Trying to backup a flipper to DVD+R DL while retaining menus

[r0lZ]

Yes, it is possible to move the old button over the new one, so, don't worry. I haven't explained that in the tutorial, but I'm sure you will figure how to do that yourself.

You might want to change the chapter numbers in pages 4 to 7, but it's only for convenience. You don't need to do it. Anyway, as you are currently only editing the background, feel free to do whatever you want. You must save it as a BMP, and not change its resolution. That's all.

[EDIT: I haven't noticed the spyhawk reply. Sorry. Nice work, indeed, spyhawk!]

[rdkapp]

Just for fun - how 'bout this first menu - the added numbers are obtained from this menu and other menus.

Welcome to the thread, spyhawk, and thanks for the input. It sounds like you did a bunch of work on that menu. The font looks amazingly similar to the original. If I understand you correctly, you obtained those numbers (single digit and double digit) from other places in the menus and then pieced them together. Sounds interesting, but very time consuming if that's what you did. What image editor were you using and was it difficult and time consuming? I can't see myself doing that.

OTOH, I thought about going down in a single column, but they look a bit bunched up and I was afraid my last button might get cut off on the TV screen, as r0lZ said, could happen. So, I stuck with the 2 X 2 matrix, which I think looks pretty good.

Just a thought, with the way you modify the backgrounds right now, to make it look a little more "professional", you have to change every chapter numbers in the scene selection graphic area and the chapter text descriptions for cells 4-7 (disc 2 menus). IMO, this will take too much work. But, of course, this is optional.

I think it's easier to just clone the chapter numbers (1-13) of disc 2 and put on the same row that you're modifying currently for disc 1 menus, and label "disc 2 chapters" (however you want to name it), and vice versa. Just my 2 cents.

That's a decent idea, but now that I've figured out how to blank out text in the image and superimpose text on top of the image (and I was getting pretty good at it), I don't think it will take that long to change the chapter numbers for cells 4 - 7. That's what I'm planning to do. Hopefully I won't be sorry. And, if I run into a snag, I just might run with your idea. Thanks.

[spyhawk]

I use Photoshop for this. yeah, it's a little time consuming, but not that long. The only time consuming part is gather the necessary digits. After that it's just copy and paste onto different layers, and finally flatten the image. btw, it took me 15 min to complete it. The next menus will be a lot less time since I have everything I need.

I figure since you spent almost a month working on this whole project, what's a few more hours?

OTOH, I thought about going down in a single column, but they look a bit bunched up and I was afraid my last button might get cut off on the TV screen, as r0lZ said, could happen. So, I stuck with the 2 X 2 matrix, which I think looks pretty good.

yeah, it could happen on some TV, so 2x2 matrix is good, however it looks good for you.

To even go further steps, you can duplicate the highlight buttons. This means you have to extract the subpicture layer with Subrip and modify it in Photoshop. You can put the subpicture bitmap as layer 1 on the menu background and save as PSD. With this PSD you can reauthor the menu in, e.g., DvdLab (Pro) or Maestro. But since you're using MuxMan, that's another story.

Well, I'll leave the finer detail instructions for r0lZ, as he explains extremely well. ok, carry on....

[shrink0]

Hey guys, I'm trying to backup my Gangs of new York 2disk set, per this thread guides, and I've done all the renaming thing on disk2 (VTS_01_001.VOB etc.
when I try to join clips and save to new folder and save as VTS_01_1.VOB ,first vob ID 3, click ok it does nothing what do you suggest I check?......TIA!
using Vobedit v 0.6......

[rdkapp]

Hey guys, I'm trying to backup my Gangs of new York 2disk set, per this thread guides, and I've done all the renaming thing on disk2 (VTS_01_001.VOB etc.
when I try to join clips and save to new folder and save as VTS_01_1.VOB ,first vob ID 3, click ok it does nothing what do you suggest I check?......TIA!
using Vobedit v 0.6......

