DVD Creation in Linux

Introduction

Here, I describe my experiences creating DVDs in linux.  This is more for my reference than anything else, but I thought I might help someone else out getting started.  In this article, I describe creating a DVD from content on a DV camera or an existing mpeg-2 video.  Either way, I also describe creating a menu and image slideshow.

Required Tools

Cinelerra	Non-linear Video Editor
Kino	Capture video from DV camera
mplex (mjpegtools)	Video multiplexer, (re)combines Aud and Vid
mjpeg2enc (mjpegtools)	Create mpeg-2 video from anything
DVDAuthor	Key to creating filesystem and menus
jpeg2yuv	Converts Jpegs to YUV4MPEG2
TooLAME	Mpeg audio creator
dvdslideshow	Images to slideshow with effects and music
Xine	Play the movie to test it out (this is the best IMO)
mkisofs/growisofs	Makes ISOs and burns DVDs

Creating the Video content

Primarily, content creation and editing is done in whatever tools are convenient or appropriate.  Most of my content is taken from a digital video camera and downloaded via firewire using Kino.  This process just captures the video, and stores it in files for editing in Cinelerra.

The quality of the editing and final videos can only be as good as its source.  In my research, I found the less expensive mini DV style cameras produced the best quality for the dollar.  Of course, the newer HD cameras are great, but the advantage of the mini DV is the video is not compressed on the camera.  The new hard drive and direct to DVD cameras pre-compress to mpeg-2 reducing quality.  Any edits re-compress the video and continually decrease the video quality.

Getting Video from Camera

Kino is able to talk to firewire cameras, so it reads the tape and saves the scenes as files.  The configuration and usage is up to the user, since this program just keeps working, and works well.

Using Cinelerra

For non-linear video editing, I obviously prefer Cinelerra.  Once the video is saved, the render feature is used to create the content.  This is not as easy as it sounds, though.  Video files and audio files must be exported separately.  Important to remember, since my camera is widescreen, to set the format to 16:9 in the Settings->Format... menu.

Only one stream is rendered at a time.  The audio files are rendered by choosing "AC3" and picking a data bitrate in the options.  The data rate is not important, but I usually prefer 384.  The video files are rendered using "YUV4MPEG" and using the FFMPEG pipe.  If the pipe is selected from the drop down, I choose "DVD" and make sure I remove the "-hq" option, as it is not compatible with my FFMPEG.  Just for clarity,
my options are:


Both streams are then recombined to form the final video using mplex.  Open the terminal and run:


Now the video is prepared for creation of a DVD.

Image Slideshow

Creating a slideshow, complete with audio, from a directory of images and an MP3 is actually very easy.  

Images should be colocated in a directory, already the size and shape desired.  Directing dvd-slideshow to make the video requires a text file script.  The script must contain commands for the transition effects and identifies the files in the show.  For example:


creates a slideshow of 1 picture, fading in for 1 second, and holding the image "gibusima_x0.jpg" for 5 seconds.  Save the text file with a final effect at the end for a final transition, and save as plain text.  Finally, run dvd-slideshow with the following:


Dvd-slideshow will create a slideshow using the script file, create an .xml file with chapters, and multiplex the audio file into the video.  This video is ready for compilation in the DVD.

DVD Menus

 DVD menus are created primarily using spumux, jpeg2yuv, and mplex.  Menus are more complex than just creating an mpeg video.  The Video must contain a channel for storing the selection and cursor masks.  This channel is only activated/accessible when the mpeg video is combined with the target videos in DVD author.

To begin, create an image to use as the background.  Currently, dvd menus will only work in 4:3 aspect.  If a 16:9 aspect video is created, the cursors will not line up properly in the finished DVD.  Once the image is created, create 2 transparent layers to hold the selection and highlight masks.  Paint these masks using the underlying background to lineup and configure the way desired.  These masks are important as they will be the cursors and selection markers for the finished DVD.  

Save each part of the image in separate files:  <menuimage>.jpg, highlight.png, and selection.png.  The highlight and selection images are not only saved as PNG files, but only contain 2 colors.  This is important since spumux will reject the highlight and selection images with more than 2 colors.

Create the Menu movie

Now, create the "movie" for the background using the menu image saved in the last step.  Use the following to create the movie:


It is possible to add an audio track for the menu.  An MP3 or wav file can be used as the track, but should be converted into an m2a through Cinelerra using AC3 or mpeg2 audio.  If no sound track is desired, a silent track can be created with:


Now, the audio and video must be merged together to make a complete video file:

Put the menu together

Now, an .xml file containing the menu definition is created.  The following can be used as a template:


Finally, use spumux to create the menu file.


The file "menu_final.mpg" is the menu file as it will appear in the final dvd.

Final Authoring of the DVD

The final authoring is done with DVDAuthor.  The only work to be done is creating the DVD script file as the input for DVDAuthor.  In the script file, there are sections labelled "vmgm" and "titleset".  The vmgm section defines the main top level menu, which is run when the disc is inserted.  It is then possible to create a separate menu for each titleset (e.g. for chapters) using the same command set.  For every menu, a menu movie must be defined as described above.

To create the top level menu, define the following:


Note the aspect property set to 4:3.  This is the aspect ratio for the menu only, not the actual video titles.  Also note the <vob file="../menu_final.mpg"/> entry, which is the reference to the menu file created with spumux.  The <post> command here tells the dvd player to jump back to the beginning of the DVD menu mpeg.  

For each title referenced in the menu, a title entry pointing to the video file must be defined as a title in the titleset group.  In the titleset group, it is possible to redefine the aspect ratio and format.

        

After the titleset definition, the titles are listed with a minimum of the vob file and the action to take when the title is finished.  Titles are listed with the entry "pgc", and the post action listed below calls the vmgm menu..


So for a complete listing of the dvdauthor.xml file:


Now, calling dvdauthor creates the dvd.  For more information on creating a dvd using dvdauthor, see the man page for dvdauthor.  For instance, it is possible to assign menus to each title, or create audio options.

Using the DVD

To create a dvd iso image, use mkisofs to copy the dvd directory:


To burn the image to disc, use growisofs:


or to burn the directory containing the DVD, use:


To test the DVD without burning to disc, use your favorite DVD player:

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