Tuesday, July 2, 2013

PE: First Play Before Disc Menus for DVD-VIDEO Format on DVD Disc

INTRODUCTION

Premiere Elements (any version) does not have an option for an intro page (first play) before the disc menus for burn to DVD-VIDEO format on DVD disc, AVCHD on DVD disc, or Blu-ray disc format on Blu-ray disc.

But the first play before the disc menus for burn to DVD-VIDEO format on DVD disc can be achieved using the Premiere Elements burn to folder feature in conjunction with the 3rd party program named PgcEdit, a DVD IFO and menu editor.

HOW TO

Premiere Elements Required Folders and Files

"Movie Main" Burn to Folder (VIDEO_TS) Creation
Open Premiere Elements and create your project destined for NTSC DVD-VIDEO Standard or NTSC DVD-VIDEO Widescreen or the PAL counterparts, including all content, menu markers, disc menus, etc. When ready for burn to from the burn dialog, set
  • Burn to: Folder (4.7) or Folder (8.5), as appropriate
  • Folder Name: Movie Main
  • Folder Location: C:\Users\Owner\Desktop or preferred save location
  • Presets: NTSC_Dolby DVD or NTSC_Widescreen_Dolby DVD or PAL counterparts as appropriate
Hit the Burn button.

"First Play Burn" to Folder (VIDEO_TS) Creation
Open a new Premiere Elements project with the same settings as for the Movie Main Burn to Folder (VIDEO_TS) Creation. First play type can be title created in the project's Titler or video or photo. The first play content* is placed at the start of the Timeline, and its duration here determines the play time of the first play in the playback of the DVD-VIDEO on DVD disc. Nothing but first play content* goes into this "First Play Burn to Folder (VIDEO_TS) Creation. There are Timeline menu markers nor disc menus in this First Play Burn to Folder (VIDEO_TS) Creation. When ready for burn to from the burn dialog, settings are as for Movie Main Burn to Folder (VIDEO_TS) Creation, except the Folder Name: is First Play.

Hit the Burn button.

At this point, there are two folders on the computer desktop, one named Movie Main and the other named First Play. Each contains an OpenDVD Folder and a VIDEO_TS Folder, and its VIDEO_TS Folder is the focus.

PgcEdit Menu Editing For First Play Addition

STEP 1
Download and Install PgcEdit (current version seems to be 9.3)
http://www.afterdawn.com/software/audio_video/video_tools/pgcedit.cfmhttp://www.afterdawn.com/software/audio_video/video_tools/pgcedit.cfm

STEP 2
Open PgcEdit and go to File Menu/Open DVD, and click on Open DVD button (See Figure 2a) in order to open the "Browse for Folder" dialog in order to browse to and select the VIDEO_TS Folder of the Movie Main (See Figure 2b)

Figure 2a. PgcEdit Open DVD Button

 
Figure 2b. "Browse For Folder". Movie Main VIDEO_TS Folder.

STEP 3
With the Movie Main VIDEO_TS selected, click OK to the "Browse for Folder" dialog to display the PgcEdit workspace as shown in Figure 3a.

Figure 3a. PgcEdit Workspace After Clicking OK To "Browse For Folder" Dialog. Title Menu Options Next.


Click on the Title Menu to reveal its options, and select "Import First Play (startup) Clip".
See Figure 3b.

Figure 3b. Title Menu Options. Selection of  "Import First Play (Startup) Clip" Option.

STEP 4
After clicking on "Import First Play (startup) Clip option" under the Title Menu, the "Import first-play clip" dialog appears. See Figure 4a. Make no changes in the settings presented in this dialog. Click Continue.

Figure 4a. "Import First-Play Clip" Dialog. Continue.

Clicking Continue results in the appearance of the "Select the VTS IFO file with the title(s) to import" dialog. In this dialog, navigate to the First Play Folder and its VIDEO_TS Folder. Click on the VIDEO_TS Folder to reveal its VTS_01_0.IFO file. Select that VTS_01_0.IFO as shown in Figure 4b. Then click Open.

Figure 4b. "Select The VTS IFO File With The Title(s) To Import" Dialog. Selection of First Play VIDEO_TS Folder's VTS_01_0.IFO File, Followed By Clicking Open.

STEP 5
Clicking Open to the "Select the VTS IFO file with the title(s) to import" dialog, results in the
appearance of the "PgcEdit: Import VTST" pop up. Click CopyVOB(s) on this pop up. See Figure 5.

Figure 5. "PgcEdit: Import VTST" Dialog. Copy VOB(s) Option.

STEP 6
Clicking on the Copy VOB(s) give rise to the "PgcEdit: Save DVD" pop up. Click OK to this pop up. See Figure 6a.

Figure 6a. "PgcEdit: Save DVD" Pop Up.

Clicking OK to the "PgcEdit: Save DVD" pop up ends the process with the workspace as displayed in Figure 6b.

Figure 6b. PgcEdit Workspace At End Of Process.



STEP 7
Take the edited VIDEO_TS Folder only in the Movie Main Folder on the desktop and burn it from there to DVD disc with the ImgBurn program.
http://www.afterdawn.com/guides/archive/burn_dvd_folder_imgburn.cfm

The basics steps are
  • Write files/folder to disc choice
  • File Menu/Browse to a source folder (in this case the VIDEO_TS Folder of the edited Movie Main)
  • With DVD disc in DVD burner tray, click on Build icon at bottom of the left sector of the ImgBurn workspace.
Link for download of the free ImgBurn program is included in the above link which includes instructions for getting the VIDEO_TS on DVD disc in DVD-VIDEO format with the correct disc file system.

Although PgcEdit seems to be available as a Mac version, ImgBurn appears to be a Window Only program.

Possible ways for setting a first play before the disc menus for AVCHD on DVD and Blu-ray disc format on Blu-ray disc are being explored.

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* First play can be more than a single file of the title, video, or photo type.
In one test run, the first play content consisted of a 12 second .wmv video, 5 second title created in the Titler, and a 11 second Universal Counting Leader, all of which played back before the disc menus after going through the procedure described above.


ATR