to open a 10GB fileset. That 9th file is illegal in the DVD world since DVD's max out on DL discs and therefore only require 8 vob's. So, the workaround is to combine all vob's above 7.

Cool - sounds like it should work. I'll try this myself in a few minutes.

Think about this: VideoReDo has an internal encoding engine. I've heard VRD developers are very open to suggestions. 1+1, folks.

Well, it didn't work. I created a 5 GB VTS_01_8.VOB and DVD Shrink wasn't happy. Perhaps we could alter DVDAuthor to write out 2 GB files? I'm not sure if I've got a compiler that can rebuild DVDAuthor, however.

I tried 2 different sources, both with VS10+ and MF5, the image is fine, my AV Receiver gets DD 5.1, but the sound is completely butchered.
That's exactly the problem I and Krobar already reported ...

Well, it didn't work. I created a 5 GB VTS_01_8.VOB and DVD Shrink wasn't happy. Perhaps we could alter DVDAuthor to write out 2 GB files? I'm not sure if I've got a compiler that can rebuild DVDAuthor, however.

Interesting - it worked for me. My original stream is 9.3GB. My VTS_01_8.VOB ended up being 2.33GB. DVDShrink processed the altered fileset fine, I converted the output back to a program stream, created and burned the disk (7.93GB) and it plays perfectly in the Tosh. Perhaps there is a limit on the size of a VOB file? I'll do more testing with larger files. If you can, try spreading those 5GB across VOB 7 and 8. If that works then we'll know what we need to do. Maybe we can script the process or even recompile DVDAuthor if no other solution presents itself.

texmex

Hi there,

I tried 2 different sources, both with VS10+ and MF5, the image is fine, my AV Receiver gets DD 5.1, but the sound is completely butchered.

Any help would be greatly appreciated... thx ! ;)
No idea ?

Hi there,

I tried 2 different sources, both with VS10+ and MF5, the image is fine, my AV Receiver gets DD 5.1, but the sound is completely butchered.

Any help would be greatly appreciated... thx ! ;)

Ok, we don't mean to ignore you guys with the audio issues. If you could cut a small clip from the problem source (maybe 10-15 seconds) and post it somewhere that I can get to it (or try http://www.yousendit.com) I'll run it through and see if it works on my system. At least this way we can start trying to pinpoint the issue. Krobar and evdberg, feel free to do the same...

texmex

If you can, try spreading those 5GB across VOB 7 and 8. If that works then we'll know what we need to do. Maybe we can script the process or even recompile DVDAuthor if no other solution presents itself.

I may have made a mistake... so I'm trying again. If that doesn't work...I have 5 'extra' VOBs, so I'll trying to spread the extra VOBs across 1, 2, 3, 4, & 5.

Long term it seems to me that recompiling DVDAuthor is the best bet.

BTW, I took an extreme example just to see how bad a 13.5 GB video would look crammed onto a DL DVD. Most of the time I'll be doing about 9GB, and if it worked for you I'm sure it will work for me.

No idea ?

I think this may come down to Version numbers of VC10/DMF 5 here.

Every TS file I have converted to MPG then to an HD-DVD iso has worked with DD 5.1 perfectly on my setup.

Would it be beneficial to start a version number specific success thread?

I.E.

Arpeggio's DD5.1 HD-DVD process
TS file conversion and editing to MPG = VideoRedo Plus v. 2.2.1.445 (with Output streams for Movie Factory enabled)

MPG import to HD-DVD iso file = Ulead DVD Movie Factory 5 v. 5.0.0001.0 with Dolby Digital 1.0

HD-DVD iso file burn to DVD-R/DVD+r = Ahead Nero 7 v. 7.2.3.2

Toshiba HD-A1 HD-DVD Player firmware level = 1.3 (conected via SPDif coaxial digital out to Kenwood Reviever/Amplifier Dolby Digital and DTS capable)

Other software that might influence this process = NVidia Purevideo drivers, PowerDVD 7 Ultimate etc.

Might help to identify a good solution for everyone. :cool:

I wrote a batch file to combine the files...

