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DVD Authoring Under Linux?
To add on to phorm's query, smz420 asks: "A few months ago, I acquired a DVD burner and have had a lot of fun creating discs. While they come out well, they're very much cookie-cutter, due to the software I've been using to create them. There just doesn't seem to be a lot of flexibility built into the consumer level authoring systems out there, and I'd like to take my discs to the next level. Can anyone in Slashdot-land recommend books, links or software packages that could lead me down the road towards 'prosumer' DVD authoring? I'd like to be able to take full control over authoring: design my own button shapes and structures; place text where-ever I want on a menu page; create custom navigation structures, and possibly plant an easter egg or two. So far, I've tried Pinnacle Studio 8, Sonic MyDVD and Nero on Windows 2000. While each had very good aspects to them, all of them fell short of enabling 'next level' DVD authoring. Any advice would be most appreciated."
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=6953
I'm pretty happy with this, although it was a bit on the pricey side (59.99 after 20 dollar rebate at best buy). the dvd builder app allowed me to add images or video clips (quicktime, mpeg1/2, etc) to my project, has a selection of 10+ themes I can use, you can choose your own background, button style from pre-defined themes, move the buttons anywhere you want on the main page, resize the buttons, create chapter menus by defining chapter points. When I created a longer movie, the auto detect scene automatically created chapter points at scene changes which was pretty sweet...
:)
It's just damn cool
Author the DVD on your mac friend's computer, and then duplicate it on your own ;)
IDVD and Imovie come free with Macs, and have a nice simplicity/power trade off. I know this is not useful for the person who posted, but is maybe something you want to think about when buying a new computer (plus, you know, chicks dig the mac).
I recommend checking out www.vcdhelp.com. They have tons of links and guides and howtos on various tools. Here is a link to their authoring page.
I use DVDLab to author dvd's myself, which you can find here. It works in most cases, but sometimes I use ifoedit to do really advanced things. However, Ifoedit is not for the feint of heart.
I thought someone said there was going to be free beer!
No, of course not. They do make DVD Studio Pro, which looks like exactly what he's looking for.
http://www.dvdrhelp.com/ There are the guides, there are also several links to tools that you can use. You can go very expensive (scenarist, dvdmaestro), cheaper trialware (tmpg, spruceup) , or freeware tools (dvdauthor, ifoedit). Granted freeware isn't quite at the level of the others, but definitely a powerful improvement over the software that you have been using. You will probably learn alot more about the DVD format by using these guides/tools also.
www.TechiePlus.net "...we make IT easy" (serving Sioux City, Iowa area) Offering PC support, custom PCs, and web design
http://dvdauthor.sourceforge.net
it's lowlevel but you can do virtually anything you want -- custom nav, animated menu, etc. it'll even let you do some things that are illegal according to the spec. It works on many Unices and there's even a Cygwin port.
disclaimer: I wrote it.
A few links:/ dvd-slideshow.sourceforge.net/i ence.org/james/dvd/presentations /20031016/medres/text0.html. uk/Linux/dvd.htmll l idori.chapelperilous.net/c eforge.net/
http://dvdauthor.sourceforge.net/
http:/
http://www.pcxper
http://www.tappin.me
http://gecius.de/linux/dvd.htm
http://www.dahnielson.com/primer.txt
http://po
http://qdvdauthor.sour
http://dvdstyler.sourceforge.net/
The best tool I've ever used for creating videos. Even supports making SVCDDVD's so I can burn my TV Episodes 5 at a time to a DVD can be found at http://www.mediachance.com/dvdlab/
Cinelerra(video editing)
Transcode(video encoding)
Gear Pro(not free)
mkisofs (for making images with the -dvd-video switch)
linuxvideostudio (gooey)
lsdvd (for listing dvd contents
CCA (and, by implication CSS), have NOTHING to do with being able to author DVDs at home -- or even doing professional authoring...
--UNLESS you want to scramble content so it can't be copied without using DeCSS.
I really don't see how the question even applies to home DVD authoring. I (and my friends) who do video production have been producing professionally authored DVDs for several years with no thought to DVD CCA at all.
And, while I'm here, in regards to software -- you're either going to have to pay >$400 for DVD authoring software on Windows, AND >$600 for true video editing software on Windows, as well, or go for a Mac.
