Vegas for creating 'Chapter Points' for DVDs

AFSDMS wrote on 10/25/2002, 9:55 AM
Supposedly, when working with DVD burning software (at least Sonic's MyDVD) you can break-up a long capture with 'Chapter points.' These can then be used to give the viewer fast access to different spots in the video without having to FF.

Has anyone had any luck/experience using VV3 to render to MPEG-2 and getting Chapter Points associated with the videos?

Thanks!

Wayne Munn

Comments

jetdv wrote on 10/25/2002, 10:45 AM
It's the Authoring program's job to specify chapter points - NOT the rendering program. However, *some* authoring programs do not allow setting chapter points (don't remember about MyDVD but DVDit LE does not allow chapter points).

If chapter points are allowed, you choose them in the authoring program. For example, using DVDit PE, I find everywhere I want a chapter point on the timeline and write down that location. Then, in DVDit PE, I manually enter those timecodes to specify my chapter point locations. For programs that do not allow chapter points, a work-around is to have many smaller "movies" - each of which is a "chapter".

chumley wrote on 10/25/2002, 11:26 AM
I have found gone the smaller rendered file route myself, and am investigating other software to do this. However, I have an idea that I haven't tried yet. What would happen if you captured using Sonic MyDVD (I have 4.0) and saved the files as mpg2's rather than avi's, thus allowing you to put the chapter points in with the Sonic software, and then edit the files with Vegas? I am not sure what's going to happen but I'm interested in testing it.
Erk wrote on 10/25/2002, 11:30 AM
I got Sonic MyDVD with my Pioneer A04 as well, and was perplexed by its inability to set chapter points (random access being one of the best things about DVD), and more perplexed by its vague reference to setting chapters in the encoding process. I'm guessing that there are some tools out there that allow you to set chapters while encoding (maybe the way you lay out songs and PQs in a CD authoring?), but I'm also guessing that these are expensive tools, and why would somebody who owns such pro software be mucking around with cheap and cheesy MYDVD?

So I ditched MyDVD and got Ulead's DVD Workshop.

I guess the good news is that the whole DIY DVD thing is evolving rapidly, from low-cost burners and media to authoring software to flexible, quality encoding offered by apps like Vegas.

G
HeeHee wrote on 10/25/2002, 1:07 PM
For about $90 you should consider getting Dazzle DVD Complete. I just downloaded the Trial version and played around with it last night after reading reviews on ZDNet and on this forum. It is a lot better than MyDVD or Ulead Movie Factory. Chapter points are a breeze and the application is very versatile. I will be purchasing shortly when I come up with the cash to buy it and the Sony DRU-500A DVD±R and RW writer.
riredale wrote on 10/25/2002, 6:57 PM
As mentioned, chapter points are created by the authoring program within a single VOB. A VOB is a "chunk" of movie, and it can be up to 1GB in size, which corresponds to very roughly about 20 minutes. It is very closely related to an MPEG2 file, and in fact your mpeg player on your PC can play vobs if you just rename the file from .vob to .mpg.

The only problem I have found with using lots of little vobs as separate chapter points is that there is typically a glitch when the player switches from one vob to the next. If you make the cut on black, no problem.

Incidentally, I have found that I can make a vob 2-3GB in size and it seems to play fine, but supposedly the formal spec says 1GB is the limit.
tadpole wrote on 10/25/2002, 7:51 PM
I too have MyDVD and am stuck using "chunk technique"
(till i can afford something better, like Sonic DVD Producer - btw, any1 know what that app is currently selling for? - they really don't publish it anywhere)

I breakup my timeline in vegas by rendering to into small, continuous mpeg files. Then i add the files to myDVD project.

When i play the DVD on my settop - chapters play 1 after another like they should (exception of small glitches in transition) BUT.. i can not skip through chapters with the fastfoward button. To move directly to another chapter, i have to return to title menu, then select the chapter there.

Any1 else have this problem?

I have a hp 200i +R burner.
Playing disc on sony dvd player & xbox - problem occurs on both.


