Edit SPRM 8 setting

[VRYK]

An extract from the PgcEdit Trace log window shows:
Entering VTSM 4 , LU 1 (en) , 3 (0:30) 4b.
******* Start playback VTSM 4 , LU 1 (en) , 3 (0:30) 4b....
******* Playing Program 1, Cell 1 (0:30.00) (4 buttons)
-> sprm(8:Highlighted button number) = 2048 (0x0800) = button 2

I wish to change the setting of SPRM 8 to 1024. However, I find no trace of this command; either in the pre-, cell- and post-commands, or in the button commands. No clue in InfoGC
I suppose [56 00 00 00 04 00 00 00] could be added in the post-commands, but wonder how the above command can be edited?

[r0lZ]

The command is correct, but should be set in the pre-commands area (to be executed before the menu is entered).

Not sure I understand you when you say "wonder how the above command can be edited?". You can simply double-click any command to edit it. (And use the buttons "add before" or "add after" to insert a new command before or after the currently selected command.)

To locate where SPRM(8) is set to 2048, go to Trace mode, and set a breakpoint to SPRM(8). Then play the DVD with the "->>> Run" button. The playback will automatically stop whenever SPRM(8) is changed. The last time it is changed before the menu should be the command to modify.

Note also that a button can be forced in the menu itself. Open the menu in the Menu Editor, and enable the "Advanced" option. Check the "When the buttons are displayed, force the selection of button ..." option, and change it to button 1 if you wish. (Of course, that button will always be selected when that menu is played, regardless of the content of SPRM(8).)

[VRYK]

My Reply
Many thanks for your reply. I have gone through the trace exercise again and now realise the root of my misunderstanding.

In this same video I have added a new command button to a menu in the Menu Editor. I had thought that the button outline defined the “sensitive” area which when pressed would activate the button. However, here this doesn’t seem to be the case; even the existing buttons respond only by clicking the highlight which appears to the side of, and separate from, the buttons.
This is the first time I have noticed this phenomenon and I suppose there isn’t much I can do about it.

[r0lZ]

Hum, strange. The button area (visualised in PgcEdit's menu viewer with the outline) is the "hot spot". The button highlight is not used for the navigation.

Are you sure you have checked the areas in all display modes? The button positions can be completely different in each mode. Click the Group buttons in the editor to change the display modes (in 16:9 menus).

[VRYK]

There are just two Group position – both show the buttons in the same position. In any case, you confirm that this is abnormal. Maybe the menu is simply corrupted.

[VRYK]

Indeed, there is a corruption problem.

In a similar context, I wish to edit a button highlight and I would be grateful for your guidance. I acquired the professional version of Muxman which seemed the most adapted for this task. Unfortunately, I have been unable to access menu buttons and, since I have not got help from the Muxman forum (probably too “newbie”), I have since uninstalled the programme. I wonder what other software would be appropriate, or alternatively, whether it would be convenient to pose my question in this Forum.

[r0lZ]

Not sure what you need to do exactly, but if it's just edit or add a button highlight, you can do it without demuxing the VOB file with DVDSubEdit and a good paint program. The idea is to export the menu highlight as a BMP with DVDSubEdit, edit it, and import it back. It's relatively easy to do for still menus, but afaik, that method does not work for animated menus or menus with audio.

Anyway, if you have a precise question, feel free to ask it here...

[VRYK]

Many thanks for your reply.
The menu whose highlights I wish to edit are located in VTSM4-18. Since it is a motion menu with sound I re-installed Muxman. Selecting the <Browse> button in the Muxman SubPictures frame opens a window listing a number of VOB files, while the “usable sub files” dropdown menu lists: bmp, sst, sup, sp, and VOB extensions as well as All files. For VTS4 there are 6 VOB files:VTS_04_0.VOB through VTS_04_5.VOB. Since I don’t know what these 6 VOB files correspond to, I selected each in turn, pressing the <Close> button. This returns processing to the “Segment contents” tab which indicates Stream 1, and Track 1 = 20. Pressing the “Timeline” tab, notifies: “There are no highlights (buttons) in this segment”. I pressed the <New> (segment) button a considerable number of times, but still couldn't locate a menu button. The same message appears for VTS_04_1.VOB. For VTS_04_2.VOB through VTS_04_5.VOB there is an error message “Subpicture file type not recognised”.