It just doesn't exist yet in the FOSS world, or in the Linux world. While there are some capture and simple editing programs, there is nothing professional for either video editing or DVD authoring. The closest is Main Actor, put out by Main Concept, which is a pretty good editing program available for Linux or Windows. It's about $250.
Okay a few things to get out of the way.
First, most consumer oriented DVD authoring apps are absolute garbage and not worth your time if your looking to make something unique that is your own and you don't need templates written in stone to guide you.
On the PC side Ulead DVD Workshop was a decent app with some flexibility but it has its limitations. If you need something more powerful then DVD Workshop I would recommend Adobe Encore.
If you need something more advanced then Encore you are now entering the realm of Sonic Scenarist which is what is used by a lot of the pros for Hollywood movie DVDs. It comes with a very high pricetag depends on which version you opt for.
On the Mac side of things you've got iDVD 4 which is very nice for non-technical people. It has some nice features and flexiblity. If you need more then iDVD 4 skip ahead to DVD Studio Pro 2 which is IMHO one of the easiest to use fully featured DVD authoring apps I've had the pleasure to use. There are a very few things that DVDSP2 doesn't do that Sonic Scenarist does support and if you need them your usually in a postion to afford the cost of Scenarist.
Personally, if your going to be making money off DVD authoring I'd have a Mac around just for working in DVDSP2 and then use something like CinemaCraft SP on a very fast PC for MPEG-2 encoding (unless G5 encode speeds are fast enough for you, depends on your projects and turnaround time).
DVD authoring on Linux I have yet to try but this stuff is non-trivial to do even under Windows. DVDSP2 is great because it helps hide some of the underlying complexity, just enough so its not overwhelming but you do need to know a few things about the DVD spec. I suspect part of Linux's problem when it comes to DVD authoring packages is the mutli-application aspect of such a program. Remember an authoring package has to understand multiple media types for assest, be able to composite both 2D images and moving video as well as deal with sound, editing, compositing, not to mention DVD scripting and other things if it intends to allow you to do anything allowed withing the DVD-Video spec.
Keep in mind that some of these higher end authoring packages like Scenarist are so complicated that you have people whose whole job description can be summed up as "Sonic Scenarist Specialist" when it comes to DVD authoring.
First, please realize that the DVD menus are simply MPEG files. You can create a static menu with the gimp, or if you're into motion, use Cinelerra or another video editing program like MainActor, Final Cut Pro, or Adobe Premier.
Finally, you can add buttons to the menu with dvdauthor. There aren't many frontends for dvdauthor, but it is easy to use manually or you can kludge together your use of a video editor and qdvdauthor.
Using Linux only...look here
Ban Reality TV!
I've been using Ulead DVD Workshop under Win2K, and I would heartily recommend it. Has customizable menus, buttons, text placement anywhere...works like a charm. Burned 50+ DVDs so far. Burns VCDs & SVCDs too. Cost - I got it free when I purchased my Pioneer DVR-A06 burner, maybe the cost is factored in the h/w. Dunno about easter eggs, I'm sure there must be a bunch of catholic folk at Ulead who can cater to that department :)
Ulead VideoStudio is about the best consumer grade DVD authoring application I've used on Windows. That's not saying much, but I think it's the best option. You can customize quite a few settings that more simplified programs don't have (such as bit rate, codec choices, etc). Roxio has DVD builder which is much simpler and you can't customize as much.
I've heard nothing but good things from my co-workers on DVD authoring on the Mac. I would consider buying one if I spent a lot of time doing DV video editing and such.
It's a term Sony invented when their marketing department was trying to figure out how to get customers to pay $3000 for an ED-Beta VCR. They couldn't call it pro, so they came up with an intermediate level.
This software will make a compliant DVD with motion menus, slideshows, tranitions, etc etc that Scenarist also does. DVD-lab is mid range as price. Probably under $500. (Scenarist is about $45,000)
Adobe Encore DVD + eDonkey = Problem Solved!
Perhaps you should actually make an attempt to find out, rather than ignorantly assuming that menu support isn't available. What's actually happened is that the menus have been rolled into the main Xine package, rather than being maintained as a separate package. Menu support under Xine is excellent; random or shuffle menus are not yet supported (many hardware DVD players don't support them, either, so this is hardly a major criticism) but menu support is complete and correct otherwise.
