PGCEdit + Burning DL DVD+R's with ImgBurn

[Peppero01]

First off, I would just like to apologize for making two topics in a row--just an eager learner, I guess. Anyway, this is about PGCEdit and burning with ImgBurn. There's an onslaught of questions, but it'd really help me understand more about the burning process and how to burn in ImgBurn if you guys can help.

 

Okay, first off, I've read about DL burning, SLPIP, %, LU, seamless, etc. My first question is--how do you find the original layer break of a commercial DVD? From what I've read, it shows up on PGCEdit as a clickable checkbox under the "Layer Break" column. I couldn't pinpoint where the original layer break was on my Evangelion DVD's because unlike movies, it isn't one long video but rather a bunch of episodes. I had to click every file that had a time until I found this (makes me wonder if there's an easier way of finding the original layer break point, anyway...):

 

 

As you can see there are multiple clickable black checks--can ANY of these be used as suitable layer break points? Also, do the greyed out layer break points also count as ones that can be used? In regards to this, I was also wondering how to "read" the playback times--I want to choose a point where there will be a transition (ie: black screen transitioning to next scene), but the times overlap and I can't make sense of them. Once this is answered, I'm pretty sure I'll be set to burn my Evangelion DVD's since I'll just stick the break point on one of the useless "previews" section of each DVD. Anywho, when I build this DVD on ImgBurn, SPLIP = No is the better choice, yes? Why can't you pick SPLIP = Yes or N/A and what is the difference?

 

Now, my next question is about seamless and the "Layer Break Legend" you get when you burn an image file. I've heard seamless is a great way to burn without dealing with layer breaks and such, but how do I confirm it works? Will it simply not even boot up or do I have to reach the layer break point and see if it can transition? And, about the layer break legend when burning an image file. There are green, blue, and yellow stars (Excellent, good, average). If it's a better star, does that mean the skip is less noticeable--ie: would a green star yield a shorter pause than a yellow star?

 

LASTLY (guys, totally sorry for making this so long haha), is the ONLY way to make a seamless layer transition through the SEAMLESS option? Or can you make a layer break in such a way to make a seamless transition?

 

That is a doozy, I know, but any help would be much appreciated.

Edited October 26, 2006 by Peppero01

[LIGHTNING UK!]

Most of this has been answered in your other thread. Please don't duplicate stuff.

 

Most layer break cells are marked as SPLIP = No by default, that's why it's often better to just look for cells marked as such when you're offered a list.

 

If your player supports seamless layer breaks (and yes, you test that by playing a disc with a seamless layer break so that it has to actually change layers), you're fine to enable the 'Seamless' checkbox.

 

If you want it seamless, you must enable the seamless option so the cell flag gets set so SPLIP = Yes (and not No!).

[Peppero01]

Thank you for the help and sorry for the duplicate questions (just need reassurance). Anyway, I was wondering if any of the check marks on the PGCEdit would suffice as a break point, if so, would 1/1, 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/5, or 1/6 be selected when choosing the break point as long as these numbers correspond to ImgBurn's V/C ID?

Edited October 26, 2006 by Peppero01

[LIGHTNING UK!]

None of them are probably layerbreak points - there will be only 1 real one.

 

The 'layer break' checkbox in PgcEdit is just its 'friendly' way of showing the state of the SPLIP (Seamless Playback Linked In PCI) flag.

 

If you go by the layerbreak box in ImgBurn, just look at the stars to see where's a good place for it.

 

If you have lots of them and can't decide, post a screenshot and we'll pick!

[blutach]

That is a misnomer in PgcEdit - it is a throwback to the old days where we called the cell which was non-seamless the "layer break". But really all that PgcEdit is showing is that the mux is such that the cell must be considered non-seamless. In this case, it is because of the cell commands. A cell following a cell command must be non-seamless by definition.

 

But this is not always the true layer break.

 

In a regular movie, you will easily spot the layer break cell. It is the only one marked as LB in the main movie and is often a "broken" chapter with 2 cells in it (the 2nd being the start of layer 1). Necessarily, at the layer break, the audio buffers run out and the cell is marked non-seamless. However, recent research has shown that you can mark the cell as seamless and lose the nasty pause at the layer break for many players - you will need to experiment yourself to see if your player supports this "seamless layer break".

 

Regards

[Peppero01]

Ah, I am much more informed now--I'm beginning to understand more of PGCEdit and building/burning a DL ISO. Well, to start off, when building my ISO I am prompted with this many LB options:

 

 

There are several SPLIPs marked "No" and "N/A" (I'm not sure what N/A means and if it's a feasible break point), but according to what I've learned from this and other topics 50/50 is the best compatibility and VTS_03 might be a "good" break point. I don't know if splitting VTS_03 files into two layers causes any issues (if so, I'd like to break it at the VTS_03_0.IFO but the whole N/A issue again rises) but it's a green star and is split directly in half. However, I'd just like to know -where- in the video this break point occurs. Since there are so many LB points I can pick, I'd like to pick one where'd I'd notice it least (something like the "Extras" section of the DVD) but I have no idea how to preview where the LB point occurs on my computer. The V/C ID of VTS_03 corresponds to 1/1 but PGCEdit shows multiple 1/1 V/C ID's on different VTST's. My guess is that VTS_03 corresponds to PGCEdit's VTST 3 and I can preview the section by opening the corresponding cell--hope I'm right ;]!

 

Again, I'd like to thank you guys for the help. You've been very informative and quick to respond!

Edited October 26, 2006 by Peppero01

[r0lZ]

See Layer Break explained.

[Peppero01]

Thanks! That seamless playback joint helped out a lot and I have a better understanding of what's going on. However, though I am sure this is right, I'd just like to know--in ImgBurn, is VTS_03 correpondent to that of PGCEdit's VTST 3? I'd just like to preview the cell to determine where I want the layer break point.

 

According to the topic you posted, a layer break has to be at a place where the seamless playback joint is unchecked--this would be perfect for me since the beginning of each Evangelion episode starts with an unchecked seamless joint (meaning I can use it as a layer break and simply experience the pause as it starts an episode). So, if my assumption that VTST 3 = VTS_03 is right, I'd LOVE to have my LB point at the beginning of that episode which happens to be VTS_03. Just need someone to check if I'm right and I'm all set to go ;]

Edited October 26, 2006 by Peppero01