.TH "videotrans" 1 videotrans "" videotrans
.SH NAME
\fBvideotrans\fR \- A package to convert movies to DVD format and to build DVDs with
.SH DESCRIPTION
\fBvideotrans\fR is a set of scripts that allow its user to reformat existing
movies into the VOB format that is used on DVDs.
.PP
Furthermore, \fBvideotrans\fR supplies programs which allow its user to create
a complete DVD, including selection menus which allow the viewer to choose
which movie he/she wants to see, if more than one movie fits onto a DVD.
.PP
If you want to start quickly, please read on to the "quick start" section.
.PP
\fBvideotrans\fR has the following programs available (each program has
a separate manual page that explains the program in detail):
.TP
\fBmovie-to-dvd\fR
The \fBmovie-to-dvd\fR program takes one or more input files and converts them
into a separate MPEG2 video stream and a separate MP2 or AC3 audio stream.
.
If you want, it will combine the video and audio into a DVD-compatible
\fB.vob\fR file, although this is usually not necessary because the program
\fBmovie-title\fR will do this for you if it hasn't been done yet when you are
generating a DVD image to burn to a real DVD, which saves disk I/O.
.IP
This program takes care of all the necessary conversions, such as framerate
adjustment, audio adjustment, zooming/shrinking for DVD frame sizes, etcetera.
.
The program can determine which conversions are necessary on its own, no user
intervention is required (but of course, it is possible).
.IP
When making a DVD, you'll first convert all the movies that you want to put on
the DVD into the MPEG2 video and MP2 or AC3 audio streams.
.
Later, you'll combine these with the \fBmovie-title\fR program into a complete
DVD.
.
.TP
\fBmovie-title\fR
The \fBmovie-title\fR program takes one or more video files that were
converted by the \fBmovie-to-dvd\fR program and a special title sequence that
was produced by \fBmovie-make-title\fR or \fBmovie-make-title-simple\fR
and combines all of these into a menu from which the viewer of the DVD can
choose which movie he or she wants to watch.
.IP
The menu is created by displaying the title image or movie in the
background, with no images or static or animated picture-in-picture versions
of all the movies on top of that.
.
The creator has the option of supplying information about the movies.
.
This information can be viewed from the menu as well, on a movie-per-movie
basis.
.IP
The program also generates an XML file for use with \fIdvdauthor\fR, the
program that is used to actually create the DVD image that you will burn onto
a DVD disc.
.
The program tells you how to run \fIdvdauthor\fR to do the processing for you.
.
.TP
\fBmovie-make-title\fR
The \fBmovie-make-title\fR program is used to create a background movie and an
audio track for DVD menus.
.IP
The \fBmovie-make-title\fR program takes a single movie and cuts a specified
part of out it.
.
It then converts this piece of the movie into separate frames and saves the
audio track in a WAV file for you.
.IP
You'll have to manually view all the frames and throw away those that you do
not want in the title sequence of your DVD (the first few frames and the last
few frames).
.
It's not possible to automatically cut out the piece of the movie that you
want exactly.
.
I recommend \fIxv\fR for this purpose, although any image viewer that
understands JPEG picture files will do.
.IP
Also, you'll have to process the WAV audio file by hand, to cut out exactly
that audio track that you want to hear when the menu is displayed.
.
I personally find \fIsweep\fR a very useful graphical audio processor for this
purpose.
.
The \fBmovie-title\fR program will make sure that the audio track lasts
exactly as long as the movie clip that you cut out does.
.
This is to compensate for possible changes in the video frame rate and to
correct small mistakes.
.
\fISweep\fR can be downloaded at \fBhttp://sweep.sourceforge.net/\fR.
.
.TP
\fBmovie-make-title-simple\fR
The \fBmovie-make-title-simple\fR program is used to create an optional
background image and an optional audio track for DVD menus.
.IP
You have the choice of using an empty background of a specific color (black
being the default) or an image that you supply.
.
.IP
You also have the choice of including an audio track or to have no sound with
the menu.
.TP
\fBmovie-rip-epg.data\fR
The \fBmovie-rip-epg.data\fR program is a convenience program that can
convert an EPG data file generated by VDR into a \fB.info\fR file that
can be used together with \fBmovie-title\fR.
.
The \fBmovie-title\fR program will then be able to display the movie's name
in the menu and provide an information button which leads to the generated
information.
.
.TP
\fBmovie-compare-dvd\fR
The \fBmovie-compare-dvd\fR program can be used after burning a DVD image to
a DVD disc to verify whether all the data was written onto the disc intact.
.
The program takes the on-filesytem copy and the on-DVD copy and compares the
checksums of the files on both to find any differences.
.
.SH "QUICK START"
If you want to start quickly with these programs, and you have a couple of
movies that you want to put onto a DVD, try this (assuming that your TV
standard is PAL, otherwise specify \fBntsc\fR instead of \fBpal\fR everywhere
that it's used):
.IP
\fBmovie-to-dvd\fR \-m pal movie1.avi movie2.avi movie3.avi
.br
\fBmovie-make-title-simple\fR \-o title \-m pal \\
.br
\ \ \ \ \ \ \-i background.jpg \-s \-a music.mp3
.br
\fBmovie-title\fR \-o title.vob \-t title \\
.br
\ \ \ \ \ \ movie1.m2v movie2.m2v movie3.m2v
.br
dvdauthor \-o dvd_directory \-x title.vob-dvdauthor.xml
.br
\fIa_command_to_burn_a_dvd_from\fR dvd_directory
.
.PP
In case you don't want a selection menu, you may also try:
.IP
\fBmovie-to-dvd\fR \-m pal \-M movie1.avi movie2.avi movie3.avi
.br
dvdauthor \-o dvd_directory movie1.vob
.br
dvdauthor \-o dvd_directory movie2.vob
.br
dvdauthor \-o dvd_directory movie3.vob
.br
dvdauthor \-o dvd_directory \-T
.br
\fIa_command_to_burn_a_dvd_from\fR dvd_directory
.
.PP
In this case, you'll have to use the DVD player's navigation controls to get
to the various movies on the DVD.
.
.SH "SEE ALSO"
\fBmovie-to-dvd\fR(1), \fBmovie-title\fR(1), \fBmovie-make-title\fR(1),
\fBmovie-make-title-simple\fR(1),
\fBmovie-compare-dvd\fR(1), \fBmovie-rip-epg.data\fR(1)
.
.SH AUTHOR
The author is Sven Berkvens-Matthijsse (sven@berkvens.net).
.
Please send any project related e-mail to \fBvideotrans@berkvens.net\fR.
.
.SH BUGS
None known. Please report any bugs to \fBvideotrans@berkvens.net\fR!
.
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