There's no point in questioning authority if you aren't going to listen to the answers.
That's what I was going to suggest for Windows.
DVDLab is one of the few apps that let me easily burn 480x480 mpeg streams. They work fine in most DVD players I've tried.
That's actually one of the few reasons I ever boot to Windows. I haven't found any easy to use Linux software. I hear dvdauthor works but until it's integrated into K3B with a menu builder or something then I'm out of luck.
I see a lot of posts in here about iDVD. I might give it a shot since I have a Mac sitting here that I hardly ever use. Thank goodness for firewire DVD burners.
The ratio of people to cake is too big
dvdauthor is a very good software.
It certainly isn't point&click dvd creator, everything has to be written in xml files defining dvd structure. But it has support for buttons, multiple menus of all types (i.e. root, title, subpicture etc). It also allows to write programs running on DVD Player virtual machine.
dvdauthor also contains software to multiplex graphical and textual subtitles into mpeg2 stream (spumux) as well as software to extract subtitles from existing mpeg2 stream, such as VOB files (spuunmux).
You will need lots of other programs to create your dvd videos, like mplex from mjpegtools, some mpeg encoder (transcode or mencoder from mplayer), toolame and/or ffmpeg for creation of proper mpeg2 audio tracks, sox for occasional resampling of audio (dvd needs 48kHz sound whereas audio is often available in 44.1kHz).
If you think it looks cryptic, you are right: it is. But after a while one manages to handle this whole mess and with the help of several scripts make his own video dvds with separate audio tracks, chapters, multiple subtitles and much, much more.
Robert
Bastard Operator From 193.219.28.162
DVD-Labhttp://www.mediachance.com/dvdlab/index.htm l -- Windows shareware software. $99, $128 if you get the TMPGEnc engine with it.
I use this for making my DVDs, and I'm quite happy with it... well worth the money.
It's an awesome program for a very reasonable price tag. Does everything you could want and doesn't treat you like an idiot. However, be aware that it is NOT an MPEG encoder or editor.
This guide was posted on the Gentoo Forums by shiznix. Find it here: http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic.php?t=117709
I know you Slashdot users hate Gentoo, but this is actually an excellent guide that features animated menus and all!
My Systems
I found doom9.org was a good place to begin in creating DVD's they have a great tutorials and some damn good programs (only windows).
you know I allways drink coffee while I watch the rader everyone knows that.
Check out:
man growisofs
or go to.
If you're new to the command line try this tutorial
Good luck.
Just buy a fucking scroll wheel mouse you dumb ass. Jesus... What's wrong with you people?
I've used a *lot* of software for DVD authoring, and my favorite and current applications for doing so are the products from Ulead. They aren't free, and they are Windows only, but they do the job, and there are 30 day demos on their web site. I've even used them for commercial work, and am very happy with them.
I also regularly use and like Adobe Premier Pro. But this is a high-dollar solution ($700), so its probably not one you're interested in.
Most of the time, I still will select Ulead Visual Studio over Premier anyway.
Again speaking as someone who has done DVD authoring commercially, I regret to say that I find the Linux applications for this to be woefully lacking. DVD authoring is the *one* thing that keeps me on a dual-boot machine as opposed to a Linux only box. I'd love to dump Windows entirely, especially after hearing that Bill Gates and Darl McBride are secret homosexual lovers, but I like being able to get my video work done in a timely and professional fashion.
Now that I've tried to answer the posted question, I'm going to chime in agreement with something a few others have posted. I've looked all over the original posting, and nowhere in it can I see the term "Mac" or any variation of it. When someone asks a PC question, "get a Mac" is not an appropriate answer. I'm sure the Mac users would get just as riled if someone posted a Mac question and only got PC answers. I would also go so far as to say that anything you can do in regards to DVD authoring with a Mac, I can do it just as well on a PC. The Mac used to be the hands-down winner in any type of multimedia application. Sorry kids, but those days are over.
I want a new quote. One that won't spill. One that don't cost too much. Or come in a pill.
