Introduction

• Video source = TV capture card (NTSC)
• Simple video editing with avidemux2
  • cut out commercials
  • save a frame for DVD menu
  • save an audio clip for DVD menu
• DVD menu
  • your own background music
  • your own background graphic
  • multiple videos up to 4.7GB space limit of DVD
• View the DVD files with xine/mplayer
• Burn the DVD – it'll work on any DVD player

Required Software

• avidemux2 – for simple video editing
  • version = 2.0.38rc1 + “mpegpatch”
• mjpegtools – version 1.6.2
• dvdauthor – to create the DVD files and dirs
  • version 0.6.11
• dvd+rw-tools – provides growisofs
• gimp – to create DVD menu graphics

Hardware Requirements

• LOTS of disk space needed
  • minimum 10GB per DVD
  • (ok, maybe that's not so much these days...)
• I/O intensive – use fast disks and controllers
• CPU intensive – use a fast processor, or be prepared to wait patiently...

Video Source

• TV capture card (for this talk)
  • Hauppauge 350 creates .nuv files
• Actually, any video source can be used
  • convert file to mpeg

Video Editing

• avidemux2 is used for (simple) video editing
• File->Open_Video
  • Load file – indexing may take a long time
• Cut out commercials, etc.
• Set output format to “Mpeg video”
• File->Save->Save_Video as file.m2v Audio->Save_Audio as file.mp2

Save files for menu

• Find a frame and save it for DVD menu
  • File->Save->Save_Images->Save_JPEG_Image
  • save as jpeg file: menu.jpg
• Find some audio and save it as menu.mp2

Mplex audio and video

• avidemux2 created separate audio and video files. Check file types with “file” command
  • video = MPEG Video Stream data
  • audio = MP2, 384 kBits, 48 kHz, Stereo
• Run mplex to create one file with audio/video
  • mplex -f 8 -O 100ms -o file.mpg file.mp2 file.m2v
  • -f 8 indicates DVD format
  • -O indicates a/v time skew
    • beware audio out of sync with video
    • view file.mpg with xine/mplayer and check a/v sync
  • -o file.mpg is the combined a/v output file

DVD with no menu

• DVD with no menu, one program:
  • Run dvdauthor:
    • dvdauthor -o DVD file.mpg
    • dvdauthor -T -o DVD
  • -o DVD puts files in newly created DVD directory
  • -T = table of contents
• Try it before burning it to DVD:
  • xine dvd:/your_full_dir/DVD/VIDEO_TS/
• Burn it:
  • growisofs -Z /dev/scd0 -dvd-video DVD
• Result: a DVD that starts playing the video automatically

Create the DVD menu

• Find a JPEG image for the DVD background
  • use avidemux2 and save one (menu.jpg)
• Create a video file from this one image
  • jpeg2yuv -n 50 -I p -f 29.97 -j menu.jpg | mpeg2enc -n n -f 8 -o menu.m2v
• Create some audio for the background
  • use avidemux2 and save an audio clip (menu.mp2)
  • create silence:
    • dd if=/dev/zero bs=4 count=2000 | toolame -b 128 -s 48 /dev/stdin menu.mp2

Create the DVD menu

• Merge menu audio and video:
  • mplex -f 8 -o menu.mpg menu.m2v menu.mp2
• Use xine/mplayer to see if menu.mpg is OK
• Use Gimp to create menu selections overlaying the menu background graphic (details omitted)
• Create the menu.xml file
• Create final menu file:
  • spumux menu.xml < menu.mpg > menu_final.mpg

Create the DVD

• Create the dvd.xml file
  • This ties the menu choices to the video files
• Create the DVD files and directory structure:
  • dvdauthor -x dvd.xml
• Test the resulting files:
  • xine dvd://your_full_dir/DVD/VIDEO_TS/
• Burn the DVD:
  • growisofs -Z /dev/scd0 -dvd-video DVD
• Test the DVD with xine/mplayer
• Test it in your home DVD player

Other Tools

• QDVDAuthor
  • an alpha quality GUI for DVD creation
  • much easier to create menus than with Gimp
  • My limited experience: DVD doesn't quite work in home DVD player, OK on computer, need to play more with this...
• kino – video capture and editing
  • useful for Firewire (IEE 1394) devices
• Cinelerra – professional quality tool

Conclusion

• The tools have many options not explored
• Make your own DVDs at home