CD DVD\VIDEO_TS
del D:\DVD\VIDEO_TS\*.*
copy /b VTS_01_1.VOB + VTS_01_2.VOB D:\DVD\VIDEO_TS\VTS_01_1.VOB
copy /b VTS_01_3.VOB + VTS_01_4.VOB D:\DVD\VIDEO_TS\VTS_01_2.VOB
copy /b VTS_01_5.VOB + VTS_01_6.VOB D:\DVD\VIDEO_TS\VTS_01_3.VOB
copy /b VTS_01_7.VOB + VTS_01_8.VOB D:\DVD\VIDEO_TS\VTS_01_4.VOB
copy /b VTS_01_9.VOB + VTS_01_10.VOB D:\DVD\VIDEO_TS\VTS_01_5.VOB
copy /b VTS_01_11.VOB + VTS_01_12.VOB D:\DVD\VIDEO_TS\VTS_01_6.VOB
copy /b VTS_01_13.VOB + VTS_01_14.VOB D:\DVD\VIDEO_TS\VTS_01_7.VOB
copy /b VTS_01_15.VOB + VTS_01_16.VOB D:\DVD\VIDEO_TS\VTS_01_8.VOB
copy *.ifo D:\DVD\VIDEO_TS\
copy *.bup D:\DVD\VIDEO_TS\
copy VIDEO_TS.VOB D:\DVD\VIDEO_TS\
copy VTS_01_0.VOB D:\DVD\VIDEO_TS\

The batch file is located in my E:\DVDAuthor folder. The video was placed in the E:\DVDAuthor\DVD\VIDEO_TS folder by DVDAuthor. The batch file creates files that can be read by DVDShrink. The combined files are written to a VIDEO_TS folder on my D drive. I can then just point DVDShrink to this folder.

The problem with this method is that we're starting to use a lot of hard drive space (and a fair amount of time). My .TS is 13.5 GB. First I create a 13.5GB VOB with VideoReDo, then I create a 13.5GB VIDEO_TS folder, Then I combine the files into a new 13.5GB folder, then I run DVDDhrink, which outputs 8 GB. Then I combine the output from DVDShrink into a 8 GB MPEG file, then I use MF5 to create the 8 GB HD DVD files. That means I need to create 13.5GB +13.5GB +13.5GB +8GB +8GB +8GB = ~65GB of hard drive. I happen to have 1 TB of HD space, but this is chewing it up rather quickly.

I know I need not keep all of the data from intermediate steps, but it makes recovery easier if I screw up one of the steps.

I think this may come down to Version numbers of VC10/DMF 5 here.

Every TS file I have converted to MPG then to an HD-DVD iso has worked with DD 5.1 perfectly on my setup.

Would it be beneficial to start a version number specific success thread?

I.E.

Arpeggio's DD5.1 HD-DVD process
TS file conversion and editing to MPG = VideoRedo Plus v. 2.2.1.445 (with Output streams for Movie Factory enabled)

MPG import to HD-DVD iso file = Ulead DVD Movie Factory 5 v. 5.0.0001.0 with Dolby Digital 1.0

HD-DVD iso file burn to DVD-R/DVD+r = Ahead Nero 7 v. 7.2.3.2

Toshiba HD-A1 HD-DVD Player firmware level = 1.3 (conected via SPDif coaxial digital out to Kenwood Reviever/Amplifier Dolby Digital and DTS capable)

Other software that might influence this process = NVidia Purevideo drivers, PowerDVD 7 Ultimate etc.

Might help to identify a good solution for everyone. :cool:

This is a good idea, especially with all the variations of success/failure we seem to have here. I just edited a test MPEG with VideoRedo that is the first I've had success with (on a different system than my usual HD DVD creation system). I haven't used this system for authoring HD DVDs, except for a few tests early on. I also discovered that this version of MF5 has Blu-ray enabled, so it must be an early version of the trial that I finally applied my license number to.

At any rate, I'm burning a test Blu-ray disc that I'll take to Best Buy. Grandmaster, I'll let you know how this one turns out.

Arpeggio, do you use HDTVToMPEG2 to join the TS files in one big TS file before converting it to MPEG (I did not find a way in VideoRedo to import multiple TS files) ?

What do you mean by "with Output streams for Movie Factory enabled" in VideoRedo ?

I use the exact same versions as you, but my HDA1 is in 1.4 (also connected via s/pdif).

Arpeggio, do you use HDTVToMPEG2 to join the TS files in one big TS file before converting it to MPEG (I did not find a way in VideoRedo to import multiple TS files) ?

What do you mean by "with Output streams for Movie Factory enabled" in VideoRedo ?

I use the exact same versions as you, but my HDA1 is in 1.4 (also connected via s/pdif).

BangoO, I use the copy command in a dos window to join my TS files:

copy /b *.ts MovieName.ts

VideoRedo Plus has a setting under Tools, Options, General Parameters to select a box for Output Streams for Movie Factory.

I only enabled it because that's what I am using. :D

Edit: I have had really inconsistant results when using HDTVtoMPEG, sometimes it makes the resulting TS or MPEG file have issues with Ulead DMF 5 (from my experience) with VideoRedo Plus don't have a reason to use it anymore unless I need to do the 1088 fix.

