will try re previewing the .IFO .. the preview in DVDA2 works fine.. that's why it's frustrating, it looks like a great disc, but it doesn't encode the mpgs to vobs correctly .. the vobs it creates and the root menu file don't boot up in a software dvd player nor from a regular DVD if I burn them to it and test..


ken

Actually, it's more likly there's some sort of issue with your DVD structure as described by the IFO files. The symptoms sound like you somehow got DVDA to put an "exit" command into the first play pre-command set.

In re-reading your posts, you seem to be focused on the VOB files - you do know that the VOB's really just contain the audio/video information; the information needed on how to actually play this data is located in the IFO files. If you're using something other than DVDA to burn your DVD and are only including the VOB's, or you are trying to open the VOB files with your software player, that won't work.

Do you have a copy of DVD2AVI? If so, use it and see if it can extract the A/V information from the VOB's - if it can, then that probably eliminates an issue with the actual building/multiplexing of the VOB's.

Can you provide some details about what you've constructed? If this just a single menu project and you open right to the menu, or is there more? Do you have any "first play" media specified (I ask because I've run into players that don't like the way DVDA does first play).

What happens if you construct just a very simple project using just one of the clips on a single menu? Does that play ok with your software player?

Can you provide more details about how your software player acts with the problem project? Most players like WinDVD will show all the typical counters, etc. Does it look like the player is playing something? If you click on the menu button for the player, does that do anything? The version of WinDVD that I have gets confused sometimes because it seems to "remember" things about the previously played stuff, so I usually have to force it to go to the title menu to get things to play correctly.

If you're up for a little adventure with IFOEdit we could take a look in detail at the first play information.

--Scott

Great comments Scott, appreciate it, everything you've said makes sense.. the vobs are fine (eg I can rename to mpg and play them in media player fine), agree re the IFO file-call structure is likely incorrect, as you've exactly (eloquently) described it in your post... I don't know how to get DVDA2 to make a correct IFO file if that's in fact the issue..

and yes, if I "jump ahead" and play the 2nd IFO file in the series of files, all is fine.. it's that first one that DVDA2 creates, the first index one, that's incorrect.. and I don't know what I'd do to fix it..?

I'll use IFOedit and take a look at the contents of the first one, later ... great idea.. and I'll post what it's indexing.. agree it's likely an error in there somewhere.. (I could edit that directly with a hex editor but lots of work .. should be "plug and produce" from DVDA2..)..

ken