Hence, I can’t get to first base. Any help would be much appreciated.

[r0lZ]

I have never used muxman to reauthor menus from VOBs. Why it doesn't detect the menu highlights, I have no idea.

The menu VOB should be VTS_04_0.VOB. (The files 1 to 5 contain the movie.)

What muxman calls a "segment" is a cell in the VOB. The precise number of the cell to edit is difficult to know without the original DVD, but in PgcEdit, double-click the VTSM 4, 18 to open the PGC Editor. Look at the cells table. Locate the cell with the right number of buttons (with some luck, there will be only a single cell). At the end of the list for that cell, you will see the VOB/Cell ID. If the VOB ID is 1, you're lucky, and the segment number should be the Cell ID.

Otherwise, you can use this trick. Install the Prohibited User Operations (PUO) plugin, and restart PgcEdit. Then, select your menu in the left pane, and use Plugins -> Prohibited User Operations -> Edit VOB PUOs of current domain (not PGC!). You'll see a window with all cells of the VOB. Locate the cell with your VOB/Cell ID, and count the number of columns in that window, up to and including your cell. That should be the "segment" number for muxman.

If that method doesn't work, you can use VobBlanker to extract the cell you want to edit, and save it as a small VOB containing only a single segment. You should be able to edit it easily with muxman, and then import it back in the original VOB with VobBlanker.

I can't help you more. As I've said, I don't use muxman to author or modify my menus. Even the info about muxman above may be wrong.
Good luck anyway.

[r0lZ]

Also, even if the menu is animated, you may be able to edit it with DVDSubEdit. Try it if you can't do it with muxman.

[VRYK]

After having been out of town for a couple of weeks, I am trying to pick up the pieces again!

Firstly, many thanks for your kind help. The button is displayed in DVDSubEdit and I have cycled through the highlight’s states via Ctrl-Q. However, how can a highlight be added (copy/paste?) where a command button has been added or deleted when a button has been hidden? The manual states under 1.1 (Menus) that : “At this point, unfortunately, it is not possible to modify the selected and activated states of the highlights (it’s only possible to display them)”

I have made a little bit of progress with Muxman. I can display full menus, but still not button outlines.

[r0lZ]

Not sure what you want to do. In DVDSubEdit, you can export the bitmap of the highlights, edit it with any paint program, and import it back. (The same bitmap is used for all buttons.)

If you want to create a button, you must define it with PgcEdit. The highlight defined with DVDSubEdit will be visible in the rectangle defining its location.

Hiding a button is very easy, and you don't have to edit the highlight. Just hide the button with PgcEdit That's all.

[VRYK]

Many thanks for your reply. Unfortunately I’m stuck at the moment since the relevant videos have been made read-only. Hence, PgcEdit and DVDSubEdit cannot save changes. This is apparently a bug in Windows 7; none of the work-arounds I have so far found on the Web has overcome the problem.

[r0lZ]

Are you sure you work on a copy on HDD of your DVD? You must decrypt it. (You can also copy the VIDEO_TS folder with Windows if the DVD is not encrypted. Otherwise, it will not work.)

If the copy is read-only, just right-click the VIDEO_TS folder, select Properties, untick the "Read Only" option in the first tab, click Apply, and confirm that you want to "apply changes to this folder, subfolders and files".

[VRYK]

Many thanks for your messages.

Re the Windows problem (which Microsoft apparently refuses to recognise as a bug) a number of sites discuss this – e.g. Fixing the Windows 7 Read-Only Folder Blues « IT Expert Voice. I suspect my problem may have been linked to setting up a Homegroup. Anyhow, I finally solved the problem via the UAC route mentioned in the afore-mentioned link.

Re the highlights, a language menu has 4 buttons for French, German, English and Return. All except the German button have highlights and the PgcEdit Menu editor shows the German button has adjacent buttons. In DVDSubEdit, Ctrl-N skips the German button and cycles only through the other 3. Can a highlight be copied from one of the other buttons to the German button?