Arpeggio, do you use HDTVToMPEG2 to join the TS files in one big TS file before converting it to MPEG (I did not find a way in VideoRedo to import multiple TS files) ?

I work mostly with program streams, but you should be able to use VideoRedo to join multiple TS files. Choose "Open Video..." then select all of the TS files you want to join. When you hit the "Open" button, it will ask you if you want to "Combine" or "Join". Combine will put all of the files together on the timeline so you can edit one large file (I'm not sure what order they'll show up). Join will add each stream to the "Joiner" (it's a menu) where you can re-order them and output a "joined" file.

What do you mean by "with Output streams for Movie Factory enabled" in VideoRedo ?


Look under "Tools"->"Options" then "General Parameters". There is a checkbox to "Output streams for Movie Factory".

texmex -
For some reason ShrinkDVD created an ISO file that is 8.7GB. I'm running it through a second time. I suspect that the compression is too much for it to do in one pass. This is going to look terrible :)

texmex -
For some reason ShrinkDVD created an ISO file that is 8.7GB. I'm running it through a second time. I suspect that the compression is too much for it to do in one pass. This is going to look terrible :)

Haha - no doubt it will look awful! I was able to pass in a 15GB file by just copying to VOB 8 (which ended up around 8GB). DVDShrink didn't complain and is currently "Analysing". We'll see if mine also ends up being "too big" for DL-DVD.

Still no joy on the Blu-ray option from MF5. I just tested a disc with a 5-minute clip from Smallville on the Samsung and got the same results I got with Grandmaster's test discs.

Are there DL RW discs - can we erase and re-write DLs?

Thanks

MPG import to HD-DVD iso file = Ulead DVD Movie Factory 5 v. 5.0.0001.0 with Dolby Digital 1.0
Last thing Arpeggio, what do you mean by "with Dolby Digital 1.0" ?
Thx ;)

Last thing Arpeggio, what do you mean by "with Dolby Digital 1.0" ?
Thx ;)

On the About Ulead DVD Movie Factory screen where it shows the version number: I have a serial number for Ulead DVD Movie Factory 5.0.0001.0 and just below that I have another serial number for Dolby (R) Digital 1.0

Maybe some folks have seperate licenses for the Dolby Digital encoding option?

I have successfuly created 6 HD-DVD movie archives with DD 5.1:

:cool:

Edit: In my registry it says Ulead AC3 pack, might explain some discrepencies.

It does not work if I save it to an iso file, the HDA1 says NO DISC.
If works (well, except from the sound which is a mess) if I save it to an HD-DVD folder and then burn it in UDF (using XBox compatibiliy mode).

Are these settings right ?

http://img318.imageshack.us/img318/3205/mf5jk0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

PS: my registry is also displaying Ulead AC3 pac...

Funny. My MF5 is also version 5.0.0001.0 and it's got a serial number for Dolby Digital 1.0. Yet it insists on downmixing DD5.1 audio to stereo, no matter what I do. I gave up on it a while ago, and have used VS10+ successfully ever since :)

Are these settings right ?
I don't think so.

MPEG Properties for file conversion: those settings are used for conversion in case the application does not recognize the stream you've given it. I think it's been mentioned in this thread that to pass DD5.1, you need to edit MPEG settings ("Change MPEG settings" button) so the audio encoding settings match the DD5.1 specs. Also, in my projects the Properties window lists whether the video is Upper Field First, Lower Field First or Frame Based.

Note that I'm talking about VS10+ and MF5 could be different.

When I tried with VS10+, I've set it to 5.1, it gave the exact same result as MF5 without setting anything, which means I get 5.1 sound, but crappy... I should record it as I don't how to explain it :(

It does not work if I save it to an iso file, the HDA1 says NO DISC.
If works (well, except from the sound which is a mess) if I save it to an HD-DVD folder and then burn it in UDF (using XBox compatibiliy mode).

Are these settings right ?

PS: my registry is also displaying Ulead AC3 pac...

This is what I have used for every MPG with a 384 DD 5.1 Audio stream so far:

http://www.plexus-net.com/dnweb/MISC/UDMF5a.JPG

http://www.plexus-net.com/dnweb/MISC/UDMF5b.JPG

Ok I tested those settings, same result...
Maybe I will try with some other TS sources...

texmex -
For some reason ShrinkDVD created an ISO file that is 8.7GB. I'm running it through a second time. I suspect that the compression is too much for it to do in one pass. This is going to look terrible :)

Well, DVDShrink took many hours to do it, but it shrank my 15GB file to 7.93GB (correct size for DL-DVD). Maybe something wasn't correct in your settings Hyrax? Anyway, I'm not going to burn this, but I think the process is valid. I'm going to try to simplify the procedure, then I'll post instructions.