He is looking for a re-authoring tool. AFAIK, DVDShrink/DVDXCopy work well for making "backups" for your DVDs, however that type of software is very limited in the authoring department. The original question refers to him using other software, yet it was very limited in its authoring features also.
www.TechiePlus.net "...we make IT easy" (serving Sioux City, Iowa area) Offering PC support, custom PCs, and web design
Taken from Apple's site:
Advanced protection features in DVD Studio Pro 2 include analog and digital copyright management with Macrovision (Type 1, 2 and 3) and CSS for use with your project. You can also set region coding to restrict playback to specific countries.
It just doesn't exist yet in the FOSS world, or in the Linux world.>br>
That's not true. K3B burns DVDs.
Yes, I'm a glutton for punishment. There are lots of steps involved to do it in Linux, but it's quite powerful once you've gotten the basics down and have written shell scripts to automate the tasks.
If you find it difficult to install all these tools on your Linux box (as many do), may I recommend installing Debian linux? Best way to do this is to do a hard drive install from the Knoppix Live Linux CD. The scripts to do this are built-in the cd: knx-hdinstall or knoppix-installer. Why do I recommend it? Installing all the tools I have listed above are a simple apt-get away -- i.e. "apt-get install kino" or "apt-get install mpgtx" or "apt-get install dvdauthor" -- I mean how much easier can it get?
Lastly, allow me to plug my blog that has documented this and a number of other linux tips ages ago: linuxathome.com
Linux at home
dvdwizard
It's not GUI, but it does the trick with minimal effort, is mostly automatic, and has produced excellent results that fit my needs.
Once you have your
1. vmgm background image (static)
2. vtsm background image (static)
3. DVD title
4. path to
First, it creates a root vmgm menu with the DVD title specified above and the vmgm background image specified above. The two menu options provided are: "Play All" and "Chapter Select" menu.
The script then extracts a thumbnail from each chapter and creates a chapter selection menu using the screenshots in a button matrix.
It concatenates all your seperate chapters into one "movie" so you have the ability to play from beginning to end without returning to the "chapter selection" menu after each chapter finishes. It also drops in chapter markers for easy scene-to-scene navigation, just like a commercial DVD.
It uses dvdauthor to then create the DVD filesystem. It would be trivial to add an automatic burn at the end, but I like to preview everything with xine first.
Seemingly the only thing these scripts do not handle is animated menus.
Since the author lives in Germany, it is hardcoded for PAL format video, but I have converted them for my NTSC needs.
The scripts are GPL'd and my intention is to make the process as automatic as possible. I'd like to create a simple GUI for specifying the numbered items above and possibly add support for animated menus for my parents to use to archive all their old VHS tapes.
I use Cinelerra for video editing, dvgrab and Kino for capture from a Canopus ADVC-50 or my JVC GR-500 Mini-DV camera. I use dv2dv, transcode, mplex, (or tcmplex) and ffmpeg to transcode the Quicktime
As a side note, by first converting my Quicktime files to raw DV with dv2dv from the dv_utils package first, I can transcode with ffmpeg to DVD compliant MPEG-2 format at a blistering average of 15 fps!!
I've been very happy with this arrangement as most operations after the actual video editing is complete can be scripted.
Hope this helps!
mw
--Peace be with you.
for phorm, I don't have a good solution. However, in regard to the second question by smz420, I have found that TMPGEnc and TMPGEnc DVD Author are great tools.
I have tried most of the different authoring tools mentioned above with limited VCD success and no DVD success (with the exception of Ulead, which I haven't tried yet). However, TMPGEnc DVD Author took my MPEG-1 files in VCD format and let me burn 20 of them (at 22.5 minutes each) to one DVD. Mind you, they weren't great quality to begin with but being able to put 450 minutes of video (Buzz Lightyear episodes for my son) on one disc was great.
I have also used TMPGEnc to put a movie and TV episodes captured in DivX into MPEG-2 format and then burn it to disc with TMPGEnc DVD Author. Worked great!
TMPGEnc DVD Author allows the user to create custom menus, move things around, change back grounds, et cetera. I haven't tried the easter egg stuff yet, but you never know. I've only made one coaster so far and that was my fault for trying to compile while burning.
