Using IfoEdit after DVDStripper to tweak the DVD startup

[tim254]

I'd liked to know if anyone is using IfoEdit and or MenuEdit during or after DVDStripper and can offer any tips and examples of how to improve the DVD startup speed to the Menu and Chapter 1.

Currently I'm testing methods to get to the menu immediately upon insertion.

- Run IfoEdit
- Open VIDEO_TS.IFO
- Look in the top window
- Go to VMGM_MAT > First Play PGC
- Look in the lower window

- Go to the "PGC Command Table" > and last "Pre Command"

- Right Click and click "Edit Command" to change to "(JumpSS_VMGM) Jump to VideoManager Menu" and select "Title-Menu" to go straight to the menu (no FBI Warnings, etc.)

If that doesn't work, you might need to change it to:

PreCommand...(JumpSS VTSM) Jump to TitleSet(vts): 1, Title(ttn): 1, root-menu


The second thing I'm trying to do is to jump from "Play" on the menu directly to "Chapter 1" of the movie. If you ripped out anything at the begining of the movie you'll have anywhere between 2-10 seconds of black before "Chapter 1" starts. My solution that worked for a movie I just did was to edit the Menu with MenuEdit in DVDStripper (alt. player) and change the "Play" button to (JumpSS_PTT) > Title=1 > Chapter=1.

Any other suggestions, ideas, or corrections to the above?

--
Tim

 

[MackemX]

changing the nav commands isn't for me , so I've never learnt it in great detail although I know how to do it if I want to. This is 2COOL's area of expertise

I don't because some IFO's just contain commands that set the DVD player up, so I'd rather leave them to be read than skip anything

 

[Burdzy]

Edit Chapter Start Point

I just finally bought DVDStripper this weekend, I just did that for the first time last night with The Italian Job. The first part I did the exact same way that you did by editing the first play PGC to point to a different start menu. The second part I think I did slightly different. In italian Job, when you hit play, chapter 1 starts up with the company logo coming swirling onto the screen. It was actually a part of the chapter so I couldn't just point to the next chapter. I followed 2Cool's Guide http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=43403 to actually use ifoedit and edit the chapter start point to be the frame right after the logo is finished. If I have time, I am going to try and write an in depth idiots guide to doing it from start to finish using dvdstripper, then menuedit, ifoedit and dvd2avi to do the entire disc. Hope that helps!
-Burdzy
P.S. Awesome job on DVDStripper guys!!! Where have you been all my life!

 

[MackemX]

Hi and welcome to the forums

it's nice to see you have seen the light and realise how powerful DS is when used with other tools . Spread the word and maybe a few more will realise what can be done

From what you say it sounds like you are using ME after DS, but I'm sure that's just my misunderstanding as most, if not all use ME from within DS as its a lot faster

I look forward to your guide as this is what DS is crying out for as I just do not have the time to do the guide I have been known to write in the past

only one person has written guides I know of yet (thanks to mpegit). Others have said they will so I gave free copies but they have not materialised which is very dissapointing to say the least

if you write the guide, you can have a refund as it's the least I can offer for your assistance

cheers

p.s. can I ask what you use dvd2avi for?

 

[Burdzy]

Hey, thanks for the welcome! I have been wanting to buy it for a while, but money and time are 2 things that I don't have alot of :-/

Dvd2avi is used simply to find the location in the cell that you want to start the chapter at. All you do is go through the movie frame by frame using dvd2avi, setup a project that has that frame as the start point, save it, and view it in notepad. That will give you the hex version of the start position. Then you convert that value to decimal and open up the proper .vob in ifoedit and change the start position of the chapter.(If you read 2cool's guide it show's it a little more clearly, I am at work so I don't have any of the programs to give you a better explanation at the moment. But I will try and do that in the guide.) There may be an easier/different way to do it without using DVD2Avi but that was my first attempt at it so I went with what I knew would work.

