DVD Authoring tools

[Jaime Davila]

Duncan Lithgow wrote:
> On 30/12/06, Jaime Davila <jdavila at hampshire.edu> wrote:
>> While we're all talking about DVD authoring, let me ask a question a
>> regarding a problem I had recently.
>>
>> I authored a dvd using dvdstyler. I went all the way to creating an iso
>> of the dvd. I burned one, and it had no sound. When I used the "file"
>> command on the iso, it reported the image having mp2 sound. I know I
>> need to have sound set to ac3, and I had selected that option
>> everywhere, but it seems like the command being passed to dvdauthor was
>> somehow incorrect. The VOB files created by the process, in fact DID
>> have sound. But the iso didn't. I ended up using the tovid graphic
>> interface to create the image, but I miss some of the options that
>> dvdstyler has.
>>
>> Any ideas? Has anyone seen this problem before?
> 
> I haven't seen this before personally.
> 
> I'm sorry to do this, but I'm going to give you my standard answer:
> 
> You're trying to find a solution to something, unfortunately you
> haven't said much about the problem or your attempts to solve it.
> Before I use my time to see if I can find a solution for you, maybe
> you could try and find one yourself. Good places to start are help
> guides, documentation and searching the web for the error message or
> exact problem you're having. It's unlikely you're the first. If you
> still need help I'm sure someone (maybe me) on this list ill help you,
> but for now I'm going to use my time on problems people are actively
> working on themselves.
> 
> I hope there's no hard feelings, and hopefully this'll help you find
> your own solution.
> 
> Duncan
> 


I have no hard feelings, but your message doesn't do much in terms of 
helping me find a solution. Your message also assumes some things that 
are not correct. Before posting my question, I spent (like I always do) 
quite a while searching on the ubuntu forums, and the web in general, 
for possible solutions, or at least causes for the problem. I posted my 
question only when all of that was unfruitful. I have not even found 
anyone else mentioning the problem. This is the process I've followed 
for the last 8 years that I've been working (exclusively) on the linux 
platform, and before that when working on several flavors of unix.

I have also spent enough time trying to solve the problem on my own to 
have discovered things like: the dvd needs to use the ac3 format to 
encode sound if it's to play on stand-alone dvd players; the VOB files 
created by dvdstyler as an intermediate step do have sound; the "file" 
command reports the generated iso as using the mp2 sound format, as 
opposed to the needed ac3; tovidgui generates a fully-working (as in 
"with sound") iso out of the same mpeg files, even though both tovidgui 
and dvdstyler work as front ends to the same dvdauthor.

I'll be happy to provide any additional information anyone might find 
useful in troubleshooting the behavior I'm noticing.

Best,

Jaime

-- 

******************************************************
Jaime J. Davila
Associate Professor of Computer Science
Hampshire College
School of Cognitive Science
jdavila at hampshire dot edu
http://helios.hampshire.edu/jdavila
*******************************************************