Neil Wilkes
Forum Replies Created
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Matt.
Word of Warning – you cannot trust the LB dialogue in EncoreDVD to be correct.
I have just had this happen to me – admittedly for the first time ever, but once is enough.
The LB range should have encompassed cell 31 (Chapter 10).
I got the test discs back, and only on playing the thing through an old player did I find a glitch.
Rechecking – IE writing a folder to HDD and loading this into IFOEdit – showed me that the LB is
A – Being set when a folder is written (This is NOT supposed to happen)
B – in the wrong place.I had to reset in IFOEdit/GEAR Pro Mastering Edition (for the DLT).
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Oh.
That guide does get a couple of things wrong:
1 – it states GEAR is available on all platforms. Not true – it is PC/Windows/Linux only. No mac version now or ever,
2 – GEAR does absolutely respect the absolute values for the layer break setting.
It is safe to ignore the comments about layer 0 always going to max – this is not true if you set the LB correctly in DVD-R DL discs. -
Tommmm.
Encore creates it’s VTS files in the same order that you create the timelines when you build the project. So, once you have started creating timelines, you cannot re-order the VTS numbers at all.
You are indeed extremely close – I would actually say you are too close to full. I always leave around 4% as an overhead when doing the bit budgets, just so I don’t go out to the edges of a disc where the dye may be thinner….When setting the LB, Encore will first try to find a point between timelines.
Then it will look for a chapter point in the right range
If it cannot find one there, it will do god only knows what!What I would recommend you do is get a copy of PGCEdit & IMGBurn.
Create a DVD Folder from Encore (This will not try to set a layer break at all)
Then pick up a copy of this guide
https://www.digital-digest.com/~blutach/dl_burn_guide2/dl_burning_with_pgcedit_v2.htmThis will give you a nice GUI to set your layer break, and you can burn the resulting image from IMGBurn. It is supposed to be a simple process.
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Matt.
Encore really does get the Layer Break absolutely spot on in probably 99 out of every 100 cases. I just wish there was a way to
A – Verify the DLT after writing, and
B – A way to know where that Layer Break was set. I still think that a visual clue – either as a bar area in the timeline the LB will be located in (As happens in DVD-Lab Pro) or else in the flowchart somehow. I would be so much more comfortable knowing where the beast is.
Encore generally gets it right though.As long as your clients can read a +R DL disc for Signoff purposes, you will be okay. The only one to worry about is when that project is close to full as it leaves a lot less leeway for the LB.
If you don’t think you need GEAR, then you don’t need it. You would know – and DLT is still the best way to get data to the replication plant IMHO. The 2 DVDR trick of writing one layer of the DDP image per disc does work, but will the plant accept this?
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Matt.
You have another option here as well, that will not cost any money.
As long as you do not need to create DLT tapes this will work just fine for writtten discs.
I have not yet tested this, but am assured it works, and works well.
All you need is a copy of PGCEdit and IMGBurn – both freeware – and you even get a nice little GUI to help set the break.
Follow the detailed instructions below.https://www.digital-digest.com/~blutach/dl_burn_guide2/dl_burning_with_pgcedit_v2.htm
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I know this little dodge.
All I need to do is use GEAR Pro Mastering, create a DVD9 Project in this, add CSS, create project.
Import Video_TS.
Write GEAR project to DDP image (After setting the correct layer break, of course) which will give me the Layer 0 & Layer 1 DDP images.
Add to the root of a DVD-ROM in UDF mode the following files.
DDPID
CONTROL.DAT
IMAGE.DAT
(Logfile & checksums are optional. IDENT.TXT should be left out)
The ECLIPSE verification system will read this as it would a DLT tape. It’s DVD9 “cunning trick #1”
Oh – And GEAR can, too, write a 2054 sector size. It’s a checkbox in the settings when necessary. You must use 2054 for CSS to work…..What I was trying to say when I said you cannot write CP to a disc is that you cannot write a playable DVD-R with CP on it………
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Matt, before I dive in to your question I need to answer the one above from tommmm.
The 2 different DL formats both have different maximum layer 0 sizes. This is the “gotcha” that can really be a pain, as the +R DL format will allow a maximum of 2,086,192 sectors in Layer 0, but the -R DL format will only allow a maximum of 2,085,856 sectors in Layer 0.
Whilst this may seem insignificant, the problem can easily arise in a “close-to-capacity” project that although you can legally write the +R DL disc, it may fall out of the maximum range once transferred to DLT for replication, and cause problems.
I must stress the odds of this actually occurring are admittedly dsomewhat remote – but it is something to be aware of, especially in light of the way that +R DL will always try to split the data across the 2 layers more or less evenly.