And remember folks - you do NOT want to shrink a 15GB file to a DL-DVD. This was simply a test to validate the process. I think this procedure will be great for getting up to ~10GB streams onto a DL-DVD, but I'm not sure I would go much higher. For streams that are just over 8GB, IMO it would be silly NOT to use this method.

texmex

Ok I tested those settings, same result...
Maybe I will try with some other TS sources...

It would really help if you sent one of us a clip of your problem stream. If we can't make it work, we'll know it's a bad stream. If we can make it work, we'll know there's a problem in your workflow. Just trying to help out...

For streams that are just over 8GB, IMO it would be silly NOT to use this method.
I've got a few streams like that on hand and ready for testing, once I find the time. Thanks for all your hard work!

Thx texmex, how much of it would you need ?

Thx texmex, how much of it would you need ?

As much as possible - the limiting factor is upload speed and transfer method (i.e. ftp, email, upload service). I would think 100MB would be sufficient. Just make sure that the clip you upload is a good demonstration of your audio problem. And take the clip from the original source in its original format (transport stream I assume).

I've never tried this service before, but http://www.yousendit.com/ claims to allow up to 1GB "file transfers". I'll PM my email address to you if you want to try it. I'm testing an upload now, and it looks like it will take about 30 minutes for a 70MB file.

While we're on the topic, if anyone has a better idea for sharing sample clips (i.e. an ftp server), it would make life easier.

texmex

Well, DVDShrink took many hours to do it, but it shrank my 15GB file to 7.93GB (correct size for DL-DVD). Maybe something wasn't correct in your settings Hyrax?
And remember folks - you do NOT want to shrink a 15GB file to a DL-DVD. ... For streams that are just over 8GB, IMO it would be silly NOT to use this method.

I use DVD Shrink a lot and don't think there are any settings set incorrectly. I've had this happen (where it creates files too large to fit a disk) a couple of times with SD material, so I assume it is a minor bug in the program.

And remember folks - you do NOT want to shrink a 15GB file to a DL-DVD. ... For streams that are just over 8GB, IMO it would be silly NOT to use this method.


Exactly. I've got several videos that are only 100-200K too large for a single disk. This will be perfect for them. I will burn the video I created by squishing 13.5GB - but only to confirm that it can be done, and show why it should not.

I've never tried this service before, but http://www.yousendit.com/ claims to allow up to 1GB "file transfers". I'll PM my email address to you if you want to try it. I'm testing an upload now, and it looks like it will take about 30 minutes for a 70MB file.

While we're on the topic, if anyone has a better idea for sharing sample clips (i.e. an ftp server), it would make life easier.

texmex
I've used yousendit several times, and it works pretty well - but I only have sent small files (2-5 MB).

I will burn the video I created by squishing 13.5GB - but only to confirm that it can be done, and show why it should not.
I would be interested in seeing some comparison screen captures - just for giggles, you know!

I should get my Preamp back soon and will be able to try a few more things to get DD5,1 working.

Out of interest, I thought it made no difference what audio format you picked since MF5 wont convert a decent mpg anyway.

While we're on the topic, if anyone has a better idea for sharing sample clips (i.e. an ftp server), it would make life easier.


I asked a friend who is into this sort of thing and he recommended
http://www.pando.com/beta/what

I would be interested in seeing some comparison screen captures - just for giggles, you know!

Screen captures from my computer screen don't look all that different. Both the original and the 'shrunk' seem to pulse back and forth between being in focus and being out of focus. The result of scaling to a PC, I suspect. I'll take some digital pix of the screen showing shrunk and 'as recorded'. If they show anything I'll post 'em. I'm expecting mosquitoes - lots of mosquitoes.

I think I found a work-around - I won't know for sure until DVDShrink finishes, but I did get it to open a 10GB fileset. That 9th file is illegal in the DVD world since DVD's max out on DL discs and therefore only require 8 vob's. So, the workaround is to combine all vob's above 7. For example, the project I'm shrinking right now had 10 vob's. You can combine from the command line:

> copy /b VTS_01_8.VOB + VTS_01_9.VOB + VTS_01_10.VOB TEMP
> rm VTS_01_8.VOB VTS_01_9.VOB VTS_01_10.VOB
> mv TEMP VTS_01_8.VOB

Now you should be able to open the title in DVDShrink. I'll post an update if/when I get a working disk in the Tosh.

texmex

I'm a little slow on the combine part, I have successfully created my DVD file set, but I have 9 vobs and would like to combine 8 and 9 into one vob. When you say you can combine from the command line, which program are you speaking of?

Thanks again for all your work on this,