Hello Everyone,

I hope this thread is in the right place, I'm sorry if it isn't. I also apologize if there is a past thread on this matter I just couldn't find it There are a lot of things on how to go from VOB --> MPEG2, but I was wondering though how I would go about converting MPEG2 files (from TMPGEnc) to VOB files so that they would be burnable in Nero 6.3.0.3? I've heard of a program called Ifoedit, but I have no idea how to use it. I aslo hear that TMPGEnc DVD Author is the way to go, however my files I have encoded seem to have "an incorrect video header for my GOP" whatever that means Any help would be greatly appreciated!

MPEGs destined for a DVD must comply with the DVD standard. The encoder will doubtless have a template to guide you. Take care to use the correct standard for your hardware (PAL or NTSC)

If you now have compliant MPEGs, they must be multiplexed with various other information into VOBs. In a professional setup, you'd have elementary streams: Video + Audio(s) + Subtitle(s). The muxing is usually done by the DVD authoring tool (DVD Author is one; there are many others, ranging from inexpensive, template driven types to very expensive all-singin', all-dancin' types). The authoring tool will not only mux the VOBs but also create the complementary IFO files.

Finally, you must burn the files onto a DVD. Be aware that you cannot burn them any old how, as if they were ordinary data. You have to tell the burner that you are making a video DVD so that it can follow burning guidelines. The better burning software will also make a sensibility check on the files and if necessary warn you, before burning, that the resultant DVD is unlikely to play.

-Pete

Hi Pete,

Thanks for the reply I found TMPGEnc DVD Author and it makes a video_ts and audio_ts folder. The program follows up allowing me to burn them into a dvd video, but I really like the layout possibilities of Nero Vision. Do you know if I can take these folders/files and use them with Nero Vision without it re-encoding them? Nero does a very bad job with what I'm trying to encode so I would like to keep the files as is. Again, thank you for your help and in the meantime, back I go to encoding!

I would think that if you have a compliant VIDEO_TS folder, it and its contents, can be used by any program without re-encoding. That's the theory... In practice, you'll find that the slightest thing - and I mean slight: a bitrate variation between a couple of audio tracks, for instance - will trigger a re-encode.

My current fave rave at the moment for DVD authoring is DVD Lab. It's produced by MediaChance, which is really a one-man band outfit (make that one-genius band) and probably has all the power you're ever likely to need. It's not a template driven tool, so there is some learning to do, but well worth it - in my far from humble opinion!

-Pete

Well Pete, I think that I have officially given up on Nero for authoring dvds, but I just may look into this DVD Lab. Hopefully there's a trial version out there so I can see if it fits my needs. You seem to be very experienced in the field, so I hope you don't mind me asking you about another question...I'm new to this forum thing so I don't know if I should make another thread, but if I'm having problems seeing subtitles on a tv that are part of a file (words are not fully shown on the screen and cut off at the bottom of the tv), can I fix this by either encoding at a different resolution or aspect ratio, ie: from 352x480 to 780x480 or from 4:3 to 16:9? You've been most helpful and I appreciate your time and effort

You need to either adjust overscan on your tv or resize properly. And no, you cannot randomly pick a resolution, it has to be compliant. What res does your source have?
//Danne

setorock:

Thank you for those few kind words...

If you are simply taking VOBs known to contain subtitles and just playing them, then you will have problems. For instance, if I have a folder containing all the files from the DVD 'Dreamcatcher' and right-click VTS_02_1.VOB (the first VOB of the movie) and choose Open With... [CinePlayer, my software player], then I will notice two things. One, the format on the screen is wrong. Two, there are no subtitles, or if there are, they're too big or a funny greenish colour - or both! The characters might also be speaking in Italian, Hebrew or God knows what. This is because the associated IFO file, which tells the player the format to use and whether subtitles are present and if multiple languages are available, is missing; that is, I didn't tell CinePlayer about it!

If you are intending to use VOBs in your own movie, you will need to use a re-authoring tool such as DVD-Lab. This will demux the VOB into its elementary streams - video, audio, subs - and you can then pick the ones you want and author a new DVD. The authoring tool will remux the elementary streams you have chosen into new VOBs.

DVD-Lab does have a 30-day trial so you can always have a go and see if it's right for you. Unfortunately, the current version doesn't support subtitles, although they are promised shortly. To re-author with subtitles you'll need something like Sonic ReelDVD or the new ULead DVD Workshop 2.

Good luck!

-Pete

Hi Guys,

Wow lot's of input, thanks Well let me give you a few more details so that I can maybe clear some things up. For Pete, the files I'm using have the subtitles encoded in them so they aren't separate (divx avi vs ogm) and there is only one audio track, japanese. Thank god that these files weren't more complex because I'm having enough trouble for now I vaguely understand the demuxing process, but I'm mainly trying to watch something I downloaded on a standalone dvd player and I'm hoping for just 1 re-encode and burn, if it's even possible...... For Danne, the source resolution is 640x480 and I've tried changing settings for the tv from normal to wide screen. This helps some, but the subs are still a little chopped off. By compliant do you mean the combination of aspect ratio and resolution? I know that I can't use 352x480 with a 16:9 ratio for dvds because TMPGEnc has given me errors messages. I'm thinking I should invest in some dvd-rws or cheap media Well hopefully hear from you all soon and as always thank you.

You sure have an odd problem there. My TV and DVD tends to overscan on SVCDs slightly but never on DVDs. Anyways, you should be able to adjust it but I guess it's not always possible.
You can 4:3 but it'll still look pretty bad on NTSC DVDs while it'll scale a lot better on PAL ones. If you're doing NTSC compatible DVDs it'll look better if you add black borders on each side instead of only stretching vertically but that wont solve your missing subtitle issue. If you're aiming for PAL on the other hand the problem can be solved by adding black borders all around so you won't need to resize at all. If you want I can make two simple scripts if you want to play around. Regarding generating VOBs out of TMPGEnc encodes + TMPGEnc DVD Author you need to make separate streams for audio and video if I recall correctly. The easiest way to accomplish this is to follow the wizard and uncheck the start encoding immediately box. Instead of using System (Audio/Video) as stream type select ES Video only and once it's done run a pass using ES Audio only. You should now be able to create files in TMPGEnc DVD Author. It's true that you can use ifoedit to generate ifo-files but it cannot split files (requires manual splitting) and its ifofiles are not always 100% compatible with stand alone dvd-players.
//Danne

Hello Danne,

I appreciate the offer for your scripts but I don't think I'll need to put borders on the encodes. I'm probably just going to encode at 720x480 for quality's sake and for my eyes But yes, that subtitle thing is quite frustrating/strange and other than somehow putting in a separate subtitle file I have no idea how to fix it *sigh* back to the drawing board.... maybe I'll have to stick to watching these on my computer!

Do you have the same issue if you encode to VCD/SVCD?
//Danne

Hey Again,

Hmmm, I haven't tried encoding a VCD/SVCD. I would make a SVCD since I already have files in MPEG2, but currently I have no standalone dvd player because I'm using my playstation. I've also tried adjusting the aspect ratio on that as well but with no luck. Thanks for your continued support