Does anyone know if I can put 2 of my DVD projects onto one disk using DVD Shrink?

Videot wrote on 2/28/2004, 4:48 AM
I have 2 old DVD's that I would l would like to put on one Disk without having to re encode using Vegas & DVDA . The disk are 45 min & 108 minutes long. I was told that I can use DVD Shrink to do this. I have downloaded & tried it out.

I can't get the 2 files to play right through on any DVD player. I can play the first video ok & can even use the chapters markers in the first video but when it comes to the end of the first file the video stops.

I know that the 2 projects are on the disk as I can get to see the second video if I open the files up using Windows Explorer.

Does anyone know if what I am trying to do is possibel using this program?

Comments

rebel44 wrote on 2/28/2004, 6:20 AM
If you have XP try Movie Director and see if will work.
I did use in past dvd shrink and worked fine to fit single dvd after ripping.
Try dvdXcopy it does good job too.
johnmeyer wrote on 2/28/2004, 10:22 AM
The beta 3 version of DVD Shrink had problems with DVDA files. This may have been fixed in the current 3.1.6 version. As I remember, you got an error message and it wouldn't proceed.

If you have two separate disks, you will need to use DVD Shrink's "re-author" mode. You will lose the menus. However, you should be able to create a compilation of both DVDs. In reauthor mode, you can choose to copy only portions of each disk. For instance, if you want chapter 2-3 and chapters 5-12 from one DVD, you choose re-author mode, and then drag the title for this DVD over to the place where you place the video assets. You then drag it over a second time. You right click on the first instance that you dragged over, and set the start chapter to 2 and the stop chapter to 3. You then do the same thing for the next instance, setting the start chapter to 5 and the stop chatper to 12. What's more, you can actually go forward and back from these chapter stop points (one frame at a time, if you wish). In other words, you are not limited just by the chapter stop points.

Finally, you can set the re-compression level differently for each piece of media that you move into the media asset area. This way, you can apply lots of compression to footage that you don't care much about, while applying little or not compression to footage that you consider more important.

The two downsides to tthis approach are:

1. You won't have any menus.
2. You get a pause between each asset. Every time you drag something to the asset area, you create a new "title set." When your DVD player goes to a new title set, it pauses. This is a little like the two second pause you get when authoring a CD in "track-at-once" mode. The only way to get seemless play from one asset to the next would be to first combine them into one file, and then separate them with chapter stops. The author of DVD Shrink didn't want to go down that route, because he wanted to maintain maximum compatibility.