But, and this is a big but, it will only be a problem if space is really tight and the disc is close to full.
It’s just one of the reasons all Bit Budgeting calculators add in a 4 or 5% overhead allowance.Matt.
I would never recommend using +R DL discs for production. They are good for checking the project as a whole though, and for client approval discs as there are more players that accept the +R DL discs over the -R DL discs at this point in time. I suspect this will level out though, as -R DL discs get more & more common.
Another good reason they make great check discs is because you can write one straight from Encore, where if you want to use a -R DL disc you have to take a trip through another application. Encore certainly makes a fine job of writing to +R DL discs, and cannot possibly ignore it’s automatic setting – otherwise it would not write a disc at all. This might happen if it cannot find a place to put one though – I am unsure, and will try to find out.
I would certainly never, under any circumstances at all, use a +R DL for a master. Come to think of it – I would not use a -R DL for a master either unless there really was no alternative at all.
The main reason I prefer the -R DL discs (-R in general)is simply because these are the writable formats backed & approved by the DVD Forum – the format’s governing committee. And, of course, the Layer Break is much more like it is in a pressed disc.The whole manual setting of Layer Breaks – and once I saw the method to do this using IFOEdit – filled me with absolute terror at first, not to mention a swift case of paranoia (I copied the folder to a backup in case I set an incorrect break & could not work out how to alter it once set) but after the first attempt (complete disaster) and a partially successful second attempt (got 3/4 of the way through, forgot to add the image shift & could not set break point. Panic!) I finally got there on the third try, and now – as long as I check what I do each time – I find it is actually quite a simple thing to do now I have got used to it.
Matt, if you have trouble, please feel free to contact me off-list & I will help you through it. -
Hello again Matt.
I have just the other day finished off a project exclusively using EncoreDVD 2 as a Dual Layer DVD9 project.
Like you, I had no option but to use the Automatic setting, but during test writes to DVD+R DL media, the break was seamless. Additionally, I knew I had around 600Mb left on the disc so would not be affected by that nasty “Gotcha” for the unwary with +R DL format – the fact it splits the data into approximately equal parts (DVD-R DL does not work this way. The rule for -R DL is that Layer 0 has to be bigger than Layer 1, and that is it. There is nothing stopping you having 3/4 on layer 0, and the remainder on Layer 1. You cannot do this with +R DL discs).Re GPME – see my answer to your other post.
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Matt.
Been using GPME since version 6.5 was released, and would simply not be without it nowadays. It’s just far, far too good & useful. I’ll see you in the GEAR forums too, no doubt.
EncoreDVD will not give you the option for manual settings if either
A – there is a point between timelines it can set the break, or
B – the project is getting very full & there is no option open to you to change it, or
C – if there is simply nothing there to set it to, or
D – you have a single timeline & no chapter point in the right place.In GEAR, this is all made somewhat obsolete, if not a little convoluted as a process because it is not GEAR that will work the LB out for you – this you have to do for yourself, with the aid of GEAR Layer Break Calculator – a simple Excel spreadsheet, and a copy of the freeware IFOEdit. There is a full guide to do this in both the GEAR forums, and over in the FAQ at the EncoreDVD user-to-user forums as well.
I can assure you from a lot of personal experience that this works. One of my few gripes with Encore is the lack of a visual clue about where the legal range for the LB is – it could well be that with a long, single timeline you don’t have a chapter point in the right place, and as a result you will need to create one.
IFOEdit can help here too.VFM wise, you cannot beat GPME as a mastering tool. It’s that good. It’s also not expensive at $400. If, for example, you own Steinberg’s WaveLab editor, the DDP add-on for this is a whopping $1500 sheets, and with GPME it is there for you.
You can write to DLT & then verify the integrity of the data, plus you can always – if feeling truly paranoid – write the tape contents back to HDD and burn a disc as a final check. FTP can be used – out of GEAR – to send DDP images to replication, and the best workaround of all is that you can take a DVD9 project, and rather than write to 2 DLT tapes, you can write the image to HDD as 2 layers, then put these ont 2 DVD5 discs and send that to replication. It will allow CP to be used – without DLT tape! -
This is not what you want to hear, but I can assure you this is far fron normal.
I’ve been running EncoreDVD 2 successfully since it’s release, and every issue I have had – with a couple of notable exceptions – have been successful. Additionally, most of my problems were my fault.
This issue you are having is truly an odd one, so I think we need to go back to basics & try to work out where the trouble lies.So, can you answer a few tedious questions?
1 – What are your system specs?
2 – What video card are you using, and what are it’s settings?
3 – What else is installed? (Help/System Info)
4 – When, exactly, does this last error occur?