Both tools have wizards but TMPGEnc allows you to set it up without the wizard once you feel more comfortable. TMPGEnc DVD Author builds the DVD structure on your drive and then you can create an ISO, burn it to disc with the built in tool.
With these tools, I've been able to build and burn DVDs of my captured TV shows (from satellite) at about 9 episodes per disc in great quality. If you go at low quality, 20 episodes per disc.
You can buy them in a bundle or separately from http://www.pegasys-inc.com. And, no, I don't work for them.
1. for windows: Scenarist if you have $ is simply the poop. Most ordinary citizens don't have the $, though, and if that's the case:
2. for windows: Adobe Encore. It's fairly simple - more complex than iDVD, but somewhat easier than DVDSP2, and - it's WINDOWS ONLY. This does not bode well for Apple, as Adobe is carpet bombing all those "advertise on Daytime TV Art Schools" with the Adobe Video Solution, but that's a discussion for another day.
There are other apps, but they're not as good as the two abbove. The above will cost you $, Scenarist more than Encore (by a lot). Deal with it.
For Linux? Nemmind that stuff. None of it is as competent as Scenarist, and none of it is as easy to use as Encore. Sure: you save a few hundred dollars, but when you're sitting there QA testing your XML scripts and praying that the new DVD urner drivers work, your time will be worth MUCH more money than what you saved.
By a similar argument, the Apple Way of Working is great and cheap. For $50 you can get iLife with the latest rev of iDVD, which is more than most people need for some stupid DVD of their cousin's sister's daughter's wedding that was shot on some cheeezy Canon ZR10. 9 times out of 10, you can get away with iMovie and iDVD and *no one* will notice or care. Now, you'll need to get an Apple computer, but most anything built in the past year or two will do fine, and you can pick 'em up at somewhat less than extortionate prices these days...
I've been doing DVD authoring for years, and back around 2002 I figured that I wasn't going to beat my head against the wall anymore - it was faster, cheaper, and easier to get a mac and get it done than try and get my Windoze machine to jump the hoops at a reasonable price.
Oddly, and contrary to what some people have posted, this really is a situation where the OS matters.
So, in short:
Windows:
1. Scenarist if you can afford it. It does everything, but it's really complicated.
2. Encore if you can't or won't do Scenarist.
Windows isn't the optimal solution for this, so consider a Macintosh.
1. iLife w/ iDVD is supercheap and very very good.
2. If you need to do more advanced work, DVD Studio Pro does the job.
Linux:
Simply: it's not ready for prime time, and given the complexity of the problem it may never be. Yes, there are solutions out there, but you'll burn a lot of creative time dorking around with code when you could be getting work done. I would LOVE IT if there was an adequate solution out there, though - free or cheap software on a free OS on a cheap computer? Floats my boat. But I'm not holding my breath.
RS
Shoes for Industry. Shoes for the Dead.
If you meant DVD Studio Pro, then you'd be wrong. DVD Studio Pro (and iDVD for that matter, they share a common core) was based on Astarte's DVD authoring program. But there's been a LOT of work done on it since then, Astarte's software has been buried under a whole new interface and expanded with a ton of new capabilities.
Personally, I'm confused as to how you could be confused.
iDVD - Consumer DVD authoring app, bundled with new systems, or available seperately as part of iLife
DVD Studio Pro - Prosumer/Professional DVD authoring app
iMovie - Consumer video editing app
Final Cut Pro Express - Prosumer video editing app
Final Cut Pro - Professional video editing app
Going beyond that...
iTunes - MP3 encoder/player
iPhoto - Digital photo album organizer, importer, and who knows what else (I'd never pay for it)
GarageBand - Consumer music/MIDI creation/editing app
iCal - Calendar & Task organizer, network aware & all that fun stuff
iSync - Synchronize data between desktop & palmtops, phones, etc.
Yeah, that's incredibly confusing compared to Microsoft's product lineup. Er. Wait. Not!
Authoring != Copying.
Karma: Non-Heinous
Authoring video DVDs on linux is more than a little difficult, these days. That said, with a little command line knowledge and some good old-fashioned ingenuity, you can accomplish much.