Welcome shrink0! Well, you're either brave or a glutton for punishment, but let's see if I can help you navigate this thread. First, start at post #53 on page 4. Here's a Link that should take you right to the post. That was a starting over point for me after really making a mess of it the first time. I didn't use VobEdit (or IfoEdit) the second time around. If you read r0lZ's method in that post, it seems simpler, and it really is, despite the fact that this thread goes on and on...... Part of what complicated things along the way is that both r0lZ (developer of PgcEdit) and jsoto (developer of VobBlanker) found bugs in their respective programs due to my task (backing up GoNY) and created new beta versions of those programs. As such, make sure you get the latest beta versions of those programs and start following this thread at Post #53. I would read until each task given by r0lZ and/or jsoto is complete, and then go back and do the tasks while following along. Both of them explain things very well, and I think it's pretty clear when I've completed each task. Along the way, a few others pipe in with some good pointers, and I'd say the last couple of pages of the thread are dealing with modifying the menu, which you may or may not want to do.

Anyway, good luck to you, and once you get going using r0lZ's method (starting at Post #53), if you have any questions, I'll certainly try to help if I can.

[r0lZ]

@shrink0: I second rdkapp's idea. This thread is already sufficiently complex, and returning to the IfoEdit/VobEdit method now will make it even more intricate. Anyway, IMO, the VobEdit method is now somewhat obsolete.

[shrink0]

@ rdkapp & r0lZ....
Thanks ,I'll try your methods per advise!!! Though I've always had success with my 1 disk backups, this is my first attempt at 2- disk, and came upon this thread, very interesting!!! I'll get back to you, see how it goes..... thanks again!

[shrink0]

Hey rdkapp, thanks again.. here's an update, I've gone through the guides and I've successfully joined disk 1 and 2, I've also added menu to my new backup..
Here is my steps used , see what you guy's think...
Rip disk 1 and 2 to seperate folders> re author in shrink main movie only both disks, set target size to 8.4G. New re authored folder has VTS_01_1.VOB, VTS_01_2.VOB etc. rename all starting with VTS_01_001.VOB, etc.
Join clips via Vobedit= new VTS_TS folder. Create IFO's>use mock strip,since shrink gave an error..
result, One title in shrink, > vobBlanker to add menu. shrink to fit DVD-5 error @27%.... locked PC, reboot....I am now using DVDRB to backup to DVD-5 , still in progress and will report back ok!!!! thanks!!!!

[shrink0]

Hi all, well I finally finished my GONY backup. As of my last post, shrink would give me an error and locked my PC, tried DVDRB (my fav), to Bkup and it also stopped at about 66%..so.. I ran through FixVTS and that fixed errors apparently, so used Shrink once again and it worked.
As you can see I've added menu from main movie disk one,as per Blu's guide and of course everyone else's great advise.... mucho thanks!!!!!!!!
I know I could have prevented all this aggravation,and just backed up to DL, since after joining clips with VOBedit and adding IFO's, adding menus, I'd have the movie ready to burn.. but no DL media at the moment,but what fun would that have been!LOL.. Also what can I do to get rid of pause/ layer break on final disk? Although I can live with it, I'd rather not have it if I don't have to shrink again...TIA!!!!!

[rdkapp]

Well, r0lZ, I took a couple of days off (from my GoNY backup) to handle another project (much less fun and no education involved , but such is life). After returning to GoNY, I have completed all of my artistic button backgrounds. I even went a little crazy changing the chapter numbers, not only for the still photos on the menu pages, but also the lists. I think it looks pretty good. Here's a screenshot:



I actually got pretty good and fast at it, using Photoshop. OTOH, it took significant time to create the button and get the navigation correct for the newly created buttons in PgcEdit. I've got all the buttons created and the navigation down pretty good. The only thing is I want to test the cursor navigation, because with the 2 columns, and some of the screens having 2 and 3 chapters (instead of 4), it was really difficult to stay consistent.

7. Now, click on the "Edit Color Schemes" button. Verify that color scheme 3 is selected, and chose the same color for the 4 "selected button" colors. I suggest color 0 (yellow). Similarly, chose another color for the 4 "activated button" colors, for example color 4 (red.)

8. Change all opacity values to something sufficiently visible over the background (but full opaque is usually not very nice.) I suggest a value around 10.

. . . .

Note that you can copy/paste a button and a whole color scheme with the Edit menu of the menu editor. Again, when pasting a button, be sure to be in the group All! Note that pasting the coordinates of the button works well only for the non-disabled sliders. You will still have to edit the other coordinates manually.

Finally, save and test.

As I have explained before, the new buttons have only basic highlights. This is because the subpic streams (containing the original highlights) have not been edited. Although it's not very nice, it is very difficult and time consuming to edit the subpic stream. Therefore, I'll end the lesson here!

