pgcedit and chapters

[Robert Horton]

In Workshop 2 I have a title and I have a menu with several chapter points. The chapters are selected using text boxes in the menu. The playlist indicates that after a chapter has been played it will return to the menu. In W2 it does not do this. I have instructions about using pgcedit to change this. Basically using pgcedit I have added the cell command

1 if (gprm(7) == 3) then {LinkTailPGC}

I then execute "Edit PGC". In the dialog box I have changed the "Cell Cmd # values from 0 to 1 as instructed. I close the dialog box and save the changes. I then burn the DVD as usual.

The problem is that when I play the DVD there is no change. Whichever chapter I start with it does not return to the menu but plays all chapters to the end of the title. Am I doing something wrong - any suggestions please.

Thanks
Bob

[GeorgeW]

Are you letting it play through on its own, or are you hitting the NEXT button on the remote control?

Try changing that command to just say LinktailPGC

Regards,
George

[Devil]

Generally speaking, the behaviour you observe is normal and happens with commercial DVDs, as well as home-grown ones. If the truth be told, I didn't even know there was supposed to be a work-around.

The easy way of achieving what you want to do is to make each chapter a separate title. You can then have menu items to play each one individually and to play them consecutively in any order. The downside is that there is an almost imperceptible pause between one title and the next, the length of which depends on the quality of the DVD player (read speed and buffer size).

[GeorgeW]

If the truth be told, I didn't even know there was supposed to be a work-around.

The reason the workaround is needed is because DVDWS2.x does not allow single chapter play, or chapter playlists (playing chapters of a Title in any order).

The easy way of achieving what you want to do is to make each chapter a separate title. You can then have menu items to play each one individually and to play them consecutively in any order. The downside is that there is an almost imperceptible pause between one title and the next, the length of which depends on the quality of the DVD player (read speed and buffer size).

Another drawback is not being able to easily skip Next/Prev between "chapters" (Titles in this case).

Regards,
George

[Robert Horton]

Thanks GeorgeW and Devil for your quick response. Goerge, I will try you suggestion and see if it makes any difference.

Regards
Bob

[Robert Horton]

Hi again GeorgeW. No luck with your suggestion unfortunately. I can start at any chapter from the menu but then it plays to the end. Not a real problem as one can use the remote to return to the menu, but it would be nice. As you say, I don't want separate titles as chapters are so easy to skip forward to. Any further suggestions are always welcome.
Thanks Bob

[skier-hughes]

Have a try with dvdlap pro, as WS cannot do it.

[GeorgeW]

Hi Bob,

You never answered my question about letting it play through on its own, or using the NEXT button to go to the next chapter. You get different results depending on how you playback the DVD...

Regards,
George

[Robert Horton]

Hi George,

Yes I tet it play through as if watching the chapter but it just keeps going.

Hi skier-hughes, thanks for the link, I will give it a go.

Thanks

Bob

[sjj1805]

In Workshop 2 I have a title and I have a menu with several chapter points. The chapters are selected using text boxes in the menu. The playlist indicates that after a chapter has been played it will return to the menu. In W2 it does not do this. .......

That is the normal behaviour of any DVD

[GeorgeW]

That is the normal behaviour of any DVD

That's mostly true of hollywood DVD's (although I think I have seen some that offer chapter-only playback -- or perhaps it was alternate endings, or some other special feature).

However, if your clients ask -- how do you tell them they cannot have their wedding DVD with an option to play the entire thing (smoothly), or play just one section and return to the menu

Or give the viewer the ability to play an entire video, or play the chapters in random order

c'mon Steve, if this was not a useful feature for the pro-sumer (chapter playlists), then why would so many other companies invest in the time to build it into their software

I'm not saying everyone needs this feature -- but I see this request all the time in a bunch of different forums...

Regards,
George

[sjj1805]

George,
Like you I am only a user of the software not someone who creates it.
I can only point out what the software will do which is to play from the selected chapter point until it reaches the end of the video.

DVD Workshop 2 is as you are aware a discontinued product - in other words Corel will not be developing it further. It is therefore academic to discuss what we would have liked to have seen in any future versions.

To the best of my knowledge this is the normal behaviour of all DVD's be they home made or bought. If however you are aware of anything different then I bow to your knowledge.

[GeorgeW]

DVD Workshop 2 is as you are aware a discontinued product - in other words Corel will not be developing it further. It is therefore academic to discuss what we would have liked to have seen in any future versions.

I am not discussing what we would have liked to have seen in any future versions. I am merely stating the feature is unavailable in DVDWS.

To the best of my knowledge this is the normal behaviour of all DVD's be they home made or bought. If however you are aware of anything different then I bow to your knowledge.

And that is the point Steve -- you do not know how Chapter Playlists work, and how they can be used. So it does not make sense to post a screenshot and make a definitive statement that it is "the normal behaviour of any DVD " -- because it is simply not true. It also makes the person asking the question think it is a feature they cannot have -- but in reality, it is available in a few other products -- it's just not available in DVDWS.

Regards,
George

[sjj1805]

-- but in reality, it is available in a few other products -- it's just not available in DVDWS.

Regards,
George

So you will be sending Robert Horton a list of your known products that achieve this then?

[GeorgeW]

-- but in reality, it is available in a few other products -- it's just not available in DVDWS.

Regards,
George

So you will be sending Robert Horton a list of your known products that achieve this then?

There already was a reply in this thread with a package that can do it. It was a good suggestion, so perhaps he has already taken a look at that one...

Regards,
George