I found this article to be a good starting point. The beginning of the article assumes that you'll be working with a framegrabber and generating MJPEG video with appropriate resolution/framerate, etc. Unfortunately, we don't live in a perfect world, so you'll actually need to transcode your videos into the MJPEG format before you do the MPEG2 encoding. I find that mencoder is usually the best way to accomplish this:
Note that the above command assumes you are making a DVD for NTSC (US/Canada/Japan) format. If you use PAL, you'll want 720:576 as your resolution and 25 fps as your framerate instead. If you're encoding from a film (24 fps) source, try applying the telecine filter, as well (add ",telecine" after the scale command, and set "-ofps 29.97). This method of framerate conversion is the standard for cinematic DVDs.
Now, I know you're asking, why not use mencoder to encode the MPEG2 stream directly and skip the middleman? Well, I've tried this, and it isn't possible for a couple of reasons. The first is bandwidth control. Although mencoder will accept a bitrate option for MPEG2 encoding, it is not conscious of the buffering assumptions of the DVD standard, and will produce streams that will encounter buffer underruns in hardware DVD players. The second problem is that an MPEG2 program stream for a DVD must contain empty navigation packets (these get filled in when you create the actual vobs), which mencoder won't create. C'est la vie.
It's worth noting that you can get at more advanced bitrate control options for libavcodec's MPEG2 encoder by using lavc's native transcoding application, ffmpeg. At least, theoretically you can. My version of ffmpeg 0.4.7 doesn't seem to include mpeg2 as a possible output format, even though it's accessible through mencoder. Go figure.
OK, let's move on to our friend mpeg2enc. The first thing you'll notice is that it's slow. Really slow. Especially compared to mencoder. You'll live, though. Take a nap or something. The instructions in the article will give you a stream that's perfectly fine for DVD encoding, but it's definitely worth looking at the manpage as well. One of the most important things you'll learn there is that mpeg2enc takes arguments for both aspect ratio and framerate of incoming movies. Add the option "-a n" to the command given in the article, substituting 2 for n if your video is in the 4:3 aspect ratio (regular TV), 3 if it is 16:9 (letterbox widescreen format, most movies), or 4 for 2.21:1 (cinemascope widescreen, movies shot in panoramic view). The "-F n" command specifies the framerate. IF you are using PAL or SECAM, always use 3. If you are using NTSC, always use 4. Anything else will make you cry. Finally, you can add the "-p" option if you have 24 fps input video that you intend for NTSC viewing, and you didn't already have mencoder apply telecine. I actually prefer to have mpeg2enc do telecine, as that way you are certain to avoid A/V sync problems.
Moving right along, the article tells you how to use the dvd authoring tools to eventually get an iso file ready to burn. It should be noted that the image you have ready won't have menus or other niceties. For sooth! Lucky for you, you actually can include these things, but it won't exactly be easy. Now that you know the basics of encoding for the DVD format, this guide can instruct you on how to add things like menus and whatnot. Anyway, once you get the iso file ready to go, I highly recommend you burn it with KDE's excellent K3B, unless you have an attachment to the command line too
Anonymous Luddite: "What do you think of the dehumanizing effects of the Internet?"
Andy Grove: "Not Much."
tmpgenc isnt very good, especially for interlaced source material. it has a lot of bells and whistles and blinky lights though.
x ?sku=CCEB) is probably the best mpeg2 encoder you can get for under $2000. And its only $60. it is also miles, miles faster than tmpgenc.
Cinemacraft Encoder Basic (http://www.visiblelight.com/mall/productview.asp
when it comes to absolute quality, eg converting out-of-print laserdiscs which will never be released on dvd, i use cinemacraft basic to encode the video.
disclaimer: i have purchased both tmpgenc and cce basic and used both extensively for years.
I don't have Mandrake 10 downloaded yet, but according to press releases I have read, they have put DVD writing ability into K3B as of Mandrake 10. I use K3B for all my CD writing on my current Mandrake 9.2 system and I am more than happy with it. If the DVD writing performance is on par with the CD writing in K3B, I'm sure you would like it too :)
RebateFX.com - Spread rebates for Forex traders
i agree, great app, they likely have a 30 day demo out now, and its basicly the photoshop of dvd authoring, with that fine a level of control over what you can do. last time i used it it was buggy as hell though.
Small correction: the mplex program isn't from MPlayer but from mjpegtools.