With regard to the above quoted passage, why can't you copy the color schemes of some of the existing buttons and paste them into the newly created buttons? I saw that option under the Edit menu, and wondered why that wouldn't work?

Anyway, I'm going to test the navigation a little more, but I am pretty much ready to burn my backup. I remember you said that PgcEdit had a feature to determine how much compression to use in Shrink. Can that be the next (and hopefully, last) lesson? There is no rush, as I will be away from my computer (traveling) for the next couple of days, but will be ready to burn when I return. Thanks again, r0lZ!

[r0lZ]

1. Don't forget that you can test if the adjacent buttons are configured correctly with the cursor keys. That work in the menu viewer and in the editor.

2. Normally, the highlight of the button is a part of the subpic of the menu (the part within the rectangle that you can edit in PgcEdit.) As you know, the subpic has 4 colors, but at least one of them is usually transparent. Since we have not edited the subpic stream, there is nothing special in it for the new buttons. It's probably the transparent color that is used everywhere except in the areas occupied by the original buttons. Therefore, if you use the original color scheme of an existing button for a new button, it will probably be fully transparent! Of course, that's not what you want. By setting all colors to the same level of opacity, you can be sure that the button highlight will be visible.
Anyway, feel free to experiment. Change the color scheme of some new buttons, and play the DVD with a software player. You'll understand what I mean...

3. I am currently very ill, and I have to go to bed now! I'll explain how to determine the level of compression with PgcEdit later. In the meantime, you can already begin. Click on the Burn DVD icon. In the burn DVD dialog, untick "Burn with ImgBurn" and click OK. You should see a warning explaining that PgcEdit cannot find a suitable layer break cell, with some additional "expert" info. Post a screenshot of that dialog.

[rdkapp]

1. Don't forget that you can test if the adjacent buttons are configured correctly with the cursor keys. That work in the menu viewer and in the editor.

Yes, I know that, but it's not the cursor keys, it's that it's really hard to stay consistent with the double columns (disc 2 chapters) and the fact that some of the menu pages have only 2 and 3 chapters, instead of 4, but I'll manage it.

2. Normally, the highlight of the button is a part of the subpic of the menu (the part within the rectangle that you can edit in PgcEdit.) As you know, the subpic has 4 colors, but at least one of them is usually transparent. Since we have not edited the subpic stream, there is nothing special in it for the new buttons. It's probably the transparent color that is used everywhere except in the areas occupied by the original buttons. Therefore, if you use the original color scheme of an existing button for a new button, it will probably be fully transparent! Of course, that's not what you want. By setting all colors to the same level of opacity, you can be sure that the button highlight will be visible.
Anyway, feel free to experiment. Change the color scheme of some new buttons, and play the DVD with a software player. You'll understand what I mean...

It's very late, and I'm not sure I understand your explanation, but I did try to copy and paste the color schemes of an original button to a newly created button, and it was as if I did nothing (i.e. transparent). Maybe I can make more sense of your explanation when I'm more rested.

3. I am currently very ill, and I have to go to bed now! I'll explain how to determine the level of compression with PgcEdit later. In the meantime, you can already begin. Click on the Burn DVD icon. In the burn DVD dialog, untick "Burn with ImgBurn" and click OK. You should see a warning explaining that PgcEdit cannot find a suitable layer break cell, with some additional "expert" info. Post a screenshot of that dialog.

I hope you feel better. I have a child that just got over the flu (fever of 102 - 103 F) for 3 days. Everybody else in my house took a flu preventative, and so far, it's worked!

Anyway, I clicked on the Burn DVD icon and the below screenshot is what came up. I didn't see the "Burn with ImgBurn" to untick. Maybe I don't have something set up right, but maybe the information you need is in the screenshot:

[r0lZ]

No, that's not the right screenshot. In this dialog, click OK. The next dialog is what I need.

[shrink0]

Hey all, just wanted to jump in again, and share this. I use DVDFABdecrypter the free version, so I decided to try the Platinum's 30 day trial before purchasing. The latest ver. 3.0.8.0 has some new features including merging flippers or 2-disk sets... just tried on GONY and finished in under hour.....man that was to easy!!!

[r0lZ]

Thanks for the info.
However, I'm sure you have only the first half of the chapter menu in your backup. This part of this thread is dedicated to this problem.