Paul_Holmes wrote on 10/25/2002, 8:25 PM
As I mentioned earlier on this forum I was lucky to get a version of My DVD that allows you to set chapter points. I also use the technique of dividing longer movies into parts and using DVDIt SE (a free upgrade for me) to set end actions, such that when one movie ends, the next begins. Unfortunately if you cannot set chapter points in your version of MyDVD you're stuck with the technique you're using, and if you can't set end-actions, it will by default go back to the last menu. If I were you I would make each movie continuous, and simply accept the fact that the only way the user can flip through it is to use the fast forward controls -- or go out and buy a great app like Ulead's DVD workshop for $279 and have just about everything you could imagine in a DVD authoring program.
bcbarnes wrote on 10/25/2002, 8:29 PM
I'll throw my two cents in for the authoring app DVD Complete from Dazzle (but written by DVDCre8). It's $99, and has chapter points, motion menus, and motion backgrounds (although the motion backgrounds currently has a bug, so avoid them until the next update..). Good app, easy to use, pretty flexible. A bit young, and so there are some bugs, but you can't beat the price, and it imports VV3 elementary streams without re-encoding.
BillyBoy wrote on 10/25/2002, 8:41 PM
Ulead's DVD Movie Factory has a preview option that also has a timeline showing minutes and seconds andyou preview the video so you can zero in on what I frame your want for the thumbnail.

What I do is while still on Vegas Video's timeline is I write down the time where I want to have a chapter point, then once I render and open it up in DVD Movie Factory I only need to click once or twice either side of the time to locate it. Makes short work of setting up chapters.
JohnnyRoy wrote on 10/25/2002, 8:48 PM
You might want to try and find a copy of MyDVD 2.3, which does support chapter points. I use it with VV3 MPEGS and it works fine. It came with my Pioneer A03. Starting with MyDVD 3.x it was turned into a completely different product and should have been renamed because they turned it into an all-in-one capture and burn utility that gives you practically no customization at all. Definitely not an authoring package anymore.

I also have Ulead DVD MovieFactory, which supports chapter points, but you can't make your own menus with text or buttons. It only does thumbnail menus by default. I don't know if Ulead DVD Workshop does regular menus with buttons but I'm not paying $299 for a DVD authoring program when MyDVD 2.3 is working nicely for me.

~jr
AFSDMS wrote on 10/28/2002, 2:47 PM
I've been using the Dazzle DVC-II hardware encoder to capture MPEG-2 files of older home videos. This device doesn't support uncompressed AVI files. It does a tremendous job as far as quality goes. There are some shortcomings as far as being able to monitor audio levels, etc. But for $200 it is a pretty darn good system. The resulting videos can be burned directly to DVD and are excellent in quality. Also, the video and audio are in sync for the entire clip, from 15 minutes to 90 minutes.

Because I wanted to clean up the captures with nice fade ins, fade outs, and some audio normalization, I brought the MPEG-2 files into VV3 and re-rendered them out again. The original MPEG captures were 8 mBit variable. I would then render them to 8 mBit variable. I know that multiple renderings to MPEG causes some deterioriation, but in my tests it just isn't detectable with my source material (VHS and some 8mm videos) and at the 8 mBit rate.

The strange thing, and one gentleman in Denmark has explained this in some detail, is that while the rendered video starts out in perfect audio/video sync, by 10 minutes in there is a noticable difference that gets worse as time goes on. The gentleman in Denmark gave a fairly detailed technical explanation, stating that VV3 really couldn't be used to edit MPEG videos. What gets me is that the 'Professional' MPEG support should be properly decoding the MPEG I have and making it into some sort of interim format that can be edited and is in sync.

So, does anyone know for certain if VV3 can be used to edit and render videos in the MPEG-2 format. Would I possibly have better luck if my capture was to MPEG-2 wiht a fixed bitrate, then I rendered to a variable bitrate in Vegas 3.

Any help appreciated.

Wayne