I was using Menuedit after DS. I was actually just reading through the post about using it from within DS. I will have to try that later on and see if I can add that to the guide if it is faster. Hopefully I can find some time this weekend to work on it! I know I have a scratched version of TopGun that is screaming to be backed up!! If I can get it read the entire disc :-/

-=B]urd[Z=-

 

[MackemX]

Hi

I realise now why you use DVD2AVI as I read 2COOL's guide just after posting , very interesting as I used Ifoedit when changing the start in my Instantcopy cropping guide

you will soon see how well ME works with DS and wish you had found out sooner and I look forward to your guide

cheers

 

[tim254]

I have successfully followed MackemX "InstantCopy cropping movie start/end credits" guide which is only helpful if you are already in Chapter 1. However, when you press "Play" on a DVD, it usually jumps to one or more titles before it hits Chapter 1 (usually title 1, chapter 1). I think I'll still use MenuEdit unless someone knows of another faster method (it's fairly quick). However, it would be cool if I could use an image instead of black to replace the beginning titles (dvdstripper logo perhaps).

I do think the jump straight to the Title Menu should be a checkbox in DVD Stripper to modify the "First Play PGC" but I think you should ask the expert 2Cool to see if there's a standard method that could be applied.

Anyway, thanks for your guys help ... and thanks MackemX and TMG for this awesome program.

 

[Burdzy]

I have successfully followed MackemX "InstantCopy cropping movie start/end credits" guide which is only helpful if you are already in Chapter 1.

I guess I am misunderstanding what you are looking to happen when you press play on your dvd...Let me know if this is correct:
Before when you hit play, it didn't go directly to Chapter 1. I am guessing it probably played a preview of some kind before it got to the actual movie correct? And then, you used DVDStripper to get rid of the preview's, and when you were hitting play, it was going to where the previews would be, but playing just black screen since they were deleted? And now, you used menuedit to make it so when you hit 'Play' it points to Chapter 1 and starts playing the movie from the beginning of Chapter 1 instead of to the deleted cells? And what you are actually looking for is a way to instead of deleting the cells, replacing them with a cell that contains an image that shows on the screen for a couple of seconds?

MackemX, can you send me a link to your "InstantCopy cropping movie start/end credits" guide? I tried looking for it off the link in your sig. but couldn't find it :-/

 

[tim254]

Before when you hit play, it didn't go directly to Chapter 1. I am guessing it probably played a preview of some kind before it got to the actual movie correct?

Yes, that's correct. It's usually a logo/intro, warning, etc. that I'm removing.

And then, you used DVDStripper to get rid of the preview's, and when you were hitting play, it was going to where the previews would be, but playing just black screen since they were deleted?

Yes, I usually strip between 1-3 items out of the beginning of a movie (it's usually not in the same VTS.)

And now, you used menuedit to make it so when you hit 'Play' it points to Chapter 1 and starts playing the movie from the beginning of Chapter 1 instead of to the deleted cells?

Exactly. I want it to skip the titles/menus that I replaced at beginning of the movie. I don't think DVDStripper actually deletes the cells, just replaces them with blank titles.

And what you are actually looking for is a way to instead of deleting the cells, replacing them with a cell that contains an image that shows on the screen for a couple of seconds?

Yes, just an image to replace the black screen so I can tell that it's actually doing something.


InstantCopy cropping movie start/end credits
http://www.deano.dsl.pipex.com/backup/strip/crop.htm

Index to his great guides:
http://www.deano.dsl.pipex.com/backup/prepare.htm

--
Tim

 

[J-Wo]

great tip Tim, I used it with great success to bypass my stripped out intro screens to go straight to the main menu. My only problem is that it skipps the cool little animation that occurs BEFORE the title-menu. How can I edit my Pre Command to start with that animation rather than the resulting menu? According to DVDStripper, the menu item in question is the first item in VTS 01 (but listed as menu Item 5 to be exact).

 

[MackemX]

@J-Wo, this is probably because the menu that it goes to is the 'Root' menu within the VTS whereas the animated menu will not be called anything

if you just want the animation to play only when you first play the DVD then I would a PGC to the VIDEO_TS. The first play would point to that PGC (which would contain the animation) and then that PGC would in turn point to the main menu. If the First Play doesn't have a cell then you could add the animation to that cell. You can also use these methods to add any First Play to a DVD and still maintain the original DVD Structure

if you want the animation to play each time you go to the main menu then I would insert a cell before the main menu cell and insert the animation into it. You could also add the animation to the beginning of the menu cell and have it play each time the menu loops

there's probably a few ways to do it and as I said, it will depend on the DVD structure and how you can modify it with as little modification as possible to the original

I don't really know how to explain how to do this with free tools as I don't use them. I use DVDRemake most times now as it saves me plenty of time and allows more control and I sometimes blow the dust of Ifoedit